Magazine media paid promotional programs
Related rules: F 1.1/F 101.1
The following examples illustrate paid promotional programs for individual subscriptions:
- Discounted Subscription Prices
- Using the Word ‘Free’ in Subscription Offers
- Gift Subscriptions
- Premiums
Discounted Subscription Prices
For discounted subscription prices to qualify as paid individual subscriptions, the following requirements must be met:
- The consumer pays at least one cent net of considerations for the subscription (Net of considerations are the monies allocated towards the publication after all other inducements are applied.)
- All promotional offers include a subscriber contractual agreement or a call to action that includes the subscription term, frequency and price.
- All promotional materials are maintained for audit.
Example
Magazine details: Basic one-year subscription price (10 issues) is $20.00.
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For a limited time, subscribe today and receive a one-year subscription to ABC Magazine for only $10.00. That’s a 50% savings from the $20.00 annual rate. Simply return this form to begin your subscription. ______ Yes! Sign me up for a one-year subscription (10 issues) for only $10.00. Address: _________________ City: _______________ State: _________________ ZIP: ________ Email: _______________________ |
Using the Word ‘Free’ in Subscription Offers
A promotional offer can include the word ‘free,’ ‘trial,’ ‘no additional cost,’ ‘bonus,’ ‘no extra cost,’ ‘gift’ or other synonymous language and still be considered a paid individual subscription if the following criteria is met:
- The promotional material presents the consumer with a perceived dollar value for the entire delivery term.
- The purchase price for the entire delivery term is at least one cent net of considerations.
- All promotional offers include a subscriber contractual agreement or call to action that includes the subscription term, frequency and price.
- All promotional materials are maintained for audit.
Example
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Subscribe Today Simply return this form to begin your subscription. ______ YES! Send me 3 trial issues, and if I like ABC Magazine, please bill me for 9 more (that’s 12 issues in all) at the great price of only $20.00! Name: __________________________________________ Address: _____________________ City: ____________ State: __________ ZIP: ____________ Email: __________________________ |
A contractual agreement must state the total term of delivery (number of issues or term) and the total purchase price. In the above example, the contractual agreement states “(that’s 12 issues in all) at the great price of only $20.00.”
Gift Subscriptions
A gift subscription is the purchase of a subscription by an individual for another individual as an expression of personal friendship. Gift subscriptions are included in paid individual subscriptions if the following criteria are met:
- The purchaser must pay at least one cent, net of considerations, for each subscription.
- The contract or call to action portion of the offer states that the gift subscription is paid as part of the total amount due.
- There is a limit of 50 subscriptions per individual purchaser.
Notes:
- Subscriptions purchased to promote a professional or business interest are not considered gift subscriptions. Depending on the elements of the program, the subscriptions may qualify as verified or analyzed nonpaid bulk.
- Single-donor orders in quantities of more than 50, where the subscriptions are individually addressed, are eligible for classification as sponsored sales and are governed by the rules for sponsored sales.
Example
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_______ YES! Sign me up for a one-year subscription to ABC Magazine and send a one-year subscription to my friend, listed below, for a total of two subscriptions for $10.00. Send my subscription: Name: ________________________ Address: _____________________ City, State, ZIP: ___________________ Email:__________________ Send a subscription to my friend: Name: ________________________ Address: ______________________ City, State, ZIP: ________________ Email: __________________ |
Premiums
Premiums are any item or inducement offered to an individual to entice them to purchase the magazine. For subscriptions or single copies sold with premiums to qualify as paid distribution, the following is required:
- The purchase price must be no less than one cent plus the full value of the premium.
- The value of the premiums is considered the highest of either:
- The recognized or stated/printed retail price (cost to purchase in the marketplace).
- The represented or advertised value (any value stated in the offer).
- The cost to the publisher (to acquire or manufacture).
Note: The following items are NOT considered premiums:
- Any part of the subscription term.
- Free or discounted access to archives or back content.
- Free or discounted access to online content or digital editions from the same editorial home page of the publication.
- Anything sent free by mail with the subscription offer or sample merchandise that can be ordered and received regardless of if the subscription is purchased.
- Items offered to current paid subscribers as an inducement to convert to payment method for a future subscription.
- Any other periodicals and newspapers. In these cases, combination sales rules apply.
Examples
“Free” Premium (premium value = publisher’s cost)
Magazine details: One-year subscription (12 issues) is $100.00. Cost of umbrella to publisher is $5.00.
| Buy a one-year subscription to Prototype Magazine for the low price of $22.00 and get a free umbrella! |
The minimum cost to qualify as a paid individual subscription is $5.01 ($5.00 (the premium) + one cent (the magazine). In this example, there is no stated or retail value, so the cost to the publisher is used as the premium value. Since the subscriber is paying $22.00, this offer qualifies as paid.
“Discount” Premium (premium value = retail cost)
Magazine details: One-year subscription (12 issues) is $100.00. Retail cost of Amazon Fire 7 Tablet 16GB Model is $49.99. Publisher’s cost for Amazon Fire 7 Tablet 16GB Model is $30.00.
| Buy a one-year subscription to Prototype Magazine for the low price of $60.00 and get a free Amazon Fire 7 16GB tablet. |
The minimum price to qualify as a paid individual subscription is $50.00 ($49.99 (the premium) + one cent (the magazine). In this example, the highest value of the premium is the retail cost of the item, $49.99. Since the subscriber is paying $60.00, this offer qualifies as paid.
“Discount Card” Premium (premium value = publisher’s cost)
Discount cards that are used at various retail outlets, services, etc. must have an assigned retail value and be available for purchase in the marketplace.
Notes:
- If there is no assigned value to the discount count card, the retail value is the total cost of all retail services, etc., available through the discount card.
- A magazine may advertise the availability of the card being sold separately at a stated annual rate to establish an assigned retail value.
Magazine details: One-year subscription (12 issues) is $25.00. Retail value of discount card is $10.00. The discount card can be purchased without a magazine subscription.
| Buy a one-year subscription to Prototype Magazine for the low price of $25.00 and get a free Prototype Retail Discount Card that can be used at various retail outlets. |