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

The 2003 Suzuki Glossary of Terms: A handy reference tool to help you plan and produce effective local advertising.


1" — Videotape used for editing.

3/4” — Videotape used for off-line editing and window dubs.

ADI (Area of Dominant Influence) — Arbitron’s name for the geographic area composed of those counties in which stations of the originating market account for a greater share of the viewing households than those from any other area. Similar to Nielsen’s Designated Market Area (DMA).

Adjacency — A program or time period which immediately precedes or follows a scheduled program on a radio or TV station.

Affidavit — A sworn statement by a broadcast station that a commercial appeared as stated on the invoice.

Affiliate — A broadcast station that grants the network an option of specific time periods for the broadcast of network-originated programs.

Agate Line — A unit measurement of publication advertising space, one column wide (no matter what the column width) and one-fourteenth of an inch deep.

Air Check — A recording of an actual broadcast which serves as a file copy of that broadcast.

Allotment — The number of unilluminated and illuminated panels in an outdoor poster showing.

ANA — Association of National Advertisers

Announcement — An advertising message broadcast between programs.

Audience — Persons who have an opportunity for listening to, viewing or reading an advertising message.

Audience Composition — The number and kinds of people classified by their age, sex, income, etc., listening to a radio, seeing a TV program or reading print. Used to designate the percentage of men, women, teens and children in the audience. Also called "Audience Comp."

Audience Duplication — In broadcast, a measurement of the number of listeners or viewers who are reached by two or more programs sponsored by the same advertiser. In print, the measurement of the overlap of potential exposure between different issues of the same magazine or among issues of different magazines.

Audience, Net Unduplicated — The number of different persons reached by a single advertisement or schedule of advertisements.

Audience Potential — In broadcast, the number of sets in use in the time period to be studied or the number of set owners. In print, the total audience of an issue in which an advertisement studied appears.

Audience Profile — In broadcast, the minute-by-minute viewing pattern of a program. In any medium, a description of the characteristics of the people exposed to it.

Audience (Total) — See "Gross Audience."

Audio — Sound portion of a TV or radio program or commercial.

Audio-Visual (AV) — Term for equipment used in electronic media.

Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) — Agency verifying circulation figures for newspapers and magazines.

AV — Audio-Visual. Abbreviation for equipment used in electronic media.

Availability — Also called "Avails." A broadcast time period available for purchase by an advertiser.

Average Audience Rating — A broadcast measurement, unaffected by program duration, showing the tune-in level of that program during the average minute of the program.

Average Net Paid Circulation — A term used in audit reports indicating the average number of copies of a publication sold per issue. It is determined by dividing the total paid circulation for all issues for a specific time period by the total number of issues.
Back-to-Back — Adjacent broadcasts or time periods, or adjacent commercials.

Bandwidth — How much information (text, images, video, sound) can be sent through a connection; usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page of text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move approximately 15,000 bits in one second.

Banner Ad — An ad on a Web page that is usually linked to the advertiser’s site

Barter — Acquisition by an advertiser of sizable quantities of spot time at rates lower than card rates from stations in exchange for operating capital or merchandise.

Betacam SP (Beta SP) — High-grade videotape for submasters and editing.

Billboard — Popular name for an outdoor sign. Also, television presentation of the name of a program sponsor, plus a slogan, used in announcing the program beginning and end.

Bleed — To extend type or illustration to the edge of a page. Bleed charge is usually additional.

Break — Time available for purchase between two programs or between segments of a show.

Buy — The purchase of time or space.

Buying Service — A company primarily engaged in the purchase of media.

Buy Sheet — Used to record the data of a media buy.
Campaign — All advertising and related efforts on behalf of a product or service directed toward the attainment of a specific goal.

Card Rate — The cost of advertising time or space as quoted on a rate card.

Cash Discount — A discount of 2% for prompt payment granted by the print media to advertisers; usually figured on the net amount due the medium after the deduction of the 15% agency commission. A few publications grant a cash discount of 5%.

Center Spread — An advertisement appearing on the two facing center pages of a publication.

Checking Copy — A copy of a publication sent to an advertiser or to his agency so that he may see that his advertisement appeared as specified.

Circulation — In print, the number of people reading a single edition of a publication. In outdoor advertising, the number of people viewing the ad message, based on a month’s time. In broadcast, the number of set-owning families within range of a station signal.

City and Suburban Circulation — Newspaper circulation which an advertiser may purchase if he wishes to have his message read only by those people living within the city area.

