Economic indicator: Home and living magazines

Sally Herships Jun 5, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Economic indicator: Home and living magazines

Sally Herships Jun 5, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The housing market continues to improve and with it, a multitude of other industries are feeling the love. Including those shiny, glossy magazines about our homes and all the stuff we buy for them.
 
“You have to see this” — that’s what it says on the cover of “House Beautiful“. And, if you open up the cover there’s a fancy, double page ad for paint.  

Kate Kelly Smith works with Hearst Design Group which publishes House Beautiful. She says the strong housing market means interior design magazines are selling more ads. Advertising Age says this month’s issues have sold almost 9 percent more than last year.
 
“We’ll we’re a direct reflection of the market, so when there’s an uptick in the marketplace, we can feel it across each and every part of our business,” Kelly Smith says.
 
Ads for small appliances, big appliances, even cars. Steve Cohn is editor in chief of Media Industry Newsletter. But he says, the magazine industry is still not as perfect as the interiors in its pictures.
 
“It’s not like a total recovery, like kumbaya, everything is great,” Cohn says.
 
But the ads sure do look good.


What else tells a tale of the economy? Check out our list of 10 economic indicators you haven’t thought of.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.