Media Terminology
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A.C. Nielsen - a syndicated company whose services include broadcast audience measurement.
Achievement - term applied to the execution of planned media activity, usually compared to planned objectives.
ACTRA - Association of Canadian TV and Radio Artists.
Adjacency - a commercial time slot immediately before or after a specific program.
Addressable - the ability to target a specific home with a chosen message or service.
ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) - a method of delivering video signals to the home via standard twisted cable phone lines, using both digital compression and packet switching. This allows a subscriber to also use their phones for conventional use simultaneously.
Advertiser
- Consumer - an advertiser who promotes a product/service that is sold to a consumer.
- Industrial - an advertiser who promotes a product or service that is typically sold business-to-business.
- Institutional - an advertiser that promotes to its customers and the public a favourable image of the corporation and its products without trying to sell the product. Also known as "goodwill" or "corporate" advertising.
- Local, Regional, National - advertising related to the geographical scope of business.
Advertising - all activities involved in presenting to a group a non-personal, sponsor-identified message regarding a product or organization. It is a persuasive form of marketing communications designed to stimulate a positive response from a defined target market.
Advertising Recall - a measure of advertising effectiveness based on the premise that an ad can have an effect only if it is perceived and remembered.
Advertising Schedule (Blocking Chart) - the graphic presentation of planned advertising activity on a calendar.
Advertising Share - a brand's media expenditure, expressed as a percentage of total product-category media expenditures.
Advertising Weight - advertising delivery stated as the number of commercials, homes reached, target audience impressions, and gross rating points.
Affidavit Checking - the monitoring of station declarations of commercials airing against contract schedules.
Affiliate - a broadcast station (usually independently owned) which has a contractual relationship with a network to carry the network programs and announcements in specified time periods.
Agency Commission - a percentage for the gross billing, traditionally 15%, charged to clients as a fee for the advertising agencies' services.
Agency of Record (A.O.R.) - an agency appointed by the client to purchase and schedule media time and/or space. Media is planned and creative is developed by "brand" agencies.
Alternate Delivery Source (ADS) - technologies for the delivery of cable channels that do not involve a wire going into the household. Examples include satellite dish, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), Satellite Master Antenna (SMATV) and Microwave Multi Distribution System (MMDS).
Area - a geographical space within boundaries defined for the purpose of reporting audience data.
Audience
- Average - the average number of people exposed to a particular media vehicle during a specified amount of time. The specified period of time for people meter reporting is commonly 1 minute; diary reporting measures average audience in 15-minute intervals.
- Composition - the number or percentage of the total audience of a media vehicle that fits the target group definition.
- Cumulative - the total number of unduplicated homes or individuals reached by a schedule of commercials, advertisements, programs or issues within a given period of time. Abbreviated as CUME.
- Duplication (between media) - the total number or percent of media audience that is exposed to both media vehicles. The amount of duplicated is subtracted from total audience of each vehicle to determine "net" or unduplicated reach for those media.
- Flow - the pattern of tuning in or out of viewers or listeners during a particular program or over a particular time period.
- General/Potential - in broadcasting, the total number of people listening to/viewing radio/television at a specific time.
- Impressions/Messages - the total number of commercial occasions or advertisements scheduled, multiplied by the total target audience potentially exposed to each occasion. A media plan's impressions are usually referred to as Gross Impressions.
- Target - those readers/listeners/viewers who are deemed to be the best prospects for an advertiser's product/service.
- Turnover - the process of losing some audience and gaining others during a program or time period. Measured as a ratio of Audience CUME " the Average Audience.
Availability - broadcast time or program open for purchase. Also called Avails.
Average
- Mean - can be commonly referred to as "average" and is calculated by adding the values of a group of numbers together and dividing the sum by the numbers of values in that group.
- Median - is the middle number of a sample group. The median would be that number where 50% of the numbers would have a higher value and 50% would have a lower value.
- Minute Audience - number of households or persons tuned to a program or time period measured each minute. Average minute audience is the average commonly used for meter reporting.
- Mode - the number that/value that occurs the most frequently in a group of numbers.
- Quarter-Hour Audience - same as average minute audience but information is measured in 15-minute blocks. Viewers/listeners must be tuned in for five or more minutes to be included in the measurement. Commonly used for diary reporting.
