BPA Worldwide and the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) recently issued new rules that affect consumer and business publications.

BPA Worldwide Rule Changes
At its December 2006 meeting, BPA Worldwide’s Board of Directors voted to clarify reporting of public place copies for consumer magazines, including removing the category from the “Average Qualified Circulation” and “How Ordered” breakouts. Additional reporting of public place copies will now be required within the breakout of Qualified Circulation, including separate reporting by single or multiple public placed copies and whether those copies were paid for by a third party.

The BPA Board also modified rules on copies that are distributed in bulk (“Multiple Copy-Same Addressee” circulation) to permit central locations to issue agreements for locations under their control. Documentation for audit must include a signed agreement with the central office, a list of all locations where copies are to be sent, full addresses, telephone numbers, the quantity per location, and the contact person at the location.

An “opt-out” for the requested copies will also be required, no less than every 36 months and must be done through written, e-mail, or tape-recorded communication. Prior to this change, BPA distributed an opt-in agreement from each location specifying number of copies and how they would be dispensed. For all other locations, existing rules remain the same.

Over the next four months, BPA’s advisory committees will review a number of points surrounding this rule, including whether the “opt-out” agreement should come from the central or satellite location; should it include a provision for an adjustment of copies received by the satellite location; annual or tri- annual “opt-out”; and the potential for the “opt-out” agreement to go directly to the auditing company instead of the publisher or agent.

In addition to public place reporting clarification, the Board made a number of new rules and amendments applying to both consumer and business publications. Digital copies and print copies can now be included together in the analyses and allowances of late mailings and distribution shortages, a change from the previous rule which required digital and print distribution to be analyzed separately.

Another change includes the immediate posting of circulation statements. This rule will allow publishers’ circulation statements to be posted to the BPA Web site immediately after receiving approval from the publisher to print, rather than being posted following a waiting period that previously allowed for time for printing.

Following a request to control publishers promoting “spiked” circulation for one issue, the Board also created a new rule regarding the promotion of above average circulation. In cases where publishers wish to promote a single issue’s circulation and that issue varies by more than 10% of the average qualified circ, the average circ for the period must be footnoted in the publicity piece.

For more information on BPA Worldwide rules, click here.

ABC Rule Changes
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) has agreed, in two stages over the last 6 months, to allow both consumer magazines and business publications the option to report print circulation, Web site traffic, and other auditable media in one aggregated-gross figure summarized on a Consolidated Media Report. This figure, previously known as “Total Audience Reach,” is now referred to as “Total Contacts.”

ABC also modified sponsored sales rules for consumer magazines. Starting at the beginning of 2007, new sponsorship programs must inform the magazine recipient who the sponsor/purchaser of the subscription is; sales-agent invoices must detail purchase quantities and payment by publication; and each sponsor must outline how the purchase promotes its business and how the copies will be used.

For more information on ABC rules, click here.