WSJ weekend draws more readers and ads

MediaWeek takes a look at the Saturday edition of The Wall Street Journal more than one year after its launch and noted that the extra issue has added more readers to the publication as well as more advertisers.

Lucia Moses wrote, “More than a year after its Sept. 17, 2005 debut, publisher Gordon Crovitz insists the naysayers are wrong. He said 1,500 advertisers have used the section, including 900 that are new to the paper. Crovitz added that two-thirds of the revenue is incremental to the paper, and was a major contributor to the Journal’s 10.3 percent and 9.1 percent gains in ad revenue and ad volume, respectively, through the first nine months of the year.

“In addition to exposing the paper to a wider audience through pass-along to family members, Crovitz said, the weekend Journal also has helped boost weekend traffic to the Journal online. Since the section launched, weekend traffic and page views have risen 20 and 30 percent, respectively, Crovitz said.

“Ever since its financial and technology advertising was clobbered by the dot-com bust, the Journal has sought to attract more women readers and round out its ad base with more business-to-consumer advertising. The Weekend Edition has built on those efforts: More than 60 percent of its advertising is B-to-C. New clients include Land’s End, Visa Signature, Nivea and Club Med. Some, including Kiwi and Home Depot, have added Monday-Friday buys after advertising in Weekend Edition.”

Read more here.