Awareness
- Aided - the recognition of a product or service by a respondent when it is presented to them.
- Top-of-Mind (for a brand) - the percentage of respondents naming the brand in question, when asked to name the brand which first comes to mind in a particular product category.
- Total - total percent of populated target group aware of brand/advertising. Unaided plus aided, i.e. prompted responses.
- Unaided - total percent populated target group aware of brand/advertising without prompting.
Back-To-Back Scheduling - two or more commercials which are run one immediately following the other.
Base - a defined universe upon which analysis will be done - i.e. Women 18+, Ontario.
BBM Analytics - a subsidiary of BBM Canada, which provides software solutions that enable an understanding of the impact of broadcast content and consumer behaviors.
BBM Canada - originally known as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, a non-profit organization formed by advertisers, advertising agencies and broadcasters for the purpose of measuring radio and television audiences.
BDU - Broadcast Distribution Undertakings. Cable, Satellite or Telcos that package together TV stations.
Bias - a type of error which can occur in survey work. The influence of interviewers, poor phraseology used in questions and untruthful answers all contribute to bias, which is any non-mathematical error that tends to distort survey results.
Billboard (TV) - an announcement of sponsorship at the beginning, end or break of a radio or television program.
Blocking Chart - the graphic presentation of planned advertising activity on a calendar.
Block Programming - programming of shows with a common demographic appeal, one after another.
Bookends - spots airing at the beginning and end of a commercial cluster.
Brand Achievement - pertaining to the achievement of one brand in what could be a multi-brand media estimate.
Brand Association - in consumer research, the brand name which a respondent may identify
Brand Development - the number of cases, units or dollar volume of a brand sold per one thousand population, often indexed on an area by area basis to the national level, to produce a Brand Development Index.
Brand Development Index (BDI) - a calculation of a market or region's propensity to use a specific brand. BDI is derived by dividing the percentage of product's sales by the percentage of the population in that geographic area. Often compared to Market Development Index (MDI).
Brand Recognition - the stage in a brand's association with customers where it is recognized and many customers are familiar with it.
Budget - expenditure available to perform specified advertising projects.
Buyer - personnel responsible for the purchase of advertising space and/or time.
Buy Request - a form outlining specific requirements (target group, flight dates, markets, ect.) of a broadcast campaign to be purchased, submitted to buyers either within the agency or to an A.O.R. at another agency.
CAAB - Canadian Advertising Advisory Board.
CARF - Canadian Advertising Research Foundation.
Cable TV/CATV (Community Antenna Television) - television reception service via wire (cable) transmission from a master antenna, available for a specified monthly fee.
Cash Discount - a deduction allowed by some media (usually 2% of the net rate) for prompt payment (i.e. within 15 or 30 days).
CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - a crown corporation with 20 English television stations and 15 French television stations.
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) - term used by Statistics Canada that refers to an urban area with a mobile labour force in excess of 100,000.
Central Market Area - BBM-defined geographical area used to describe a television market.
Cluster - in broadcast, the set of different commercials within a commercial break, usually 2-3 minutes in total. Also referred to as a pod.
Clutter - the clustering of commercials together in a short span of time.
CMDC - Canadian Media Directors Council - an association of the senior media executives at advertising agencies.
Continuity - advertising a single theme or selling proposition over a long period of time without interruption.
Contra - an exchange medium, of time/space for an equal value of an advertiser's goods/services or another medium's time/space. The exchange is usually made with no transfer of money.
Co-Op Advertising - advertising paid for jointly by a national advertiser and a local retailer.
Copy - the written or spoken advertising message.
Co-Sponsoring - a situation in which two or more advertisers proportionately share the cost of participating in a single program, advertisement, or event.
Cost Per Rating (CPR) - the cost of purchasing one rating point in a specified market or program CPR = Cost of Advertising " Total Rating Points achieved.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM) - a form of cost efficiency measurement, representing the advertising expenditure per 1,000 households or persons. CPM = Cost of Advertising " Average Audience (000).
Coverage - the extent to which the different advertising media are distributed in certain markets. In terms of a broadcast signal, the percentage of the population within a given region who are able to receive that signal.
CRTC - Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission - a federally appointed body that regulates all aspects of the broadcast industry.
