The Audit Bureau of Circulations or known in short as ABC is the body that provides very crucial information about the circulation of publications in Malaysia. It functions as the authority that governs the authenticity of actual figures of circulation of a specific publication.
Covers all publications
Whether it is magazines, newspapers or books, the ABC is the main reference point when it comes to total circulation. ABC plays a very important role in the media today because it has a clear objective of providing numbers which is:
- independent
- unbiased
- apolitical
Major role of ABC
This is where ABC is tasked to check and validate the circulation and print-run numbers of a particular publication which could sometimes determine the failure or success of that media as advertisers will use these numbers to decide if they want to place an ad with a particular print media.
Background of ABC
Incorporated in 1975, ABC was the result of the concerted efforts of the MAA (Malaysian Advertisers Association) and the 4As (Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia). The main objective of ABC is to ensure that circulation figures in printed media with advertising space are valid and true.
Apart from that, ABC establishes and enforces the standard formats and methods in determining these figures. It is involved in other media like cinema and television subscription as well.
Basically, ABC is like a quality seal and stamp that is called in voluntarily by print media owners. This is very advantageous in every way because it means that the publication wants the public to know that they are actually printing and circulating as many as they claimed.
For instance, one of Malaysia’s most popular English Language newspaper theSun recently publicized its numbers that ABC had certified its circulation to be at 300,550 copies daily between 1st July 2009 and 30th June 2010. This means that theSun can proudly and safely claim that there are over 300,000 copies of the newspaper will get out into the general public on a daily basis.
In this context, no parties can dispute the numbers that is claimed by theSun because it is validated and more so from the independent body like ABC. However, if any publication makes claims of a specific circulation figure without the ABC’s audit numbers, it can be debated and disputed as anyone can make any claims that they like in order to drive more advertising sales.
Therefore, it is important that an ABC audit is undertaken while advertisers can always check with ABC about these numbers before booking any space with a particular print media owner.
The main concept of having the circulation numbers validated and certified by ABC is so that no one can simply make any claims or over-claim their numbers. After all, the number of prints and circulation are used by publications to attract advertisers.
What it means here is that the advertiser will surely be impressed and would want to place an ad within the publication that has more than 100,000 prints per month.
When translated, it means that the publication could potentially be read by 100,000 in every edition. If the numbers are just ‘claimed’, it might not hold water, but if it is audited and certified by ABC, it means that the numbers are true.
