WSJ Saturday claims 570 new advertisers

The Wall Street Journal’s new Saturday edition has added 570 new advertisers to the newspaper’s fold in the year that it has been published, according to a story in Advertising Age, but some are still questioning whether it’s been a success.

Reporter Nat Ives wrote, “Steven N. Barlow, senior publishing and advertising analyst, Prudential Equity Group, said in an e-mail exchange that some of those Saturday advertisers don’t have much impact. ‘The company talks about 900 … advertisers, but some are car dealers or boatyards in the classified sections, so we question the number of more legitimate big advertisers,’ he said.

“Many also say there are two kinds of Journal readers: one who breathes business and another who’s allergic to the topic on weekends. The Journal said its research shows nine out of 10 readers read ‘Weekend Edition,’ but based on personal experience, Mr. Barlow, for one, remained skeptical.

“Journal execs defend their strategy by defending their readers. ‘Some of the comments about ‘Weekend Edition’ in particular underestimated how much Journal readers enjoy reading the newspaper,” said L. Gordon Crovitz, exec VP, Dow Jones. ‘They do not view the newspaper as work; they view it as a great read.'”

Read more here.