Media Jargon
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
Above The Line
Forms of marketing that involve mass-market advertising e.g. using TV, Press, Radio and Posters.
Above The Fold
The section of a web page that is visible without scrolling.
ABs
High status individuals. See Social Grade/Class/Socio-Economic Groups.
AB
Abbreviation of Advanced Booking.
ABI
Abbreviation of Advanced Booking Incentive.
Access Panels
Access panels are made up of a large number of households who have agreed to take part in research, either on the telephone or via mail. They are controlled to be representative of the population and have already volunteered some information about the household members that can be used for targeting.
ACORN
('A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods'). Proprietary Geodemographic classification system. Using published Census statistics, it classifies consumers according to the type of residential area in which they live. There are 38 different neighbourhood types, which take into account 40 variables including demographic, housing and employment characteristics. The 38 types are themselves aggregated into 11 neighbourhood groups. See Geodemographics.
Ad Blocking
The blocking of web advertisements, typically the image in graphical web advertisements.
Ad Click Rate
The percentage of Internet users that, after seeing an advertisement, then click onto it. For example if out of 100 Internet users who see an advert 10 click onto it then the ad click rate would be 10%. This is also known as clickthrough. See Banner and Clickthrough.
Ad impression
A single display or view of an online advertisement such as a banner, box ad, button ad or text link.
Ad Serving
Refers to the mechanisms developed to facilitate ad delivery on the World Wide Web or Internet. For instance;
Software - products like Accipiter allow for complex delivery and monitoring of ad delivery on one site or across a multitude of sites.
Companies - companies such as Vibrant Media and Advertising.com facilitate the purchase of ad space by representing a stable of Web sites.
Ad space
The space on a web page available for advertisements.
Adshel
One of the UK's largest media brands, Adshel's 42,000+ roadside 6 sheet panels are seen by in excess of 23m adults a week. Panels are located on busy high streets and main roads, in city centres and close to supermarkets, raising brand awareness and providing point of sale presence.
ADSL
Abbreviation for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A technology for transmitting digital information at high bandwidths on existing phone lines to homes and businesses.
Adspeak
An expression used for jargon used in the advertising trade.
Adstock
A term used in market modelling to mean the sum of GRPs in the current period plus a proportion of the GRPs from previous periods whose effect, normally Advertising Recall, is estimated to have carried over into the current period. This is usually calculated as a constant proportion carried over from one period into the next.
Adult Probability
See Reading Probability.
Advanced Booking Deadline
Date by which media monies have to be committed to a supplier by a media buyer on behalf of an advertiser.
Advertising Network
A network representing many Web sites in selling advertising, allowing media buyers to reach broad audiences easily through run-of-category and run-of-network buys.
Advertising Post-testing
Advertising post-testing is designed to assess the reactions of the target audience for a campaign after it has been broadcast. Techniques have been developed for TV, radio, posters and press. Fieldwork usually happens immediately after the campaign has been broadcast/shown to capture its impact at the height of its effect. The technique is designed to assess the success or otherwise of a campaign on key dimensions such as impact, persuasion and diagnostics. A particular client's campaign can then be assessed against a databank of 'norms' and against the client's advertising strategy. However a 'snapshot' post-test may be less sensitive than continuous or periodic checks.
Advertising Pre-testing
Advertising pre-testing is designed to assess the reactions of the target audience for a campaign before it is shown. The results of the research can be used diagnostically to improve the advert or to choose between alternative treatments. Also known as Copy Testing, particularly in North America.
Advertising Recall
A measure of what content of an advertisement is remembered. Should be distinguished from Awareness, a measure of remembering seeing any advertisement(s) for a brand.
Advertorial
An advertisement/editorial hybrid found mainly in magazines. The advertiser pays the editorial team to produce a feature endorsing his product in the style of that magazine, in the hope of conferring the magazine's values upon the product or service.
AF
Abbreviation of Average Frequency.
Affiliate
The publisher/salesperson in an affiliate marketing relationship. An
affiliate is an individual who drives traffic to online merchants, typically via web or blog contents or paid traffic via search engines. When a sale,
lead, or other agreed action takes place, the affiliate will earn a commission.
Affiliate Agreement
The legal terms and conditions between a Supplier and an affiliate that govern the relationship.
Affiliate Fraud
Fraudulent activity by an affiliate designed to generate illegal revenue. This can include using automated scripts to falsely create leads or clicks, or humans to do the same.
