BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS

Modification to Nonpaid Direct Request Digital Circulation Finalized
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011
After deferring action in March, the ABC Canada Board Committee board agreed to a change to Rule D 112.1 Nonpaid Direct Request Circulation specifically affecting digital editions in this circulation category.

The committee agreed that a subscriber’s periodic access of a publication’s digital version may qualify as a direct request because it constitutes an expression of want. To qualify a publication’s digital version as direct request, the following access criteria must be met:

• A publication issued on a weekly or less frequent basis must be accessed nine times per Publisher’s Statement period.
• A publication issued on a monthly or less frequent basis must be accessed twice during a Publisher’s Statement period.
• A publication issued on a quarterly or less frequent basis must be accessed once during a Publisher’s Statement period.
• A semi-annual publication must be accessed once per audit period.

Decision to Consolidate Age of Source Data Reversed
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011
In March, the ABC Canada Board Committee approved a change to Paragraph 3B Age of Source to allow business publications to consolidate the “Request” and “Other than Request” categories. The new format change was optional and slated to become effective with June 2011 statements.

After receiving additional input from many ABC business publication members, the ABC Canada Board Committee reversed its earlier decision. Effective immediately, all Canadian business publications must separate age of source data by the eight traditional categories.

To accomplish this, the board agreed to return Rule D 105.3 Age of Source to its original form.

CONSUMER MAGAZINES

Small-Space Advertisements Excluded from Digital Replica Requirements
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011
Following requests from publishers and recognition from media buyers, the ABC board agreed to modify the digital edition guidelines with respect to small-space advertising. The updated guidelines state that small-space advertisements displayed in the print edition, including classified ads and those at least one-third of a page or smaller, need not be present in the digital edition for the copy to qualify as a replica.

New Ongoing Category Added to Paragraph 8
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011, for December 2012 Statements
The board agreed to modify the duration section of Paragraph 8 Analysis of Total New and Renewal Paid Individual Subscriptions to add a new category for classifying ongoing subscriptions.

Magazine Vision Task Force Considers Expanded Reporting of Digital Publications and Applications, and Timeliness of Data
For Information
The consumer magazine vision task force is progressing toward industry consensus for a revamped approach to the way magazines report data to ABC. Aiming for a comprehensive overhaul of many rules and reports, the group’s goal is to ensure ABC’s foundational rules, metrics and reports reflect a growing desire from both publishers and buyers to expand beyond the single print publication to a system that embraces the brand’s complete media footprint.

The group continues to explore amendments to ABC magazine processes, including:

• A dual-reporting structure that supports both Publisher’s Statements and Consolidated Media Reports.
• A new, more contemporary Publisher’s Statement that prominently summarizes print and digital circulation, while maintaining separate key reporting elements for each delivery method.
• Encourage magazines to explore the opportunities available to them via the flexible Consolidated Media Report format including expanded reporting of ancillary print and digital products.
• Revised rules for print and digital bundled sales that accurately reflect the growing use of this consumer marketing program.
• Expansion of data elements for digital editions such as access rates, visits, time spent, etc.
• Commit to provide buyers with more timely data for digital publications and apps.

The group continues to work on recommendations for the ABC board to review in November.

NEWSPAPERS

Membership Eligibility Bylaw Amended to Exclude All Third-Party Sales
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011
After fielding a member advisory vote in April and receiving unanimous feedback from respondents, the North American board agreed to amend Bylaw 2.11 Paid Circulation Defined to exclude all third-party sales circulation from the membership eligibility calculation.

Previously, membership eligibility was calculated by dividing a newspaper’s paid circulation (excluding third-party sales) by its total average circulation (including third-party sales). The revision removes third-party sales from the denominator of the calculation.

Modifying the membership bylaw provides newspapers with greater flexibility when designing marketing programs and allows them to build a valuable audience base that advertisers desire while still retaining ABC membership.

Newspaper Prototype Streamlined, Work Continues on Expanded Digital Reporting Options
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 25, 2011, for September 2011 Statements
The Canadian Newspaper Reporting Committee recently presented its first set of recommendations to the ABC Canada Board Committee. The C-ABC accepted the group’s suggestions and approved a new newspaper prototype that reflects a more streamlined approach to reporting circulation data by merging some categories, eliminating data no longer used by media buyers, and updating some of the labels.

Minor revisions were made to rules C 101.2 Prices, C 102.1 Circulation Averages, C 102.4 Separate Editions and C 107.9 List of Towns Receiving 25 or More Copies to accommodate the new format. Rule 102.9 Subscriptions for Less Than Regular Frequency was eliminated.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

ABC Canada Board Committee Welcomes Two New Members
For Information
Two new members recently joined the ABC Canada Board Committee:

• Anne Myers, president of SMG Canada, joined the ABC Canada Board Committee in March. Myers represents Canadian advertising agencies.
• Fiona Gallagher, senior director of media at Loblaw Companies Limited, joined the C-ABC at its July meeting. She represents Canadian advertisers.

Two New Directors Elected to North American Board
For Information
The ABC board welcomed two new directors at its July meeting:

• Stacy Boone, media manager, Target Corporation, representing U.S. advertisers.
• Sara Hill, president, M2 Universal, representing Canadian advertising agencies.

New Treasurer Elected to the ABC Board
For Information
Following the retirement of current ABC treasurer Brian Segal, Rogers Publishing, the board elected Scott Heekin-Canedy of The New York Times to serve as its new treasurer.

Audit Rates Remain Unchanged for Fifth Year
For Information
The board of directors voted to maintain ABC’s current audit rates and other fees for the next year. ABC has not increased its rates or fees since January 2007.