Business News

Kliger Calls for Change in Magazine Measurement Where Readership, Not Distribution, Becomes the Currency of Magazine Advertising

Thursday 14. February 2008 - Yesterday in New York City, Jack Kliger, President & CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., addressed the DMA Circulation Day Conference calling for a new magazine business model urging the industry to change to readership measurement, rather than distribution, as the currency for selling to advertisers.

Speech Highlights

— The MPA has been working on changing magazine readership measurement. This change is one advertisers believe in, and in fact, are welcoming.

— To bring our business model up to date, the time has come to make a simple yet revolutionary change. Readership, not distribution, should become the currency of magazine advertising. Publishers need to get themselves out of the advertising ghetto by providing advertisers this currency based on the quantity and quality of readership, not the number of copies distributed.

— I can tell you that when publishers and advertisers can move to audience based measurement metrics it will be a major step forward for the industry. It will change for the better the way advertisers think about and buy magazines. And will not only get magazines into the game, but on a much more level playing field versus other media when it comes to measuring advertising effectiveness.

— Going forward, we will be working with companies to develop readership measurement data delivered on a faster timetable within 8 weeks of issue distribution.

— Digital measurement of readership is not only essential it is possible right now. And any company who can’t or won’t figure out how to use online measurement, as part of effectively measuring magazine readership, will have a very hard time meeting the timeliness needs of such studies.

— This change is beginning as I speak. The wheels are in motion to create a measurement model more beneficial to editors, to publishers, to advertisers and most importantly, more beneficial to the readers.