The ABC has announced the creation of a new "Total Audience" certificate which it hopes will better reflect the multi-platform nature of business readerships.
The new certificate will combine ABC and other data to come up with an estimate for total audience across print and digital platforms for a given brand.
Last week publishers criticised the bi-annual magazine industry sales figures published by ABC because they separated out print and digital sales.
ABC is working with Pricewaterhousecoopers on the new metric. PWC offers its own multi-platform measure which business publishers such as Centaur have adopted.
Here is the press release in full from ABC:
ABC today announced a new measurement for the Business Media market which will be available from the second quarter of this year. Using Industry Agreed standards, ABC’s Total Audience certificate will provide a de-duplicated audience figure across a range of platforms for Business Media brands including print, website and digital editions and publications. The Total Audience figure is the first hybrid offer from ABC and has been developed specifically for the Business Media Market to bring industry standards and transparency to valuable audience data.
The Total Audience methodology will use data integration techniques to bring ABC and JICWEBS’ census data together with research data conducted according to PPA Business Media endorsed research standards to calculate the net audience of a Business Media brand. ABC worked in collaboration with experts from across the industry, including PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and the PPA to develop Total Audience certification which has been endorsed by the wider industry, including business media owners advertisers and media agencies.
This move comes in response to the structural shift away from print and towards new platforms that has characterised the Business Media sector in recent years. This explains Business Media owners’ desire to demonstrate net audience reach across all platforms.
Claire Butcher, Director, Ogilvy Primary Contact commented: “The ABC stamp of trust and PPA endorsement are at the heart of ABC’s new Total Audience certification. It’s good to see ABC innovating and working in collaboration with other experts to deliver credible solutions providing valuable trading information for the business media sector.”
Jan Pitt, Group Executive Director of Client Services at ABC commented: “Bringing brand audience figures under the umbrella of industry standards will bring greater transparency and comparability for media buyers. ABC certification facilitates the ad trading process and I am delighted that ABC can now offer Business Media owners a de-duplicated audience figure.”
Sam Tomlinson, the PwC director who leads their media measurement practice, added: "An understanding of cross-platform audience reach is critical information for any advertiser planning either a reach or frequency campaign. We are delighted to be collaborating with the ABC and industry representatives in developing this exciting new product."
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