Tag Archives: the Economist Group

Let your mind wander: the Economist’s new campaign

In case you haven’t yet seen it, here’s some more free publicity for the Economist – the publication’s new advert asking us to let our minds wander (or legs, perhaps, to the newsagent.)

In June FoliMag reported that the Economist’s profits were up 26 per cent for the last fiscal year.

“The London-based company, which publishes its namesake magazine, reported approximately $92 million in operating profit, up 26 percent over the previous 12-month period. Revenue was up 17 percent to roughly $514.2 million.”

“The Economist’s worldwide circulation grew 6.4 percent during the period to 1,390,780, the company said. Ad revenue at Economist.com was up 29 percent while page views were up 53 percent.”

The Guardian, however, reported that overall advertising was down:

“Chris Stibbs, the Economist Group’s finance director, said that advertising across the company first turned negative in the final quarter of its financial year, between January and March 2009, and has continued to show a year-on-year decline since then.”

It attributed the profit-rise to recent job cuts:

“[T]he group has remained profitable thanks to a cost-cutting programme that has seen around 130 jobs cut – roughly one in 10 of the company’s global workforce – and leaving it with a staff of 1,100.”

NB: The Economist calls itself a newspaper, not a magazine: see the website for a lengthy description of its history.

Former PPA chair Helen Alexander wins Marcus Morris Award

Helen Alexander CBE, former chief executive of the Economist and former PPA chair, will receive the Marcus Morris Award for her ‘outstanding contribution’ to magazine publishing on Monday.

The award recognises ‘significant and longstanding contributions to the magazine publishing industry in the UK,’ a release from the PPA said.

Alexander was chief executive of the Economist Group from 1997-2008. According to the release, she was ‘pivotal’ in the growth and development of the company: in her last five years profits grew by 75 per cent.

She chaired the PPA from 2006-8 and was awarded a CBE in 2004.