ABs

UK socio-economic classification to describe high status
individuals.

ABC

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is an independent
body that verifies circulation figures for newspapers,
magazines, B2B publications, directories, leaflets,
exhibitions and websites in the UK and the US, and for
certain international newspapers and magazines.

ABC is divided into two divisions; Business to Business and
Newspapers & Consumer Magazines.

ACORN

"A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods" or ACORN is a UK geodemographic classification system developed from the national census in the 1970s. ACORN groups can be analysed on the UK’s National Readership Survey (NRS), Target Group Index (TGI) and Premier TGI. ACORN is the UK equivalent of the USA's DMA.

Advertorial

Paid-for advertising produced in the editorial style of the magazine or newspaper in which it appears on the proviso that it is clearly entitled "advertisement" or "promotion".

Aided Recall

When visual aids are used to prompt the respondent’s memory. These are most commonly publication mastheads in print media research.

AIR

Abbreviation of Average Issue Readership – the estimated number of people who claim to have read or looked at an average issue of a publication.

Attitude Research

Qualitative or Quantitative Research that examines the values, perceptions, motivations or attitudes of respondents and their opinions about products, companies, media, their lifestyle and so on.

Audience

A group of people who see or hear an advertisement or advertising campaign. The readers of a publication or viewers/listeners of a TV/radio channel/programme (as in 'The Economist reaches an important audience of senior decision-makers').

Audited Circulation

Circulation that has been verified, usually by an independent company. The auditing company should be nationally or internationally recognised, and the audit period is as up-to- date as possible. Independent auditors include ABC (UK & USA), BPA (UK & USA) for business publications, CCAB (Canada), OJD (France & Spain), TS (Sweden), WEMF (Switzerland), IVW (Germany), Verified Audit Circulation Corporation (USA).

Average Frequency

Estimate of the average number of opportunities to see advertising insertions in a given media schedule. Another name for Average OTS. It is calculated by dividing gross reach by net reach.

Average Net Paid

Average Paid Circulation per issue arrived at by dividing total circulation of all issues during audit period by number of issues for the audit period.

Awareness

Penetration of a product, concept or advertisement into the conscious mind. Awareness-raising is often the aim of a campaign and is expressed as a percentage of the target audience. There are two types of awareness: spontaneous and prompted.

Base

The survey universe, sub-universe or primary target group on which a piece of computer analysis is based – e.g. all respondents. The readership and buying habits of this group can then be examined. The unweighted base is another word for unweighted sample and is the actual number of respondents.

Bleed

When the print area of an advertisement extends to the edge of the page rather than being set in a box or having a white border. The artwork is prepared so it is bigger than the print area of the page to make sure the ad fills the page after it has been trimmed by the printer. This extra amount is the bleed.

Body copy

The main copy – other than the headline – which appears in a print advertisement.

BRAD

British Rates & Data, a detailed monthly guide to UK advertising media. BRAD also publishes a monthly guide to agencies and advertisers. The US equivalent is known as the Red Book, whose official name is the Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies; there is also the Standard Directory of Advertisers.

Broadsheet

The larger of two common newspaper sizes. 'Serious' newspapers, such as The Times and the New York Times are usually broadsheet format, and lighter, more 'downmarket' titles such as The Sun and the New York Daily News are usually in a smaller tabloid format.

BPA

Business Publications Audit of Circulation – known as the BPA – is an independent American company which verifies the circulations primarily of business publications and trade books.

Burst Strategy

An intense phase of advertising within a concentrated time period.

Business-to-business advertising

Advertising directed at corporate decision-makers and professionals rather than at consumers.

Call Backs

When an interviewer or telephone researcher makes a further attempt to contact someone at an eligible address or telephone number after failing to contact them on a previous attempt. Especially important for achieving representative samples of people who are difficult to interview because of their lifestyles.

Circulation

The number of copies of a publication sold, sent to subscribers, sent free of charge to specified people or addresses, or otherwise distributed to readers. A basic means of comparing press titles when preparing a media strategy.

Cluster Analysis

Statistical technique for grouping the people researched in a survey by a large number of their common characteristics. The people in the cluster do not necessarily have all the characteristics that define the cluster, but they do have more in common with that group than with any of the other clusters. Particularly useful for analysing quantitative attitude research to create lifestyle groups defined by their attitudes, motivations and values.

Composition

The percentage of a publication’s readers who fall into a given target group: for example, 66% of The Economist’s readers are in top or senior management. Also called Profile.

