AAM to report multi-title digital mag programs like Texture as paid subs

Catching up with the growth of unlimited-access digital magazine programs such as Texture (formerly Next Issue), the Alliance for Audited Media has added a new circulation category to its menu of metrics. It means that sales through such sites as Texture will be reported as paid subs rather than newsstand or single copy sales. The new category will be reflected in the June 2016 AAM reports on the first 6 months of 2016.

AAM statements and its online database will include key usage metrics such as:

• Average number of total requests by paid subscribers to receive a digital issue 
• Average number of times issues were opened
• Unique and total opens

"Establishing AAM qualification criteria for these digital programs helps legitimize the innovative work of the consumer magazine media industry over the last several years,” said Sue Roberson, SVP and general manager of consumer marketing and revenue, Time Inc. “It’s a step forward as we continue to extend our brands to new digital channels and platforms.”

The AAM board is also is ready to launch new products, including an ad block detection capabililty, helping publisher to understand the impact of blockers and include the data in the Site Certifier product which verifies key website metrics from Google and Adobe Analytics.  

U.S. magazine circulation slips 2.2%in 1st half 2015

Audited data shows that the total circulation of U.S. magazines fell 2.2% in the first half of 2015, compared with the same period a year earlier. According to a report in MediaDailyNews, based on figures compiled by Alliance for Audited Media, celebrity titles fell, largely driven by a decline in newsstand sales. In Touch Weekly slid 8.5% in total circulation, Life & Style was down 5.4% and OK Weekly 5.4%. People magazine's total circ was down 1.2%.

More magazine fell 41% in total circ, Woman's World 11.1% and First for Women 7.9%.

In men's magazines, Playboy fell 23.1% and Field & Stream 4.2%.

Meredith’s new Allrecipes magazine saw circulation soar 70.6%. Food Network Magazine’s circ rose 6.3%.

AAM releases consolidated media reports for key TC Media titles; first Canadian magazines to do so

The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) -- formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations -- today released the first of its Consolidated Media Reports (CMR) for three TC Media titles --Canadian Living, ELLE Canada and The Hockey News -- the first Canadian magazines to do so. 

The CMR reports represent a way of presenting total, cross-media audience: core print circulation, single copy sales, e-newsletters, mobile, website, apps and social media; what AAM calls the "total brand universe". 

TC Media plans to release CMRs for the three titles every six months and to release reports for additional titles in the same format.

“Our goal was to capture audited information on our publications, making it easier for advertisers to grasp the depth of our brand extensions and universe," said Chris Purcell, vice president of consumer marketing for TC Media. "Moving forward, we see this new offering from the AAM as the industry standard, and we wanted to be at the forefront of this change in Canadian publishing.” 

The three reports, which are made available to advertising agencies and clients, show digital data for the month of December 2012:

Canadian Living
Total brand universe: 3,801,949 
Total average paid and verified circulation: 513,027 
Total page views on canadianliving.com: 9,599,631  
Total mobile media page views: 164,679 
Total e-newsletters subscribers opt-in: 594,028 
Special interest publications: 50,224 average single-copy sales

 ELLE Canada
Total brand universe: 493,640
Total average paid and verified circulation: 130,722
Total page views on ellecanada.com 1,219,331
Total mobile media page views: 157,015
Total e-newsletter subscribers opt-in: 89,054
Facebook: 35,070 likes
Twitter: 24,812 followers

The Hockey News
Total brand universe: 414,369
Total average paid and verified circulation: 100,058
Total page views on thehockeynews.com: 1,300,763
Total mobile media page views: 1,323,371
Facebook: 32,703 likes
Google+: 78,865 circle members
Twitter: 125,904 followers

BPA Worldwide circ audit firm to move beyond "legacy business" of print

BPA Worldwide, which provides third-party circulation audits to many Canadian magazines, has decided to expand its services to allow it to conduct auditing for organizations outside of the media industry. Its new iCompli division is intended to build broader business opportunities, says Glenn Hansen, the CEO of BPAWW, quoted in an article in Audience Development.

“The legacy business with BPA is print media, but it’s slowly transforming to be audits of a brand and not just the print channel,” says CEO Glenn Hansen. “What will remain is the auditing of a brand’s distribution channels, including print."

The new division will now perform audits of trade show and conduct social responsibility and sustainability reporting, among other things, Hansen said:

“We are now expanding our business and taking a step back and saying that we are not circulation auditors but assurance providers, which opens us up—there’s a much larger audience for things that need to be third-party assured.” 

GQ iPhone app digital replica will count towards paid circulation

I have to say that I'm not that fond of reading a magazine on a tiny iPhone-type screen; but clearly I am in the minority (and a good thing for magazine publishers). According to a story in Media in Canada, Condé Nast has announced the launch of its i-Phone app that will -- starting in mid-November --  provide a replica of GQ magazine. It is inevitably a sign that, soon, you'll be able to get the same for many magazines in the Conde Nast stable. 

