From April 2012 national newspaper data published will include a weekday daily average and a Saturday average by circulation category. Circulation for excluded issues will be reported giving media planners and buyers visibility, for the first time, of those issues excluded from ABC averages, providing a greater level of detail to support their campaigns. From July 2012 daily average indices will be published across each 6-month period. The changes apply to April data and will first be seen in May when ABC releases its National Newspaper Report, bringing together information across all audited titles.
The changes were developed and agreed by the National Newspaper Reporting Standards Group, which is facilitated by ABC. The group represents the interests of the sector across media buyers, agencies and media owners.
Rufus Olins, CEO of Newspaper Marketing Agency said “This is a significant step that provides more granularity and transparency into the circulation of our national news brands – and we hope agencies will find this insight useful. In the current multimedia landscape, we will continue to look at ways to provide insight into the different channels and the overall growth of our news brands’ audiences.”
Lynne Robinson, Research Director, IPA said, “ABC circulation data plays a crucial role in the planning and buying of advertising in National Newspapers. This is an important and welcome step towards greater transparency as it aligns the data more closely to the way campaigns are planned and offers media buyers’ greater visibility over weekday and weekend audiences.”
Changes in full are as follows:
April data, which will be published on 11th May, will include the following;
a) Monday – Friday average, and Saturday average by month, by circulation category. This will be for UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) figures only, and will be further sub-divided by England, Wales & NI and Scotland.
b) Exclusion day circulation. If an issue is excluded, then its actual circulation for UK and ROI will be reported that month. This will be further sub-divided by England, Wales & NI and Scotland.
In July, and then every 6 months, additional information will be published.
a) Indices of a Monday average, Tuesday average etc for 6 month period (e.g Jan – June average). This will be for UK & ROI only and will be expressed as an average. This will be further sub-divided by England, Wales & NI and Scotland.
About ABC
ABC says: “ABC is governed by the media industry, for the media industry and is the expert at setting data and process standards across multiple platforms. ABC provides a stamp of trust for media buyers, media owners, publishers and digital traders working in existing and emerging platforms.
The ABC Board consists of 16 media owners, media agencies, advertisers and trade body members – with 25 per cent of the Board representing the digital sector. The Board make strategic decisions as to how ABC is run and each industry sector is represented by a Reporting Standards Group.
ABC was established in the UK in 1931 and is a founder member of the International Federation of ABCs (IFABC), of which ABC CEO Jerry Wright is President. ABC’s digital arm was established in 1996 and was united with ABC under one brand with a new identity and integrated structure in March 2011. ABC works to deliver common international standards for measuring digital reach, engagement and loyalty, as well as creating common standards for good practice throughout the industry.
JICWEBS is the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards. This industry-owned organisation meets 4 times a year to provide credibility, comparability and transparency for digital measurement. ABC audits digital media to these industry-agreed standards and accredits other digital service providers across the industry. Representatives on JICWEBS encompass all areas of the industry including advertisers, agencies and media owners from the following trade bodies: IPA, IPA digital, ISBA, AOP, IAB, NS, NPA.”
