The Hot List

Brandweek, March 6, 2000 by Patricia Orsini

Experience counts. Among our picks for the Top 10 Hottest Magazines are three that are in their 70s--Time, Business Week and Fortune--one that's nearing 80 years old--Architectural Digest--and another that's over 100--grandame Vogue. A lot of magazines can boast double-digit ad growth, but when a title has already found its niche in the marketplace, it's a real accomplishment to grow revenue.

Our choice for Hottest Magazine of the Year has even managed to revitalize a category given up for dead several years ago. Time magazine turned the end-of-the-millennium madness into entertaining, informative, keep-'em--guessing reading. Up by 10.6 percent in ad pages, the book increased ad revenue by $97 million in 1999. As one media buyer said, "Time blows away the competition."

It's not surprising that two business titles make the list this year. But the fact that both are septuagenarians--Business Week celebrated 70 years of publishing in 1999; this year, it's Fortune's turn-is. Both did it by staying on top of the news. Business Week's e.biz section has been such a hit, it will increase from a quarterly to nine times a year in 2000. And Fortune just keeps covering business like nobody's business.

We do have some younger titles on the list, including media buyer's darling In Style. They repeat from last year, and the year before that they topped our 10 under 30 list. To see who's on that list this year (we've upped the threshold to $40 million this year, reflecting the tremendous growth in magazines overall) turn to page 46. And this year, we name five Upstarts (see page 47)--magazines that are growing so fast, they're too hot to handle.

                                  ADWEEK
                    THE HOT LIST TOP 10 Magazines of '99
1 TIME          Revenue  Up:
                $97.3 million
                17.22%
                Ad Pages Up:
                10.64%
                Circulation:
                +1.5%
2 Business Week Revenue Up:
                $81.8 million
                22.61%
                Ad Pages Up:
                22.90%
                Circulation:
                +1.6%
3 InStyle       Revenue Up:
                $58 million
                63.99%
                Ad Pages Up:
                26.22%
                Circulation:
                +9.8%
4 FORTUNE               Revenue Up:
                        $67.2 million
                        28.15%
                        Ad pages Up:
                        16.59%
                        Circulation:
                        +4.7%
5 marie claire          Revenue Up:
                        $12.7 million
                        24.79%
                        Ad Pages Up:
                        11.4%
                        Circulation:
                        +6.6%
6 Martha Stewart Living Revenue Up:
                        $27.9 million
                        20.88%
                        Ad Pages Up:
                        13.07%
                        Circulation:
                        +0.4%
7 ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST  Revenue Up:
                        $14.5 million
                        21.40%
                        Ad Pages Up:
                        12.66%
                        Circulation:
8 VIBe    Revenue Up:
          $10.7 million
          23.23%
          Ad Pages Up:
          6.37%
          Circulation:
          +20.9%
9 VOGUE   Revenue Up:
          $31.3 million
          20.87%
          Ad Pages Up:
          18.10%
          Circulation:
          -2.4%
10 TRAVEL Revenue Up:
& LEISURE $16.3 million
          18.50%
          Ad Pages Up:
          11.25%
          Circulation
          +0.2%
                                10 under 40
                      CONSUMER MAGAZINES SPRING 2000
 1 FAST COMPANY        Revenue Up: $21.9 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 60.9%
                       Circulation: +57.1%
 2 YAHOO!              Revenue Up: $21.8 million
   Internet Life       Ad Pages Up: 47.8%
                       Circulation: +64.8%
 3 Latina              Revenue Up: $2.0 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 34.7%
                       Circulation: +28.9%
 4 THE SOURCE          Revenue Up: $5.5 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 13.8%
                       Circulation: +4.1%
 5 JANE                Revenue Up: $6.9 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 45.1%
                       Circulation: +27.0% [*]
 6 NATIONAL-GEOGRAPHIC Revenue Up: $6.3 million
   TRAVELER            Ad Pages Up: 33.0%
                       Circulation: +2.0%
 7 TRAVEL & LEISURE    Revenue Up: $7.4 million
   Golf                Ad Pages Up: 71.4%
                       Circulation: +75% [**]
 8 HEALTH              Revenue Up: $8.3 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 23.3%
                       Circulation: +13.5%
 9 Crayola             Revenue Up: $5.4 million
   KIDS                Ad Pages Up: 31.9%
                       Circulation: +12.4%
10 Biography           Revenue Up: $5.8 million
                       Ad Pages Up: 73.3%
                       Circulation: +27.2%
 1 FAST COMPANY        Keeping up with the New Economy is hard
                       work, but someone's got to do it. Next
                       task: dealing with success--it's such a hit
                       with advertisers, edit's trying to keep pace.
 2 YAHOO!              As the Internet seeps into our everyday
   Internet Life       lives, this title becomes more relevant and
                       more navigable. Yahoo! has been there
                       from the beginning, and it shows.
 3 Latina              The Hispanic market is there for the taking.
                       There's not a lot of competition for an
                       underserved readership, making this a hot
                       prospect for media buyers.
 4 THE SOURCE          Ah, the elusive young, urban male: The
                       Source gets them with its mix of music and
                       urban culture. It's one-stop shopping for
                       buyers of this audience.
 5 JANE                Girl Power with a capital "J": Jane Pratt's
                       formula for Sassy is all grown up and
                       drawing a loyal following of readers. Now
                       that Advance is minding the store, the title
                       should get the marketing it deserves.
 6 NATIONAL-GEOGRAPHIC In a hot category, this title competes with
   TRAVELER            the big guys in terms of quality. The
                       National Geographic brand is safe in the
                       hands of the Traveler crew.
 7 TRAVEL & LEISURE    It's a golf magazine--wait, it's a travel
   Golf                magazine--no, it's a magazine for people
                       who enjoy the golf lifestyle. Whatever it is,
                       it's working for buyers and readers.
 8 HEALTH              This magazine has been retooled for the
                       fitness age. It's been a gradual transformation,
                       but more user-friendly edit has made
                       this a healthy book indeed.
 9 Crayola             What fun! A magazine that parents can
   KIDS                enjoy with their kids. It's a hybrid that
                       appeals to a range of advertisers, hitting all
                       the important demos.
10 Biography           With its celeb-heavy--and celeb-friendly--
                       edit, this title is appealing to readers in a
                       big way. The A&E book shares a title with a
                       TV show, but its ads are all their own.
Sources: Publishers Information Bureau, Competitive Media Reporting,
Audit Bureau of Circulations
(*.)Circulation is one-third controlled, mailed to American
Express cardholders.