In a market not known for its accountability, media auditor BPA is looking to make regular circulation audits the norm for publishers wanting to retain a sizable presence. The organisation is hoping to transfer, at least in part, the model of an apparently successful practice in the initially audit-hostile United Arab Emirates (UAE) to China. But is the vision of accurate circulation figures in a vast, largely unregulated market, realistic?
1 BPA is already operational in China and has a number of publications on its books. While these are mostly trade titles, some consumer magazines have also signed up to the process. According to Doreen Chan, regional general manager of BPA Worldwide, the China initiative will take a similar form to that implemented in the UAE, a collaboration with the Circulation Audit Steering Organisation, the Advertisers Business Group, and the International Advertising Association. However, Chan says that instead of being initiated by an international association, it will be driven by BPA along with the support of certain major advertisers and 4As agencies. While these have yet to be finalised, the board is believed to include Fortune and Ringier.
2 The system aims to provide advertisers and agencies with clear metrics to assess a title’s performance. It will consist of an annual audit with six-monthly declarations and statements, issue-by-issue reporting, full subscription price analyses, net and qualified sales figures and a circulation profile for controlled circulation titles. As a non-profit organisation, BPA is looking to introduce global best-practice measures to the market. “Publications undergoing audits are too few in China,” observes Chan. “We want more media owners to adopt good business practice by having their media properties audited, and media buyers to buy only audited media.”
3 While the goal sounds simple, it will not be easy to achieve. To conduct an effective audit requires proof of printing and distribution, payment receipts and circulation source documents. Chan says that aside from verifying documents - which can easily be forged - the task currently includes physically counting the number of issues printed at the plants. She notes that an unsophisticated retail distribution system does not allow auditors to trace the number of copies sold at the end of the distribution train, meaning BPA is only able to audit copies up to the point of re-distribution. “The number of copies sold at retail outlets seems to be a mystery to publishers and media buyers, as well as to BPA,” states Chan.
“No one believes circulation figures on a rate card any more,” agrees Charley Kan, managing director of MEC Beijing and national creative director for China. “Circulation is often exaggerated to between five and 10 times the actual figure depending on how bold you are. Newsstands are paid to lie - to say they sold five copies when they really sold one.”
4 Kan adds that there will be resistance from lifestyle and fashion titles in particular. “They are among the biggest categories driving magazine adspend, so none of the major publishing groups is willing to flag circulation audit.”
With luxury clients caring “more about the editorial environment than the circulation itself”, there has been little pressure to change the current system. “From an advertiser’s point of view, auditing would be helpful, but we can’t say to them ‘Get audited or we’ll stop advertising’.”
Chan admits: “Advertisers need to be visible and therefore still choose to advertise in unaudited magazines. This is a problem.”
5 However, Kan is optimistic that if key players adopt the system, others will follow. A concerted push from advertisers, he says, would also result in much needed improvement in editorial content. Greg Paull, principal of R3 Consulting, believes that with growth in China having slowed, that push is likely to come.
“More than ever, there is pressure from the global offices of major advertisers to deliver on ROI,” he says. “They will start looking more favourably at publications that are audited. Marketers are looking for more justification than they were three or four years ago. BPA can be successful with the right support.”
What it means for…
Publishers
- The days of arbitrary circulation figures could be numbered. Should high-profile titles adopt the system, there will be pressure on all to do so.
- With the downturn putting pressure on budgets, pressure is growing to raise the bar in terms of accountability. Advertisers are likely to seek greater transparency than in previous years, especially if titles want to raise ad rates.
- However, glossy magazines will remain the major hurdle to implementing such a system.
Advertisers
- Regulated auditing will allow media buyers to make an ‘apples to apples’ comparison between titles.
- The test will come when advertisers are faced with a choice between audited and unaudited titles.
