We will unleash our consumer marketers to focus on distributing copies at the right level,at a profit and at the same time,focus on growing the readership which comes from the right distribution strategy.That makes good business sense for the editor,the publisher,the advertiser,and most importantly,the reader.
It makes it possible to measure magazine advertising exposure relative to the audience as other media do.And it will make consumer marketing more relevant to what our editors are trying to convey,and what our consumers want to see and read.
In order to do this,we must address how readership is measured.And as I said,the MPA and its members are taking the necessary steps in exploring and developing that process.
Right now,magazine audience numbers are not stable or timely enough to be used for advertising buying.When the proverbial rubber hits the road,magazine ad buyers make the buy based on circulation data from ABC statements.
This practice will not change unless a viable alternative is developed,meaning reliable audience metrics that are timely,stable,and ultimately,comparable to the way other media audiences are measured.
I can tell you that when publishers and advertisers can move to audience based measurement metrics it will be a major step forward for the industry.It will change for the better the way advertisers think about and buy magazines.And will not only get magazines into the game,but on a much more level playing field versus other media when it comes to measuring advertising effectiveness.
The opportunity to measure our audiences will be opened up to a larger number of suppliers,creating a healthy competition that produces new models,new thinking,and fresh approaches to measuring and reporting not only how many people read our magazines,but their level of engagement with the magazine's content.