/ 22 September 1995

Black readership numbers decline

Neil Bierbaum

THE recent release of the All Media and Product Survey (Amps) shows that, with a few exceptions, magazines suffered a significant loss of black readership, according to Tony Banahan of Lindsay-Smithers FCB.

Interpreting the Amps figures, Banahan says particularly hard hit were women’s magazines. Cosmopolitan (-4,9 percent), Femina (-13,6 ),Living & Loving (-19,3), Woman’s Value

(-64,8), Your Family (-41,3), Fair Lady (-17,1) and Sarie (-33,3), all showed significant declines in the number of black readers.

But Barbara Ross, general manager of research and marketing at National Magazines, points out that such comparisons are statistically invalid as they do not take into account changes in the survey universe. “The only valid comparison,” she says, “is the percentage penetration (in other words, the number of readers as a percentage of the total population.)”

Based on percentage penetration, she argues that “the only statistically significant declines in the readership of magazines have been Cosmopolitan (from 5,4 percent penetration among the total white, coloured and Indian population last year to 3,9 percent in 1995), Garden & Home (7,4 to 6,2 percent); MultiChoice TV Guide (23,6 to 20,8 percent); and Sunday Times Magazine (19,7 to 17,7 percent). Among black readers, she points out that only MultiChoice TV Guide (0,7 to 0,2 percent), Pace (6 to 4,8 percent) and Bona (13,2 to 11,9 percent) have shown significant declines.

As far as black readers are concerned, the reformulated Drum could account for much of the shift among black women. Its readership has climbed by 46,5 percent from an average 647 000 per issue to 948 000.

Magazines which increased their black readership were Getaway (from 0 to 3 000), Penthouse (176,9 percent), South Africa Sports Illustrated (87,3), Thandi (16,5t), Rooi Rose (22,7), Finance Week (133,3), Financial Mail (70), Huigenoot (23,7), and You (33,3).

Another interesting trend in magazines is the number of black titles which have shown significant increases in WCI readership. These include Bona (38,8 percent increase in WCI readers), Drum (166 percent), Pace (87,5 percent), Thandi (71,4 percent), Tribute (400 percent) and True Love (200 percent).

A walk in the park’ when it comes to ads?

Adspend seems to be something most of the new magazine players toss nonchalantly to the air. Times Media Limited’s magazine division head, Gisele Wertheim- Aymes, quotes an Australian who said the South African market is “a walk in the park”. She says generally it’s not as competitive as it could be.

Ebony marketing manager Utian agrees. He feels adspend will increase as the market grows. “Potentially the market is very big if you penetrate it properly.” Something that a number of people in advertising agree with.

Tony Banahan of Lindsay Smithers says any publication can get adspend if it gets good reach. This includes men’s magazines. He points out that “a lot of men’s products are advertised in Femina magazine because there were no men’s magazine”. He attributes the ability of Penthouse and Playboy to attract advertising to the fact that they provide good reach without being perceived as smut.

Darryl Bernstein, executive chairman of Eurospace, agrees, to a point. He also says that so long as a magazine attracts a reasonable audience then it will attract advertising. But he’s not so sure about whether men’s magazines which do not offer nude women can really attract an audience. Both he and Banahan point to the falling circulation of Playboy, which has maintained its high-class photography and editorial, and Penthouse, which seems to have moved a little in the other direction.

Most people in the industry agree that the advantages of publishing a well-known international title is that it gives one easier penetration because it is a known brand. But, as Wertheim-Aymes says, it depends on the intended market — if they are “less aware of foreign titles”, there may be less impact.