Cumulative Reach - the total unduplicated number of viewers reached by a schedule in a given time period.
Cut-In - a station's local insertion of a commercial different from the one broadcast nationally on a network program.
DAR (Day After Recall) - research conducted the day following the respondents' exposure to a commercial message to determine the degree of their recognition ad recall of the advertisement, the brand, and the selling message.
Dayparts - blocks of time throughout the broadcast day in a station or network's daily programming schedule, used to distinguish viewing and listening patterns.
Direct-to-Home (DTH) - TV signals delivered via satellite without need for Cable TV. By means of digitally compressed signals, small household satellite dishes (only 36 inches in diameter) can receive hundreds of TV channels.
Deadline - a medium's final acceptance date for advertising material to be included in a specific issue or program.
Dealer Tie-In - a manufacturer's advertisement paid at national advertising rates which includes a listing of local dealers.
Delivery - the estimated or actual audience and rating achievement of an advertising purchase.
Demographics - characteristics of a population group, sample or target audience that describes age, sex, education, income, language spoken and other basic attributes.
Diary Method - a research technique requiring the sample of respondents to record in a diary listening, viewing, and reading activities for a specified time period.
Digital - an electronic signal transmitted as binary code that can be either the presence or absence of current, high and low voltages or short pulses at a particular frequency. Digital signals permit superior image and sound reproduction, as well as the opportunity for signal compression.
Direct Response Television (DRTV) - broadcast commercials offering consumers the opportunity to purchase merchandise immediately, through the telephone or interactive television. Direct-response advertising features a call-to-action and occurs in two possible formats: the 30-, 60-, or 120-second spot and the 30-minute infomercial.
Dish - circular antenna for receiving satellite signals. See DTH.
Distribution - the area where a product being marketed is available, or the number of outlets and locations where it is sold.
DMA (Designated Market Area) - consists of a group of countries/census divisions which are assigned to a broadcast market on the basis of majority audience delivery. Origin: A.C. Nielsen.
Direct-to-Home (DHT) - TV signals delivered via satellite without need for cable TV.
Duplication - the extent to which two publications or two programs share a common audience.
DVR - digital video recorder. See PVR.
Effective Frequency - the number of commercial messages required to effectively create a change in attitude or purchase intent. For television, it is often judged to be 3 or more exposures in 4 weeks.
Efficiency - the degree of cost effectiveness of advertising as measured by a comparison of cost to messages delivered to the target audience, based on CPM.
Ethnic Media - term for those print and broadcast media which direct their editorial appeal to and/or communicate in the language of specific ethnic groups.
Exclusivity - the right to bar any other advertiser within a defined product category from advertising in the media vehicle in question.
Exposure - the detection of a medium by the senses. In broadcast, those who are present in the room while a television or radio set is on are counted as exposed.
Extended Market (EM) - a BBM-defined geographical area comprised of a market and adjacent counties or census divisions, which are assigned to a broadcast market on the basis of majority audience delivery.
Fiber-Optic - cable containing glass fibers instead of copper wire, capable of transmitting huge amounts of data very quickly.
Flat Rate - an advertising rate not subject to any discounts.
Flight - refers to the purchase of media time in periodic waves of advertising, separated by periods of total inactivity.
Forcing Distribution - the use of consumer advertising prior to the distribution of a manufacturer's product to build consumer awareness and demand, in order to compel the dealers to stock the product.
Format - the overall appearance of a publication, or the description of a broadcast program's content.
Fragmentation - the break-up of the mass audience for television or other media into smaller audiences as the result of technological innovations, such as the proliferation of channels, channel-zapping, PVRs/DVRs, use of VCRs and DVD players.
Frequency - among those reached by a commercial message, the average number of times exposed in a stated time period. Reach x Frequency = GRPs.
Frequency Distribution - a breakdown by levels of frequency, of the number of persons reached (i.e. reach broken down into "x" people exposed to the advertisement once, "y" people exposed twice, "z" exposed three times, etc.). Each category may be expressed as a percentage of the total reach.
Fringe - a television term referring to the period of time prior to the prime time broadcast hours (4pm to 6pm).
Full Coverage (Area) - the geographical area covered by a station's signal, which may vary for different stations in a given market, and may change from survey to survey. It includes any area in which diaries are tabulated showing tuning to the station. Full coverage audiences cannot be expressed as ratings or percentages because they are based on different areas for each station.