Classified Advertising — Advertising set in solid lines of small type segregated from other advertising, as in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory, according to product or service offered.

Click-Through or Ad-Clicks — Number of times a user clicks on a banner ad.

Click-Through Rate or Ad-Click Rate — This is the percentage taken from the number of impressions that result in a click through.

Closing Date, Closing Hour — In print, the day or hour when all copy and plates must be in the hands of the medium if the advertisement is to appear in a given issue. In broadcast, the last hour or day that a commercial may be submitted for approval to station or network management to be included in the station’s schedule.

Column Depth — The dimension of a column space measured from top to bottom of the page, in either agate lines or inches.

Column Inch — A unit of measure in a publication one inch deep and one column wide, whatever the width of the column.

Commercial Impressions — The total audience, including duplication, for all commercial announcements in an advertiser’s schedule.

Consecutive Week Discount — A special rate granted to advertisers who use broadcast facilities for a minimum number of consecutive weeks.

Controlled Circulation — Circulation of free publications to pre-selected areas, homes or individuals. Also referred to as "Qualified Circulation."

Copy — The text of an advertisement.

Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM) — Cost to advertiser of delivery by a media outlet of 1,000 readers, viewers or listeners. Found by dividing ad cost by total audience in thousands.

Coverage — Portion of an area or group that is reached by an advertising medium.

Cumulative Audience — The number of unduplicated people and/or homes reached by a given schedule over a given time period.

Cut-Ins — Situations where local TV stations substitute an announcement for a network commercial announcement in a nationally televised program.

Cycle Discount — In broadcast, a discount which increases with each uninterrupted 13-week cycle.
DAT (Digital Audio Tape) — Recordable magnetic tape cassette format used to store audio and data digitally.

Daypart — Specific segments of a broadcast day (morning, afternoon, early evening, prime, late night).

Daytime Station (Daytimer) — Radio station which broadcasts only during daylight hours.

Demographic Characteristics — Audience breakdowns based on characteristics such as age, sex, income, education, marital status, etc.

Discrepancy Report — Paperwork written by a checker or estimator questioning spots that were not run as ordered.

Display Advertising — Newspaper advertising designed to attract attention by the use of layout, type and illustrations.

DMA (Designated Market Area) — Nielsen’s term for the area composed of those counties in which stations of the originating market account for a greater share of the viewing households than those from any other area. Similar to ARB’s Area of Dominant Influence (ADI).

Drive Time — The time when most people are listening to the radio, when they are driving to or from work. Usually 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.

Dubbing — Copying video and/or audio.
Early Fringe — The time period preceding prime time. (Usually, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. except in Central Time Zone where it extends from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.)

Earned Rate — Media rate based on reductions for frequency and volume within a specific time period.

End Rate — The lowest rate an advertiser pays after all discounts have been applied.

Estimate — Document issued by an estimator detailing by costs, dates, etc., a buy that has been made.

Estimated Ratings — Prediction of a particular show’s rating if that show were telecast in a particular time period on a particular station.

Exclusive Rights — The buyer is the only entity permitted to use or exploit copyrighted work.

Exposure — The consumer’s contact with an advertising medium or advertisement.

Extension — Additional time beyond closing date granted for delivery of production material.
Facing — The direction in which outdoor boards are built to display the advertising copy, e.g., a south-facing panel can be read by northbound traffic.

Fade — When the picture, and sometimes the audio as well, gradually disappears or appears. Fades can also be used as transitions within a video.

Film-to-Tape Transfer — The process of recording film onto videotape.

Flat Rate — A uniform charge for space in a medium without regard to the amount of space used or the frequency of insertion.

Flight — One of a series of buys made during a year for radio or television, usually from 4 to 13 weeks.

Freeze Frame — One frame of video frozen like a still picture.

Frequency — The average number of times an unduplicated (net) audience is exposed to a medium within a given period of time.

Fringe Time — In TV, the hour or so adjacent to prime time—normally 6 to 7 p.m. and 11 to 11:30 p.m. Most stations program news at these times.

Full-Run Circulation — An advertisement running in all copies of a newspaper.

Full Showing — See "Showing".
Gross Audience — The total number of households or people delivered by a particular television schedule, without regard to any possible duplication, as opposed to Net Unduplicated Audience or Total Audience, which gives the number of different people or households reached.

