ARLINGTON, Virginia: The Newspaper Association of America, in partnership with the Audit Bureau of Circulations and Scarborough Research, is planning to roll-out readership figures that add web site traffic data to print circulation numbers.

The initiative will meld traditional data, including 'pass-on' print readership figures, with information on a title's website traffic.

The resultant data will be independently verified by the ABC and published both in its media reports and online datbases - a move that will enable agencies and media buyers to analyse total audience and circulation by market area.

The database is expected to go live by the September 2007 reporting period.

The ABC's recent Online Accountability survey indicated that demand for interactive auditing is set to increase in the immediate future. Among its findings ...
  • 68% of online media buyers said they would prefer to advertise on sites that are independently audited;

  • 84% said that verification of online advertising activity by an independent third-party auditing firm would become increasingly important over the next three years;

  • 83% planned to increase online ad spending in 2007; more than half expected double-digit budget increases.
Comments ABC president/managing director Michael Lavery: "As online advertising expenditures continue to grow, we're hearing from more publishers and online content providers that want to demonstrate the breadth of their audiences - in print and online - to advertisers and ad agencies.

"ABC's role is to bring transparency and accountability to audience measurements, regardless of the medium."

Data sourced from mrweb.com; additional content by WARC staff