Glossary
As media marketing continues to evolve, so does the vocabulary and terminology used by professionals in the field. As one of the industry’s earliest pioneers dealing with the ever-changing media landscape, KSM has created a comprehensive index of terms to help you untangle the acronyms and arcane particulars of media marketing strategies.
A County
Describing any county belonging to one of the 25 largest cities and consolidated urban areas in the U.S. The “letter county” descriptions are assigned by A.C. Nielsen.
A/B split
The running of two versions of a magazine advertisement with each version distributed in every other copy of the magazine.
AAAA (American Association of Advertising)
The national trade association, founded in 1917, representing the advertising agency business in the United States. Website:www.aaaa.org. Also abbreviated 4A’s.
abandonment
A user leaving a shopping cart with something in it prior to completing the transaction.
ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation)
An organization supported by publishers, advertisers and their agencies.The ABC audits, and certifies as correct, the circulation statements of the subscribing publications. See BPA.
abort
When a web server does not successfully transfer a unit of content or ad to a browser. This is usually caused by a user hitting the stop button or clicking on another link prior to the completion of a download.
activity audit
Independent verification of measured activity for a specified time period. Some of the key metrics validated are ad impressions, page impressions, clicks, total visits and unique users. An activity audit results in a report verifying the metrics. Formerly known as a count audit.
ad audience
The number of unique users exposed to an ad within a specified time period.
ad bank
See time banks.
ad banner
A graphic image or other media object used as an advertisement. See iab.net for voluntary guidelines for banner ads.
ad blocker
Software on a user’s browser which prevents advertisements from being displayed.
ad campaign audit
An activity audit for a specific ad campaign.
ad centric measurement
Audience measurement derived from a third-party ad server’s own server logs.
ad display/ad delivered
An ad successfully displayed on the user’s computer screen.
ad download
The complete download of an ad to a user’s browser. Ads can be requested, but aborted or abandoned before actually being downloaded to the browser; hence there would be no opportunity to see the ad by the user.
ad impression
(1) An ad which is served to a user’s browser. Ads can be requested by the user’s browser (referred to as “pulled ads”) or they can be “pushed,” such as e-mailed ads. (2) A measurement of responses from an ad delivery system to an ad request from the user’s browser, which is filtered from robotic activity and is recorded at a point as late as possible in the process of delivery of the creative material to the user’s browser – therefore closest to the actual opportunity to see by the user.Two methods are used to deliver ad content to the user: (a) server-initiated; and (b) client-initiated.Server-initiated ad counting uses the publisher’s web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content. Client-initiated ad counting relies on the user’s browser to perform these activities. For organizations that use a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher’s ad server or the web content server. For organizations using a client-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur at the publisher’s ad server or third-party ad server, subsequent to the ad request, or later in the process.See iab.net for ad campaign measurement guidelines.
ad impression ratio
Click-throughs divided by ad impressions. See click rate.
ad insertion
An inserted ad in a document recorded by the ad server.
ad materials
The creative artwork, copy, active URLs and active target sites which are due to the seller prior to initiation of the ad campaign.
ad network
An aggregator or broker of advertising inventory for many sites. Ad networks are the sales representatives for the websites within the network.
ad recall
A measure of advertising effectiveness in which a sample of respondents is exposed to an ad and then at a later point in time is asked if they remember the ad. Ad recall can be on an aided or unaided basis. Aided ad recall is when the respondent is told the name of the brand or category being advertised.
ad request
The request for an advertisement as a direct result of a user’s action as recorded by the ad server. Ad requests can come directly from a user’s browser or from an intermediate Internet resource, such as a web content server.
ad serving
The delivery of ads by a server to an end-user’s computer on which the ads are then displayed by a browser and/or cached. Ad serving is normally performed either by a web publisher or by a third-party ad server. Ads can be embedded in the page or served separately.
ad space
The location on a page of a site in which an advertisement can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely identified. Multiple ad spaces can exist on a single page.
ad stream
The series of ads viewed by a user during a single visit to a website.
ad transfers
The successful display of an advertiser’s website after the user clicked on an ad.When a user clicks on an advertisement, a click-through is recorded and re-directs or “transfers” the user’s browser to an advertiser’s website. If the user successfully displays the advertiser’s website, an ad transfer is recorded.
ad view
When an ad is actually seen by the user. Note that this is not measurable today. The best approximation today is provided by
ad displays.
ad displays.
