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Media Buyer Support Center

Frequently Asked Questions

About ABC
• What types of organizations are members of ABC?
• Why do advertisers and advertising agencies belong to ABC?
• How do I become a member?
• Does ABC offer any training programs for its members?
• What topics are covered in ABC’s Professional Development on-demand training?
• How can I find out what happened at the latest ABC board of directors meeting?
• Who is on ABC’s board of directors?
• Who is on the Magazine Buyers’ Advisory Committee and Newspaper Buyers’ Advisory Committee? How do advertising committees work?
• Do you have a roster of ABC members?
• How can I stay informed of ABC news?
• Who do I contact at ABC?
• I’d like to promote my ABC membership, is there a logo I can use?

ABC Audits
• What types of audits does ABC conduct?
• Does ABC audit Web sites?
• Does ABC audit FSIs?

ABC Reports
• What is the difference between the Publisher’s Statement and the Audit Report?
• When are Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports released?

Additional Products and Services
• What is ABC Rapid Report?
• Where can I find out more about ABC products and reports?
• Does ABC offer any online analysis tools?

About ABC

Q: What types of organizations are members of ABC?
A: ABC membership is made up of publishers (newspapers, consumer magazines, business publications and farm publications), advertisers and advertising agencies (any business that purchases advertising) and associate members (academic institutions, lawyers, fulfillment houses and consultants).

A complete list of ABC’s members is available on our Web site.

Q: Why do advertisers and advertising agencies belong to ABC?
A: Media buyers belong to ABC* because they demand accountability and transparency for their valuable ad dollars. Media buyer support enables ABC to uphold circulation standards, auditing methods and reporting procedures for media evaluation. It is the support of our buyer members that encourages publishers to undergo regular media audits.

Q: How do I become a member?
A: To become a member of ABC, simply review our online membership kits, submit a membership application, and an ABC marketing representative will follow-up with you.

Q: Does ABC offer any training programs for its members?
A: ABC offers a variety of training opportunities for its members including, on-demand training modules, webinars, on-site workshops and custom training.

Q: What topics are covered in ABC’s Professional Development on-demand training?
A: The on-demand training modules are a recent addition to ABC’s ongoing training programs that also include webinars, on-site workshops and custom training classes. Each module is a self-contained lesson that allows media buyers to learn or review a specific ABC topic in an interactive environment. The modules are available for free on ABC’s Web site. Most sessions are just five to seven minutes and include an instructional slideshow with voiceover. Corresponding handouts are also available. Topics range from verified circulation to ABC’s Insert Verification Service to e-Data analysis tools.

Q: How can I find out what happened at the latest ABC board of directors meeting?
A: The ABC board of directors meet three times a year—in March, July and November.

On the Tuesday following each board meeting, ABC issues a press release and a complete summary of board actions to its members and the media. Both documents are posted in ABC’s virtual pressroom.

Q: Who is on ABC’s board of directors?
A: The ABC board of directors is made up of 36 members; 19 from the advertiser and advertising agency divisions and 17 from the publisher divisions.

ABC also has several media buyer and publisher committees that provide valuable input and feedback to the board of directors.

Committee rosters for the MBAC and NBAC are both available online.

Q: Do you have a roster of ABC members?
A: A complete roster of current ABC members and publisher applicants is available online.

Q: How can I stay informed of ABC news?
A: ABC’s e-mail updates are a great way to stay informed about the latest ABC news. These e-mail updates cover topics ranging from board meeting news and product releases to upcoming training sessions and annual conference updates.

ABC also publishes a monthly online member newsletter, NewsBulletin.

Q: Who do I contact at ABC?
A: A complete list of departmental contacts is available on ABC’s Web site.

Q: I’d like to promote my ABC membership, is there a logo I can use?
A: For ABC members, a variety of logos are available for download on ABC’s Web site.

ABC Audits

Q: What types of audits does ABC conduct?
A: All publisher members of ABC must undergo an annual circulation audit. ABC also offers additional audit service, including Web site audits, audits of free or non-paid newspapers, research study audits and audits of a newspaper’s insert or flyer distribution practices.

More information about ABCi audit services is available on our Web site.

Q: Does ABC audit FSIs?
A: In 2006, ABC launched the Insert Verification Service (IVS). IVS is a quantitative verification of a newspaper’s insert distribution practices. To learn more about IVS, visit ABC’s Web site.

In Canada, ABC also offers the Flyer Distribution Verification Service (FDVS) a qualitative audit that evaluates a newspaper’s flyer distribution practice for compliance with several key points.

ABC Reports

Q: What is the difference between the Publisher’s Statement and the Audit Report?
A: The Publisher's Statement represents the publisher's circulation claims, not yet audited by ABC. These are issued every six months, for periods ending March 31and September 30 for newspapers, and June 30 and December 31 for consumer magazines. Business publications can submit their statements in any of the four quarters.

The Audit Report displays the results of ABC’s annual audit of the claims submitted in the Publisher’s Statement. Audit Reports are released for every ABC publication member. The reports either confirm that the Publisher's Statement contained no material misstatements or they identify and quantify differences uncovered during the audit process.

Q: When are Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports released?
A: ABC releases all Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports within 24 hours of final completion. A list of recently released reports is available on ABC’s Web site. To receive a weekly e-mail of the latest released reports, sign up for ABC’s e-mail updates.

ABC members can also check the status of a specific audit using the online Audit Status Report.

Additional Products and Services

Q: What is ABC Rapid Report?
A: ABC Rapid Report is an online tool that allows consumer magazine publishers to voluntarily report their top-line circulation data on an issue-by-issue basis within weeks of the on-sale date. It is available to ABC members through the Reports and Data Access login.

Q: Where can I find out more about ABC products and reports?
A: A complete list and description of ABC’s products and reports is available on ABC’s Web site.

Q: Does ABC offer any online analysis tools?
A: ABC’s e-Data department offers a variety of online analysis tools to meet your research and media buying needs. A complete list of products, including descriptions, demos and pricing information, is available on ABC’s Web site.

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