—Back to 2005: When Macy’s, then known as Federated, merged with Mays department stores in 2005, the two were buying a combined $1.2 billion worth of newspaper ads. At that time, Macy’s operated about 400 stores, while May’s ran roughly 500. Three years later, the combined entity, which has roughly 800 stores, spent just $583.3 million with newspapers, a drop of 51.4 percent. That decline reflected two things: a cutback in stores combined with cost slashing all around. After the merger was complete, Macy’s closed a number of “redundant” stores across the country, which hit local papers hard. This past January, Macy’s said it would close another 11 stores nationwide, AP reported at the time.

—Going national: In addition to store closings, since the merger, Macy’s strategy is focused on making the department store chain more of a national brand—shutting off the individual identities that sometimes meant multiple Sunday inserts for different brands. That alsp has meant a shift from local newspapers to more TV and magazines. That change has been starkly reflected in Macy’s ad budget. Four years ago, Macy’s put 71 percent of its ad budget in newspapers; at the end of ‘08, it devoted 59 percent ad dollars. During that period, Macy’s TV ad spend grew from 17 percent of its budget to 27 percent. Macy’s has long used national TV for special promotions, such as its perennial—and expensive—Thanksgiving Day Parade and the July 4th fireworks events, it has a solid platform to build its national branding strategy. As for newspapers, while local papers will have to rely more heavily on local retailers, publishers do have chance to capture at least some of Macy’s national ad spend, albeit through a third party national alliances such as those run by Yahoo and quadrantONE.