ViewPoint
July 2012

How to Avoid Common Audit Mistakes

It's easy to avoid common audit mistakes by following the steps listed below. You'll save time and effort, avoid frustration and keep the audit process flowing smoothly.

Don't procrastinate.
Make sure to retain and organize your documentation throughout the year (i.e., printer invoices, route sheets, statements of mailing, etc.). We recommend you create a separate binder or folder to store your audit records. Save copies or originals of all required audit records on a regular basis. Don't leave it to the last minute!

Act on recommendations promptly.
Implement the recommended changes as soon as possible after the completion of the audit. Work with your staff and contactors to help them carry out the improvements. If you wait too long, you can perpetuate problems.

Take control.
Manage your contractors carefully. Make sure that they are providing you with the documentation you'll need for the audit on a regular basis.

Report regularly.
Your Quarterly Printing and Distribution Report and a Circulation Analysis by ZIP / postal code are required for your audit. If your audit is scheduled prior to the end of the reporting period, have your QPD filled out to the most recent issue. Regular reporting allows Verified to issue reports promptly and contributes to a successful audit.

Keep in touch.
Keep in touch with Verified throughout the year. Let us know if you have changes to your frequency, staff, ownership, distribution day, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions. We're here to help.

Seven Things Making Digital Publishing Better Now

Now is the golden moment when digital media can really come into its own. To create a new standard in quality digital publishing, we need to recognize it as an entirely new medium and rethink the relationship between content, editorial design and user experience.

Sometimes that means borrowing from and improving on trusted old standards. At other times, it means pushing into new frontiers. Here are ways that we can approach digital publishing and improve the entire online media experience.

1. Web typography no longer sucks. The rapid adoption of new standards and technologies, as well as the launch of services such as Typekit (or even Google's free alternative Web Fonts), has essentially fixed the Web's typography problem and is ushering in a renaissance of editorial design.

2.There is no mobile Web. The separation of desktop and mobile devices is quickly becoming moot. We use our phones to browse the Web from the couch and we work from our laptops while sitting in the park. There's only one Web. Your publication needs to exist everywhere it does.

3. App or website? Easy decision. We have a simple rule: If it can be done on the Web, build it for the Web; if it can't, build an app.

4. Consider social everywhere. This doesn't mean putting even more social sharing buttons everywhere they'll fit. Instead, consider social interactions based on context. An image could use a pop-up Pinterest button, while selecting a paragraph could prompt the user to share it on Facebook or Twitter. Posts could evolve over time with reader contributions that go beyond comments.

5. Design matters (now more than ever). We've become lazy. The bar was set low, and few have ever tried to raise it. Worst of all, success has rarely been linked to great design. Yet readers are clamoring for beautiful editorial experiences. We're starting to see editorial design crawl its way into digital publishing; let's celebrate it.

6. Start planning for next year's resolutions. The new iPad and iPhone 4 are only the first wave of devices that will redefine our expectations of what a screen should look like and what it can show. New resolutions that match or even surpass print mean a vastly improved reading experience if your media can keep up.

7. Be data-driven, and then ignore the data (sometimes). Select a few key metrics that will define whether or not an experience is a success, and then measure, measure, measure. Build iteration as part of your spec. You won't get everything right the first time around, but trust your instincts. Behavior changes sometimes take time. A learning curve is okay.

© MediaPost Communications 2012

133 Magazines Launched, Outpacing Closures

New magazine launches outpaced magazine closures by a substantial margin in the first half of 2012, according to MediaFinder.com, an online database of U.S. and Canadian publications owned by Oxbridge Communications.

The first six months of 2012 saw 133 magazines launch, while just 48 closed, with the largest number of new launches coming in the "regional interest" and "food" categories -- continuing a trend that was evident in previous MediaFinder.com surveys.

New launches in the first half of 2012 include Voice of San Diego Monthly and Louisiana Kitchen, as well as a print edition of AllRecipes.com currently being tested by Meredith.

The Domino brand also returned to print with Domino Quick Fixes, although it's not clear whether Domino itself, shuttered by Conde Nast in 2009, will ever be revived.