Folio: magazine :  says that the development of  Condé Nast's own e-reader is a departure from the excerpting ways magazine publishers have used technology. Now the company is making full issues available and not coincidentally, retaining some degree of control that they may keep away from other people's platforms (Amazon's Kindle, for instance). 

"One of the important things is the app itself is actually a reader," Sarah Chubb, president of Condé Nast Digital, told FOLIO: sister title Audience Development. "There are other reader apps for the iPhone, the Amazon Kindle being the successful one. We make the distinction that it's a reader because we've designed and built it in-house. We'll see what works and maybe use it with our other magazines as well."

Of further interest is that theAudit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) has approved the app (which sells for $2.99 a year) as a digital replica, and sales will count toward the magazine's paid circulation.

Ads will appear as they do in the print version, but will also offer more interactivity as video, e-commerce and linking capability are all enabled as part of the new app."This medium enables new levels of advertiser integration," Peter King Hunsinger, VP and publisher of GQ, said in a release. "Not only will all print ads be replicated in the app, but we've sold special integrated sponsorship packages to Grey Goose and Gillette."

The issues of GQ will be able to be viewed in horizontal and vertical mode; vertical will allow users to navigate and "pinch and swipe" stories and images; horizontal will allow readers to swipe through page by page -- including ads -- for the entire issue.

Not just print: BPAWW tests comprehensive audit to track magazine brands' full impact

BPA Worldwide, the circulation audit company that serves many of Canada's consumer and trade magazines (through its subsidiary, the Canadian Circulation Audit Board) is testing a new audit service designed to measure a media brand's full impact -- in print, on person and online. In a release today, the company said that Brand Reach will verify the audience of a particular brand through not only its magazine, but its related website, e-newsletters, conferences, trade shows and white papers.

“As the media industry continues to evolve, it is clear BPA’s role will rely on reporting a brand’s entire impact in the marketplace, rather than individual platforms or silos,” Glenn Hansen, BPA president-CEO, said in a statement.

The test is being carried out on the magazine Meetings West, published by Stamats Business Media, which has a magazine, two e-mail newsletters and a webinar.

Ad drought forces BPAWW to freeze audit fees and dues at 2008 levels

Faced with a significant portion of its customer base reeling from a 30 per cent decline in ad sales, the circulation audit firm BPA Worldwide (which includes the Canadian Circulation Audit Bureau (CCAB)) has frozen its rates and dues at July 2008 levels.

A large number of BPAWW members are b2b publishers who have been struggling to manage costs in the face of a recessionary-driven loss of ad revenue. (BPA's most significant competitor, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) had frozen its dues and rates already.) According to a story in Audience Development, the freeze will remain in effect until June 30, 2010.

The rate-freeze can be interpreted as both an effort to help publishers save costs and keep BPA's membership active. There's been story after story of publishers making significant cuts, and it's not hard to imagine that audits are toward the top of the list.

Combine that with an increasingly complicated product platform mix that has some publishers arguing for greater flexibility in auditing metrics, and others implementing audits only when a competitive scenario dictates and you have unprecedented pressure placed on the audit market.

ABC announces changes to rules affecting Canadian b-to-b magazines

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), meeting in New York, has announce rule changes, including several that will apply to business-to-business magazines in Canada.

According to a report in Media in Canada, publishers will be using a new multimedia report that will include website traffic, e-newsletter activity and pass-along receivership data. Business publications will also no longer be required to send an e-mail to paid digital-edition subscribers notifying them that the latest issue is available. For nonpaid subscribers, the e-mail notification is still required.No changes have been made to the ABC rules concerning consumer magazines.

Brian Segal, president and CEO of Rogers Publishing, has been elected a vice-chair of the 23-member ABC board and Dennis Skulsky, president and CEO of Canwest Publishing was elected treasurer.

A summary of the board actions is available from the ABC website.

Auditing guidebook published by advertising associations

A new publication, Media Auditing: A Guidebook on Best Practices for the Canadian Market, has been published to help advertisers, agencies and auditors understand key media auditing issues.

The best practices and guidelines were written by media management consultant David Chung in consultation with the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), Canadian Media Directors' Council (CMDC), Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) and Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies (AAPQ).

The report can be dowloaded here.

Circ audit firm CCAB/BPA offers member magazines web traffic measurement at no extra cost

The circulation audit firm CCAB/BPA Worldwide has struck a deal with Nielsen Online to bundle website traffic measurement for magazine audits without increasing existing dues and fees. According to a release from BPA (whose Canadian arm is still often known as the Canadian Circulation Audit Bureau or CCAB), there will be "near real time" online auditing of web activity using a new tag-enabled census tool, powered by Nielsen's SiteCensus service. A beta test of the the system will run September through December with a full rollout to BPA's membership in January 2009.

Glen Hansen, the BPA president said the announcement follows the organization's decision last year to manage the not-for-profit organization in order to offer more services for the existing rate:

"Cost containment measures and pricing management enable BPA to return value to its members by including 24/7 web measurement for every member with no change in dues or fees. We saw the opportunity to give back to our members a truly value-added package to measure their entire brand. This ‘integrated pricing, integrated media’ approach is vital to BPA’s mission to lead the world in media auditing. And that mission only becomes truly validated when we can say ‘whatever the channel’."

