Circulation Glossary

Circulation Management, Dec 1, 2002

This glossary of commonly used circulation terms, which runs annually in the CM Buyer's Guide, was originally compiled by circulation consultant Hal Speer and the editors of CM . Special thanks to the following circulation professionals for contributing additional information and definitions this year: Claudia Allen, consumer marketing manager, online for Rodale (and her circulation team); Al Goodloe, publisher/editor of Publisher's Multinational Direct ; John Harrington, partner, Harrington Associates, LLC; Carole Ireland, president, Quality Circulation Services; John A. Morthanos, VP, Specialty Sales, Curtis Circulation; Jerry Okabe, VP, member relations, BPA International; Lynn Reinicke, VP, business development, CDS; Lisa Scott, executive director, Periodical & Book Association of America; Bruce Sprague, circulation consultant; and Elaine Tyson, president, Tyson Associates, Inc.

ABC: The Audit Bureau of Circulations is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, with member service offices in New York and Toronto. As of September 1, 2002, ABC has 4,322 members, including 787 consumer titles, 257 business and farm publications, 1,326 newspapers, 1,334 advertisers and ad agencies, and 492 associate members. (Also see "Audit Bureau and "BPA International.")

ADDS: New names added to the circulation file.

ADVANCE RENEWAL: Generally, a renewal generated by a promotional effort that goes out well in advance of the rest of the renewal promotional series. Advance or early renewals that come in unsolicited are sometimes called "unidentified renewals."

ADVERTISER COPIES: Each advertiser in a given issue is commonly sent a copy of the issue so that the advertiser can check the ad.

ADVERTISING-DRIVEN: A magazine that derives more than half of its revenue from advertising. Most large consumer magazines are advertising-driven.

AGENT-SOLD SUBS: Paid subscriptions sold by commissionable, outside agencies.

AGENCY CREDIT CANCELS: It is customary to enter agency-sold subscriptions as "cash subscriptions," even though the agency may have sold them on credit and is billing for them. When subscribers do not pay within the audit bureau's allotted time frame, the agency notifies the publisher's fulfillment operation, and the subscriptions are discontinued.

AGENCY CREDIT REINSTATES: When a customer pays after an agency-generated subscription order already has been cancelled, the subscription is resumed or reinstated.

ALTERNATE SOURCE: In strict terms, an alternate source is any subscription source other than direct mail. However, in practice, the term is far more often applied to nontraditional sources such as package inserts and partnerships than it is to commonly used non-direct-mail sources such as telemarketing.

ALLOTMENT: See "Draw."

ARREARS: See "Grace Copies."

ATTACHED RENEWAL/INVOICE: A renewal promotion attached to the magazine or mailed with it in a polybag, in place of or in addition to a direct mail effort. Despite polybag costs and a slight additional Periodicals class postage charge, attached efforts are cheaper than a mailing sent USPS Standard A. Also, an attached effort may pull as well or better than a direct mail effort.

AUDIT BUREAU: An independent organization that audits the claimed circulations of its publisher members for purposes of verifying those claims for advertisers. ABC and BPA International (see definitions) are the dominant magazine publishing audit bureaus.

AUDIT REPORT: The annual report from an audit bureau that covers two consecutive publishers' statements (see definition) for a given magazine. Often termed a "white sheet" by ABC members. BPA International members are not required to print an audit report if no changes are required to the data reported on the publisher's statement.

AUTHORIZATION: In single-copy sales, a retailer's approval for a particular title to be carried in some or all of its stores. In subscription agency sales, the publisher's approval for an agent to sell a particular title, specifying rates and commissions.

AUTOMATIC RENEWAL: See "Continuous Service."

BACK COPIES: Copies served to a new subscriber that are older than the current issue. Often used to help meet paid rate base or controlled demographics goals.

BAD PAY COPIES: Copies sent out on credit before a publisher suspends a subscription for nonpayment.

BAD PAY ALLOWANCE: A deduction from gross subscription circulation that a publisher carries in anticipation of eventual bad pay.

BANG TAIL: This direct mail format features an attached reply envelope, eliminating printing of separate reply envelopes and insertion costs.

BASIC RATE: Prior to 2001's change in the audit bureaus' rules, basic rate - a magazine's standard, published subscription price - was used as the benchmark for defining paid circulation. (Subs paid at at least 50 percent of basic were defined as paid.) Now that both ABC and BPA define paid circulation as any sub or single copy paid at at least one cent, basic rate is used primarily for postal purposes. The Postal Service continues to base periodicals-rate eligibility on a magazine's having at least 50 percent of its circulation paid at 50 percent of basic rate and/or requested. Therefore, magazines continue to need to monitor these levels and publish a basic rate on their mastheads.