Video: Jim Elliott on why some magazines are winning, others are losing

August 28, 2012 - It’s tough out there, but at least one front-line seller is optimistic -- as long as publishers can prove a unique and committed audience. 

“Globally, publishers are accepting where they are,” says Jim Elliott, president and founder of the James G. Elliott Co, Inc., one of the largest advertising sales rep firms. “There isn’t a sense of ‘deer in headlights’ anymore. Publishers are becoming more pragmatic about their businesses.”

While Publishers Information Bureau numbers show consumer magazines down 8.8 percent for the first half of 2012, Elliott points out that it’s really just a few titles that are swaying the totals. “Only 29 magazines are down 20 percent or more -- and they’re down in massive page counts,” says Elliott. “That leads you to believe that this environment is particularly punishing for magazines grown weak. One shared problem among publishers in trouble is the inability to prove a unique and committed audience. Winning magazines believe in print and they have stamina -- they haven’t made massive cutbacks -- and they have the ability to prove a unique and committed audience.”

The rise of marketing services is really a return to the past, according to Elliott. “I came out of the agency world and we used to integrate research into packages back in the ‘70s,” he says. “Today, it’s just a bigger opportunity because of the digital platform, which is more immediate and probably cheaper.”

Watch the entire video above.

By Matt Kinsman