Affiliate Information Page
A page on the supplier's website that explains the terms of supplier affiliate program, including the commission rates, affiliate agreement, a link for existing affiliates to login, as well as a link to the signup page for new affiliates.
Affiliate Link
Is a special link containing code which tracks web visitors sent to a site by an affiliate. Each affiliate link contains a unique id specific to an individual affiliate and will record sales, visitors, and impressions generated and allow the merchant to attribute commissions.
Affiliate Marketing
A method of generating visitors and sales via a network of online partners.
Affiliate Network
A value-added intermediary providing services, including aggregation, for affiliate merchants and affiliates.
Affiliate Programme
An affiliate programme is a performance based form of marketing products or services offered by a website. The merchant pays a commission or lead rate on any sales or enquiries to affiliate partners.
Affiliate Software
Software that provides tracking and reporting of commission-triggering actions (sales, registrations, or clicks) from affiliate links.
The process of tracking a link uniquely by affiliate using an Affiliate Link.
AGP
Abbreviation for Audience Guarantee Plan.
Aided Recall
When visual aids are used to prompt the respondent's memory. Also known as Memory Prompts, these visual aids are commonly publication mastheads in print media research and lists of programmes in TV audience research.
AIR
Abbreviation of Average Issue Readership.
Alt-Text
HTML code that provides alternative text when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed.
Ambient Media
A catch-all phrase used to describe all 'out-of-home' advertising that does not fit within established media definitions. Examples of ambient media include advertisements placed on beer mats, bus tickets and petrol pumps. Ambient media has enjoyed significant recent growth as advertisers seek out new ways to communicate with their target audience.
Analogue
Analogue broadcasts are based on signals of varying frequency and, as such, suffer from degradation during transmission.
Analysis Sample
See Sample
Animated GIF
These are frequently used on the Internet to draw attention to a Web page. They create the impression of an animated image by quickly displaying a synchronised sequence of GIF (Graphic Image Format) images.
Appreciation Data
Data, which shows viewers' or listeners' reactions to the programmes they have watched or listened to. Another way of evaluating a programme's performance, alongside audience size data. See Appreciation Index.
Appreciation Index
An appreciation index is a measure of enjoyment used to evaluate TV and radio programmes. Respondents are asked to give a mark out of ten for each programme they have watched or listened to (they are asked not to change their viewing or listening habits in any way). Once all the responses have been collected, they are added together and then divided by the overall sample for each programme. The Appreciation Index, or AI, is usually presented as a mark out of 100. It can be looked at as providing supplementary qualitative information to programme ratings. In this respect it should be evaluated in the context of other programmes within the same genre and/or programmes shown at the same time but on a competitor channel.
ASBOF
Advertising Standards Board of Finance - a levy payable by the media buyer equating to 0.1% of the gross expenditure.
ASCII
Abbreviation of American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This is a universal standard for encoding letters, digits, and symbols. Saving a document in an ASCII format removes any formatting such as bolding and special fonts. This allows an ASCII document to be read by any word processor program.
Ascription
The systematic adjustment of figures in analysis to levels deemed to be more appropriate for the purposes of the survey than those obtained by the standard interviewing methods. (In the UK, for instance, adjustment to readership figures is undertaken for publications suffering from circulation loss due to strikes etc.). See Simulation.
Aspects
Angled, Head On and Parallel refer to the aspects of an outdoor panel. A panel may have more than one aspect. For example, the same panel may be head on to road 'A' and angled to road 'B'. Therefore, the sum of aspects may well exceed the total number of panels.
Associate
See Affiliate
ATM
Abbreviation of Asynchronous Transfer Mode. A digital technology used for the high-speed transmission of data over a standard telephone line.
Attention Value
Likelihood of an advertisement being noticed. The amount of attention paid to a TV set during a commercial break. There is currently no agreed way of measuring this. It can be approached by analysis of meter data or bespoke surveys.
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. See Lifestyle Research.
Audience
The population or target group.
Audience Factor
In TV planning in the UK, a factor based on the number of commercial TV adults, housewives etc. per commercial TV home is applied to estimates of net commercial TV homes to achieve an estimate of audience when only homes data are available.
Audience Guarantee Plan
In cinema, an advertising package bought with a guaranteed level of admissions across the campaign.
Audience Share
See Share.
Audio
This term in a multimedia context is used to describe digital files that can produce sound.
