End Of Year Ad Boon Helps Save An Otherwise Dismal 2009 For Print

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) is reporting a late, fourth quarter surge in advertising revenue that helped save an otherwise dismal 2009 for magazines and newspapers. A big reason behind the late surge in ad spending? A very cautious approach throughout the year that left advertisers’ end-of-year budgets far from empty. Advertisers spent their full amount in the last month or so, in hopes of getting the same budget for 2010.

While magazine publishers remain upbeat, most financial forecasts look for a flat 1st quarter, with an expected turn-around coming in Q3 of 2010, according to the Journal.

Russell Adams and Shira Ovide write:

A year-end flurry of ad spending helped moderate steep declines at some newspapers and magazines, and has fueled an uptick at others, raising hopes for a recovery in 2010.

Still, following a brutal 2009, when scores of publications closed or made drastic cutbacks, publishers remain wary of declaring an ad rebound as marketers selectively reopen their wallets.

Publishing executives attribute the recent influx of ad money in part to marketers hurrying to spend the remainder of their annual ad budgets after doling out those funds sparingly earlier in the year amid fears of an economic collapse.

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