UBS: Meredith’s Lacy: Print Is Not Dead — But It’s Not Quite Healthy Yet Either

Stephen Lacy, president and CEO, Meredith

Forecasters at today’s opening session at the UBS Media Week conference said that the magazine category would be down about 4.5 percent this year. Most magazine heads speaking at industry conferences often have to put a brave face on such data and that’s what Stephen Lacy, president of president and CEO of women’s lifestyle Meredith Corp. (NYSE: MDP), did just that. “Print is not dead, as our results show,” Lacy told conference attendees, though he did note that the space remains weak. Lacy also touched briefly on its role in the magazine JV headed by Time Inc. EVP John Squires. “It’ll present an interesting way to sell our magazine titles and it’ll offer a range of advertising opportunities.”

Meredith’s mixed outlook for ’09 is primarily effected by continued strength in the food category and softness in the home shelter category. The weakness of home shelter ad spend will remain a sore spot for most major publishers into the new year, Lacy said. Specifically, Meredith, the publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle, expects a decline of about 30 percent in that home segment.

There wasn’t much good news on the online ad front either for Meredith, though Lacy said there might be some glimmers of hope once Dec. 31 rolls around. “Internet ads have been weak, particularly display. Although by the end of the year, Meredith will start to see some uptick. We’re pleased to see a plus sign at this point.”

In general, the declines are slowing versus last year. In autos, the change has been dramatic. For Meredith, auto will be down close to 10 percent in Q4, but that constitutes a turnaround from last year, when the segment fell roughly 40 percent in Q408.

Still, with some holes in the ad revenue pie not being filled as quickly, Meredith has been turning to other revenue streams. By the end of FY09, Meredith’s marketing revenues should be up about 13 percent. In speaking about the company’s plans for integrated marketing, Lacy said that’s where minority stake the company took in mobile branding firm The Hyperfactory could provide a boost. In addition to using its mobile agency ally to create campaigns, Lacy said Meredith will use The Hyperfactory a lot more to create its own mobile content this next year.

loading

Comments have been disabled for this post