Audited Circulation
Circulation that has been verified, usually by an independent company as opposed to publishers' claims of circulation. See Circulation and Controlled Circulation.
Auto-Approve
Affiliate application process whereby all applications are immediately accepted/approved upon submittal by the affiliate. This term can also be used to describe the process of automatically accepting all sales recorded by affliliates.
AV
Abbreviation of Audio Visual. Equipment for all aspects of TV and radio.
Avl File
The file format used by the POSTAR system. It consists of a pair of files. One of these contains details of the campaign, the other lists panels included. See AVL specification for a full description. See also Avail + and XML on the "Standards" section of www.postar.co.uk.
Average Audience
Calculated by adding together the audience for each individual minute of the programme, and dividing it by the programme's total duration (in minutes). It is the best measure for comparing the absolute size of different programmes' audiences, and is the definition that is most often used when describing the size of a programme's audience, in channel top tens, for example. In terms of television research, this is the audience that is most similar to the commercial spot audience. See Spot Ratings.
Average Frequency
Estimate of the average number of times the audience had an opportunity to see an advertisement (in print or TV). Another name for Average OTS.
Average Hours per Head
The total hours of listening or viewing to a station averaged across the total relevant population.
Average Hours per Listener/Viewer
The total hours of listening or viewing to a station averaged across all those listening or viewing the station.
Average Issue Readership
An estimate of the number of people who read or looked at an average issue of a publication. Within the recent reading model this is the number who claim to have last read or looked at a publication for at least two minutes during a period that covers its publication interval. Abbreviated to AIR.
Average OTS
See Opportunities To See (OTS)/Hear (OTH).
Average Page/Spread Traffic
See Page Traffic.
AVI
Windows PCs digital video format. AVI files use the extension ".avi".
Awareness
A measurement of knowledge of the existence of a brand or its advertising. Can be measured spontaneously e.g. 'which brands of drinks can you think of?' or prompted e.g. 'Which of these brands of drink have you heard of - brand X, brand Y or brand Z?'.
Backing Up
The process of creating a copy of a computer file for security.
Backlit
See Illumination.
Bandwidth
A measurement of the volume of data that a modem or communications device is capable of receiving. Bandwidth is measured in hertz or bits. See Bits and Bytes and Modem.
BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board Ltd)
BARB is the joint industry company responsible for the provision of television audience measurement information in the UK. It is owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). The current BARB service is split between three contractors, ATR UK (responsible for panel operations and reporting), RSMB Television Research (responsible for general design and control) and Ipsos-RSL (responsible for Establishment Surveys). The Establishment Surveys involve continuous interviewing with random probability sampling, and in excess of 50,000 completed interviews each year.
Banner
Advertisements used on the Internet, usually along the top of Web pages. This position is seen as prime because users are presented with the message as soon as the page is loaded. The most common size is 468 x 60 pixels. See Dedicated Banner.
Banner (Outdoor)
Extremely large vinyl poster site, usually found on the side of buildings, often around scaffolding.
Banner Exchange
Network where participating sites display banner ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.
Barring
The ability to stop certain types of broadcast channels or phone calls.
Barter
To exchange goods or services directly without the use of money.
BASBOF
Broadcast Advertising Standards Board of Finance a levy payable by the media buyer equating to 0.1% of the gross expenditure.
Base
The Unweighted Base (in a research survey) refers to the number of individuals, households, etc. that were interviewed, either in total or by demographic sub-group. The Weighted Base is the number that is calculated after weights have been applied. This is often grossed up to show the number in the population. Grossing is the application of a fixed multiplier to each weighted individual and should not be confused with weighting. Both the unweighted and weighted bases should be shown in tabulations.
Baseband
The name given to a satellite TV signal before it is converted into a signal that is suitable for a TV.
Basic Service
The minimum package of channels that are available to cable and satellite subscribers for a set monthly fee. These channels do not include premium channels that are only available at an extra charge.
Baud Rate
The speed per second at which data is transmitted and received over a network. The higher the rate the faster data is transferred. This speed is measured in the number of bits per second that are transmitted. A 56K modem has a baud rate of 56,000 bits per second (bps). See Bits and Bytes and Modem.
BBS
See British Business Survey.
See Bulletin Board Systems.
Below The Line
Forms of marketing that do not involve conventional mass market advertising e.g. direct mail, special promotions.
