About Publishers Australia

Auditing

Publishers Australia advises its members to adopt the following guiding principles when operating in today’s market:

Define your audience
When magazines or websites sell advertising they are selling access to an audience. Therefore, we recommend that publishers define their audience thus

  • Numerically via circulation auditing i.e. ABC and CAB auditing
  • Qualitatively via independent research i.e. Roy Morgan, Nielsen, Sweeney etc..
  • And, in the context of the whole of the market as described by industry research i.e. Ibis

Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and Circulations Audit Board (CAB)
Circulation Auditing should be done via ABC if the publication is sold or CAB if the publication is made available free-of-charge.

As an association we recognize that there are some legitimate cases where ABC or CAB auditing is not always appropriate:

  • The publication is less than 12 months old
  • The publication frequency is biannual or annual

Consider what form of auditing is suitable for you
Publishers in well defined markets know their audiences and will often apply market-specific methods to reach them, for example - sales of bike magazines through bike shops. While sales achieved through these channels are legitimate, the method of delivery influences whether or not they are counted in the ABC auditing process for paid magazines. In these circumstances, the option remains for the publisher to place their publication under the CAB system alongside free magazines.

In the absence of any other system that quantitatively defines all circulation, Publishers Australia encourages members to CAB audit in these circumstances.

Readership research
Industry research provides a context for understanding the magazine’s own position within the market, and should be obtained from independent research companies operating within the industry, such as Roy Morgan, McNair, Nielsen etc...

Educate marketers about measurement
As representatives of Publishers Australia, members often play an advisory role for their clients, They should be knowledgeable about and prepared to educate advertisers on:

  • ABC or CAB circulation auditing
  • Readership research
  • Market size and qualities

Digital auditing
Publishers Australia gave its support to the Audit Bureaux of Australia’s (ABA) Digital Audit Services on May 21, 2010. The ABA Web Audit Service provides a 360 degree audit of digital properties, including verification of:
  • Compliance to ABA measurement rules and guidelines
  • The accuracy of reported audience figures (including validation of traffic fluctuations)
  • Correct placement and number of tags per page by online publishers
  • Correct publisher configuration within Nielsen and ABA systems, including validation of site definitions, brand roll-ups and categorisation
  • Supplementary digital channels, including digital editions, email newsletters, mobile sites and video