MALAYSIAN MAGAZINES URGED TO AUDIT
The Audit Bureau of Circulation in Malaysia has issued a rallying call to publishers to get their titles audited.
Speaking last week, ABC chairwoman Margaret Lim told a packed room of publishers that auditing and accountability were critical factors in restoring confidence in media buyers and advertisers.
According to the Marketing-Interactive website, the debate has been swirling in Malaysia's media sector since The Sun Media Corporation published a front page story saying it was taking legal action against The Nielsen Company (Malaysia) over "false" and "misleading" readership estimates.
Nielsen's reports, which are used extensively in Thailand in the absence of independent circulation auditing, are based on estimates of the readership attained by any given publication. These estimates are, from my own experiences, fairly accurate. Where they do work is comparing the "readership" of one title versus others in a particular sector.I've been an advocate for independent circulation auditing in Thailand for more than four years, but my initial enthusiasm has been dampened by the sheer logistical challenges of getting a magazine here audited, and also by the huge amount of education that is needed to sell the value of an audit. Most media buyers will still risk their budget with a magazine that claims 50,000 copies per month versus one with an audited circulation of 15,000 copies.
1 comments:
This is a very appropriate titles There really is a war going on within print media. While there is some competition between the publications, the real war is fought by the sales reps who sell the advertisements. These people approach the same companies with the same promises. Buy advertisements with us, and we promise you so many thousand viewers will see your ad.
Sadly, while the 3 newspapers on Phuket may write articles dubbed as news they are in fact advertising outlets that must sell advertisements to stay in business. As the competition increases, so do the attempts to drive people to their website. Social media is the soft and friendly way to do this. Sending SMS messages to a bank of telephone numbers, bought or accumulated through, is a more aggressive way to advertise. And so far, ThePhuketNews is the only newspaper of the 3 to be spamming not only my telephone, but untold telephone numbers across the island.
And while some may see this as a war between newspapers, it's really a war over print media selling advertisements. As that war heats up, we will see once respected establishments such as newspapers sinking to new levels.
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