Glossary

Here's a list of common terms used in advertising and media buying along with a definition of what those terms mean. You'll also find these terms used throughout Avenue Right's product and resource library.

Advertisement. A form of communication that is paid for by an advertiser.

Advertising. Using multiple forms of communication media with paid content to promote a product, service, or company.

Advertising campaign. A series of activities designed to promote your business, product, service, event, or idea by delivering a message to a targeted audience within a specific timeframe.

Age group. A target audience defined by age.

Average Quarter-Hour (AQH): The average number of people listening to a radio station in any quarter hour during a particular time period.

Audience Composition: The age, sex, and /or ethnic makeup of a media outlet's audience.

Audience duplication. In radio, the amount of one station's audience that also listens to another station.

Avails. Unsold units of time available for advertisers to purchase.

Bid. An offer or proposed payment. An advertiser bids on an advertising outlet’s available inventory; this is also known as an inventory request.

Choice: exclusive listeners choose only one station. First Choice listeners choose other stations, but they choose one particular station at least as much if not more than any others. 2nd/3rd Choice listeners select at least one if not more than one other station before a particular station. Adding the Exclusive and First Choice categories reportedin the Loyalty and Choice analysis yields "core" listeners. The remaining percentages added together are also knows as "fringe" listeners.

CPC. Cost Per Click-Through, also known as Pay Per Click (PPC). Advertiser pays each time a user clicks on the ad. Often advertisers set a budget per day, and the ad is removed for the day once that budget is reached.

CPI (Cost Per Impression). The cost calculated based on the number of times an advertisement is served online (see also Impression). CPI is calculated by dividing the cost of your ad by your total audience. If the cost of your ad is $10,000 and your total audience is 500,000, the calculation would be $10,000/500,000=$0.02, so the CPI for that ad would be $0.02.

CPM (Cost Per Thousand). CPM refers to the cost of one thousand impressions of an advertisement. To calculate the CPM of a single advertisement, divide the cost of the ad by the total number of impressions, then divide that by one thousand: cost/(audience/1,000)=CPM. If an ad costs $2,000 and the total number of impressions is 120,000, the CPM would be $16.67: 2,000/(120,000/1,000)=$16.67. CPM may include duplicated audience members.

Creative. The content that makes up an ad; this includes text, images, and animation.

Cume Persons. The total number of unique people who listen to a radio station for at least five consecutive minutes during a specific daypart. Sometimes called "reach" or"circulations."

Daypart. The segments of time into which a day is divided for the purpose of selling advertising time for broadcast media (radio stations, television networks). Examples include 6:00am-midnight or 10:00am-3:00pm for radio, and Primetime and Latenight for television.

Demographics. General data about a group of people that is used to help target an advertising message to a specific audience. Common demographic data used in advertising includes age and gender. (See also Psychographics.)

Designated Market Area (DMA): A Nielsen geography defined by television viewing patterns. It may or may not include all counties in teh Metro or TSA.

Drive Time. Period of time where most people are in their cars commuting to work. The increased listenership during that time makes this a desired placement for radio advertising. Usually falls from 6am-10am, and 3pm-7pm.

Equal Rotation. All ads are rotated equally among dayparts during a given schedule.

Fixed Position. When an ad is scheduled to run at a precise time or within a specific program.

Fixed Rate. The rate for fixed position ad, usually set at a premium price.

Flight. A media schedule that alternates periods of activity with periods of no activity.

Flight Dates. The start and end dates of a schedule.

Frequency. How many times an individual is exposed to an advertisement in any medium. Frequency can be attained through repetition of ads during the campaign run dates and/or by rotating advertisements among media within the campaign.

Gross Ratings Points (GRPs). In television, the sum of all ratings points achieved in a particular schedule.

Gross Impressions. The total number of times an ad will be heard/viewed over the course of a media schedule.

Gross Quarter-Hours (Impressions): The total quarter-hours of listening to a radio station by its audience.

Impression. A single instance of an individual being exposed to your ad, whether online or offline.

Insert. An advertisement placed between the pages of a print publication such as a newspaper or magazine

Inventory. Ad space available from a media outlet.

Loyalty. A measure of the amount of quarter-hours listeners contribute to a station as a percentage of their listening to all radio; a station's share of its listeners' radio use.

Media. The channels of communication—such as radio, newspaper, websites, and television—that reach large audiences.

Medium. A single channel of communication.

Media outlet. A seller of advertising space in any medium, also known as a media seller. Media include print (newspapers, magazines), radio, television, and online.

Mentions. A brief reference in the media that mentions a particular person, product, or company.

Metro Survey Area (MSA or Metro). Generally corresponds to a government-defined country configuration for a market. There are exceptions, based on historical usage of radio in a market, or other marketing considerations.

Non-Metro. Those counties in a market not part of the metro, but included as part of the DMA or TSA. Non-metro counties are surveyed only in the Spring and Fall surveys.

Outflow. In broadcast media, the audience outflow and inflow from one program to the next, or the audience after one program ends and before the next begins.

Page Unit. Unit of measure that magazine ads are sold in, such as full page, half page, quarter page, etc.

Persons (Arbitron's Audience Estimates Display). The total count, Cume or AQH, of the number of people listening. Rounded to the nearest one-hundred persons, with the last two zeroes dropped for display purposes.

Persons Using Radio (PUR). The total Average Quarter-Hour audience for all radio in any particular time period and demographic in the Metro Survey Area of a market.

Placement. When, where, and next to what your ads run.

Pre-emption. Bumping one advertiser's commercial in favor of another advertiser.

Program ratings. The estimated size of an audience for a particular program in broadcast media.

Psychographics. Statistics regarding the social characteristics of a group of people used along with demographic data to help target an advertising message to a specific audience. Psychographics include such data as income and education level. (See also Demographics.)

Rate. The cost per unit of an advertisement.

Rate card. A document containing prices and descriptions for ad placements available from a media outlet.

Rating. A measure of audience for a television or radio program.

Reach. The size of the audience–the total number of people or households that will be exposed to your advertisement within a given time period.

Remnant Space. Advertising space that is unsold and is often made available to advertisers at a lower cost.

Rotation. The rotation of your ad on a website so that a different ad appears for each user session. When a user navigates away from the page displaying your ad, then returns to that page, a different ad will be shown.

Share (Radio): The most commonly used and cited estimate, it's a station's Average Quarter-Hour audience in the context of the Average Quarter-Hour audience for all radio (otherwise known as Persons Using Radio). It's a station's percentage of all radio listening.

Target Audience. The group of people identified as the primary target of a company's advertising and marketing efforts. Usually defined by criteria such as age, location, gender, income, and behavioral patterns.

Tearsheet. A page cut or torn from a print publication (newpaper or magazine) by the publisher to show proof to client that advertisement was placed and where it was placed.

Time Spent Listening (TSL): The amount of time teh average person spends listing to a radio station during a particular time period. Expressed in hours or quarter-hours.

Total Survey Area (TSA): Included those counties penetrated significantly by signals from stations licensed to the Metro Survey Area. The Metro Survey Area definitions plus the non-metro counites yields the Total Survey Area.

Total Market: Includes all counties in any of the following marketing definitions: Metro Survey Area (MSA), Total Survey Area (TSA), or Designated Market Area (DMA).

Traditional media. Conventional forms of mass media. Includes television, print, and radio advertising media.

Value-add. Additional value for a media buy ususally in the form of additional ad space, prominent ad placement, free spots in radio, addition of color (print), etc.