Board Actions

Summary of July 2012 Canadian Board Actions

October 24, 2012

Summary of July 2012 Canadian Board Actions

Toronto (July 24, 2012)—The ABC Canada Board Committee met July 12, and the North American board met July 19-20. The following are highlights of the actions that affect Canadian members. (Note: The full update to ABC’s bylaws and rules is regularly made available on ABC’s website within weeks following each board meeting.)

BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS

Consolidated Media Report Guidelines Updated
For Information
At its March meeting the board approved a new business publication Consolidated Media Report format. Publications that wish to present their website traffic or pass-along audience should consider doing so via the CMR format. Although this optional report format is somewhat customizable, there are guidelines. The board clarified some of these guidelines:

• The publication’s name or graphic should be used to label the traditional Publisher’s Statement portion of the report.
• The traditional Publisher’s Statement portion of the CMR cannot contain any additional graphics.
• Publishers may include active website links on the CMR.

The business/farm committee continues to discuss the CMR’s role in the industry and possible next steps to advance timeliness of data and digital reporting.

CONSUMER MAGAZINES

Board Updates Policy for Single-Copy Combination Sales
Unanimous Consent — Effective July 23, 2012
The board unanimously agreed to an updated policy for magazines that sell and qualify single copies in a package. This policy is applicable when “three-stacks” are not present and each magazine is not available separately in addition to the package. Updated guidelines include:

• Although copies in the package do not need to be sold separately at the retail location, they must be sold separately in the general market.
• The publisher must have evidence for the audit that shows the publications are available separately in the market if consumers do not want to purchase the package.

• Magazines included in the package must have consistent editorial content in line with the transfer of publications guidelines.
• The minimum price for the package must be 100 percent of the highest priced magazine and 25 percent of the other magazine.
• The Publisher’s Statement will fully disclose the publications sold in combination, issues sold, quantity sold and combination price.
• ABC must receive advance notice of the publisher’s plan for a combination sale for pre-evaluation. The publisher must also provide ABC with full access to the results of the combination sale test to report to the ABC board.

Magazine Vision Committee Action Deferred
For Information
The buyers and sellers of the magazine vision task force have been working on several recommendations to revise the structure of Publisher’s Statements and Consolidated Media Reports, digital reporting requirements and timing of data into the marketplace.

The board deferred action to the November 2012 meeting to gain additional insight from the publisher and buyer liaison committees.

NEWSPAPERS

Newspaper FAS-FAX Report Expanded
For Information — Effective with September 2012 Publisher’s Statements
The board agreed to enhance the Canadian newspaper FAS-FAX report to include additional information in a more user-friendly format.

The electronic version of the report will include:

• The full report with day-of-week reporting broken out
• A summary with Monday-Friday average, Saturday and Sunday frequencies
• All newspapers in alphabetical order by province
• Data from the prior year's Publisher's Statement will be reported by category

The print version of the report will include these enhancements except for day-of-week reporting.

CMR Task Force Updates Board
For Information
The joint publisher/buyer Consolidated Media Report task force has been working since July 2011 to develop recommendations for CMR reporting standards and formats, database integration of new metrics, and frequency of reporting. The group continues to progress in each of these areas and provided the board with an update.

The task force is calling for more frequent data reported via an integrated online database. Select newspapers will begin testing the data feeds, which include current Paragraph 3 data, in fall 2012. Following a successful test period, quarterly reporting of print metrics and monthly digital metrics may begin in spring 2013. While the task force has discussed replacing the traditional Publisher’s Statement with the CMR, a set timeline is not yet established.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Board Agrees to Raise Audit Rate 3 Percent
Unanimous Consent — Effective with Dec. 31, 2012-ending audits
The board of directors voted to increase ABC’s audit rates and other fees by 3 percent for 2013. Before this increase, ABC had not increased rates or fees since January 2007.

Board Changes Bylaw for Advertising Agency Dues Calculation
Unanimous Consent — Effective July 23, 2012
The board unanimously agreed to modify section 2 of Bylaw 3.2 Dues by Classification to align the bylaw for U.S. and Canadian advertising agency members with the current bylaw for national and regional advertisers.

Board Supports Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Brand Refresh
For Information
Recognizing that ABC and the industry it serves continue to evolve, the board agreed to support an effort to rebrand the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The board believes the ABC brand no longer reflects the organization’s strategic direction and mission in today’s complex multimedia environment. A refreshed brand will reflect and reinforce the organization’s tripartite membership, gold-standard legacy and progress as a multimedia auditor. A membership vote will be cast in late summer, and results will be communicated this fall.