Medical Economics: New Highs for a Historic Brand

Following the premise that good news needs to be shared, Pharm Exec is proud to announce that one of our sister Advanstar publications, Medical Economics, has been selected as Media Brand of the Year by Medical Marketing and Media (MM&M) magazine. The fact that MM&M is one of Pharm Exec’s lead competitors in the life sciences editorial space should not impair its non-partisan good judgment-after all, it could be said that the stressed ranks of the B-to-B segment is trending toward one big publication anyway.

Medical Economics is a venerable play, with a publication record that dates back to 1923. Like many titles with a long track record, the magazine hit some bumps several years ago, but new leadership and a commitment to making one with the customer-175,000 reading primary care physicians-has put the grease back on the wheels. Ad revenues rose nearly 40 percent from 2010 to 2011, while the readership average per issue posted a 3.9 percent increase over roughly the same period, much higher than the average 1 percent score in this market segment. It’s a performance that lends credence to the principle that money follows quality.

How did this happen? The turnaround built heavily on a deep-dive effort to engage with the readership and understand what the magazine could do for it. Says Advanstar’s executive vice president Georgiann Decenzo, “We refocused on specific ways to deliver value to our audience of primary care physicians, a community challenged left and right by external forces that threaten its very existence. Information, analytics, and advice on coping with these challenges was defined as our editorial mission-every feature is bench-marked around a precise mission: to help these physicians stay in practice.”

With the magazine performing nicely in terms of ad revenue, the next step is a redesign and overhaul of Medical Economics’ online offerings, including a new website due for unveiling later in the spring.