Grid Cards - a broadcasting price schedule that quotes different price levels, depending on certain criteria such as demand for time, frequency of advertising, volume of advertising and time of year.
Gross - ad advertising rate that includes agency commission.
Gross Rating Points (GRPs) - a measurement of media weight achieved by a schedule over a given time period. GRPs are calculated as a sum of individual audience ratings; or as the product of the total percentage reach and the average frequency. Total GRPs = Reach x Average Frequency.
Guaranteed Position - where a medium guarantees to place an advertisement in a specific position/time period. Often a premium is charged for this.
Heavy-Up - an increase in media weight for a short span of time.
HDTV - High Definition Television - colour television with improved picture quality provided by increased resolution and a wider screen.
Hiatus - a period of time between advertising flights where no advertising is scheduled.
Holdover Audience - the audience a program acquires from viewers who tuned to a preceding program and remained with the station. Also see Lead-In.
Hours Tuned - typically expressed as the average amount of time spent per person with a given station in a weekly period.
House Agency - advertising agency owned by an advertiser.
Hut (Or Sets In Use) - homes using television. The number or percent of households with their television sets tuned in at a given time, in a given market. Also identified as HVT - Homes Viewing Television.
Image - applying to the public's perception of an advertised brand, product or service.
Impressions - the total number of commercial occasions multiplied by the target audience exposed to each occasion. A media plan's impressions are usually referred to as Gross Impressions.
Independent Station - a local radio or television station not affiliated with a network.
Index - a statistical term where the information is expressed relative to the base of 100 for ease of comparison with other related statistics.
In-Home - refers to that portion of media exposure (reading, listening or viewing) done in the home.
Interactive Television - cable or satellite system that carry messages from viewers televisions. Potential uses include pay-per-view, movie ordering, audience polling, and direct response sales. i.e. Videotron.
Lead-In - in relation to audience flow; the audience that remains with a station from the previous show.
Lead-Time - amount of operating time available for a project before a specified deadline or due date.
Live Ratings - Neilsen Media Research term for ratings reported strictly live with no DVR playback activity.
Live Plus Ratings - NMR term for live ratings plus seven-day DVR playback activity.
Live Plus Same Day Ratings (Same Day Ratings) - NMR term for live ratings plus DVR playback activity until 3:00pm of the same Neilsen day.
Log - a broadcasting term describing a station's chronological listing of program activities, commercial transmission time, etc.
Makegood - the rescheduling of announcement or print ad by a station or publication free of charge, when the originally scheduled advertisement was missed or improperly run.
Market Development Index (MDI) - a calculation of a market or region's propensity to use a specific product category. MDI is derived by dividing the percentage of market or regional category sales by the percentage of the population in that market or region. Often used in conjunction with Brand Development Index.
Marketing - recognizing consumer desires and habits through market research and meeting those needs by providing the right product at the right price through the appropriate distribution channels, balancing appropriate advertising and promotional efforts.
Marketing Plan - defines the marketing objectives to be achieved and details the marketing methods to be implemented to realize these goals.
Market Profile - a description of the likely buyers of a product. It usually includes things such as geographic location of the market and a demographic description of the likely purchasers.
Mass Medium - communication vehicle which is not directed towards a specific audience, but is directed to all types of people.
Matched Samples - A pair or set of samples in which each member of a sample is matched with a corresponding member in every other sample by reference to qualities other than those immediately under investigation.
Media Department - the planning, buying and research groups within an advertising agency who ensure that the creative message is seen by the right people, at the right time in the best environment with the right frequency at the best possible rate.
Media Estimate - document detailing a media purchase or set of purchases for a client. It includes at minimum a summary of the time and place of individual commercial airings or insertions and their associated costs.
Media Weight - refers to the total quantity of advertising exposure during a particular time period.
Medium - any means used to convey advertising messages to the public are commercial media. Examples include newspapers, magazines, direct mail, radio, television, billboards, etc. The individual segment within a medium is referred to as a vehicle. Magazines are a class of media; "Maclean's" is a vehicle. Television is a medium; "House" is a vehicle.
Metered Markets - DMAs in which household viewing is measured by set-top boxes on an over-night basis in one panel of households, with demographic viewing data collected using diaries from a separate sample.