Confidence Limits

For any given survey finding, confidence limits are an estimate, derived from statistical theory, of the range of values within which the ‘true’ figure is likely to lie. They can only be calculated for random samples.

95% confidence limits of +/- 2% indicate a 95% probability that the true figure falls within 2% above or below the value stated.

Controlled Circulation

Copies of a publication that are distributed free of charge to specified people (usually by job title) or addresses. The publisher controls where copies are circulated rather than allowing the market to decide where they go.

Copy Date

The deadline for an advertisement to be delivered to the media owner.

Copywriter

Someone who writes the words for an advertisement.

Corporate

Advertising which promotes an organisation in general terms Advertising rather than promoting its specific products or services.

Cost Efficiency

The value of an advertising schedule in relation to its cost. Usually expressed as the cost of reaching one thousand people in the target market, and allows the cost efficiency of a range of titles to be compared.

Cost per Thousand

Cost of reaching one thousand people in the target market. (CPT) It is a comparative measure of the cost-effectiveness of different types of advertising or different media schedules.

For a single publication, it is calculated by dividing the cost of an ad by the publication’s readership or circulation within the target group – in thousands.

Cost Rank

List of publications ranked by cost per thousand to demonstrate the comparative efficiency with which each title reaches people in a target market.

Coverage

Estimate of the number of people who have the opportunity to see an insertion in a single publication or schedule. Also known as reach.

Coverage Rank

List of publications ranked by their coverage of a specified group or target market.

Cost Per Mille(CPM)

The equivalent of cost per thousand used in media-buying negotiations in continental European markets.

Cromalin

A colour photographic version of a print advertisement used for checking colour quality before the ad is printed.

Cross Tab

The most common way of displaying survey data. Shows the demographics of universes, target markets, or readerships. Can show the relationships between readers of different publications or groups of people, and show the duplication of readership between publications.

What the data means:

Unwgt – the number of respondents in the unweighted sample who fall into both the column and row.

(000s) – Number of people in the target market who fall into the column and row.

Vert % or % Col - % of those in the vertical column who also fall into the row.

Horz % or % Row - % of those in the horizontal row who also fall into the column.

Cumulative Readership

The net reach achieved by a number of insertions of an advertisement in a single title or schedule. This is the number of people who have at least one opportunity to see (OTS) an advertisement. It is important because additional insertions in some titles will improve coverage more than additional insertions in others.

Demographics

Basic classification data on those researched by a survey such as age, sex, marital status, occupation or social grade, where they live, number of children, etc.

DMA

Dominant Market Area is the US equivalent of the UK's ACORN. A DMA consists of all counties whose largest viewing share is given to stations of that same market area. Non-overlapping DMA’s cover the entire continental United States, Hawaii and parts of Alaska.

Double-Page Spread (DPS)

A single advertisement carried across two facing pages of a publication.

Drip Strategy

Where advertising messages are delivered to consumers in drips over an extended period.

Duplication

The estimated number of people who read two or more given publications. A duplication table measures the crossover of readership.

Earned Rate

Cost of advertising based on advertising’s actual volume and frequency (where these affect the rate) during a contract rate specified in the original agreement.

Effective Frequency

The level of exposure to an advertisement necessary to produce a positive change in awareness, attitude, or purchasing behaviour.

Effective Reach

A measure of the schedule’s effectiveness using frequency weights which attempt to identify a relationship between the number of Opportunities to See and how effective the advertising will be.

Environment

The intrinsic character of the publication or other medium in which the advertisement appears.

Exposure

The exposure of a target audience to an advertisement. It is generally expressed as opportunities to see (OTS).

Fieldwork Period

The period during which the survey data is gathered.

Folder Test

A research technique to assess people’s responses to print advertisements. A selection of advertisements placed in a folder is given to respondents and reactions are analysed.

Frequency

Estimate of the number of opportunities to see insertions in a schedule.

Gatefold

An oversized page in a magazine which is folded in.

Geodemographics

Classification of those researched in a survey by where they live and the type of household they live in.

Gross Coverage

Another name for Gross Reach and Gross Penetration.

Gross reach

Estimate of the number of Opportunity to See ads in a schedule – the total number of opportunities to see insertions in each publication. No allowance is made for duplication.

Gross Rating Points (GRP)

A unit of audience measurement based on reach usually referring to TV or radio. Also known as TVR.

GRP is the Gross OTS expressed as a percentage of the target market - a single GRP represents 1% of the target audience. If a schedule attained a gross OTS of 200,000 for a target market of 50,000 individuals, it would generate 400 GRPs.

Gutter

The crease between two opposite pages of a newspaper or magazine.

