Newspaper groups' decision to quit ABC has agencies all atwitter
It's hard to see what substantive difference there will be for advertisers and agencies with the decision of the Star Media Group, Transcontinental Media and Sun Media pulling their daily newspapers out of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).
Their 30 titles' circulation will, after all, be measured now by the Canadian Circulation Audit Board (CCAB), a division of BPA Worldwide, a company that already provides pink sheets for a very large number of magazine titles and community newspapers.
There seems to be very little to choose between the two, competing services in terms of data delivered.
Yet people like Hugh Dow of M2 Universal, express shock (!) at the decision which has been rumbling around in the background for months.
Yet a release prepared by ABC quoting a number of agency worthies suggests that it knew this was coming and had a prepared counterattack.
The Canadian companies (with the exception of CanWest) have apparently been looking for a "made in Canada" option for some time. In February, CCAB created a newspaper advisory group with reps from the newspapers and agencies as part of a concerted attempt to win the business.The newspaper companies gave as one of their reasons for the move that they wanted to consolidate the data-gathering for their dailies and community papers.
Their 30 titles' circulation will, after all, be measured now by the Canadian Circulation Audit Board (CCAB), a division of BPA Worldwide, a company that already provides pink sheets for a very large number of magazine titles and community newspapers.
There seems to be very little to choose between the two, competing services in terms of data delivered.
Yet people like Hugh Dow of M2 Universal, express shock (!) at the decision which has been rumbling around in the background for months.
"I can't begin to express how shocked and disappointed I am at this shortsighted move," he said. "In an environment in which newspapers are struggling to retain readers and advertising revenue, this will only make media buyers more apprehensive and wary.
"ABC has been the gold standard of auditing since its founding nearly a century ago, and those standards are needed more today than ever," Dow continued. "We are now supposed to accept two different standards in Canada? I cannot imagine a worse time to make the newspaper buying decision problematic."
Dow doesn't say how using data from a different company to certify the printing and distribution of copies makes the buying decision difficult. Nor, with all the handwringing, are there any specifics about what makes the CCAB auditing process, which already serves most magazines and community newspapers well, somehow is less reliable or less rigorous.
Yet a release prepared by ABC quoting a number of agency worthies suggests that it knew this was coming and had a prepared counterattack.
The Canadian companies (with the exception of CanWest) have apparently been looking for a "made in Canada" option for some time. In February, CCAB created a newspaper advisory group with reps from the newspapers and agencies as part of a concerted attempt to win the business.The newspaper companies gave as one of their reasons for the move that they wanted to consolidate the data-gathering for their dailies and community papers.
posted by D. B. Scott at
9:47 pm
5 Comments:
DB brings up a good point here. Does anyone even know what the audit differences between ABC and CCAB are?
It sounded like the shift was made on the ability to service the customers better and adapt to the Canadian industry.
Isn't in 'interesting' that many of the complainers seem to have vested interests in ABC? I'd say they're concerned because they're likely to loose out in this - and as agencies that means they aren't looking out for the best interest of their clients. Truth be told, ABC and CCAB (which is part of BPA and every bit as 'worthy and solid' as ABC) audits are extremely similar.
CCAB RESPONDS TO INACCURATE CLAIMS OF ‘LESS RIGOROUS’ AUDIT
Statements issued by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) included comments made by spokespeople who were represented as independent, concerned media buyers and advertisers. What was not disclosed was that these individuals are directors or past directors of ABC, the major competitor of CCAB (a division of BPA World Wide). As such their comments are not without bias, nor are they representative of the industry in general. Furthermore, the statements made regarding the quality of a CCAB audit are false and unsubstantiated. CCAB’s audits are conducted according to the highest industry-accepted circulation auditing guidelines and will adhere to its universal principles of accuracy and full disclosure. Of greatest concern is that these statements are not constructive nor are they in the interests of anyone in the media industry. Read CCAB’s side at
http://www.bpaww.com/about_bpa/industry_news/Open%20Letter%20to%20media%20auditing%20stakeholders.html
re: the comment above, please note that I (Jack Wojcicki) am PR Counsel with motum b2b, AOR for CCAB.
re: the comment above, please note that I (Jack Wojcicki) am PR Counsel with motum b2b, AOR for CCAB.
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