BPA/CCAB has 228 consumer magazine members and 202 business-to-business members and is one of two circulation audit firms commonly used by Canadian magazines. The other is offered by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

ABC announces price freeze for magazine audits

The Audit Bureau of Circulations, one of Canada's two leading circulation audit firms (the other being CCAB), announced a price freeze for many of its customers and several revisions to existing rules. It cut in half the costs for many larger Canadian magazines and newspapers and introduced a flat-rate billing model for field audits, effectively freezing rates for the rest, saying it was "responding to current market conditions", according to a story in Media in Canada.

In addition, ABC will unveil several new online filing tools in September that allow publishers to further lower their costs by digitally submitting advance audit documentation and worksheets.

"ABC has typically billed publishers based on an hourly rate," said Michael J. Lavery, ABC's president/MD. "Our new structure uses a flat rate based on the most recent ABC audit. By streamlining some aspects of the audit and automating more processes, most publications will be able to accurately forecast and control their costs."

Lavery added that large metropolitan newspapers would continue to be billed on the hourly model due to the complexity of their audits. Those rates, however, will remain frozen at their 2007 level.

It's not nice to surprise us, say ad agency media directors

Magazines who pay for their own circulation audits shouldn't change suppliers or procedures without the approval of the advertisers to whom they supply the resulting data. That would seem to encapsulate the extraordinary message delivered today by the Canadian Media Directors Council (CMDC).

There was a blizzard of "shocked and appalled" commentary from several quarters recently when, first, Star Media Group, Sun Media and Transcontinental Media were switching from the Audit Bureau of Circulations to the Canadian Circulation Audit Board - and, later, that Rogers Media announced it was switching the auditing of all 52 26 of its titles to ABC; together with the 26 already ABC-audited, this totalled 52. (The fact that the commentators often had a vested interest in or sat on the boards of one or the other of the two main auditing organizations was generally ignored.)

The CMDC issued its "Communiqué on Media Measurement, Accountability and Auditing"

The overriding purpose of the statement, CMDC (and ABC) board member Sunni Boot, president/CEO of ZenithOptimedia, told Media in Canada, is that "future changes in auditing and measurements practices, policies, reporting will not take place without consultation with, and ideally agreement by, the buying community.

"With accountability a headline subject in the industry," CMDC's statement continues, "the question arises as to what obligations and responsibilities sellers have to the buying community, and what expectations buyers have in the currencies that govern our business transactions."

It said that sellers (i.e. magazines and newspapers) in "similar media categories" should use the same measurements and accountablity standards. What's curious about this is that, despite the kerfuffle, nobody has specified how the standards employed by ABC and CCAB differ in any substantive way. Many magazines use CCAB and a few use ABC; many newspapers use ABC and a few use CCAB.
Nevertheless, the "compatibility" portion of the CMDC statement says:

"It has taken many years of evolution in Canadian media to move to a system that - certainly for the major media - is now directly comparable for all players," the comparability section of the statement continues, adding that "disrupting this system is not seen to be in the interest of objective and efficient media comparison, nor supportive of fair investment decision-making."

Boot said advertisers must be part of setting the standards for measurements and audits.

"Why? Because the results of these audits reflect the currency by which we trade," she adds. "The advertiser/buyer's voice must take precedence. We have selected and are paying for a medium with the expectation that we will deliver a certain audience. To provide confidence in those audience numbers, we must be fully receptive to the manner in which the data is captured and reported."

So, in fact, media directors are saying they should be allowed to dictate not only acceptable methodology but also whether a publisher can switch from one perfectly legitimate auditing supplier to another without asking permission first.

ABC to consider slimmed down "pink sheet" for magazine circulation statements

If recommendations to the board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations is accepted, the "pink sheet" will be a shadow of its former self. ABC is recommending the size of the publisher's statement -- the hard copy description of the a magazine member's circulation -- could be cut from four pages to two, according to a story in MediaWeek.

The idea is to remove information that is of little perceived use to media buyers or not current enough.

If the changes go through in the U.S., it seems inevitable that they will be adopted by ABC in Canada and, if ABC adopts them, there is a good chance that BPA, the other main circulation audit firm in this country, will follow suit.

Being eyed for change:

• the state-by-state breakdown of magazine sales in the twice annual sheets could be replaced by data on sales from the top 10 markets;
• it could become optional whether a publisher would detail length of term, premiums and sales channels on paid subs;
  
• publishers would estimate their average gross price during the same six-month period covered by the pink sheet rather than reporting on six-month-old data.

Audit firm expels Corporate Knights

Audit firm BPA WorldWide says Corporate Knights magazine has been expelled for not paying its audit bill. The magazine is wholly controlled, distributing 95,500 copies through the Globe and Mail in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary.