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Target practice

Advertisers discuss the BPA audit for TheWeek and what should follow the initiative
BusinessToday reports

Making advertising decisions without the availability of accurate circulation figures for publications is like attempting to cross a desert without navigational aids. You might get lucky, but it is more likely that you will get lost. In today's competitive market, independent research data is of paramount importance to marketers. TheWeek from Apex Press and Publishing recently completed its initial BPA Worldwide audit, making it the first and only publication in Oman to provide audited circulation data to its advertisers. On a print run of 51,000, BPA certified that 50,300 copies of the weekly paper are circulated in the country. Apex Press and Publishing also plans to have its other publications – BusinessToday, OmanToday, Al Isbou'a and Al Youm – audited. This has been viewed as a commendable initiative in a largely non-committal industry, and advertisers are now keen to move further up the audit evolution ladder.

Says Johnny Oommen, head of operations, Al Jenaibi International Automobiles, "I view this development as a welcome signal of change for the media and advertising industry in Oman. This would hopefully translate to a more scientific approach to decision-making that typically involves vast sums of marketing expenditure.” While the concept of auditing is comparatively new in the region, there are changes occurring within the GCC market. An approach that favours publications that are audited over the ones that are not is develo-ping. In late 2005, the Circulation Audit Steering Organisation, born out of the formation of the GCC Advertisers' Association, which is made up of 30 of the region's biggest advertising spenders, issued a warning, threatening to pull out advertisments from unaudited publications if they did not apply for audit. But the issue really is more about implementing standards than threats. Audits confer precision of data, and this is something advertisers are naturally demanding from publications. Adds a spokesperson from the Saud Bahwan Group, "The BPA audit will encourage other strong publications to substantiate their circulation claims and will help in budget allocations of the advertisers."

By lifting the veil of secrecy from circulation figures, the audit gives advertisers the data they need to make informed choices. And advertisers are hungry for more along the same lines. Says Oommen, "What would be really useful in enabling advertising decisions for the kind of premium automobile brands we offer, are metr-ics based on in-depth audience research. These provide information in terms of segmentation and lifestyle, as also the readers' involvement quotient with various publications."

This is a view echoed by Mithilesh Kumar, general manager-Hyundai, OTE Group. "Sur-veys, which classify the profile of readers, are what will really help in making advertising decisions." However, a beginning has to be made somewhere. And the BPA audit of TheWeek will certainly help in ushering in an environment of greater transparency.