Improve Measurement, Says Magazine Head

The publishing industry needs a faster, better system for measuring circulation, and one that takes into account paid and non-paid sources of readership. So said Jack Kliger, the new Chair of the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), when he addressed media and publishing executives last week.

Speaking in New York at the Breakfast with a Leader series sponsored by AdMedia Partners, Kliger, who is CEO of publishers Hachette Filipacchi in the US, said it was essential that the publishing industry moves to 'a more timely system of readership measurement'.

He said measurement needs to improve in three areas - accountability, comparability, and engagement - which he defined as follows.

• Accountability - 'measuring reader exposure and connecting that to behaviour'
• Comparability - 'there has to be more timely data, with magazine-audience accumulation on a weekly - not monthly - basis, to put us on a par with audience-accumulation data for other media'
• Engagement - 'metrics to demonstrate that the strength of engagement leads to measurable results for the advertiser'.

He noted that magazines have taken the lead in measuring audience engagement, but stressed that they should work to include all readers - those from both paid and non-paid sources. Kliger quoted data that shows that 24% of magazine reading is done in public places - up from 14% 10 years ago - and said 'a number of studies show that the magazines read in public places, such as medical offices, hair salons, and fitness centers, bring a valuable audience and return to the advertiser.'

Kliger says publishers, the MPA, and representatives from research and advertising have been meeting to agree on specific goals for the evolution of more timely, reader-based magazine measurement.

The MPA is online at www.magazine.org.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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