ABC's Monthly Online Member Newsletter

New Sponsored Sales Recipient Notification Guidelines

In November, the ABC board modified the sponsored sales rules for consumer magazines. Among the changes that became effective Jan. 1, 2007, new programs must now notify recipients about the sponsor/purchaser of the subscription.

ABC has posted new guidelines on our Web site to help consumer magazine members comply with this requirement. The guidelines cover four general categories of sponsored sales distribution:

1. Individually addressed to consumers for personal use
2. Public place distribution for placement in a reception room
3. On-site distribution at the sponsor’s place of business
4. Event or similar distribution

Transition Period: Recognizing that timing and production issues may impact a publication’s ability to immediately comply with this new rule, ABC auditors will allow for a transition period. During the first half of 2007, reasonable action should be taken to provide recipient notification from time to time. ABC will require 100 percent compliance for all sponsored issues no later than July 1, 2007. Furthermore, the ABC board will evaluate the application of this ruling at its March 2007 board meeting, based on industry input.

If you are beginning new sponsored sales programs in 2007, please be sure that your appropriate personnel familiarize themselves with these new ABC guidelines. For each area we address ways in which notification can be made (stickers, wraps, separate letters, etc.), provide suggested language, and detail elements that can be included in notification (such as logo and URL) without being considered by ABC to be advertising.

If you have any questions about program compliance, please feel free to contact your ABC Publisher Relations manager at 847-605-0909. For further information about ABC’s sponsored sales rules, you may want to visit these links on the ABC Web site:

• New recipient notification guidelines
• Definition of a qualified sponsor
• Guidelines for sponsored sales “net of all considerations”
• Sponsored sales program pre-evaluation form
• Rule F 2.1 – Sponsored Sales

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