Beta Testing
The provision of software and hardware free of charge to selected people for their conditional use in order for them to report back any problems or errors. Once any problems have been sorted then the final product can be released to the general public.
Betacam SP
Analogue videotape format of broadcast quality.
Bits and Bytes
A 'bit' is the smallest unit of data transmitted on computers and is represented by either a '1' or '0'. A byte is created from a string of eight bits and is the data needed to store one character, such as a letter or number.
Bleed
In press, Bleed refers to adverts in which printed matter runs to the cut edge of the page. The cost is expressed as a fixed charge or % extra.
Blog
Contraction of Weblog a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary) and are displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries.
Blu-Ray Disc
BD is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital media, including high-definition video with a capacity 5 times that of conventional DVDs.
Blue Tooth
A technology that allows devices such personal digital assistants (PDA's) and laptop computers to communicate with each other without the need for cables to connect them. This is done using short-range radio waves. See PDA.
Bookmark
A function in a Web browser that enables an Internet user to save addresses (URL) of their favourite websites for future reference. See URL.
Booster/Boosted Sample
See Oversampling.
Bounce rate
Rate at which visitors to websites leave after reaching the landing page and no further. The bounce rate for many sites is well above 50%.
Brand Awareness
The extent to which people are familiar with your product, company or brand.
Break
A break in television or radio transmission during which advertisements are shown. See Commercial Break.
Break Bumper
Term normally associated with sponsorship activity, whereby the overall programme sponsor occupies a short identification spot or 'billboard', often just 10 seconds long, immediately prior to and/or following commercial breaks in a programme he has sponsored.
British Business Survey
British Business Survey is credited as the most reliable and widely used survey for buying and selling advertising aimed at the UK business market. The survey covers average issue readership, recency, frequency, source of copy, as well as use of other media, business activities, company details, decision making responsibility, business travel, usage and ownership of business technology, car ownership etc. It includes readership details for around 150 newspapers and business publications, and a host of data that can be used to tightly target specific groups of business people.
Broadband
A telecommunications term used to describe any transmission system that can transmit voice, video and data faster than a standard telephone line (narrowband). Broadband fibre optic technology is widely used by cable companies to deliver multiple TV channels and telephone services to households. It also offers the possibility of a return signal so making possible interactive services such as online shopping. The technology will eventually make it possible to merge the television and Internet features. See Fibre Optics.
Browser
Software that allows Internet users to view Web pages and navigate the Web. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the two most popular browsers. See HTML and Inline.
Bulk sales
Quantity sales of copies of a single issue or subscriptions of two or more consecutive issues to one purchaser (see applicable rule).
Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)
Originally a system on an individual computer that users or members would dial into to leave and read messages. These tended to be closed systems, where members would have to know the individual phone number to dial into and the number of concurrent users would be limited by the number of phone lines into a particular board. Now the term is sometimes used to describe a notice board or chat area of a Web site, more commonly known as a Forum.
Burn
The process of transferring information to a CD-ROM. See CD-ROM.
Burst Campaign
Larger weight campaign concentrated over a limited number weeks.
Businessmen
Generally speaking, the definition of businessmen is men and women in eligible industries and occupations that are involved in business. "Involvement in business" is defined in terms of management responsibility, job title, income, and so on. The definition can vary according to the purpose of the survey.
In consequence, some surveys may consider farmers or retailers in small shops to be businessmen, whilst others may not. More stringent definitions of businessmen will only include people with sufficient managerial responsibilities, or those employed by companies of a certain size, etc.
Cable
This refers to services that are transmitted over wires rather than over the airwaves.
Cable Modem
A device that allows Internet access using cable. This is a much faster than using a normal telephone modem and, in theory, up to 80 times faster than an ISDN line. See ISDN.
Cable Penetration
Either the number of homes subscribed to cable as a proportion of all TV homes, expressed as a percentage or, alternatively, the proportion of Homes Passed that subscribe to cable.
Cache
A term used on the Internet. Browsers keep the data they download from a page in storage on the local computer, which speeds up access to the next page - for example, caching the logo image so that it does not have to be downloaded again.
Caching
The storage of web files for later re-use at a point more quickly accessed by the end user.
Call Backs
When an interviewer 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 - e.g. frequent travellers, who may be travelling when the interviewer first calls. Call backs are essential to increase response rates in random samples.
High quality random samples typically insist on a minimum of four call backs for personal interviews and ten or more for telephone interviews. See Sample.
