Meredith Announces Expansion Of Innovative Meredith Sales Guarantee After Strong First-Year Performance

NEW YORK, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) – the nation's leading female-focused media and marketing company with an audience of 100 million American women - today announced that it was expanding the Meredith Sales Guarantee program following a very successful inaugural year.

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Brands participating in the first year of the Meredith Sales Guarantee experienced an average return on investment (ROI) of $7.81 for every $1 invested in advertising in Meredith magazines, proving that advertising in Meredith magazines increases product sales at retail.  

Meredith's $7.81 ROI, incorporating the impact of both annualized consumer response and total households, was far better than the average $2.79 ROI for campaigns run on digital portals/ad networks as measured by Nielsen Catalina Solutions over the last five years.

"The results from our first-year partners have been incredibly strong," says Dick Porter, President, Media Sales, Meredith National Media Group. "Over the past year, we have been able to demonstrate to a broad range of inaugural clients that Meredith magazines are delivering sizable sales increases and improved return on their investment.  Based on this success, we are now expanding the program armed with this new data demonstrating how Meredith magazines are much more effective than ad portals in driving retail sales."

The innovative program guarantees clients an increase in sales performance for brands that advertise in Meredith's industry-leading portfolio of women-focused magazines. On average, Meredith magazine readers generated an increased sales lift of nine percent on advertised brands in categories such as food, beauty, household goods and over-the-counter drugs. In addition to increasing product sales, the research also revealed that more than half of buyers were new purchasers of specific brands.

Kimberly-Clark, Tyson Foods and Ken's brands were among the first of 25 brands that participated in the program.

"We were excited to be among those first to market with this program, and have always been strong believers in the connection that magazine brands have with their readers," says Mark Kaline, Global Director-Media, Licensing & Consumer Services, Kimberly-Clark. "These initial results have been above our expectations, and the Meredith Sales Guarantee has helped us demonstrate a sales return tied closely to the media investment made for our brands who participated."

Kaline adds, "Meredith has created a highly innovative program that leverages its deep assets and insights to benefit its marketing partners. They deserve enormous credit for reaching out and working with partners to help them understand not only the value of this program but how to maximize their investment in magazine media. We believe it is essential that other magazine media as well as all media partners continue to find creative and effective solutions to proving ROI for their clients. "

According to Bob Galietti, SVP, Group Account Director at Havas Media, "Gaining insight into shoppers and what helps stimulate a purchase is extremely valuable, and the Sales Guarantee program proved itself to be an extremely worthwhile investment for Tyson Foods."

"We generated a sales lift across all regions nationwide, particularly in areas where consumers were the least familiar with the Ken's brand," says Tim Cahalane, Senior Brand Manager, Ken's. "Our ads in Meredith magazines helped to introduce consumers to the Ken's brand heritage; differentiate our products on a crowded shelf; and grow our sales above the category trend." 

The Meredith Sales Guarantee sprang from a year-long research study measuring ROI for higher frequency advertising campaigns that ran in Meredith magazines.  Using analytics from Nielsen's highly regarded Homescan panel - paired with Meredith's industry-leading 100 million-name database - purchases by consumers exposed to specific brand advertising in Meredith magazines were measured against identical shoppers with no exposure.  On average, those consumers exposed just to Meredith titles purchased 10 percent more of the advertised brands.

"Meredith cares deeply about what advertisers think and they go to great lengths to use research-based insights to ensure its advertising programs, like the Sales Guarantee, meet the high standards that marketers and their agencies expect," says Ken Pearl, CEO, Advertiser Perceptions. "In fact, of the more than 100 media brands and companies we work with, Meredith has consistently demonstrated not only a thirst for advertiser knowledge but the ability to take and implement actions that cascade from the top of the company."

"The ROI for advertiser investment was significant," says Michael Brownstein, EVP/Chief Revenue Officer, Meredith. "We are delighted with the results from this first year and are looking forward to expanding this offering to a broad range of clients and categories including new categories such as automotive, pharmaceutical, and retail."

In order for advertisers to participate in the Meredith Sales Guarantee utilizing Nielsen Catalina Solutions' analytics marketers had to commit to a minimum level of advertising impressions over a 12-month period across several Meredith titles. The commitment is based on advertising category, with minimum thresholds for frequency, and can only be applied for marketers with national advertising schedules.

About Meredith

Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) is the leading media and marketing company serving American women.  Meredith features multiple well-known national brands – including Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, Allrecipes, Ladies' Home Journal, Fitness, More, American Baby, EveryDay with Rachael Ray and FamilyFun – along with local television brands in fast-growing markets.  Meredith is the industry leader in creating content in key consumer interest areas such as home, family, food, health and wellness and self-development. Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms - including print, television, digital, mobile, tablets, and video - to give consumers content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Additionally, Meredith uses its many assets to create powerful custom marketing solutions for many of the nation's top brands and companies. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing has significantly added to its capabilities in recent years through the acquisition of cutting-edge companies in digital, mobile, social, healthcare, database, and international marketing. 

A hallmark of Meredith's business model and financial profile is its ability to consistently generate substantial free cash flow by leveraging the strength of its multi-platform portfolio.  Meredith is committed to increasing Total Shareholder Return through dividend payments, share repurchases and strategic business investments.  Meredith has paid a dividend for 66 straight years and increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years.  Meredith currently pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of approximately 4 percent.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation