Magazines to Marketers: We’ll Prove How Much We Lift Sales

Can magazines prove that their ads make cash registers ring? In its latest attempt to prove its worth to marketers, Time Inc. will regularly gauge the retail sales results from advertising in its titles and on its websites. The program closely follows a move by rival Meredith Corp. to guarantee certain advertisers that major campaigns in its pages will actually increase sales by certain amounts.

Advertising in magazines still revolves around paid circulation, publishing’s traditional, very rough proxy for ad effectiveness. But marketers’ growing need to justify their spending, competition from digital media and the difficult economy are fueling increasing