- Lucia Moses, Mediaweek

NEW YORK With ad dollars spread thin across the magazine industry, print buyers say they're shelling out the smallest rate increases in recent years, from flat to a skimpy 1 to 2 percent over last year.

As a result of the tightness, publishers are resorting to tactics like offering prime positions in their titles, placements near compatible editorial content, and throwing in more platforms and pages for free. Some buyers said publishers are more willing to trade rate increases for volume. "They're desperate," said one buyer. "It's all about keeping paging as flat as possible."

First-quarter Publishers Information Bureau numbers -- which indicate 1.2 percent and 6.4 percent declines in ad revenue and pages, respectively -- offer evidence of a struggling industry. Meanwhile, rising paper, ink and postal costs make things worse for publishers.

"This downturn not only is economic driven, but also driven by the rapid ascension of digital as a core media channel," said Peter Gardiner, chief media officer at Deutsch.

For their part, publishers said they were getting flat to 3 percent CPM increases, mostly in line with last year. Buyers noted that one exception is Conde Nast, which is notorious for its non-negotiating stance and is buffered by relatively stable luxury ads. Conde is getting 3 percent, buyers said. (Richard Beckman, president of Conde Nast Media Group, countered that the figure is actually 5 percent.)

Whatever the increase, the cost of getting those pages is rising, as ads come with accountability strings attached. American Media Inc.'s Men's Fitness and Meredith Corp.'s Ladies' Home Journal are among the titles spending more to measure ad effectiveness. "The money's still there, but more than ever you have to promise, guarantee, deliver ROI," said Marc Richards, publisher of Men's Fitness. "Magazine companies are spending a lot of money to retain the business they have."