I hope the hype around this ‘New Dawn’ fades

The ABC’s combining of print and digital figures is progress for the industry, says Peter Houston, founder of Flipping Pages Media. So why is he left hoping for something else, something more?

I doubt Ian Curtis had any interest in ABC figures, and I wonder if I’ll ever be forgiven for associating such a sublimely atmospheric song with the work-a-day machinations of magazine circulation. But I reckon the slow build of Joy Division’s ‘New Dawn Fades‘ offers a perfect intro soundtrack to the ABC’s new combined circulation report.

A change of speed, a change of style.
A change of scene, with no regrets…

Not that you would spot the connection in some of the coverage of last week’s first ABC ‘Combined Total Circulation Certificate’. The addition of digital numbers to print numbers in the audit report has been hailed as unprecedented, monumental, a leap forward, a ‘new dawn’.

To be clear, this is progress. Combining print and digital edition circulation numbers in a single audit report is a good move.

It would be easy to pile in and say it’s a long-overdue move, but I’m sure getting the print ducks to sit in the same row as the digital ducks wasn’t easy for ABC. I imagine a lot of baggage had to be left behind, a lot of people who see these numbers as mission critical had to be convinced that this would help rather than hinder.

Imagine you’ve been talking up total circulation growth for years on the back of digital, only to have the flat-line of reality exposed on a single chart.

But as much as this first combined report should be applauded, it’s a first step, the triumphant dive across the finish line is still a long way in the future and the industry can’t let hyped up ‘Brave New World’ headlines distract them from the race.

If you read past the headlines into the commentary, pretty much everyone agrees.

Eschewing the revolutionary rhetoric, PPA CEO Barry Mcilhenny said: “The industry has long pushed for an appropriate metric that reflects the growing diversity of platforms and audience touchpoints, and this combination of print and digital edition circulations is a very positive step forward.”

Dennis Publishing’s CEO James Tye said he was heartened by the changes, but wants future guidelines to address changing consumer habits: “We look forward to working with the ABC to help develop the audit to include cutting edge mobile products in the future.”

On the agency side, Jessica Evans, media director at Carat UK, was encouraged by the transparency of the combined report, but… “Whilst the inclusion of digital editions into the headline press figure is positive, the figures do not include fully interactive tablet editions, nor mobile, website or other brand extensions such as events.”

The most strident reaction against the combined report comes from Jonny Kaldor, co-founder of the Kaldor software house. For him, the whole concept of the ABC figures is ‘antiquated’. Going further he says: “The stagnation in how these numbers are calculated has stifled innovation for the majority in the publishing world.”

Jonny has an agenda, he sells software that helps people go way beyond replica publishing, but his point is well made. By only including digital replicas – magazines with no more than 25 percent additional content – ABC reporting actively discourages publishers from developing anything outside the ABC mandated box.

I saw the unintended consequences of these strictures first hand at last year’s Digital Magazine Unconference. The frustration among the bigger publishers was palpable as they listened wistfully to smaller, more nimble publishers describing their no-holds barred approach to digital magazine development.

That’s not going to last. Every one of the major publishers is working hard on multiplatform, mobile in particular. And growing sustainable digital readership beyond the 3 per cent of total circulation that it currently stands at calls for more than repackaged PDFs.

The Joy Division fans among you will remember that Mr Curtis closes out ‘New Dawn Fades’ hoping for something else, something more. That’s how I feel about the ABC’s Combined Total Circulation Certificate.

The combined bit is good; print and digital considered together, part of the whole. Perfect.

The problem is the Total Circulation bit. I’m not sure any centralised audit group will ever manage to measure a brand’s total circulation given the diversity of platforms that publishers are using, but reporting only on digital replicas isn’t enough.

Progress? Absolutely. New Dawn? Not even close.