Ad*Views
A Nielsen product that provides summarized and detailed competitive advertising intelligence across 17 media.
Ad-ID (advertising digital identification)
A webbased system that generates a unique identifying code for each advertising asset, enabling advertisers, agencies and the media to improve upon current ad-related processes and capitalize on emerging technologies and marketing opportunities. Developed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), Ad-ID uses the TV standard, ISCI commercial coding system as its foundation and replaces all other methods used to identify advertising assets.
ad/advertisement
A commercial message targeted to an advertiser’s customer or prospect.
ad/edit ratio –
The ratio of advertising to editorial pages in a print medium (e.g. 60/40 indicates 60 percent of all pages advertising).
ad/sales ratio
Advertising dollars shown as a percentage of a product’s/service’s gross sales.
AD/SAT
Transmission of TV commercials by satellite.
added deficiency unit (ADU)
In network television, the commercial units added (at no charge) to an audience-guaranteed buy to make up for impression or TRP under-delivery as reported in a post analysis.
address
A unique identifier for a computer or site online, usually a URL for a website or marked with an @ for an e-mail address. In effect, it is how one computer finds the location of another computer using the Internet.
addressable
The ability of media such as magazines and TV to direct advertising to specific individuals.
ADI (area of dominant influence)
A geographic market area defined by the preponderance of radio listening. An ADI is analogous to DMA and SMSA, but may not be identical in area or size to those other market measuring devices. This term is now out-of-date, and rarely used.
adjacency
A commercial position between two programs. Applies to both radio and TV.
AdRelevance
The leading online advertising intelligence-gathering tool available, capturing advertising activity across all major industries, channels, formats (including rich media), and platforms on the web. A Nielsen service.
ADS (Alternative Delivery System)
Refers to satellite and dish services for receiving TV/cable broadcast.
adserver
A company that distributes (serves) advertising messages to websites.The adserver stores your electronic advertisement (banner, button, interstitial, etc.) and “serves” it electronically to websites that contract to accept such advertisements. Examples: DoubleClick, Real Media.
advertiser
The company paying for the advertisement.
advertising agency
An organization that prepares advertising materials for client organizations, and which usually (but not always) also plans and buys advertising time or space for those clients. Compare buying service and media management service.
advertising weight
The level of advertising support provided to a brand, product or service, expressed in terms of gross impressions, gross rating points, target rating points, number of insertions, etc.
advertorial
A print advertisement which is styled to resemble an editorial format. Format and typeface usually mirror that used by the publication in which it runs. Most publishers require advertorials to be labeled “advertisement” at the top.
ADVO
A system for mailing advertising (typically couponed advertising) to specific geotargeted areas.
affidavit
A proof of performance statement telling the advertiser the broadcast date and time at which commercials aired. Proofs of performance are supplied by both TV and radio media. Compare tear sheet.
affiliate
A station carrying the programming of a national network.
• In TV: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are examples of networks with affiliates.
• In radio: CBS, ABC and Westwood are examples of networks with affiliates.
Compare independent.
• In TV: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are examples of networks with affiliates.
• In radio: CBS, ABC and Westwood are examples of networks with affiliates.
Compare independent.
affiliate marketing
An agreement between two sites in which one site (the affiliate) agrees to feature content or an ad designed to drive traffic to another site. In return, the affiliate receives a percentage of sales or some other form of compensation generated by that traffic.
affinity marketing
The selling of products or services to like-minded individuals often segmented by group memberships.Offers can be communicated by e-mail promotions, online or offline advertising.
agate line
A basic unit of newspaper space equal to a line of type one column wide and 1/14 inch high.There are, as a consequence, 14 agate lines to a column-inch. See standard advertising units ; inch rate.
agency of record (AOR)
An independent media-buying company or advertising agency that purchases media on behalf of another agency or group of agencies serving the same advertiser. Sometimes refers to a full-service advertising agency that performs all the advertising services (creative, production, media, etc.) for a particular advertiser.
aided recall
A research method used to test audience memory retention of advertisements. The respondent is “aided” by being given the advertised product’s/service’s name.
allowable
The dollar amount an advertiser can afford to spend on media in order to get one sale or one lead. Used in direct-response marketing.
alternate text
A word or phrase displayed when a user has image-loading disabled in his/her browser or when a user abandons a page by hitting “stop” prior to the transfer of all images. Also appears as “balloon text” when a user lets his/her mouse rest over an image.
alternative press
Regularly published newspapers – usually weeklies – published primarily in major metro areas.Generally youth- and entertainment-oriented.These media are often counterculture in tone.
