Business Magazines

Personal Identifier Questions

Personal Identifier Questions (PIQs) are set by ABC and are used as a means of audit verification. View more information.

Latest Changes

March 2012

Digital Licences: From reporting periods ending January 2012 onwards you can report on your magazine certificate digital licences that provide a subscriber’s multiple users with access to your magazine’s digital edition. This information will be reported on the magazine ABC certificate, separate from the magazine’s circulation.
Single and Multiple Copy Subscriptions: The rules currently state that for subscription purchases the recipients’ details must be provided by the purchaser. Due to some possible ambiguity in certain scenarios, it has been clarified that, with immediate effect, where the purchaser has approved the recipients’ details (even if they were originally provided by the publisher) then this would be compliant.

Previous Changes

January 2012

Social Media: Rules have been added to allow from January 2012 the reporting of a basic measure of social media audience(s) on a product’s Multi-Platform Certificate (note: not on the ABC print certificate). Examples might be Facebook ‘Likes’ or Twitter ‘Followers’

Digital editions - editorial content. For issues distributed from January 2012 a digital edition will be able to include up to about 25% more editorial content than carried in its print parent edition (previously 5%)
Digital editions - information captured. From reporting periods ending January 2012 the threshold above which publishers do not need to obtain the digital edition purchasers’ details is changed from 50% to 20% of Basic Cover Price/Basic Annual Subscription Rate. Note: copies above this price point still need to be proven to payment.
Digital editions - rate banding. From audit periods ending December 2011 all paid digital edition copies (including overseas) will be analysed by comparing the price paid with the UK print copy Basic Cover Price (single copy sales) and UK print copy Basic Annual Rate (subscriptions).
Digital Editions – free requested copies. The current requirements for telephone, internet and email requests are based on the completion of a form and the capturing of the individual’s answer to the ABC Personal Identifier Question. For requests made from January 2012 publishers may, with the prior approval of ABC, be able to take advantage of alternative solutions for capturing and proving that an individual has requested a digital edition copy of the publication.

Digital editions - Non-optional Society copies: From periods ending January 2012 onwards there will not need to be a request for an issue in digital edition format (an email notification of the issue's availaibility will still be required).
Digital editions - Lower rate corporate subscriptions: From periods ending January 2012 onwards there will be an alternative to the individual opting to receive/view the digital edition. The alternative is the requirement to notify the individual of the issue's availability by email. Hard bounce backs to be excluded from the claim.

Digital editions: From January 2011 there are changes to the definitions and requirements in relation to the reporting of digital editions of a print publication. Please refer to the letter on the link above for more details.
Single copy and multiple copy subscriptions: The analysis of subscription copies sold at below 50% of Basic Annual Rate will be broken out into three rate bands. This applies for 12 month reporting periods starting from July 2011 onwards and for 6 month and short period certificates starting from January 2012 onwards.
Single copy and multiple copy subscriptions: It is clarified that from periods starting on or after January 2011 subscriptions purchased in bulk by a single purchaser must not be linked with any advertising or promotion and the purchaser must provide the recipients' details to the publisher.

Appeal procedure: Where a member appeals against a decision in relation to an audit, the timescale within which the Director of Audit will investigate and provide a decision has been amended from 5 working days to 10 working days.

Newstrade and single copy sales/paid subscriptions: Clarification that subscriptions taken out for a period less than the minimum required for inclusion in the single copy subscriptions category can be reported in the newstrade and single copy sales category.

Paid subscriptions: Effective periods ending Dec 2009 onwards, a minimum term for paid subscriptions has been introduced which is three months or three issues, whichever is the greater
Digital editions: The on-going audit process in relation to free digital edition copies including timings and notifications has been clarified, with immediate effect
Back issues: With effect from periods ending 1 January 2010 onwards back issues will only be allowed to be claimed in the period in which the issue itself is reported (i.e. not in subsequent reporting periods)
Digital editions: With effect from periods ending 1 January 2010 onwards the definition of bouncebacks has been revised to clarify that all hard bouncebacks for free digital editions copies must be excluded, not just SMTP550 errors
Various: A newly rewritten reporting standards document that is effective from periods ending 1 January 2010 onwards has been issued. As well as the design changes, there are a variety of minor changes and clarifications to rules. These are summarised in the letter in the link above.

Bulk sales: To be removed from the headline ABC average figure and audit issue figure from December 2009 audit period. From this point an optional facility will be available to report bulk sales in separate stand-alone category along with free bulk distribution.

Multiple copy subscription - sales definition
Bulk distributed copies - reporting copies not included in the average or audit issue figure
Digital editions - registration to commence auditing

Controlled circulation: additional age of requests analysis
Controlled circulation: optional validation service for un-dated website sources
Controlled circulation: optional advance systems audit for internet forms and enquiries