BPA International Signs Web Auditing Agreement with ANES/CSST Italian Certifying Body to Procure Clients for Web Audits.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2000

BPA International signed a mutually exclusive agreement with Associazione Nazionale Editoria Periodica Specializzata (ANES), an association in the Italian Federation of Industrial Enterprises, and its audit body, Certificazione Stampa Specializzata Tecnica (CSST), to provide auditing services for web site traffic.

The agreement, signed on September 22, is the second exclusive accord signed between BPA and ANES/CSST which is the sole Italian certifying body that operates in the business-to-business sector and certifies a controlled publication's print run and distribution.

According to the new agreement, BPA's interactive division, which has been auditing interactive media since 1996, will provide auditing services for web site traffic on behalf of the Milan-based certifying body. The auditing services and resulting audit reports will be promoted in the Italian market as "BPA Interactive, in partnership with ANES/CSST." ANES/CSST will procure clients for web audits and can also offer BPA's interactive auditing services to non-ANES/CSST members.

BPA International president and CEO, Glenn J. Hansen, sees the agreement as providing more auditing services for the Italian marketplace. "Our first agreement with ANES/CSST provided us the opportunity to work with a prestigious organization whose commitment to credibility and accuracy is as great as BPA's," Hansen said. "This new agreement provides an extension of our traditional publication auditing services for Italy to include interactive media as well."

Gisella Bertini, president of CSST, views the agreement as a means for the ANES/CSST membership to demonstrate their brand extensions. "Convergence of media is on a global scale mainly because of the of the Internet's ability to reach more audiences and advertisers," Bertini said. "Our members can expand the editorial content of their publications online and market their brand to current and prospective audiences. BPA's auditing services will give our members the tools they need to demonstrate the strength of their brand."

The first agreement between BPA International and ANES/CSST provided BPA with the exclusive right to perform file qualification audits for all controlled circulation business titles in Italy. BPA and ANES/CSST are both members of the International Federation of Auditing Bureaux of Circulations (IFABC).

About BPA

A not-for-profit organization since 1931, BPA International are media auditing experts -- the preferred global provider of audited data for the marketing and media/information industries. Media owners, advertisers, and advertising agencies govern the tripartite organization. Our international membership consists of more than 2,500 media properties (print, electronic, face-to-face, wireless, databases) and 2,800 media buyers in over 20 countries. Visit www.bpai.com for the latest audit reports, membership information and news.