-By Lucia Moses

Amid all the negativity surrounding print, the heads of some rival publishing companies have been privately talking about creating a marketing campaign to promote the medium’s positive aspects.

Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black and Time Inc. chairman Ann Moore are said to have taken part in the very preliminary conversations, along with Jann Wenner, chairman of Wenner Media, according to sources who heard about the conversations.

Wenner’s involvement is notable because of his low visibility as an industry member; for years, his company has been out of the industry’s main trade organization, the Magazine Publishers of America. (Wenner also apparently talked with Nina Link, MPA president and CEO, about the marketing campaign, though.)

Reps for Wenner and Moore and MPA declined to comment. Hearst didn’t return a call by presstime.

The reported talks on boosting magazines’ image are the latest sign of a willingness of rival publishing companies—embattled by the ad downturn and competitive pressures—to join forces. Time Inc. is quietly leading a charge to create an industry-wide digital storefront to sell magazine editions for future magazine-friendly e-readers. Meredith, Condé Nast and Hearst have been in on the discussions. No announcement has been made.

There’s no doubt, magazines could use some help burnishing their image. Print is experiencing its worst ad downturn in memory. Total reported ad revenue fell 20.3 percent for the first nine months of the year, with pages down 27.2 percent, per Publishers Information Bureau.

Throughout the year, news of magazine shutdowns and massive layoffs have dominated headlines about the industry. All the while, magazines are being criticized as being unexciting as a creative medium; behind in demonstrating accountability to advertisers; and slow to adapt their content to platforms outside print.

Some companies have tried on their own to counteract the negativity surrounding the medium. Hearst has given presentations around the country this year to showcase its various print and production innovations. Rodale execs have had formal meetings with media buyers to talk about print’s challenges and how they’re responding.

But while the bad news seems to keep on coming for the medium, the industry has been quieter on the marketing front. The Magazine Publishers of America’s last marketing campaign ran from 2004 to 2006. The three-year, $40 million campaign was designed to promote the value of print to media buyers and advertisers. Condé Nast had its well-known Point of Passion campaign in 2005, which involved magazine spreads featuring readers and well-known personalities hugging their favorite Condé Nast titles, but that effort also has ended.

Buyers cheered the idea of an industry marketing campaign for print.

“There needs to be some communication or a marketing campaign to tell the good story that’s out there about the consumer connection with magazines, and more importantly, the power of the magazine brand,” said Brenda White, senior vp, publishing activation director, Starcom USA, “because I think there’s a lot of good momentum going on with publishers thinking about the magazines as brands. This would be something both agencies and clients would benefit from.”

Andrea Luhtanen, president of Haworth Marketing + Media, said that with the negative perceptions publishers are battling, “[There] couldn't be a better time for these industry leaders to come together to reestablish the relevance of magazines in the media community.”