The Atlantic’s latest figures come during a time of rising hopes for publishers. While a complete turnaround is unlikely, this year is apt to be less painful than 2009. A big part of The Atlantic’s online ad growth as a percentage of total revenues was due to falling ad pages. According to the Publisher’s Information Bureau, between January and September, The Atlantic‘s print ad pages dropped 18.2 percent. As ad pages come back, it will be interesting to see what happens to that 32 percent figure.

SEE ALSO: Atlantic Media Readies Business News Site Under Michael Kinsley

Lauf says there was a “275 percent gain” in digital revs in Q409 versus Q408. That high number also is boosted by the fairly small amount of ad dollars the site attracted last year. But Lauf also said The Atlantic made greater use of larger, Online Publisher Association ad formats and focused more on integrating campaigns with the magazine’s content and around its high-profile bloggers like Andrew Sullivan.

“The Atlantic signed more than 50 new digital advertisers in 2009, with a number of the programs rooted in customized, integrated campaigns and other beyond-the-banner programs,” Lauf said. The Porsche-sponsored “Ask Andrew” series featuring blogger Andrew Sullivan, that had the carmaker’s brand garlanding display ads containing reader questions. Another marketer, Shell Oil, sent a roving reporter serving in-ad videos the included interviews with energy experts from The Atlantic’s Green Intelligence Forum.

Since joining the magazine about two years ago, Lauf has moved the headquarters of the sales operation to New York from Washington DC, and now also has sales offices in San Francisco, Chicago and LA. As he prepares to launch a new business site to be run by Slate founding editor Michael Kinsley this spring, Lauf says spending momentum is continuing into Q1. “Travel was probably our fastest growth category, and despite the continued weakness in the economy, it’s still holding strong,” he said. “The same with luxury marketers and even autos.”