M, Best Life and Elle Accessories also returned to print this year.

Among the 48 titles closed in the first half of 2012 were Reality Weekly, Soap Opera Weekly and NFL Magazine. On the positive side, the number of closures was down sharply from 2011, when 74 titles closed in the first half of the year.

The new launches come despite a difficult magazine advertising environment.

The Publishers Information Bureau recently announced that total consumer magazine ad pages declined 8.5% from 44,795 in the second quarter of 2011 to 40,969 in the second quarter of 2012. Total advertising revenues, based on official rate cards, slipped 3.2% to $5.5 billion.

READ MORE

© MediaPost Communications 2012

Ad Dollars Shift as Boomers Age

Nielsen says three key consumer groups are rapidly changing for marketers: baby boomers, moms and lower-income consumers.

At Nielsen's Consumer 360 Conference, the media and consumer research company said there are 100 million baby boomers – a number which will climb by a third in 2030. Most are growing out of the key 18–49 demographic into the 50-plus number.

Right now, they control $230 billion in sales – about half of the total for the U.S. overall. In five years, they will control 70% of disposable income. But Beth Brady, Nielsen's leader for marketing effectiveness, warns advertising dollars are being funneled elsewhere: "It's a missed opportunity."

For marketers, the role of moms and their kids is shifting. Moms with children under six watch less TV than the overall population. Moms are heavy media multitaskers. On any given day, 67% of moms use the Internet while watching TV simultaneously. While away from the TV, more than 20% of moms with children are experimenting with mobile shopping.

Lower-income consumers – those that make under $30,000 a year – are growing and now represent about 30% of the country. Even against this background, Nielsen says, "They collectively represent a big part of the country's total spend and are expected to grow in the future."

Nielsen says this group spends more time online than other income groups and more than nine hours a month on Facebook. Not only do they watch more TV than other consumers – especially daytime TV – they watch more online video than other consumers.

READ MORE

© MediaPost Communications 2012

Events Calendar

INMA Audience Summit
October 4 – 5, 2012
Chicago, IL
www.inma.org

New England Newspaper & Press Association
October 11, 2012
Natick, MA
www.nenpa.com

Midwest Free Community Papers Fall Conference
October 11 – 12, 2012
West Des Moines, IA
www.mfcp.org

Infosocial: A Media, Technology & Society Conference
October 12 – 13, 2012
Evanston, IL
www.communications.northwester.edu

Inter American Press Association 68th Annual Conference
October 12 – 16, 2012
São Paulo, Brazil
www.sipiapa.com

American Magazine Conference
October 14 – 16, 2012
San Francisco, CA
www.magazine.org

National Association of Hispanic Publications Annual Convention
October 18 – 20, 2012
San Diego, CA
www.nahp.org

Canadian Online Publishing Awards
October 22, 2012
www.canadianonlinepublishingawards.com

Inland Press Association 127th Annual Meeting
October 28 – 30, 2012
Chicago, IL
www.inlandpress.org

MediaNext
October 29 – 31, 2012
New York, NY
www.medianextshow.com

World Publishing Expo 2012 (IFRA Expo & Conference)
October 29 – 31, 2012
Frankfurt, Germany
www.wan-ifra.org

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

Tips & Techniques: Print and Digital Edition Package Sales

If a print publication has multiple digital editions – online access, mobile apps, tablet editions, etc. – any subscription offer must clearly outline each component of the subscription package separately.

An appropriate subscription package must:

• Offer a print-only option
• Present each digital edition separately
• Illustrate all options equally prominently
• Not imply that any part of the package is free
• Price of the print and digital combination package at least $.01 more than the print-only option

Example:

If there is more than one digital edition included in the package, the subscriber must register and activate any account or download the app to qualify each of the editions.

If you have any questions regarding print and digital package sales, please contact Verified at 415-461-6006.

Please send comments and story ideas to e-newsletter@verifiedaudit.com or contact us at:

Verified Audit Circulation
900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 295
Larkspur, CA 94939-1758
415.461.6006
415.461.6007 fax