Audit ServicesCirculation
Insert Verification Service
ABC Reduces the Price Range for IVS Audits
The average cost of an IVS audit is nearly 20 percent less compared to when the program launched more than two years ago. The reduction is the result of ABC and newspapers working together to streamline the audit process.
New Price Range
$12,000 – $23,000
Audit Deposit $18,000
Measure and market the accuracy of your newspaper’s Free Standing Insert (FSI) insertion and distribution practices and give yourself and your advertisers the increased confidence of verified FSI distribution data. By participating in the Insert Verification Service your newspaper will achieve greater visibility and credibility as a FSI distribution source, and ensure maximum return on investment for your advertising partners.
Please complete an enrollment form if you are a new participant or if you are renewing for a subsequent IVS audit.
View a list of current IVS participants.
Audit Overview
The Insert Verification Service consists of a quantitative review of your newspaper’s insert practices. ABC auditors identify specific home-delivery and single-copy routes to be included in the test. Each selected route has at least one insert package reviewed by an auditor and the publisher’s personnel. The auditor ensures that acquired insert packages are specifically designated for the sampled routes by intercepting each package at the latest stage of the process prior to actual delivery to households and retail outlets. Each sampled package is then compared to the schedule of inserts for that route for the test date. Errors (missing inserts, incorrect versions, or incorrect inclusions) are identified and used in an error calculation for the final report.
Required Publisher Records
In addition to traditional circulation records, the auditor requires access to other records pertaining to your newspaper’s insert practices. Examples of these records include insert advertising schedules identifying specific advertising zones to which each insert is intended to be delivered, a listing of inserts to be included in each home-delivery and single-copy route, or listings of known shortages or inserts ‘out of spec,’ for example.
Report
A final report is issued within four weeks of the test date and carries a two-year shelf life. The report contains net and gross error rates on the front page and average paid circulation from the most recent Publisher's Statement. View a prototype Insert Verification Report.
Finished reports can be viewed through eStatements via the "Reports and Data Access" blue box at right.
Enrollment
2008 IVS Audits
While ABC’s 2008 IVS audit schedule is open and flexible, newspaper publishers are encouraged to enroll now to secure a desired audit date. A date can be coordinated with ABC up to 12 months in advance. Publishers will be invoiced 90 days before their audit begins. Contact at (847) 879-8412 to enroll and schedule your IVS audit today.
ABC's Insert Verification Service is an optional program highly recommended for all major metro newspaper members. The cost of the service is based on the time, materials and expenses associated with completion of the verification. For large newspapers in the top 150, a typical verification will cost between $12,000 and $23,000. An invoice in the amount of $18,000 will be mailed to you upon enrollment and will be applied toward the initial insert verification. (For small to medium newspapers, please contact for a custom quote.) At the conclusion of the IVS audit, ABC calculates the final cost of the audit and subtracts the $18,000 deposit paid at enrollment. Any additional charges incurred during the course of the audit are invoiced after the release of the IVS Audit Report.
For enrollment and general information, please contact at (847) 879-8412. For a customized quote or audit questions, please contact at 847-879-8201.
Related Links:
- Brochure: About IVS (PDF*)
- IVS enrollment form
- Prototype: IVS Report (PDF*)
- FAQs
- Participating newspapers
- Insert Verification Service Analysis Tool
- Case Study: Gannett Trains The News Journal as Lead Test Paper for all its IVS Audits
- Case Study: The Post and Courier Receives Near-Perfect IVS Audit Proficiency Rate
- Case Study: The Washington Post Completes Second IVS Audit After Successful Beta Test
- POV: IVS Demonstrates Value of Newspapers as a Preprint Advertising Medium
- News release: Eleven More Newspapers Commit to ABC’s Insert Verification Service
- NewsBulletin: The New York Times Signs on for ABC's Insert Verification Service
- IVS and CDVS comparison