Plastics News Uses Multimedia Publisher’s Statement, Interactive Audit Report to Detail Its Print and Digital Products

Situation

Plastics News is a weekly business publication that covers developments in the global plastics industry. Combined with PlasticsNews.com, which is updated several times daily, Plastics News is a popular resource for plastic product manufacturers, suppliers and customers.

Issue

ABC has audited Plastics News’ print publication since it became a member in 1989. But since then, its website has become an important part of the Plastics News brand. The publication desired audited print and digital figures to more accurately reflect its multimedia brand and increase sales opportunities.

Solution

After an email from ABC mentioned the multimedia reporting options available for business publications, Plastics News’ staff investigated the possibilities and switched from a traditional Publisher’s Statement to a Multimedia Publisher’s Statement in 2009. Additionally, the publication chose an Interactive Audit Report, which solely details PlasticsNews.com. “Our website traffic is good, and we thought it would be beneficial for the sales staff to have the ABC name out in the field,” said Julie Brown, audience development/circulation manager for Plastics News.

Results

Plastics News’ sales reps are now accustomed to using both reports. The Multimedia Publisher’s Statement represents print and digital products, while the Interactive Audit Report shows detailed figures for PlasticsNews.com.Plastics News now presents its advertisers with audited print and digital figures using both reports.

About ABC’s Multimedia Publisher’s Statement and Interactive Audit Report

ABC business publication members have options when deciding how to best represent their brand and audience across multiple platforms. Plastics News chose to issue two reports—the Multimedia Publisher’s Statement and the Interactive Audit Report.

The Multimedia Publisher’s Statement shows a publication’s combined print and digital reach by presenting total gross distribution data. Plastic News’ report includes total average circulation for the print publication as well as activity for PlasticsNews.com.

ABC Interactive Audit Reports further detail website activity. Like many of the standard Interactive Audit Reports, Plastics Newsincluded the number of page impressions, visitors and unique users. Charts describe the average daily usage by day of week and the total daily activity for one month.

The report also includes the top 25 requested pages within the site, which Brown said the sales reps frequently use to show the breakdown of the online product. Interactive Audit Reports may also include additional information, such as top users by domain name and most popular website sections.

Brown said that having accurate, ABC-audited unique visitors is important, and the ABC audit verified their internal numbers.

“We feel that it’s very important, and that’s why we’re doing it,” Brown said. “Internal numbers are not an audit. It proves that our numbers are accurate. And the audits are valuable in the field.”

Plastic News’ sales reps continue to use both reports, which allow them to present print and digital figures with the ABC stamp of approval to advertisers.

“It is nice to see the growth we’ve had with every audit, put that information in print, and have that audit out in the field,” Brown said.

For More Information

If you are interested in multimedia reporting options for your business publication, please contact your U.S. or Canadian magazine marketing manager. More information is also available on ABC’s website.