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Verified Would Like to Welcome...

Orange County Community Newspapers
Freedom Orange County Information
Santa Ana, CA

In addition to the Orange County Register, Freedom Orange County Information publishes 25 community newspapers that are delivered weekly to approximately 440,000 Orange County homes.

The community newspaper is delivered to subscribers of the Register along with their regular edition of the Register. It is also delivered to 240,000 nonsubscribing single-family homes. Residents of nearly every Orange County community rely on these community newspapers for local news, upcoming events, shopping specials, consumer products, and services available in their neighborhoods. The combination of paid circulation of the Register and the expanded reach of the community publications to nonsubscribing households also provides business with the best value for the advertising dollars. The high-percentage readership of these products, coupled with the high household penetration yield the ideal target audience for local and regional advertisers.

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Web Traffic Added to Audit Reports

Verified now offers a Web Traffic Verification report with your Audit Report and Publisher's Statement. The report is free of charge and is included at a publication's request.

A Web Traffic Verification report is accurate and easy to understand. As more adverting dollars migrate online, advertisers recognize the importance of independent, third-party verification. Internet advertising accounted for 5 percent of all ad revenue in 2005, and new research forecasts online ad spending will reach $25.9 billion by 2011.

The Web Traffic Verification report will support your sales staff in selling online advertising and can be used in combination with your print circulation report to demonstrate total audience reach and confirm the vitality of your overall brand. The report can persuade media planners and buyers by using accessible metrics to help satisfy objections and answer questions.

The Web Traffic Verification report is a summary of a publication's web traffic for the last three months of the audit period and is inserted into the Audit Report. The report verifies the following:

• Total sessions, pageviews, hits and bytes for the period covered by the report (3 months)
• Average sessions, pageviews, hits and bytes per day
• Average pageviews, hits, bytes and length of session per session
• 20 most requested pages

Click here or on the image above to view a sample of a Web Traffic Verification report.

Adding the Web Traffic Verification report does not require additional work and is completely supported by Verified. All we need is your URL, access to your ftp site, and a description of your website in 100 words or less.

If you would like to add a Web Traffic Verification report to your next Audit Report, please contact Verified at 415-461-6006.

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It Ain't Easy Being Green – For Magazines

Our things define us—what we buy and use, what we keep and throw away, what we waste and what we save. Fortunately, even small changes can result in significant environmental benefits.

Starting in the early 1990s, newspapers got onboard the green bandwagon. "Newspapers as an industry are really more advanced than magazines," said Frank Locantore, the director of Colorado-based Co-op America's Magazine PAPER Project. "They made an effort to make the transition 10 years ago after concerns from readers and pressure from environmental groups."

Most newspapers in the U.S. are now printed on recycled paper. Since the type of paper used for printing is of a lower grade than magazine paper, it was easier for newspapers to make the switch.

It has been a much slower transition for magazines. According to Co-op America, the U.S. currently uses about 35 million trees each year for printing magazines—that's one tree every second—and nearly 95 percent of magazines print on paper with no recycled content at all.

"Publishers and printers that have looked into using recycled paper in the past have found problems with the price and quality," said Susan Kinsella, executive director of Conservatree.

However, recycled paper has changed over the past few years, offering high-quality, glossy finishes while still remaining environmentally conscious. Kinsella said, "Recycled paper used to be more expensive than virgin paper, but it is getting cheaper."

According to George Pappas, manager of New York-based Lyon Falls Pulp and Paper and long-time advocate for recycled paper, over the next few years increased output will drive down the price of recycled paper even further—on par with virgin fiber papers.

"Smaller circulation magazines have shown the sustainable direction for the rest of the industry," said Locantore. "The key next step is to have more large publishing houses take note and follow that lead."

The May 2006 issue of Vanity Fair, called the "green issue," was supposed to use 10 percent recycled paper. The cover featured celebrity environmental activists Al Gore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Robert Kennedy, Jr. Inside, the issue profiled others who have worked to further other environmental causes. The issue failed to meet its target. Citing their tight production schedule, Vanity Fair claimed it wasn't able to purchase the amount of high-quality recycled paper in a timely fashion.

