Managing a publication's audience continues to take on increased importance. Competition for reading time continues to intensify as new media options accelerate, media audiences fragment, and consumers have less discretionary time, now equally as important a currency as income. A further threat in the U.S. is the consolidation of newsstand wholesalers. Traditionally an important way for publications to gain consumer trial, the ability to gain successful newsstand distribution, will become increasingly difficult.

All this is happening as print advertising buying becomes more commoditized, and increasingly, total audience is the barometer of currency. Less time is spent by print buyers evaluating reader quality data such as primary or loyal readers. CPM's rule. Maximizing trial and total audience should be major priorities for today's publisher.

This paper attempts to add new learning and set a platform for more thorough analysis of how to understand and influence the dynamics that influence total audience; notably, reading that occurs "out-of-home." Unlike broadcast, nearly every other print exposure occurs out-of-home.

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