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Consolidated Media Report: Just the Facts

Definition

The Consolidated Media Report (CMR) is a new option that allows consumer magazine publishers to show any or all brand extensions integrated on one consolidated ABC report.

Frequency

CMRs have an open reporting frequency, meaning they can be issued at the publisher’s discretion. They may be released in a time period that best suits the brand’s needs—annually, semiannually with the Publisher’s Statement, quarterly or monthly.

Categories

A CMR can integrate any or all elements of a brand including:

  • Print
  • Website
  • Social media
  • Mobile
  • E-newsletters
  • Tablets
  • Other auditable brand extensions

Business Rules

Brand elements reported in a CMR:

  • May have different publishing frequencies.
  • May report different metrics. For example, publishers may report page views and unique browsers for their websites and report only time spent for their mobile traffic.
  • May be included or excluded in subsequent CMRs. Each CMR may change elements as dictated by the needs of the brand.

Format

The CMR has an open architecture format. The publisher may customize the look and feel of the CMR to best support the utility of the document. There is no required format.

Auditing

Information included on Publisher’s Statements such as print circulation or digital replica copies may be included on the CMR without being audited in advance. All other brand elements must be pre-audited. This avoids a statement-to-audit report cycle that is the current standard with print editions.

Samples

The CMR concept is new to consumer magazines, but a sample prototype is below: Magazine CMR prototype

Release

CMRs are released and available to all ABC members as part of eStatements in the e-Data Center.

Timetable

The time needed to complete a CMR depends on several factors, including ABC’s familiarity with the data, access to other vendor/supplier systems, and the depth and time period of the data to be reported.

Fees

ABC gives custom quotes for CMRs depending on the number of brand elements, the complexity of the metrics and the frequency of data.