Gross Rating Points (GRPs) — In broadcast, the product of percentage of audience for all announcements in an advertising schedule (e.g., 20 announcements, each rating 10, would equal 200 GRPs). May be based on households or, preferably, a specific demographic target audience (e.g., men, age 18 to 24).
Hiatus — The period during a campaign when an advertiser’s schedule is suspended for a short period of time after which it resumes.

Hit — Each time a web server sends a file to a browser, it is recorded in the server log file as a "hit". Hits are generated for every element of a requested page (including graphics, text and interactive items). If a page containing two graphics is viewed by a user, three hits will be recorded – one for the page itself, one for each of the graphics files. Webmasters use hits to measure their server’s workload. Because page designs vary greatly, hits are a poor guide for traffic measurement.

Home Page — The first page of a web site. Usually provides a menu for accessing other sections of the web site.

HUT (Homes Using TV) — In rating reports, HUT is a percentage of television households in a specified area watching TV during a given time period.
Illuminated Panel — Outdoor poster panel having light fixtures which illuminate the copy at night.

Impression — Count of gross audience who have had opportunity to view or hear a message, including duplication. When an ad or commercial runs more than once during the time period, the individual viewing or listening is counted for each time the ad runs. For Internet advertising, its the number of times a banner is downloaded and seen by a user. Also known as Ad Views.

Independent Stations — Stations which have no network affiliation and are programmed independently of the major networks.

Insert — Preprinted material that is loosely inserted or bound into the publication after it has gone to press.

Insertion — An advertisement in any of the print media.

Insertion Date — The day an insertion is to appear in a publication.

Insertion Order — Authorization from an advertising agency to a publication to place a specific ad on a specific date.

Intensity — In outdoor, number of panels in a showing.

Internet — The global network of computers that are linked for interactive operation. Also known as the "World Wide Web."

Island Position — In print, ad position that is entirely surrounded by reading matter. In broadcast, the placement of a commercial announcement with program content on both sides.

Isolated :30 — A straight 30-second commercial rather than one in a piggyback situation. Usually found on network TV.
Link — Text or graphic element that allows access between web sites, or between pages within a web site.
Mechanical — A piece of finished copy consisting typically of type proofs and artwork positioned and mounted for photomechanical reproduction.

Multimedia — Presentation media that integrates computer graphics, animation, sound and video on the computer monitors and speakers.

Music Library — Collections of music for use in video productions. Also known as "Needledrop."
Off-Line Editing — Edits performed on a working copy of video footage, for reference and approval.

On-Line — The process of employing or accessing the Internet. Suzuki is "on-line" with its web site on the World Wide Web, and customers "go on-line" to access it.

On-Line Editing — Edit points set and previewed and placed on original video footage to generate the master.
Pass-Along Readership — Persons, in addition to the subscriber, who regularly read the same copy of a magazine.

Position Request — A request for a special position for which an advertiser does not want to pay an extra charge.

Post-Buy Analysis — Subsequent examination of spot buys to determine whether or not they have met client’s objectives, generally in terms of rating points achieved and cost-per-thousand delivered.

Poster — An advertising message printed on sheets of paper to be displayed on poster panels.

Poster Panel — The structure on which a poster is mounted, normally measuring 12'x25'.

Posting Period — The length of time during which one poster design is displayed. Usually one month, figured as 30 days for the purposes of costing and credits.

Pre-empt — To remove one program or announcement so that another may be scheduled in its place.

Pre-emptible Rate — A rate subject to cancellation by another advertiser paying a higher rate.

Primary Audience — Also known as "Target Audience." The main audience to which an advertising medium appeals; the specific audience sought for a particular product.

Prime Access — Time not used by networks between the hours of 7p.m. and 11 p.m.

Prime Time — On television, that time period which attracts largest audiences, normally 8p.m. to 11 p.m. EST and PST, and 7p.m. to 10p.m. CST. Also, sometimes used for "drive time" on radio.

Product Protection — The guarantee to an advertiser that a station will not schedule competitive products over a certain period of time, generally 15 minutes.

Profile — Used interchangeably with the term "Audience Composition" to describe demographic characteristics of audiences.

Program Rating — An average performance for a particular show.

PUR (People Using Radio) — The percentage of the population listening at a specific time.

PVT (Persons Viewing Television) — The percentage of all persons within an ADI or total U.S. population viewing within a specific time period.
RAB — Radio Advertisers Bureau

Rate Base — The circulation of a publication on which the cost of advertising space is based.

