Introduction

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Introduction

These Standards detail what can be included on ABC Brand and Group Reports. 

Brand Report - definition  

An ABC Brand Report allows you to showcase a single brand across multiple platforms by bringing your ABC audited products together in a summary report. For example the circulation of a print magazine, the distribution of an associated email newsletter and the web traffic figure for an associated website.

Group Report - definition

An ABC Group Report allows you to showcase multiple brands across multiple platforms by bringing your ABC audited products together in a summary report. For example the circulations of a number of different regional and national newspapers and web traffic for websites.

Data to be reported (Brand Report and Group Report)

1. You may include the following on a report (where relevant to the brand(s)):

   1. Extracts of data published on other ABC certificates or Reports. For example Magazine/Newspaper circulation, email distribution or web traffic.

   2. Metrics specified in this Standards document. For example Social Media, Event Ticket Sales etc.

   3. The latest published data, relevant to the brand(s), from a recognised Joint Industry Currency (JIC). Note:

      1. We will need written agreement from the JIC allowing us to source data from them for any common client. This has already been obtained for BARB, JICREG and RAJAR.

      2. We will include a qualification that we have not audited the data.

      3. We will check accuracy of data to the appropriate source.

2. Data included on a report usually comprises separate, stand-alone figures. However you may combine some figures to show an aggregated total as follows:

   1. Only the same metric can be aggregated. For example, circulation + circulation, Unique Browsers + Unique Browsers.

   2. If aggregating circulations from separate print and digital publication certificates, you must report the quantity of print and digital copies of a publication that were sold together as a bundle. For clarity we may add statements about duplication being tested for (or not) in relation to an aggregated total.

   3. Different data can only be aggregated if it relates to the same period. This means that the report may not always show the latest data for a constituent product. For example: when aggregating the average circulation for a regional newspaper that reports annually (say Jan to Dec 2021) and a national newspaper’s circulation that reports monthly, we would report the aggregated circulation on a Group Report by combining the circulations for the period Jan – Dec 2021 for both products. This means the latest monthly national newspaper figures (say July 2021), whilst available separately, will not be required to be aggregated because the same period’s data is not also available for the regional title.

Reporting Period (Brand Report and Group Report)

1. The report’s stated Reporting Period must be a whole calendar month or any combination of consecutive calendar months (up to a maximum of 12).

   1. The Reporting Period of individual products included on the report need not be the same as that of the report itself, but must end within it.

   2. However if a product (which reports continuously) does not, at the time of the report’s issue, have a certificate with a Reporting Period ending within the report’s Reporting Period, then the latest mandatory product certificate can be included (or optional product certificate if more recent).

If you wish to request a Brand Report or Group Report, or have any queries, please contact the ABC Client services team on 01442 870 800 or email .