Independent circulation auditing combined with readership research is the best way to provide potential advertisers with an accurate picture of readership and reach. That was the message to media buying agencies in Saudi Arabia at a series of training seminars convened recently by BPA Worldwide, the global auditor of media.

The presentations in Riyadh and Jeddah covered roughly four propositions: that circulation auditing and audience measurement is an internationally recognised best practice for media owners and that use of that data in media buying decisions is an internationally recognised best practice for buyers; that buyers and advertisers should prefer audited media over unaudited media when they have the choice; that if buyers have to use unaudited media, then it shouldn't be valued monetarily the same as audited media, and finally to ask unaudited media why they continue choose to be unaccountable.

"Common to all markets in the GCC is the contention that readership or reach is more important than understanding circulation. We tried to show that the best way to reach the all-important readership reach number is through a baseline audited figure of copies going to the audience," explains Aspen Aman, BPA's Business Development Manager for the Middle East.

BPA convened a total of 16 sessions for 19 agencies during this outreach effort in Saudi Arabia, reaching a total of 80 agency participants. The attendees, which included representatives from ICOM, Optimedia, mediaedge, Mindshare and Carat, were all either media buying units within agencies or those agencies with a sister-company media buying unit to which they make recommendations. These were predominantly international agencies' country offices with the addition of a few local-grown agencies.  BPA made a similar presentation to advertisers at an industry event in Jeddah, encouraging advertisers to hold media owners accountable to them for circulation and audience claims.a

"I was heartened to get responses like 'this is music to my ears' from one buyer at an international agency and a junior planner telling me that they dreamt of a time when there are as many publications audited in Saudi Arabia as there are in the UAE," adds Aman. "Importantly, the attendees agreed to not just make recommendations on audited media to their clients but to actively push media owners in the Kingdom to get audited. Without this client and agency support, the transition to an audited market would be much more difficult."