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Promotion Guide

Premiums

Premiums are defined as any item or inducement offered to an individual to entice them to purchase the magazine. Specific ABC rules govern the use of premiums, including:

A premium could be a free product or service or a discount off a product or service.

Example of a “free” premium

“Buy a subscription and get a free $20 gift card to XYZ Home Improvement store!”

In this example, the $20 gift card is a premium.

Example of “a discount” premium

“Buy a subscription and get a coupon for $5.00 off your next retail purchase at XYZ store!”

In this example, the $5 coupon is a premium.

The following items are not considered premiums:

  • Publications (periodicals and newspapers) published four or more times per year. In these cases, combination sale rules apply.
  • Part of the subscription term.
  • Free or discounted access to the archives or back content.
  • Free or discounted access to online content or electronic edition from the same editorial home page of the publication.
  • Anything sent free by mail with the subscription offer or sample merchandise that can be ordered and received regardless if a subscription is purchased.
  • Items offered to current paid subscribers as an inducement to convert to payment method for a future subscription.
  • See also Rule F 8.1 Premium Defined.

For subscriptions or single copies sold with premiums to qualify and be classified as paid circulation, the following is required:

  • The purchase price must be no less than one cent plus the full value of the premium.
  • The “value” of the premium is considered the HIGHEST of either:
    • The recognized retail price (cost to purchase in the marketplace)
    • Represented, stated or advertised value (any value stated in the offer)
    • Cost to the publisher (to acquire or manufacture)

For example, if a premium costs $5.00 to manufacture and the promotional material states no value for the product, and the product is not available for sale in the marketplace, then a value of $5.00 is assigned to the premium. Any subscriptions or single copies sold using this premium must have a purchase price of no less than $5.01 (one cent for the subscription plus the full premium value).

If this same premium is advertised in the subscription offer as “easily worth $8.00” or “an $8.00 value!” then $8.00 is the value of the premium for ABC qualification purposes, even though it only cost $5.00 to manufacture. Therefore any subscriptions or single copies sold using this premium must have a purchase price of no less than $8.01 (one cent for the subscription plus the full premium value).

A couple of notes:

  • Many items, such as books and atlases, have a price printed on them. If such a product is used as a premium, the printed price is the recognized retail price.
  • Programs exist where a consumer that purchases a magazine receives some type of discount or frequent buyer card from the magazine. These cards provide discounts at retailers the consumer would likely visit (i.e., a person who buys a fashion magazine may receive a card providing discounts at national clothing retail stores). In order for ABC to assess the value of these and other similar products, a magazine needs to make them available for sale to non-subscribers. A magazine may advertise the card on an annual basis to satisfy this requirement. It is the price at which the card is available to non-subscribers that is the premium value for ABC qualification purposes.

If a publisher makes a subscription or single-copy offer that includes a premium, details of the offer must be reported in the explanatory paragraph of the Publisher’s Statement. This disclosure includes a description of the premium and its value for qualification purposes.

Example of Acceptable Offer

Subscribe Today

___ YES! Sign me up for one year of Prototype Magazine for $24.00 and I’ll receive a free “Greatest Hits” CD worth $23.99 at no extra cost.

Name ________________________
Address_______________________
City, State, ZIP _________________

The minimum purchase price must be no less than one cent plus the full value of the premium. In this example, the purchase price is $24.00, which is exactly one cent for the subscription plus the stated value of the premium of $23.99.



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