There is no standard for how much of the paper should be post consumer. However, most magazines going green, like Shape and Natural Health, appear to be going with an average of 30 percent recycled papers.

A December 2005 poll released by Co-op America, the Green Press Initiative, and Publishing Executive magazine, revealed that nearly 80 percent of consumers would pay more for books and magazines printed on recycled paper.

Magazines are discovering that recycled paper makes public relations sense, too. Surfer magazine started printing on recycled paper November 2006. Publisher Rick Irons said, "So far we haven't seen any declines in circulation or revenue. All we've seen is positive feedback from our readers. The surfing world is really environmentally conscious. Our readers, our advertisers, and our industry back what we're doing, plus it is morally the right thing to do."

Outside, the design award-winning magazine with stunning outdoor photography, has been printed on recycled paper since 1994. Eileen Rhine, Outside's production director, said that neither readers or advertisers noticed any quality difference after the changeover. "We haven't had any feedback from advertisers. Our goal, when we changed paper, was to make it imperceptible."

Locantore helps magazine publishers make an easier transition to recycled paper. He says pressure typically comes from many different directions, including activist campaigns, concerned readers, conscientious staff members and key advertisers. Natural body products advertiser Aveda has been exerting pressure on print media to go green for years.

In March 2007, the MPA initiated an industry-wide education campaign to let readers know that magazines can and should be recycled. They have created two logos for magazines to display to increase consumer awareness. The first reads "Please Recycle This Magazine;" the second one states "Please Remove Samples or Inserts Before Recycling." The MPA said that while two-thirds of the population has access to curb-side and drop-off recycling programs that accept magazines, only about 20 percent of magazines are actually recycled.

Magazines still face some obstacles to recycling, such as how to deal with inserts (CDs, samples, etc), some types of adhesives, and certain ink formulations. But the MPA has begun taking environmental issues seriously. Making use of more recycled paper and reducing the number of unsold copies is also a part of the MPA strategy.

Events Calendar

Midwest Circulation Management Association 2007 Marketing Conference
April 11–14, 2007
Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, Albuquerque, NM
www.midwestcirculation.com

Association of Free Community Papers Annual Conference
April 12–14, 2007
New Orleans, LA
www.afcpconference.com

RE:Think! 2007 ARF Annual Convention and Expo
April 16, 2007
Marriott Marquis, New York, NY
www.thearf.org

API Strategic Leadership: Making Radical Change Happen
April 18–19, 2007
American Press Institute, Reston, VA
www.americanpressinstitute.org

Kansas Press Association 115th Annual Convention
April 19–21, 2007
Capitol Plaza Hotel, Topeka, KS
www.kspress.com

NEXPO 2007
April 21–24, 2007
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL
www.nexpo.com

Cal Western Circulation Manager’s Association 88th Sales Conference
April 25–27, 2007
Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, CA
www.cwcma.com

International Newspaper Marketing Association World Conference
April 25–27, 2007
Paris, France
www.inma.org

Louisiana Press Association’s 127th Convention
April 12–14, 2007
JW Marriott, New Orleans, LA
www.lapress.com

Western Publications Association Two-Day Publishing Conference
April 26–27, 2007
Westin Hotel at LA Airport, Los Angeles, CA
www.wpa-online.org

Voz Latina – The 3rd Annual Hispanic Marketing Conference
April 26, 2007
Intercontinental Miami, Miami, FL
www.marketingtohispanics.com

Yellow Pages Association Annual Conference and Exhibition
April 29, 2007
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
www.ypassociation.org

Newspaper Association of America Annual Convention
May 6–9, 2007
Marriott Marquis, New York, NY
www.naa.org

Managing the Newsroom Change from the Middle
May 7–9, 2007
American Press Institute, Reston, VA
www.americanpressinstitute.org

