Inside back cover advertising positions usually command a 10-15% premium on ad space costs. The ad readership results for this position are typically 6% higher than a regular page within the issue which does not warrant the increased spending for the position. There is one clear exception that I have seen in my 20-year advertising career. This would be the inside back cover of Sports Illustrated and running opposite the column entitled “Life of Reilly.”
Every Saturday when our SI issue arrives, Rick Reilly’s column is not only the first thing I read, but the only thing I read within the issue before it becomes the bathroom bible for the next week. I read it because each week I never know what it will bring. Will I laugh hysterically like I did at the column which captured two dads discussing how they are helping their kids get ahead in sports, but yet their kids are still in the nursery at the hospital? Will I cry like I did when I read about a dad donating his daughter’s organs after she died and then becoming friends with and even running with the man who received her lungs? Or will I get out my checkbook and donate to a worthy cause like the Nothing But Nets program in which millions of dollars have been raised to provide netting to Africans in an antimalaria campaign? These are the variety of stories that are covered by Rick Reilly in his “Life of Reilly” column each week.
Rick Reilly has an incredible writing skill that captivates a reader and has helped SI extend its audience beyond the core testosterone-based subscriber. Bringing this diversity to a targeted publication is a rarity in the publishing industry and a true talent by Rick Reilly. SI has probably attracted many advertisers to this inside back cover position because of what Rick has to offer to each advertiser—which is an extended audience of readers that normally wouldn’t read SI or the ad within the inside back cover.
With all this said it is truly unfortunate that SI is losing this writer and the premium position associated with his column. Rick Reilly is going onto a TV career with ESPN and our Sports Illustrated subscription is going back to the male audience within our household. If you want to let Rick Reilly know how disappointed you are in his decision, or to wish him luck in his new venture you can reach him at RickReillyonline.com. I know I am!
November 2007