Rate Card — A card giving the space or time rates for a medium and also supplying other pertinent data regarding that particular medium.

Rateholder — A minimum-sized ad (normally one inch) that must appear during a given period if an advertiser is to secure a certain quantity discount.

Rate Protection — The length of time an advertiser may be guaranteed a specific rate.

Rating — The percent of the potential audience tuned to a radio or TV station.

Raw Footage — First-generation videotape direct from the camera or video recorder.

Reach — The unduplicated number of persons or TV homes, etc., which will receive the commercial impressions.

Reproduction — The printing quality of an advertisement.

ROP (Run of Press) — Any location in a publication convenient to the publisher.

ROS (Run of Schedule) — Time allocated whenever the station sees fit, the opposite of fixed time.

Rotation — In broadcast, spot announcements which run at a different time each day even though ordered in the same time period. In outdoor, the movement of a painted bulletin to a different location each month.

RPC (Readers Per Copy) — Number of persons who regularly read the same copy of a magazine.
Safe Title/Graphics — The area of a television picture sure to be seen on all television sets and thus, safe for a title or graphic. The safe title area is 80% of the picture area.

Satellite Station — A local station whose main source of programming is a station in another city.

Saturation — A media pattern of wide coverage and high frequency during a short period of time, designed to achieve maximum impact, coverage or both.

Schedule — The list of media to be used during an advertising campaign. Also, the list of a product’s advertising to be included in a medium vehicle during a specific time.

Share of Audience — The percentage of sets in use tuned to a station or program.

Shortrate — The difference between the contract rate and the higher rate that must be paid due to nonfulfillment of a space or linage contract.

Showing — The total number of panels (i.e. bulletins, 30-sheet posters, bus shelters, etc.) in an out-of-home buy. The common advertising weights are Showings #100, #75, #50 and #25, which directly relate to the population of the market. For example, a #50 showing reaches 50% of that particular market’s population. A full showing (#100) reaches 100% of a market’s population.

Simulcast — A program simultaneously broadcast on a radio and TV station or two radio stations.

Sixty (:60) — A one-minute announcement.

Sliding Scale Publications — Publications which grant a discount based on the amount of space run.

Snipe — Any dealer imprint added across the bottom of a poster.

SNR (Subject to Nonrenewal) — Commercial announcement time that is available if the current advertiser does not renew. Also seen as "PNR" (Pending Nonrenewal).

Space — That part of a printed medium in which advertisements are placed.

Space Contract — An agreement between an advertiser and a publisher to abide by the prevailing rate card for the contract period for such space as the advertiser elects to use. An advertiser may place a contract at the 1X rate but will earn the 5X rate when he runs a total of five insertions within the contract year.

Space Discount — A discount based on the total number of lines an advertiser uses within a year.

Split Run — A method of testing the relative value of two advertisements by running each in half of all copies of newspaper or magazine issues.

Spot Announcement — Refers to commercial time purchased from local TV/radio stations to air commercial.

Spot TV or Radio — Non-network station which is bought on a station-by-station basis.

Spread — Two facing pages; a double-page advertisement.

Standard Rates & Data Service — The publisher of a series of books giving rates and other information for most media.

Station Breaks — Those periods of time between television programs, or within a program as designated by the program originator, that are set aside for local station identification and spot announcements (two seconds go to station and eight seconds to advertiser).

Sweep — Periods in the year when rating services measure the television audience.
Tap — Total Audience Plan.

Tear Sheet — A page featuring an ad that is sent to the advertiser in order to be checked.

Time — Advertising units sold in broadcast.

TOC (Table of Contents) — Ads placed adjacent are known as "Opposite TOC."

TPR (Time Period Rating) — The rating for a particular time period, regardless of the show being telecast.

Turnover — Rate of audience change for a particular program over a specified period of time.
Unilluminated Panel — A poster panel without light fixtures for night illumination. Also referred to as a "regular panel."

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) — The naming scheme that identifies or defines web sites or applications for access. The URL for the Suzuki web site is "www.suzuki.com."
Vehicle — A particular advertising medium, e.g., a particular magazine or station.
Waste Circulation — The people in the audience of a publication who are not prospects for a particular advertised product, or circulation in an area in which an advertiser does not have distribution of his product.

Web Site — The designated location on the World Wide Web (also known as "the Internet") for a specific advertiser or application. A web site usually comprises a number of "web pages" within the site.