Nissan Stuns Magazines by Halting Print Ads for Rest of ’89

Nissan, which brags about building cars for the human race, has stopped trying to build 1989 sales through magazine advertising.

In an action that caught many magazine executives off guard, the Japanese auto maker said this week that it would virtually halt all print advertising for the remainder of its 1989 model year. The bulk of Nissan’s U.S. print ad budget--about $27 million--has already been spent on new car introductions, but the company said it will devote the remaining $9 million to spot television.

“Maybe we’re a little impatient,” said Joe Opre, national advertising manager at Nissan Motor Corp. USA, “but right now we’re being outshouted by the competition in virtually every major market.” The American subsidiary of the Japanese firm is based in Carson.

For the remainder of the 1989 model year, Opre said, Nissan magazine ads will only appear in car buff magazines and publications primarily purchased by Latino and black readers.

The key question worrying magazine executives is whether other auto makers would follow Nissan’s lead. So concerned was the Magazine Publishers of America, a New York trade group, that its officials are flying to Los Angeles this week to meet with Nissan executives.

“We just want to find out what Nissan is thinking,” said Jim Guthrie, executive vice president of the association. “They’ve made a tactical decision, but this is certainly not a black eye for print advertising.”

Indeed, automotive spending on magazine advertising was up a hefty 17% in 1988, compared to 1987, reports the Publishers Information Bureau.

“I can’t remember the last time we had a major advertiser pull out of the magazine like this,” said Dana Fields, advertising director at Rolling Stone. She said the publication will lose about $300,000 in revenue from the move.

Meanwhile, at Time magazine, Nissan had already run virtually all of its 1989 advertising, said Steve Seabolt, who oversees advertising for the publication’s Los Angeles division. “The loss for us is very, very minimal,” he said.

And there was little indication on Monday that others are about to follow Nissan’s lead. Officials contacted at Toyota said their ad plans--which include a strong mix of print and television--remain unchanged.

A spokesman for the upscale Infiniti division of Nissan--which plans to spend tens of millions of dollars to introduce its car line later this year--said its plans are unaffected.

But at Nissan, it’s a different story. In the first quarter of the 1989 model year, Nissan’s market share dropped to 36%, compared to 39% a year ago, Opre said. Industry executives say Nissan is feeling heavy pressure by its dealer groups to bolster television advertising. And its Los Angeles ad agency, Chiat/Day, is also a strong proponent of TV advertising.

“We figure it’s better to stand out in one medium than to get lost in them all,” Opre said.