Hidden persuaders of architecture: Advertising and publishing initiatives of US media in mid-century Modernism

The developments of the media revolution in mid-20th century US rendered publishing into a massive industry with unprecedented influence on both economic and cultural aspects. The fusion of the newly formed corporate media world with architecture meant for the inclusion of architectural media (magazines, professional networks, and cultural institutions) in the world of advertising, marketing, and management. Some interesting results were the commissioning of studies by statistical and marketing agencies on the definition of their target audience of architects and engineers. Under the scope of publishers, advertisers, and sales departments the architectural media developed new business models favoring advertising, instead of subscription revenue. And publishing and editorial policies that defined the portrayal modernist architectural products as well as the “image” and “self-image” of architects and how “they” reach their markets. This paper will address the merger between advertising and publishing initiatives of major mid-20th c. US architectural media: F.W.Dodge Co., Time Inc., and Reinhold Publishing Co. as well as the institution that conditioned and regulated their competition: the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).