About ABC
ABC is a forum of the world's leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. The organization provides credible, verified information essential to the media buying and selling process. ABC maintains the world's foremost electronic database of audited-circulation information and an array of verified readership, subscriber demographics and online activity data.
We provide independent, third-party circulation audits of print circulation, readership and website activity. That data is disseminated into reports and made available in various formats. Accurate, credible reports are issued in comparable formats. Comparability is key.
An ABC audit is an in-depth examination of a publisher's records that assures buyers that a publication's circulation claims are accurate and verifiable.
We also maintain the world's foremost database of audited circulation and readership information. ABC's reports and services are essential for buyers and sellers of print advertising to make informed business decisions.
At the turn of the 20th century, publishers fought a fiercely competitive battle. Using circulation figures as weapons, publishers won advertising dollars by flooding the marketplace with false and misleading circulation claims. With little recourse, advertisers were forced to buy advertising based on exaggerated and unrealistic circulation information.
Determined to end deceptive industry practices, advertisers, advertising agencies and responsible publishers banded together to establish an industry watchdog to independently verify circulation. In 1914, the world's first circulation auditing organization, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), was created. Publishers would voluntarily undergo circulation audits to be made available to advertisers and agencies. The integrity of the ABC audit quickly set apart those publications that legitimized their claims.
Today, leading advertisers and agencies use ABC reports and analyses as the basis of media buying decisions. Publishers use ABC-audited data to manage circulation and develop competitive marketing strategies.
The whole concept and structure of ABC is based upon objectivity and integrity. As a tripartite association, ABC is funded by dues and service fees paid by the three groups it serves: advertisers, advertising agencies, and publishers.
We represent the “gold standard” among census-based auditing organizations.
