Advertisers drove the growth (4011 codes), as the chart on the next page illustrates. In January, there were seven advertising codes for each editorial code. By December, the ratio was nearly 25:1.

In January, there were seven advertising codes for each editorial code. By September, the ratio was nearly 25:1.

The nature of the editorial codes also changed during the year. In the beginning of the year, editorial codes were dominated by videos related to features in the magazine. By the end of the year, many of the editorial codes were for sweepstakes run in the editorial section.

For example, there was a noticeable spike of 124 editorial codes that appeared in November. Of the 124 codes, 91 were for sweepstakes run by the marketing teams at just three magazines: Self (59 editorial codes), Shape (16), and Woman’s Day (18).

To really understand action code adoption in advertising, the most relevant statistic may be the percentage of advertising pages that include an action code. This statistic is not affected by seasonality or skipped issues.

The chart below shows a steady and dramatic increase in action code adoption. From March to December, the ratio grew from 1 out of 28 pages (3.55%) to 1 out of 12 magazine ad pages (8.36%).

The chart below shows a steady and dramatic increase in action code adoption. From March to December, the ratio grew from 1 out of 28 pages (3.55%) to 1 out of 12 magazine ad pages (8.36%).

Another revealing trend is the quarter-to-quarter growth in action codes by the average, median and maximum number of action codes per issue. In Q1, the average was 2.33. By Q4, it grew to 6.5 per issue. (See chart on the next page.)

The number of magazine titles containing at least one action code exceeded 90% for the first time in May. It rose to 96% in July and remained at that level for the rest of the year.