Call to Action
Interactive icon found on the corner of the interactive broadcast ad and usually says Press red for
Campaign
A promotional effort based on the same strategy and creative idea. A campaign can last weeks, months or even years and can involve public relations, below-the-line activities, direct mail, sponsorship, advertising or any combination of them. An Advertising Campaign can entail one or more media schedules.
Campaign Period
The duration of a promotional effort.
Campaign Reach
See Reach.
CAPI
Abbreviation of Computer Assisted Personal Interview. A face-to-face interview where the questionnaire is administered by the interviewer using a laptop computer, which presents each question on the screen, and interviewers directly record respondents' replies.
Capibus
See Omnibus Surveys.
Card Sorting
The method by which publication masthead cards or other names are sorted by respondents into groups. See Masthead Cards.
CASI
Abbreviation for Computer Assisted Self-Completion Interview. This is the new methodology adopted by Clear Channel and used from January 1st 2004 within the Adshel Research Monitor tracking study.
CATI
Abbreviation of Computer Assisted Telephone Interview. An interview conducted by telephone, where the questionnaire is administered using a computer.
CD-ROM
Abbreviation of Compact Disk Read Only Memory. These are optical disks, 5-1/4 inch in size that are used to hold computer data. They have a high storage capacity (up to 650mb of data). Some are capable of writing data more than once. See Burn.
Channel
content area within an internet portal that combines latest news of a particular topic, shopping tips and links to related sites (e.g. Yahoo! Music)
Channel Mapping
A feature found on some televisions, video recorders and set top boxes. This allows a device to receive a transmission for a channel even if it has been moved to a different frequency so removing the need to manually re-tune.
Channel Reach
See Reach.
Channel Share
See Share.
Charge Back
An action taken by the supplier that invalidates a sale transaction, and results in the affiliate forfeiting any commission that may have been earned on the sale.
Chat
Live or "real time" discussion between people online, (on the Internet) in an environment often known as a chat room. See Web Based Discussions.
Chief Income Earner
The household member who is mainly responsible for the financial support of the household. Typically the individual household member with the highest income.
Chief Shopper
The member of the household (male or female) who is solely or mainly responsible for the household's shopping. In establishing who is responsible for household duties respondents are asked what proportion of the household shopping they are responsible for. Analyses based on chief shoppers may take into account these weighted proportions.
Circulation
In Print research it is 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. Does not include copies of a publication printed but not distributed, and therefore it should logically be less than a publication's Print Run. Promotional copies or those that are given away free may or may not be included in the circulation. See Controlled Circulation. Circulations are the most basic means of comparing titles. They are a guide to a publication's Primary Readership
Circulation Audit
See Audited Circulation.
Clash
Competing brands/services which cannot advertise in the same ad-break also Confliction.
Click
The act of clicking the 'mouse' when using the World Wide Web to activate a link (often used in reference to 'clicking' on a banner to retrieve further information).
Clickthrough
When visitors click on a banner advertisement, taking them to the advertiser's site.
Clickthrough Rate
Percentage of times an advertisement is clicked, divided by the number of times it is seen.
Clip Art
Collections of digital images used in multimedia productions. See Multimedia.
Closed Captioning
Text that is superimposed over TV pictures for the benefit of viewers with hearing disabilities.
Cluster Analysis
Statistical technique for grouping the people researched by a survey not by single criteria like age, sex, etc., but by a large number of their characteristics. If these groups have no overlap between them - i.e. if no respondent falls into more than one group - they are called Discrete Clusters. The people in any given 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 other of the other clusters.
Clustered Samples
The grouping together of individuals for sampling purposes - usually geographically, to reduce time and cost of interviewer's travel.
Clutter
Visual or audible stimuli that draws attention away from the advertising message, often caused by different advertisements competing for the viewers' or listeners' attention. See Visual Clutter.
Co-branding
A marketing term denoting an affiliate and supplier/merchant jointly branding the supplier's offering.
Commercial Break
A break in television or radio transmission during which advertisements are transmitted.
Commercial Minutage
Number of minutes (per day, week) on television for which commercials (as opposed to programmes, trailers etc.) are transmitted.
Composition
The percentage of a TV/radio programme's audience or a publication's readers who fall into a given target group.
Composition is often used interchangeably with Profile, though, strictly speaking, profile - i.e. audience or readership profile - refers to the way a programme's audience or a publication's readership breaks down across a single variable like age, income, job title, etc. The profile should always sum to 100%.