Multiplex - the ability of cable companies to carry a single station on two or more dial settings of its service. The second or subsequent dial locations would transmit station programming on a time-shifted basis, or in a different program order for the day.
National Advertising - advertising that does not specify a location where the promoted product or service may be obtained but applies to a national or regional geography as a whole.
Native Advertising - a web advertising method in which the advertiser attempts to attract attention by providing valuable content in the context of the user's experience. Similar conceptually to an advertorial.
Negative Option - the requirement of customers to actively decline new products or services to prevent their inclusion in subscriptions or purchases. Used in some cable systems to pass along new specialty channels with related fees without the need to extensively market the services.
Net Amount - the amount of money paid to a medium by an advertising agency after deducting the agency commission. Also exclusive of cash discount when available.
Net Reach - the combined unduplicated reach of two or more media vehicles.
Net (Unduplicated) Audience - the unduplicated number of households or people reached by a particular media schedule.
Network - a group of stations or cable systems linked together regionally or nationally to broadcast programming and commercial messages simultaneously on all stations.
Network Affiliate - a broadcast station which is part of a network and therefore offers network programs and their commercial content.
O & O (Owned and Operated) - a station which is owned and operated by a network.
Orbit - in selective television purchases, a package where commercial occasions may rotate within specified time periods or programs.
OTO (One Time Only) - a spot that is only available once. It can be bought outright or used for a makegood.
Out-of-Home Media - this relates to media where advertising exposure occurs in public places. For broadcast media, it includes audiences in public places such as bars, hotels, and schools.
Packet Switching - the division of a stream of data into small clusters, each of which is separately transmitted over long distances and reassembled at the destination. The many small packets may then share a communication line with many other messages.
Passive Meter - a metering system that does not require personal interaction with a monitoring/recording system. Suggested methods have included television meters that visually scan rooms for faces turned to the television; or small portable audio receivers that record digital sound from the speakers of televisions or radio (at frequencies below human auditory thresholds). Unique digital codes would identify each program and commercial.
Pay Per View (PPV) - by means of addressable cable systems, operators are able to send specific program signals to individual homes on a per-request basis. Cable systems that can be used to order programming are referred to as being interactive.
Pay TV - refers to special television channels which are available to cable subscribers at an additional monthly fee.
Penetration - the extent to which a certain medium reaches a market or target group.
Personal People Meter - a pager sized device which is carried by the consumer throughout the day to automatically detect inaudible codes imbedded into the audio portion of radio and television broadcasts.
People Meter - an electronic set-top-box television audience meter that monitors station selection. The use of push buttons serves to register members of a household in the viewing audience. The system was introduced to succeed the TV diary method.
Persons Viewing Television (PVT) - the number or percent of people in a market viewing television at any given time.
Piggyback (Split Commercial) - a commercial announcement from the same advertiser which devotes part of its time to one product and part of its time to another product, each being able to stand alone.
Planning Guide - a document issued by a client's A.O.R. to planning agencies outlining media costs, time requirements, and procedures necessary to order a media purchase.
Planning Unit - a specialized group of the media department responsible for the development of strategies for the selection and effective use of media for agency clients.
P.M.B. (Print Measurement Bureau) - a tripartite, non-profit organization of magazine publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. It provides readership and demographic data for magazines as well as a host of product usage and psychographic data often used in the initial stages of print planning and buying.
Pod - a cluster of commercials within a commercial break, often referred to in the context of a split-30 within a pod.
Post-Buy Analysis - an analysis of actual media deliveries calculated after a specific spot or schedule of advertising.
Pre-Buy Analysis - a report of estimated deliveries of a broadcast media spot or schedule that had been purchased in accordance with a buy request.
Pre-Emption - the cancellation of an advertiser's purchased commercial spot by the station due to scheduling problems (i.e. oversold program, live broadcast running past scheduled times) or in order to present special programming. See Makegood.
Pre-Emptible Spot - term used by broadcasters for an advertiser's commercial which may be cancelled if another advertiser is willing to pay a higher rate for the same commercial spot. (May apply to isolated :15's)
Primary Target Group - deemed to be the most important group of people to receive an advertiser's message.
