The final session of the World Forum on Newspaper Strategy examined the issues of readership, circulation and distribution.
Readership, Not Circulation, As the New Standard
Rick Edmonds, Researcher & Writer, The Poynter Institute, USA
Should readership be the new metric to replace paid circulation as the standard measure of newspapers?
Though it is far from unanimous, there is movement in the United States in this direction. The Audit Bureau of Circulation began offering audited readership surveys in 1999 and now has 250 newspaper clients, including those in 74 of the top 100 markets.
There are several advantages to measuring readership over circulation: it is similar to how competing media measure their audiences; it recognises the circumstances in which more people are reading newspapers without buying - in their offices, in coffee shops, waiting for car repairs; it has been tested and used in other countries successfully.
"A little less obviously, the advertising community was a strong ally in this effort. They have a strong interest in getting demographic information about readers," says Mr Edmonds.
But the jury is still out on whether this change will be widely accepted.
"It is theoretically possible that this readership deal is a fad - we’ll go back to the hard circulation numbers - but I don’t believe this is the case," says Mr Edmonds. "It is logically a better measure. When you add the preference of advertisers for this information, it is a winning combination."
High Performance Circulation
Marco Vernocchi, Partner, Accenture SpA, Italy
"Content should reach the clients through the brand in an effective and efficient operation."
That is Mr Vernocchi’s clear and concise definition of circulation and distribution success.
But like most business operations, it is easier said than done. A successful approach requires a focus on gathering information about readers, he says.
"Circulation measurement is important in this environment because circulation is a core process that significantly impacts the valuation drivers of the company," he says.
Everyone collects circulation data, but are they using it efficiently? Mr Vernocchi says publishers should ask themselves the following questions:
 Do you use detailed customer data to drive every aspect of circulation and distribution?
Are you able to zone and segment circulation to serve different advertisers?
Can you assess the profitability of every individual customer or distribution outlet?
Is the whole publishing process seamless and integrated from customer acquisition to distribution to payment?
"Detailed information on customers, traditionally neglected in past years, is being perceived as more and more crucial to pursue revenue opportunities," says Mr Vernocchi, who provided several examples of how this data can be used. |
