We see a lot of transparency in this industry regarding where ingredients are sourced from, and in the case of herbs we can trace to the farms. These days, with supply issues impacting production, transparency becomes even more important, and is addressed here, in our annual Supplier Special edition.
As my team and I were talking, though, we discussed how important transparency is for media companies, too. We are strong believers in this, as we have shared our company history and my family’s story multiple times over the decades, and are so happy to continue to share that history as we reach our 38th year and onward. Another factor: Any responsible publisher should be open to sharing circulation numbers, showing who is reading the publication, website articles, e-newsletters and viewing all the content. That is why, at WholeFoods, we continue to be transparent and make the investment in BPA. BPA is the most respected circulation auditor of b-to-b publications. From the BPA Worldwide website:
BPA Worldwide is a not-for-profit organization that provides independent, third-party audits of audience claims of business-to-business publications, consumer magazines and face-to-face events. Publishers use BPA-audited data to prove to media buyers that the audience quantity and quality they claim is accurate. As a result, advertising agencies and advertisers can trust that the media brand’s reach reflects their investment.
Here is a passage from our 35th Anniversary feature (WholeFoods Magazine, Feb 2019) that rings ever truer today:
Being small is no excuse to cut corners, however—Heather is adamant about that, no doubt inspired by the efforts her own mother and father put into the success of this business. One area in which this is evident is her insistence on continuing to be audited by BPA. It’s the publishing industry’s version of transparency: BPA provides third-party audits of a publication’s circulation and verifies audience data that is used in advertising sales. Just as quality supplement manufacturers put in the extra effort to ensure consumers can see what is in their products, BPA-audited publications put in the extra effort to ensure their clients know how many people are actually reading the magazine. “We had a big decision to make about continuing to be BPA audited when our competitors did lose BPA,” Heather says. “We always felt that it was something we should invest in for our customers. To this day we are still BPA audited. Our main competitors are not. But I feel it’s important. Your readership is everything. If I can’t prove my numbers or who is actually reading the magazine to my customers, that’s a whole trust value there. Proof is everything, that’s why it was very important to be able to provide this to them.”
So, our door is open and you know we are happy to share. Feel free to ask us anything, or tell us your thoughts. We are all in this partnership together, with a shared goal to help grow this industry in a trustful way, and transparency is where trust starts. We are honored to work with so many distinguished brands who exemplify this quality; you have kindly let us in your doors, labs, manufacturing facilities, and farms to see where it all begins. We appreciate and value these opportunities and we offer the same to you. Ask us your questions, tell us your thoughts, and we will continue to bring you all the information we can so you feel completely comfortable working with us in any aspect of our business.
