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ABC Board Amends Effective Date for Changes to Magazine Sponsored-Sales Rules
Schaumburg, Ill. (September 7, 2005) – The board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) voted to modify the effective date of previously announced changes to its rules governing sponsored sales.
Following an interim meeting of the Consumer Magazine Committee, the ABC board unanimously agreed this week to amend the guidelines for sponsorship programs in place prior to the rule changes. For agreements entered into prior to July 18, 2005, circulation will be considered under the previous ABC sponsored-sales rules and may continue to be reported as “paid sponsored” through the term of the agreement for issues dated no later than June 30, 2006.
As previously announced following the July ABC board meeting, new sponsored-sales agreements entered into July 18, 2005, or later must comply with amended ABC rules beginning with January 2006 issues. Sponsored sales that do not meet the updated definitions may be classified under a new “qualified” circulation category on the June 2006 Publisher’s Statement.
“ABC is a member-led forum in which publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies work together to determine the standards for circulation accounting and reporting,” said Michael J. Lavery, ABC president and managing director. “The board amended the sponsored-sales effective date in an effort to be fair and equitable to those magazines that already had sales-agent contracts and financial commitments in place.”
In July the ABC board unanimously voted to strengthen the rules governing how third-party consumer magazine sponsor programs may qualify as paid circulation. The amended Rule F 1.1 - Paid Circulation Defined and Rule F 2.1 - Sponsored Sales require that the amount a sponsor pays for subscriptions must meet the definition of paid circulation after considering other items. This includes any marketing and distribution fees, advertising credits, and other refunds or rebates paid by the publisher or its agent to the sponsor. In other words, the sponsor must be “out of pocket” a qualifying amount for the program to meet the standards of paid circulation. The board also narrowed the definition of eligible magazine subscription sponsors by requiring that sponsors sell their products directly to consumers.
With more than 4,000 members in North America, ABC is a forum of 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
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Senior Vice President, Communications and Strategic Planning
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t: 847-879-8232 |
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t: 847-879-8432
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