Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA)

Definition:
The professional body representing ADVERTISERS and, specifically, ADVERTISING MANAGERS. Its origins are in the Advertisers' Protection Society, formed in 1900 to lobby for the provision of reliable, veritable circulation figures by the newspaper publishers of the day. Frustrated by lack of results, the Society forced the issue by publishing its own estimates. The Observer took them to court for estimating 5,000 when the actual figure was 80,000 but the Society won the action on the grounds that there was no means of making more accurate estimates. Thereafter, the newspaper publishers began to provide statements of audited circulation, starting with the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. The culmination of the Society's initiative was the establishment of the AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS in 1931. Meanwhile, it changed its name to the present form in 1920, and concentrated its attentions on pioneering the first independent readership surveys to describe demographic characteristics as well as counting heads. Today, ISBA provides a wide range of membership services and produces a series of publications on such aspects of practice as the selection, briefing and remuneration of advertising agencies.

Cross-References:
[advertising manager] [advertising] [Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)]

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