Why Is The ABC CCR So Popular?

On the eve of the latest consumer magazine concurrent release, Helen Lederer, London lifestyle business director at EMAP, discusses the value of the ABC’s CCR and how evolution and innovation will keep the sector strong…

The twice annual publication of the ABC consumer magazines ‘Concurrent Release’ (CCR) is always a busy, yet exciting time in magazine publishing. Around 700 titles and editions report their latest figures for the previous six-month period, providing publishers and advertisers with a robust currency on which to buy and sell media space for the coming months.

For those titles that have fared well, media packs are updated and much noise is made about circulation rises, encouraging advertisers to commit even greater portions of their budgets. Other titles that haven’t grown their circulations may see publishers and editors taking stock, looking at ways of boosting their audiences by the time the next round of figures are released, and doing their best to keep their advertisers interested.

To put it plainly, the consumer magazine sector is heavily dependent on the ABC figures; without them advertisers simply wouldn’t be able to differentiate between titles, and would only have the word of publishers on which to base their advertising decisions. Many would not even choose to trade in print, without the independent assurance that marketing spend is delivering a valid audience. It’s this reason that prompts the vast majority of consumer magazine publishers to have their circulation figures audited by ABC.

The consumer magazine figures also tend to be the most accessible of all ABC serviced sectors, simply because of the recognisable magazine brands involved. Everyone wants to know which celebrity titles are doing well, which of the lad’s mags have improved their market share, and even whether Total Carp has continued to play a central role in the fishing magazines sector! It’s because of this ‘consumer interest’, and the sheer number and variety of magazines reporting at the same time that the media industry, and wider press, all take time out to survey the results.

All this interest is nothing but positive for the consumer magazine sector. With ad spend on consumer magazines at well over £800 million, there’s a lot resting on the ABC figures. Each title needs to demonstrate to potential advertisers that they’re worth investing in, as media schedules for the coming months will be decided. And even many retailers use the figures to help guide their stocking decisions, so they know which titles to include, and which should get the pride of place on the most prominent shelves.

We don’t just need the ABC figures to tell us that the consumer magazine market is very buoyant at the moment. Innovation is high with a number of new launches in the last year, following on from the undoubted success of the men’s weeklies Zoo and Nuts. The women’s weekly market especially has seen several new titles, some combining pure ‘celebrity’ news with real life stories and interest. We also launched Grazia, the first weekly fashion and lifestyle title. The market has also just seen the first ‘digital only’ magazine launch, Monkey, which will no doubt shake things up in the men’s market and beyond. In fact, technology will play an even more pivotal role in the future of the consumer magazine market, as publishers explore new ways of engaging with their readers.

What will be very interesting to see is how with this evolution into other channels, and onto the web especially, consumer magazine brands make efforts to continue to deliver robust trading data to the market. Already websites like Hello! have embraced ABC ELECTRONIC, and audit their traffic figures so advertisers are given the same assurance of audience whether they’re spending in print or online. The digital title Monkey has also followed suit, so it can stand up and be counted as a valid title for investment, even if it never appears on paper. As more titles branch out into other channels, and not just online, ABC will continue to be central to trading.

The next few years will undoubtedly see much change in the consumer magazine sector, as the market evolves to offer consumers new genres, and new ways of accessing content. But even with new technology and new methods of delivering content to consumers, they’ll always be a place for print editions. TV listings magazines were predicted certain doom due to the rise in digital TV access to programme schedules, and the abundance of free listings magazines in the national press. Yet the core TV listings titles continue to sell well – as confirmed by their ABC figures.

What’s most important is that we continue to embrace the value ABC delivers, so regardless of whether print or online or beyond, we’re always able to provide honest and comparable trading data to the media industry.

NewsLine will have full coverage of the latest consumer magazine release from 12 noon on Thursday 15 February, and all figures will be available to MediaTel.co.uk subscribers in the press database on the left.

MediaTel Group hosts the ‘Future of Consumer Magazines’ on 28 February 2007, between 9.30am and 11.30am at One Great George Street in London’s Westminster.

The BBC’s Torin Douglas will chair the event. Panelists include Marc Mendoza, Media Planning Group managing partner; David Hepworth, editorial director of Development Hell; Paul Keenan, chief executive of Emap Consumer Media; Stevie Spring, chief executive of Future plc; and media journalist, Ray Snoddy.

Tickets are selling extremely fast for this event, at a cost of £120 + VAT. For more information and to book, click here.