ABC's Monthly Online Member Newsletter

Audience-FAX Panel Mandate Suspended for March 2009; New IAB Guidelines Change “Unique” Label

ABC is once again preparing to release comprehensive audience data for U.S. newspapers as part of the industry-developed initiative, Audience-FAX. The previous requirement that tier one newspapers report unique users from a panel-based source is again being suspended for the March 2009 period.

Launched in September 2007, Audience-FAX continues to enjoy high enrollment, particularly among the tier one newspapers. For the March 2009 reporting period, ABC anticipates nearly 200 newspapers will once again report audience metrics as part of the program.

There are two changes to Audience-FAX for the March 2009 reporting period.

NALC’s Panel Mandate Remains Suspended

Last fall, the NAA’s Newspaper Audience Leadership Council (NALC) offered several recommended modifications to the Audience-FAX program. In response to participant feedback, the NALC asked ABC to suspend the requirement that all tier one newspapers report unique users from a panel-based source for the September period.

The previously announced changes are once again suspended for the March 2009 reporting period. The new NAA committee on strategic reporting issues will review the Audience-FAX program and its reporting requirements in advance of the September 2009 reporting period.

For the March 2009 reporting period, all tier one newspapers must report either unique users or unique cookies; however, there are no requirements for the source of data. Unique user data can be sourced to a panel such as Nielsen Online or comScore and unique cookie data can be sourced to an analytics tool, such as Omniture or Google Analytics.

Page impression reporting continues to be optional for all tier one newspapers. The source of page impression data can be either a panel or a server.

Newspapers may also optionally report data from multiple sources, such as unique user data from a panel and page impressions from a server-based source. Newspapers that report Web activity from multiple sources will experience a small increase in their Audience-FAX participation fee as a result of ABC’s need to conduct an additional Web activity audit.

New IAB Guidelines Impact

The new Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) audience reach measurement guidelines will also impact Audience-FAX website usage reporting. Beginning with March 2009 reports, unique data based on panel measurement will be reported and labeled as “unique users.” Unique data based on a census-based measurement method will be reported and labeled as “unique cookies.” For more information, read ABC’s updated POV whitepaper, Uncovering Discrepancies in Unique Measurement Data Generated by Panel and Census-Based Measurement Techniques.

For More Information

A joint venture between ABC, Scarborough Research and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), Audience-FAX allows U.S. newspapers to integrate readership and online audience measurement alongside traditional circulation data to present a more comprehensive picture of a newspaper’s audience across multiple platforms.

For more information about the Audience-FAX program, members are encouraged to contact ABC’s manager, marketing and sales, at (224) 366-6356.

Related Links:
Audience-FAX Program Information
Audience-FAX eTrends Tool
Audience-FAX Demographic Database

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