For publishers completing a Geographical Analysis showing UK Counties or UK Regions, copies need to be analysed on the claim according to ABC regions. The following notes provide guidance on analysing your mailing list and translating postcodes on that list to ABC regions.
You will need to follow two stages, firstly to convert postcode to Royal Mail County name and then to convert Royal Mail County Name to ABC Format.
Post Code to Royal Mail County Name: This can be done using a Royal Mail product called 'Post Town Gazetteer', this lists outward postcode (first half of the postcode) against Royal Mail County name (plus some additional data).It is important to ensure that you have an up to date version of this file, as postcodes will change over time. A Post Town Gazetteer can be purchased via the Royal Mail website. www.royalmail.com
Royal Mail County Name to ABC Format: This can be done using the ABC County conversion file (click here). This file lists the Royal Mail County name (from the 'Post Town Gazetteer' referred to above) against the ABC County name and ABC Region name. ( Last updated: 04/04/2003 )