Ad agencies baulk as IPC hikes rates

IPC Weeklies Group has increased the ratecard on four of its mass-market magazines because of improved circulations, but has met agency opposition.

The ratecards for Woman and Woman’s Own have been hiked by seven per cent each, rising to 19,050 and 23,650, respectively, for a standard page. Chat and What’s On TV’s rates have risen by ten per cent, up to 9,000 and 16,240.

However, agencies say the magazine giant may have difficulty achieving extra yield.

O&M Media press buying manager Helena Hudson says the sector is too competitive for IPC to be aggressive on the rates: “It will be relatively easy to buy around the four IPC titles, so they can’t afford to be too hard-headed with agencies.”

Hudson is worried about IPC’s reasoning: “It is true that circulations have increased on the titles, but enough to justify their rate increases? I would be worried if I thought we were having to cover the costs of increased paper prices for IPC.”

Saatchi & Saatchi media director Mike Gorman agrees that IPC will not be able to force through the increase: “A ratecard increase is meaningless. It is not about real revenue, it’s about idealised revenue.”