Magazine publishers open up to circulation scrutiny

LONDON - Magazine publishers are to volunteer month-by-month circulation details on their six-monthly ABC certificates from next year.

It is believed all the major publishers, including IPC and Emap, have committed to the move, in which the traditional bi-annual ABC data will include retrospective monthly circulation figures. It is hoped everything will be in place for the release of January-June data in August 2008. Advertisers and agencies have long been asking publishers to supply monthly certified circulations data about magazine sales, but have so far had to make do with the six-month average issue circulation figures certified by ABC.

Their opinions have been taken on board by publishers' trade body the PPA following feedback in a report compiled by former RAB chief executive Douglas McArthur for the ABC Council. The PPA has now asked the ABC to amend its rules.
Under current rules, ABC data shows monthly variances in circulations which exceed 20% from the six-monthly average. Publishers choosing to disclose full monthly data can only do so as a publisher statement without ABC endorsement.
Phil Cutts, PPA marketing director, said: "Potentially the changes could mean the release of more than 14,000 new data points a year on consumer magazine circulation. This is intended to be an aid to clients and planners for improving the measurement of campaign effectiveness."

Daniel Farey-Jones Brand Republic 15-Oct-07