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ABC Interactive Adds New Clients
Web Sites Use ABCi Audits to Demonstrate Audience Growth, Transparency to Advertisers

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (June 27, 2007) —The Audit Bureau of Circulations announced that it recently added five new interactive audit clients to its roster: Auto123.com, Crain’s Chicago Business’ ChicagoBusiness.com, CruiseCritic.com, Popular Science magazine’s PopSci.com, and the Reuters global network of Web sites including Reuters.com.

ABC Interactive will verify a variety of traffic measurements for each Web site, including total monthly visits, unique users, page impressions, most popular sections, and average duration per visit. The results of the ABCi audits will be published in individual reports available to ABC-member advertisers and ad agencies for use in media planning and buying. The first audit reports for these clients are expected to be available in 4-6 weeks.

ABC President and Managing Director Michael J. Lavery noted an increased interest in interactive auditing from a variety of Web site properties. “As online advertising expenditures continue to grow, we’re hearing from more publishers and online content providers that want to demonstrate the breadth of their audiences—in print and online—to advertisers and ad agencies,” he said. “An audit from ABC Interactive provides Web sites with independently verified traffic data, while online media planners and buyers have access to credible media information from a known, trusted source.”

Findings from ABC’s recent “Online Accountability” survey indicate that the demand for interactive auditing is likely to increase in the immediate future:

• 68 percent of online media buyers said they would prefer to advertise on Web sites that are independently audited.
• 84 percent said that verification of online advertising activity by an independent third-party auditing firm would become increasingly important over the next three years.
• 83 percent planned to increase online ad spending in 2007; more than half expected double-digit budget increases.

Many publishers and Web site properties welcome the opportunity to independently demonstrate the growth of their online audiences to current and prospective advertisers. In fact, the newspaper industry is finalizing a new audience-reporting initiative in which readership and Web site traffic measurements will be verified by ABC and prominently displayed on ABC media reports, in addition to print circulation figures.

“With billions of ad dollars flowing into digital media, there is a growing need for accountability online,” Lavery noted. “Our new interactive audit members certainly recognize this. As an independent forum of media publishers and buyers, ABC’s role is to bring transparency and accountability to audience measurements, regardless of the medium.”

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 a growing array of verified readership, subscriber demographics and online activity data. To learn more, visit http://www.accessabc.com.