Hispanic Magazine Summit 2007
May 11, 2007
CUNY Univeristy, New York, NY
www.magazine.org

MPA-IMAG Conference for Independent Publishers
May 16–18, 2007
Graves 601 Hotel, Minneapolis, MN
www.magazine.org

Texas Gulf Coast Press Association Convention
May 17–19. 2007
Hawthorn Suites, Galveston, TX
www.gulfcoastpress.com

2007 Pennsylvania Press Conference
May 18–19, 2007
The Hilton Harrisburg and Towers, Harrisburg, PA
www.pa-newspaper.org

SCMA 2007 Conference
May 20–23, 2007
Daytona Beach Hilton at Ocean Walk Village, Daytona, FA
www.smaonline.net

New England Association of Circulation Executives Spring Conference
May 20–23, 2007
Wequessett Inn, Chatham, MA
www.nenews.org

Kid & Tweens Power 2007
May 20–24, 2007
Disney Yacht & Beach Club, Lake Buena Vista, FL
www.kidpowerx.com

If you have an event that you would like to announce, please send your information to e-newsletter@verifiedaudit.com.

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Newspapers Outsell TV Broadcasters With Local Online Video Ads

According to a new report from Borrell Associates, local online video advertising, worth about $161 million in 2006, is expected to grow to $371 million this year, or 5 percent of all local online advertising, and to exceed $5 billion in the next five years.

In 2006, the market for locally targeted online video ads became a legitimate market in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles (the three largest markets), worth more than $5 million each. The next 37 largest markets each saw more than $1 million in revenue from online video, according to Borrell. The study claims that "infomercials" are said to drive the increase in the advertising market, not traditional 15-second commercials.

Also in 2006, newspapers sold approximately $81 million in local online video commercials in comparison to $32 million sold by TV broadcasters. And, according to a report from the Television Bureau of Advertising, online TV revenues were up 41 percent in 2006. (view the report)

The study also found that print media is using the Internet as a new medium to reach TV advertisers, while TV broadcasters have been utilizing the Internet to reach traditional print advertisers. The trend has led to most local TV websites hosting classified ads and nearly half of the newspaper websites offering video content. This shift in website advertising is changing local advertising with banners and paid listings decreasing, and video ads and paid search increasing.

Broadcasters, are expected to bounce back this year, though. With an increasing number of video streams available on TV websites, 80 percent of broadcasters surveyed expect to sell streaming video ads this year, up from 72 percent who did last year.

According to the study, online competition with newspapers and broadcast TV stations is expected to increase with both sides continuing to develop video products for the web. Automotive advertisers will be key in the competition, along with real estate, health, and employment.

Borrell concludes that the online video advertising market is expected to increasingly revolve around the strength of websites' video content.

© 2007 MediaPost Communications

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Guide to Your Audit: Premiums

A premium is defined as anything offered to a subscriber or potential subscriber in addition to the regular issues of the publication itself. For subscriptions sold using premiums, at least 25 percent of the basic rate of the subscription plus the full price of the premium needs to be collected for the subscription to be qualified paid circulation.

Many publications use premiums in their marketing campaigns. The value of the premium is the highest of the:

• Retail value
• Stated value
• Cost to the publisher plus 25 percent (if created in-house)

Premiums are not:

• Complete issues of the publication sent to all subscribers for the period included in the offer
• "Door Openers" (i.e., anything sent free with the subscription offer)
• Offers of sample merchandise in which receipt of the sample is not contingent upon ordering a subscription
• Anything offered to a current subscriber to convert payment methodology (i.e., till forbid, credit card payment, etc.)

For the audit, a complete list of all subscription rates offered during the period covered by the audit must be maintained. In addition, records should be maintained to determine the value of the premium such as invoices from the manufacturer or unit price from the supplier.

Know the regulations and requirements when developing marketing campaigns using premiums. If you have any questions, please contact Verified at 415-461-6006.