POVs
Preprint Accountability and ABC’s Insert Verification Service
A Point of View By Kristina Meinig, Manager, Marketing and Sales, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Schaumburg, Ill.
Advertisers spend billions of dollars annually to place preprinted inserts (also known as freestanding inserts or FSIs) in newspapers. A Newspaper Association of America (NAA) study found that 78 percent of newspaper readers use inserts to plan their shopping. A major metro newspaper can distribute upwards of 30 million inserts on a typical Sunday. With more than 87 billion total inserts distributed, it’s crucial for newspaper advertisers and publishers to accurately measure and report on distribution. In response to this need, ABC developed its Insert Verification Service (IVS) to help its members confirm that FSIs are accurately delivered to their desired target audiences.
To help publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies fully understand the benefits and intricacies of IVS, I’d like to answer some fundamental questions about this new program: What is IVS? Why is it important? How does the program work? And, finally, what are people saying about IVS?
What is ABC’s Insert Verification Service?
Launched in January 2006, IVS provides independent verification and accountability of preprint advertisements. Created by ABC-member newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies, the voluntary program provides a quantitative audit and review of a newspaper’s FSI insertion and distribution practices, giving members confidence in ABC-verified FSI distribution data.
The current IVS program is designed for major metro newspapers, but a similar qualitative program for smaller newspapers is being developed for 2007.
Why Insert Verification Service?
Advertisers and advertising agencies expect strong results and a good return on investment from their advertising campaigns and welcome additional measurement methods that ensure consistency and accuracy. IVS provides an additional pillar of confidence in a buyer’s targeted media strategy, complementing circulation verification as a method to ensure advertising dollars are spent wisely. Newspaper publishers are equally championing IVS, as the new program demonstrates the quality and accuracy of their FSI services.
How does ABC’s Insert Verification Service work?
IVS consists of a quantitative review of a newspaper’s insert practices. To begin, ABC auditors identify specific home delivery and single-copy routes to include in the test. All selected routes have at least one insert package reviewed by an auditor and the publisher’s personnel. The auditor ensures the insert packages are specifically designated for the sampled routes by intercepting each package at the latest state of the process prior to actual delivery to households and retail outlets. All sampled packages are then compared to the schedule of inserts for that route for the test date. Errors, including missing inserts, incorrect versions or incorrect inclusions, are identified and used in an error calculation for the final report.
In addition to traditional circulation records, auditors require access to other records pertaining to a newspaper’s insert practices including:
- Insert advertising schedules
- Listings of inserts to be included in each home delivery and single-copy route
- Listings of known shortages or inserts “out of spec”
Insert Verification Service Audit Reports
The new reports, available online to ABC members, provide insert proficiency rates and other key distribution data. Included in the reports is a “Total Insert Proficiency” calculation that reflects a newspaper’s insert distribution performance. This is represented as an overall success percentage indicating the volume of inserts reaching intended newspaper recipients. The balance of the IVS report offers additional details on the verification field test and discloses error rates and conditions observed by ABC.
Several newspapers have already completed their IVS audit and many of those papers achieved proficiency rates of 98.44 to 99.75 percent. These results clearly demonstrate the publishers’ ability to accurately deliver preprint inserts and reassure advertisers that their investments are reaching their target audience.
The IVS reports from the Chicago Tribune, Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Journal-Gazette/News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa), St. Petersburg Times (Fla.) and the Washington Post are now available online for immediate viewing.
IVS reports are available without charge to current ABC eStatement subscribers at www.accessabc.com alongside ABC’s Audit Reports and Publisher’s Statements. A sample IVS report is also available online. Currently, more than 50 ABC-member newspapers have enrolled in IVS.
Additional Information
For more information or to enroll in IVS, members are encouraged to contact at (847) 879-8412.
Member Reactions
Feedback from publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies has been largely positive, and many are excited to participate in ABC’s IVS program.
If initial indications provide any insight, IVS will provide invaluable reassurances to advertisers and their agencies that they are investing their preprint advertising dollars wisely, allowing for greater confidence that inserts are reaching the hands and eyes of potential customers.
“It’s encouraging to see results that reassure advertisers that newspapers are effectively reaching our targeted consumers within their varied preprint zoning and distribution options. With participation from more newspapers, IVS will build confidence as well as demonstrate the qualify and reliability of their delivery services.”
– Merle Davidson, Market Media Director, J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc.
“Our advertisers make significant marketing investments using inserts in our newspaper and we want to make sure that we maximize the value of their investment by distributing their advertising messages accurately.”
– Ken DaPaola, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Chicago Tribune
Links to Related ABC Items
Insert Verification Service Overview and Sample Report
Fundamental Questions
IVS Participants
Member Feedback
About ABC
With more than 4,000 members in North America, 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. To learn more, visit http:// www.accessabc.com.
Kristina Meinig joined ABC in 2005 as manager,
marketing and sales. Meinig works closely with ABC’s
newspaper member division to develop and manage
comprehensive marketing and sales plans for circulation
audits and supplemental services. She is also leading the
marketing effort for ABC’s new Insert Verification Service
(IVS). She is a participant in ABC’s Newspaper Buyers’
Advisory Committee (NBAC).
Meinig has more than 12 years of advertising and marketing experience and holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College.