Increasing demand for independent media audits from advertisers

Tue, 2011-11-22 08:44 - By

Advertising Business, Media Business, Advertising, Media, BPA Worldwide, Gulf Sports Media, Michael Chalhoub, thenational.ae, Zubair Siddiqui

Advertisers are calling for independent audits of regional publications in order to boost confidence in the publishing industry. Audits are used by prospective advertisers to determine a publication's circulation, and its worth to an advertising campaign. "The demand for using audited titles from advertisers is increasing," said Zubair Siddiqui, who is a member of the regional advisory board of BPA Worldwide, an auditor of media titles.

Few media companies in the region actually audit the circulation of their publications, but with an increased demand from advertisers, the number of independent audits will surely increase.

"Advertisers are being more and more professional about the way they do their plans," said Michael Chalhoub, the chief executive of Gulf Sports Media. "When every client is being very careful about every dime that they are spending, they want to make sure that they are actually spending for the circulation that is being claimed."