AAM frequently hears that verified digital media data is increasingly important to buyers, while publishers want to find new ways to stand out to buyers in a competitive digital marketplace.
AAM’s automated digital assurance program streamlines the reporting and distribution of verified web and social media data in publishers’ AAM Brand View profiles. Brand View is a complimentary platform that allows AAM-audited publishers to share their 360° brand story with advertisers in an easy-to-access format — even those without access to AAM’s database.
Farm Journal is one company taking advantage of AAM’s automated digital assurance program and Brand View. We recently spoke with Todd Peterson, Farm Journal’s senior vice president of audience, to learn why his company values reporting cross-media data and sharing it via AAM’s Brand View.
Showcasing an Omni-Channel Audience
Farm Journal is an award-winning magazine that has provided content and resources to farmers for over 150 years and has amassed an audience of nearly 1.3 million contacts across print, web and newsletters. With the recent growth of its digital channels, Peterson believes having all of Farm Journal’s data verified by AAM is essential.
“We’re putting our data on AAM’s platform because we’re proud of our diversification,” Peterson said. “And advertisers like to know how many channels we have and that the data is verified by a third party. Their interest pushes us to report more than just the print side of our business.”
The company is also seeing growth in social media. Its YouTube channel has increased to more than 26,000 subscribers.
“Farm Journal is a bit of an omni-channel giant,” Peterson added. “It's all-encompassing, and that's why we have so much data in AAM’s database and Brand View. Advertisers want to know what our total audience looks like, so we give it to them.”
Provide Buyers with Independently Verified Data
Peterson said it's crucial to have Farm Journal's data verified by a third-party auditor to prove to advertisers that the numbers they’re sharing can be trusted.
“Anybody can say they have a certain number of viewers on YouTube, but when that figure is verified and included in Brand View, it becomes more legitimate.”
Through AAM's automated digital assurance program, Farm Journal shares web data including unique browsers, monthly visits, page impression data, and metrics from social media channels including YouTube, Facebook, X and Instagram. AAM automatically collects, filters and validates Farm Journal’s web and social media data monthly and integrates it into the company’s AAM Brand View profile and Analyzer reports housed in AAM’s Media Intelligence Center.
“We want to show advertisers that we have the largest reach compared to our competitors and those numbers have been verified, which is why we have AAM verify data for all of our channels,” Peterson said.
Brand View allows publishers to easily share their data with advertisers via a custom link to their profile. Anyone can view this data even if they’re not logged into AAM’s Media Intelligence Center.
“Advertisers know that if it’s in AAM’s database, then it can be trusted,” Peterson said. “We’re not just emailing them random numbers.”
Gain a Competitive Advantage
Peterson added that AAM’s database is also a great tool for competitive analysis. His team can download competitors’ reports, view company profiles and perform analyses via the Periodical Analyzer tool.
“Not only do we share our audit reports with advertisers, but we compare these reports to our competitors’ numbers all the time,” Peterson said. “It really helps us have a better understanding of the market and where we stand.”
To enroll in AAM’s automated digital assurance program, complete this brief form.