Prime/Fringe/Day - the basic dayparts sold in television. Prime time is normally from 7pm-11pm. Fringe is usually 4pm-7pm and 11pm to sign-off. Daytime is sign-off until 4pm.
Program Compatibility - a mutually supporting atmosphere between a program and its advertising.
Program Substitution - when cable companies delete the program signal of one station, including its commercial content and substitute the signal of another station. Also referred to as Simulcast. For example, when U.S. and Canadian stations are telecasting the same episode of a program at the same time, the cable company will replace the American identification and commercials with Canadian content.
Projected Population - the actual size of the population that the sample is attempting to reflect.
Promo - A brief announcement encouraging viewers to tune to a program on the station or network.
PSA - Public Service Announcement.
Psychographics - the grouping of people by their personality characteristics and life-styles based on the theory that many people purchase certain products or services or prefer certain media, not because of any demographic characteristics but because of their attitudes and aspirations.
(PVR) Personal Video Recorder - also known as "digital video recorder" or "DVR", records broadcasts on a hard disk which can then be played back at a later time (timeshifting).
Quarter Hour Audience - an estimate of the people viewing a station within a specific 15-minute segment.
Quintile - the division of any sample of respondents into five equal-sized groups ranging from the heaviest to the lightest amount of time spent with the medium.
Rating - the average percentage of a target population within a market tuned to a program. Rating = Average Target Audience " Target Population x 100.
Reach - a measurement of cumulative, unduplicated audience exposed one or more times to a particular program, station or publication in a given time frame. Reach is usually expressed as a percentage of the target population in a geographically defined area.
Roadblock - a buying technique where an advertiser purchases time to air a commercial on all stations simultaneously, to achieve maximum reach for that time period.
Salesman Schedule - a listing of the various commercials scheduled for a client by date, time and program. These schedules are provided to the client for use by their sales people to promote to retailers in anticipation of public demand.
Sample Size - in research, the number of people who respond to a question or group of questions.
Saturation - a media pattern of wide coverage and high frequency during a concentrated period of time designed to achieve maximum potential exposure and impact.
Scatter - purchasing announcements in different programs to achieve broad reach.
Schedule - the list of media to be used during an advertising campaign including a list of the number of advertisements/commercials to be run and their specific timing, cost and ad size. Audience delivery may also be reported on a schedule.
Secondary Target Group - a group identified as a target for an advertiser's message but of secondary importance to the primary target group.
Selective Spot - a commercial or schedule of commercials purchased on a market by market basis.
Set-top-box - converts and displays broadcasts from one frequency type - analog, digital cable or digital television - to a standard frequency for display on a standard analog television set.
Share - the percentage of the total television viewing or radio listening audience tuned to a particular program or station at a specific time. Share = Average Program Audience " Average People Viewing (during that time period) x 100.
Share of Mind - used to measure brand awareness, the percentage of respondents naming a brand when given the product category and asked to name those brands that come to mind.
Share of Voice - the percentage of total advertising dollars or media weight in a product category for a specific advertiser.
Short Rate - the difference between the volume rate actually earned and the rate contracted for when an advertiser fails to fulfill requirements on the contract.
Simultaneous Substitution - a situation in which an episode of a U.S. network program is scheduled to appear on a Canadian station at the same time. Cable companies must carry the Canadian signal and therefore viewers are exposed Canadian advertising. Also known as simulcast.
Skew - a bias toward a particular segment of the population
Social TV - the online interactions that occur between viewers while watching television
Spill - viewing signals from adjacent markets.
Spill-Out - percentage of home stations' total viewing/listening that occurs outside the originating market.
Split Commercial - a commercial announcement from the same advertiser that devotes part of its time to one product and part of its time to another product, each being able to stand alone. Sometimes referred to as a Piggyback commercial.
Spot Occasion - the purchase of broadcast time on a market by market bases - i.e. non-network time.
Standard Broadcast Calendar - division of a year into specified weeks commencing Mondays and months comprised of stated full weeks only. For cost/billing/scheduling purposes.
Station Break - the commercial interval between shows or between parts of shows.
Station Log - the official chronological listing of broadcasters' commercial announcements.
Station Profile (Audience Composition) - the number or percentage of the total audience of a media vehicle that fits the target group definition.