Impacts

Estimate of the number of actual exposures to advertisements.

Independent Field Report

Report obtained by independent field service organizations under contract to a publisher.

Index

Indices are a means of comparing disparate things. The index is calculated by dividing the percentage composition (vert %) for a publication, target group, etc, by the percentage composition of the universe as a whole e.g. 28% of The Economist’s readers trade shares compared to 7% of all adults so the index is:

(28 x 7) x 100 = 400

So a reader of The Economist is 4 times more likely to trade The Economist Newspaper Ltd shares than an average adult.

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)

A professional organisation for UK advertising agencies. The US equivalent is the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

ISBA

Incorporated Society of British Advertisers – a professional body representing UK advertisers. It was formed in 1900 to lobby newspapers to provide verifiable circulation figures. It has 300 member companies and publishes guides on how to select, brief and pay advertising agencies.

Last Issue Readership

Estimate of the number of people who claimed to read or look at any issue of a publication during its Last Issue Period. Almost always synonymous with Average Issue Readership.

Lifestyle

An expression used in advertising research to describe a population in terms of its members’ work and free time, what they eat, drink, wear, read, watch on TV, their attitudes etc.

Magazine Page Exposure Studies

Research designed to estimate how often pages in magazines are read.

Mosaic

A UK geodemographic classification system using census information to build up various lifestyle groupings consisting of various postcode sectors.

Used in some major UK research studies such as NRS and TGI.

National Readership Survey(NRS)

NRS produces continuous surveys on British newspapers and magazines. Using a continuous sample of computer-assisted personal interviews to determine average issue readership.

The survey is jointly funded by publishers and agencies. The US equivalent is MRI.

Net Reach

Estimate of the number of people who will have at least one opportunity to see an insertion in a given advertising schedule. Also known as net coverage.

Non Qualified Distribution

That circulation which doesn’t conform to the field served and definition of recipient qualification.

Noting

Percentage of a publication’s readers who claimed to read or look at a specific editorial item, advertisement, type of ad, etc.

Omnibus Surveys

Large quantitative surveys among specific audiences on which space is rented out to third parties, making them relatively cost-effective since clients share the costs with others. They are usually run by research companies, often on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis, face-to-face or by telephone.

Opportunities To See

Opportunities To See (OTS) the advertisements in a campaign – the number of times the target audience is exposed to the advertisement.

Use of the word ‘opportunities’ allows that not everyone who reads or looks at an issue containing an advertisement sees the ad.

Optimisation

A computer program that calculates the best media schedule for a given budget, target group or candidate media. They can produce unrealistic schedules but are best used to calculate the ultimate reach possible of a given target market.

Over sampling

Used to provide larger samples of certain groups of people than random sampling would give. This is used to provide large samples of sub-universes of particular interest to advertisers (such as top management) which would then be weighted back to the overall survey universe. Or when random sampling might lead to certain groups being under- represented due to their lifestyle, e.g. frequent fliers who are often away from home.

Page Traffic

The percentage of a publication’s readership who claimed to have read or looked at anything on a particular page of that publication.

Average page traffic is the average score for each page of the publication.

Panel Readership

Research in which the same respondents are interviewed periodically.

Pass-on Readership

Readers of an issue of a publication that was not bought by them or a member of their household – such as those in a dentist's waiting room - or who were not the original recipient of a title sent free of charge, such as colleagues.

Also known as Secondary Readers or Tertiary Readers.

Penetration

Another name for coverage or reach. Penetration refers to the proportion of the target market having an opportunity to see an advertisement or campaign.

Population

The number of people represented by a survey, or the number of people in a target group.

Primary Readership

Either purchasers of a publication and other members of their household or the original recipients of a title sent free of charge. These are the people most likely to read it in most depth. This is in contrast to pass-on readership.

Profile

The way a publication's readership breaks down across variables like age, class, sex, etc. Readership profile (composition) should always sum to 100%.

Publisher’s Statement

A declaration of a publication’s circulation in the absence of an audited figure.

Pulse strategy

A media plan falling between a burst strategy and a drip strategy. A pulse strategy might see a reasonable level of advertising for one week periods with a one week gap between advertising periods.

Qualitative Research

Commonly means any study designed to provide insightful information rather than numeric data on attitudes and perceptions of products, brand, media, lifestyle, etc. The samples, usually involving group discussions or depth interviews, tend to be too small to provide statistically valid data.

Quantitative Research

Surveys with samples that are large enough to provide statistically valid numerical data on whatever it is that is being researched, as opposed to qualitative research which helps to understand attitudes. Quantitative research is carried out using a structured questionnaire with a pre- determined range of possible to each question.

