It’s no secret that newspaper circulation figures have been in decline for several years. Australian publishers have recently reported their 21st consecutive quarterly sales slump. But Paul Dovas, CEO of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the body that audits national circulation figures for newspapers and magazines, believes print sales reveal only part of the story.

“If you look at how news is being consumed over various channels, engagement is probably the healthiest it’s ever been,” he says. However, there is currently no way of quantifying this data, making it difficult for publishers to leverage the value of this new audience with advertisers. The ABC is looking to change this.

Collaboration with industry key to getting new model right

Working closely with industry, the ABC is establishing a world-first model that will audit online readership figures for newspapers and magazines. This new model, when paired with print circulation figures, will provide a more accurate reflection of consumer engagement with the ABC’s 500 plus member publications.

However, building this new model is not without its challenges. Under traditional print models the ABC has decades of statistics, data and insights to draw on. But the digital landscape is new, unchartered and constantly changing. For example, recent variations to Apple’s platform meant the ABC had to re-draft three months worth of work.

Despite these challenges, Dovas is confident the ABC is building a workable reporting model. While exact figures and metrics are being finalised, the model will be based around three channels of online engagement: paid subscriptions; replica versions, [such as a PDF file of the print version]; and non-replica versions, which look and feel like the print version but are designed for devices like smartphones and tablets.

Dovas sees replica versions as important for introducing consumers to online content, but predicts the enhanced audio and video content of non-replica versions will ultimately present a more lucrative option to consumers. Major titles including The Australian and The Age have recently released iPad applications, which compliment longer-standing iPhone and Android apps.

The ABC plans to combine the figures from paid subscribers; replica and non-replica versions to create a digital number that will be combined with a print number to give an overall datapoint figure for masthead sales. Dovas says that once this model is in place, it will present publishers with a more realistic indication of what he labels ‘brand health’.

“If a consumer actively chooses to buy a product, whether they are purchasing it at a newsagent or downloading it online, chances are they’re more likely to engage with advertising related to the product. Mastheads can present these figures to advertisers for an overall picture of their brand health,” he says.

Accuracy more important than urgency

While the industry is keen to see more positive figures as soon as possible, the ABC isn’t rushing out its new model. Publishers are used to having one circulation number that everything is based on, and Dovas says introducing a completely new set of metrics “Potentially changes everything. The key message from everybody is: while we want this urgently, we have to get it right.”

With many publishers starting to charge for online content starting on 1 January, 2012 the ABC is looking to roll out the model by the New Year, so sales data can be measured during this transition period.

Whenever the model is finally released, the ABC’s pioneering work will have the potential to influence the way newspaper and magazine sales are calculated around the globe.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twitter role:

Article by Dan Kuseta: @dankuseta, @smkapac