Station Submission - a selection of available program inventory and costs for a particular station submitted for consideration to the broadcast buyer.
Strip Programming - a program scheduled at the same time (usually during fringe) on successive days (usually Monday to Friday).
Storyboard - drawings of the scenes outlining a television commercial before it is made, usually accompanied by scene-by-scene instructions and the commercial copy.
Superstation - an individual local television station whose programming can be carried via satellite to cable systems in distant markets. Cable operators generally pay the common carrier - i.e. the satellite for the signal in addition to a copyright fee for imported programming.
Sweep - simultaneous broadcast audience measurement of all local markets by a syndicated service.
Syndicated Program - a program that is produced for national distribution, but which is shown on individual local stations rather than on a national network is called a syndicated program. These programs may be sponsored either locally or nationally.
Synergy - the interaction of different elements of an advertising campaign strengthening each as a part of the total to a degree not possible with each component on its own.
Tag - in broadcast, a short message at the end of a product/service commercial to provide local information - i.e. dealers, pricing or to advertise a short-term promotional offer to consumers.
Talent Cycle - a 13-week time period upon which residual payments to an advertisement's performers are based. Each time the advertising runs in a new talent cycle, additional payment is required.
Target Group - the population segment deemed most likely to buy a product/service to whom advertising is specifically directed.
Teaser - advertisements which precede the major campaign that do not state the full commercial message but are intended to build interest in a product/service prior to its launch.
Test-Market - an area, city, country, etc. where a product is launched to determine the advisability of extending its distribution into other areas or nationally. Also used for media tests, package tests, etc. where one aspect of a marketing campaign is changed. The result obtained in the test market may then be compared to the Control Market to suggest which alternative is better.
Time Block Average - average audience performance of a spot in a given time period. It is an estimate of what the advertiser can expect to average in terms of audience if his spots rotate through a specific time block.
Time Block Reach - the weekly cumulative reach of a time block, usually related to a rate card classification such as 6am to 9am. It provides a measure of the maximum reach in this time block (used mainly for radio buying).
Total Impressions (Impression - Audience/Message) - the total number of commercial occasions or advertisements scheduled multiplied by the total target audience potentially exposed to each occasion. A media plan's impressions are usually referred to as Gross Impressions.
Traffic - the person or department with an advertising agency that co-ordinates the progress of creative material through all stages to shipment of material to media.
Transient Rate (Flat Rate) - an advertising rate not subject to any discounts.
TVB (Television Bureau of Canada) - the sales, marketing and resource centre of the Canadian commercial television industry, established to promote the effective use of the television medium.
Unduplicated Audience (Reach) - a measurement of cumulative unduplicated target audience potentially exposed one or more times to a particular program, station or publication in a given time frame. Reach is usually expressed as a percentage of the target population in a geographically defined area.
Unweighted Counts - this "raw" number of responses received from a demographic group in a sample survey. The count must be weighted to accurately reflect the actual population of this demographic group in the sample area.
Universe Estimate (E.U.) - Total persons or homes in a given population.
VCR - video cassette recorder.
Vehicle - the medium in which an advertisement is placed.
Video-on-demand (VOD) - allows VCR-type control of broadcast or cable programs, or video and movies offered on a pay-per-view basis.
Videotex - the generic name for systems using a terminal with a video screen to communicate with a central computer database by telephone or cable.
Viewers Per Viewing Household (VPVH) - the number of people viewing in one household, it is the ratio of a demographic segment to households and represents an actual number of people.
Waste Circulation - circulation in an area in which an advertiser does not have distribution of his product or of those readers/viewers/listeners of a medium who are not prospects for a particular advertised product.
Weekly Circulation (Broadcast) - unduplicated cumulative reach of the individual average 1/4 hours or average minutes from the measured week. This circulation or station reach is a measure of how many different persons tuned into a given station at any time in a week.
Weighted Audience - audience to which some judgmental adjustment factor has been applied in order to make various comparisons to other media or other statistics i.e. women counted as 100% plus men at 60%.
Zapping - the process whereby television viewers use remote controls to switch stations during commercial breaks.
Zipping - the use of fast-forward or scan functions during the playback of previously recorded television broadcasts.
Zone, City - a market area made up of the city in question and the adjoining built up areas. The boundary is defined by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Sources: TVB, BBM Canada