Quota Sample

A research sample that is recruited according to one or more characteristics such as age, sex, religion, etc. It ensures the sample is representative of the total market in terms of the selected characteristics although it may not be representative in other ways.

Random Sample

A research sample where every person in the target population has a known chance of selection. The principle is to select names at random from a relevant list.

Rate Base

The circulation of a publication on which advertising rates are based.

Ratecard

The official cost of advertising space in published form; infinitely negotiable for publications other than The Economist!

Reach

Estimate of the number of people who have the opportunity to see an insertion in a single publication or schedule. It is expressed as a percentage of the target population. Also known as 'coverage'.

Reach and Frequency Analysis

Another name for schedule evaluations that calculate reach and frequency.

Readership

Often used to mean Average Issue Readership.

Readers per Copy

Estimate of the number of people who read an average copy of a publication. Calculated by dividing a title’s total Average Issue Readership by its circulation.

Regular Readership

Estimate of the number of people who read a publication on a regular basis.

Renewals

A subscription that has been renewed prior to or at expiration or within six months thereafter.

Repeat Reading

This is how most people consume publications. They tend to be read in snatches rather than in a single sitting. This means an advertisement could be seen several times by an individual reader.

Response Rate

The number of successfully completed interviews or returned questionnaires expressed as a percentage of those it was attempted to screen or interview/question.

Sample

Those respondents identified as being eligible to be interviewed or questioned for a survey.

Random or probability sample: every member of the universe has an equal chance of being sampled.

Quota sample: interviewers are set quotas for groups they have to interview. Often cheaper than random sampling but the composition of the universe must be known before the survey is carried out.

Sampling Frame

Data used to generate the sample. More specifically, a grouping or listing of all the eligible units (such as countries, postcodes) which are used to generate the sample.

Schedule Evaluation

An estimate of how a media schedule performs against given target markets and a means of comparing different schedules. It takes into account such data as net reach, average frequency, gross OTS, and cost per thousand net reach.

Self-completion Questionnaire

Survey questionnaire that is filled in by respondents themselves. Used mostly for postal surveys.

Split run

A facility offered by publications to advertisers that allows different advertising copy to be run in different parts of the circulation area.

Spontaneous recall

A respondent’s ability to remember something without being given any stimulus material or prompting. Also known as unaided recall.

Standard Error

A measure of the amount by which a survey finding may differ from reality. It is used to calculate confidence limits.

Tabloid

The smaller of the two common newspaper sizes. So called popular newspapers, such as the Sun or the New York Post, are usually tabloid while more serious papers are usually in the larger broadsheet format.

Tactical advertising

A short term advertising campaign usually based on an existing strategy and used to take advantage of specific circumstances.

Target Group

The group of people/consumers to which an advertiser is trying to communicate. Target groups may be defined in a variety of ways including lifestyle, attitudes, usage, motivation and demographic profile.

Target Group Index(TGI)

A large scale quantitative research survey that links attitudes, reading and viewing habits to the consumption of brands in various product and service categories. It is widely used in the UK by media planners for developing advertising strategy.

Simmons is the US equivalent.

Telemarketing

The systematic use of the telephone as a marketing tool or promotional medium.

Test Marketing

A method of testing an advertisement or product launch in a representative market before the national launch.

Three hits

A US term for the reach obtained among audiences exposed to three or more advertising messages.

TVR

See GRP.

Universe

The total group of people researched by a survey. Often used interchangeably with population, which is the number of people in the universe.

Unweighted Base

Another name for unweighted sample. Those survey respondents who were successfully interviewed or returned usable questionnaires.

Volume Discount

Discount incentives for advertisers who commit to a specified level of spend with a media owner or agency.

Voucher Copy

A free copy of a publication sent to the advertiser as proof that a paid-for advertisement appeared.

Vox Pop

A qualitative consumer research tool, usually in the form of a brief street interview, where people are recorded giving spontaneous answers to set questions.

Wastage

Where an advertisement reaches consumers the advertiser does not want or need to reach.

Weights

Values put on different aspects under consideration according to importance. There are several different types including:

Frequency weights: different values put on OTS insertions in a schedule in line with the relationship that is judged to exist between OTS and the resulting effectiveness of the advertising.

Market weights: different values put on constituent parts of the target market.

Media weights: different values accorded to different titles in line with how important each is judged to the advertiser.

Sample weights: different values put on constituent parts of a survey sample to restore them to the correct proportions.