AM (amplitude modulation)
Radio transmission signals varying (modulating) the height (amplitude) of the signals transmitted. AM signals follow the curve of the Earth and are greatly affected by static from lightning and other sources. AM signals have the ability to travel very long distances.
ANA (Association of National Advertisers)
The Association of National Advertisers leads the marketing community by providing its members insights, collaboration and advocacy.The ANA strives to promote and protect all advertisers and marketers. See ana.net for more information.
animated GIF
An animation created by combining multiple GIF images in one file.The result is multiple images, displayed sequentially, giving the appearance of movement.
announcement
An advertising message in broadcast media, commonly 10, 15, 30 or 60 seconds in length. Synonymous with “commercial” and usually referred to as a “spot.”
Anonymizer
An intermediary which prevents websites from seeing a user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Applet
A small, self-contained software application that is most often used by browsers to automatically display animation and/or to perform database queries requested by the user.
applicable browser
Any browser an ad will impact, regardless of whether it will play the ad.
AQH
See average quarter hour.
Arbitron (ARB)
A radio audience research company that uses the “diary method” and portable people meter (PPM) to accumulate data on radio use and provide ratings on audience size and composition.
ARF (Advertising Research Foundation)
The premiere advertising industry association for creating, aggregating, synthesizing and sharing the knowledge required by decision makers in the field.The principal mission of The ARF is to improve the practice of advertising, marketing and media research in pursuit of more effective marketing and advertising communications. See thearf.org.
arrears
Magazine copies sent to subscribers up to three months after subscription expiration. Also called post-expiration copies. Reported by the ABC.
artifacting
Distortion that is introduced into audio or video by the compression algorithm (codec). Compressed images may have stray pixels that were not present in the original image. See codec.
as it falls
A method of simulating a national test media plan into test markets whereby a test receives the media weight (e.g.TRPs) it would normally receive had the national plan been implemented nationally. See Little America.
aspect ratio
The width-to-height ratio of a picture or video frame.TV broadcasts at a 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio; digital TV will be broadcast with a 16:9 (1.78:1) ratio; and most feature films are shot in at least a 1.85:1 ratio. IMUs have an aspect ratio of 6:5 (330 X 250;336 X 280; and 180 X 150). Associated Business Publications (ABP) A trade association of business publications (e.g. industrial, technical, etc.).
audience
The gross or net number of people (or homes) exposed to a medium during its duration (e.g. a half-hour broadcast program, a magazine issue).
audience accumulation
Usually abb. to CUME.The process by which the total audience to a particular campaign of advertising builds, over time. CUME represents the unduplicated reach of a campaign or individual media vehicle.
audience composition
The demographic makeup of a medium or vehicle.
audience guarantee
Representation made to an advertiser by a media vehicle that a certain amount of audience (e.g.TRPs) will be exposed to the programs or time-slots purchased by that advertiser.
audience turnover
The ratio of the cumulative media audience (i.e. the audience accumulated over the entire duration of a program or time segment) divided by the average audience listening/viewing during the average minute or average quarter-hour.
audit
Third-party validation of log activity and/or measurement process associated with Internet activity/advertising. Activity audits validate measurement counts. Process audits validate internal controls associated with measurement.
audited circulation
In periodical publishing, refers to the use of independent sources to examine and verify the truth of claims to a particular number of copies sold. In business publishing, sometimes verifies recipient qualifications. See ABC and BPA.
auditor
A third-party independent organization that performs audits.
availability
A specific time period, or specific position in a specific time period, offered for sale by a TV or radio station or network. Common jargon: “avail.”
avatar
A graphical representation of an individual in a game or other virtual world or environment.
average audience (AA)
In TV and radio, the number of homes (or individuals) tuned to the average minute of a program. In print media, the number of individuals who looked into an average issue of a publication and are considered “readers.”
average four weeks
A standard time period during which reach/frequency audience figures are calculated for a media schedule.
average frequency
The total number of impressions or exposures over a specific time divided by the target universe. Can be calculated using just one medium or a combination of media.
average quarter-hour (AQH)
A 15-minute time segment in which an average rating is measured. Listening/viewing must occur for at least five minutes to be counted.