Compression
Digital process that reduces the space taken by data allowing it to be stored and transmitted more efficiently. This is especially useful for large files such as audio and graphics files.
Computer Bureaux
Companies conducting computer analysis of survey databases.
As the computer programs and mathematical models developed by the bureaux differ, each bureaux may come up with slightly different estimates for schedule evaluations, frequency distributions and optimisations even when they use the same type of mathematical model (e.g. Formula or Probability Model).
Conditional Access
The name given to the technology that gives allows authorised users to access digital television services by encrypting the transmitted content that is then converted by a decoder.
Confidence Limits
Confidence limits are an estimate, derived from statistical theory, of the range of values within which the "true" figure is likely to lie. Confidence limits can only be calculated for random samples, although they are frequently used as a guide for quota samples etc. 95% confidence limits indicate that there is a 95% probability (or 19 in 20 chance) that the true figure falls within the values stated; 90% confidence limits indicate that there is a 90% probability (or 1 in 10 chance); and so on. The common convention is to use 95% confidence limits.
Conflict
See Clash
Consolidated Viewing
Consolidated viewing is the total of viewing that occurred in real time and video playback, which is recorded and watched within an agreed period (e.g. seven days) of the original programme's transmission time.
Consumer Publication
A publication designed for a general consumer or special interest markets e.g. photography, gardening. See Trade and Technical Publication.
Content
Information or entertainment produced by an advertiser or media company for use in a Web site or similar environment. Generally in reference to a media site.
Content Provider
The group or company responsible for online content. See Content.
Controlled Circulation
Copies of a publication that are distributed free of charge to specified people or addresses. The publisher controls to who copies are circulated. Continued receipt of such copies may or may not be requested by the recipient.
Conurbations
The major urban population areas in the UK. London, Greater Manchester etc.
Convergence
The delivery of several types of content to a single receiver. Increasingly popular as a TV set may give access to digital TV, interactive Web services, hi-fi audio and other services.
Conversion
In TV, the efficiency relationship between a broad group to another Demographic (usually a subset e.g. Adults and ABC1 Adults), normally expressed as an index of Ratings
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action.
Converter
See Decoder. Also known as Set Top Box.
Cookie
A file that a Web site puts on the hard disk to inform the site of the visitor's preferences. Often used to inform a site of what advertisements have been seen or to personalise content.
Cookie Expiration/ Cookie Retention
When a cookie is planted on a web browser, a date when the cookie expires is defined. Affiliate sales can only be recorded before the cookie expiration date. This period will also determine if repeat sales will be recorded.
Contextual Linking
This refers to the process of placing affiliate links to appropriate products within related text or articles on a website.
Conversion Rate (CR)
Percentage of clicks that convert to a sale i.e. 8 sales for every 100 visitors would give an 8% CR.
Copy Protection
A way of stopping copyright theft from DVD's and CD's. One method employed includes Macrovision, which degrades any content that is being copied. See DVD.
Copy Test
Another name, used in Germany, for a Page Traffic survey. In the UK and America it is also used to describe Advertising Pre-testing.
Core Audience
The core audience is the percentage of people who watch the whole programme, from the first minute to the last minute (or some other criteria e.g. 50% of the minutes or more). This is the most rigorous definition of audience and leads to the smallest figure. It is used to measure loyalty, and the profile of the characteristic viewer.
Cost Efficiency
The value of an advertising schedule, or one advertisement in a single publication or TV spot in relation to its cost. Usually expressed as the cost of reaching one thousand people in the Target Market, which allows the cost-efficiency offered by different titles, schedules, programmes or adverts to be compared easily. See Cost Per Thousand.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
v
When referring to banner ads, CPC is the cost the advertiser pays to the site publisher each time a visitor clicks on the advertiser's ad.
Cost Per Hundred (CPH)
In TV, the cost of buying 100 30 TVRs for a defined Target Audience.
Cost Per Thousand (CPT or CPM)
Cost of reaching one thousand people in a Target Audience i.e. the cost of reaching a thousand readers or viewers or listeners with a given advertisement. Cost per thousand is a means of comparing the efficiency and value offered by different titles, schedules, programmes or adverts. Abbreviated to CPT or CPM (Cost Per Mille). Calculated by dividing the cost by the audience (in 000s) delivered.
Cost Rank
List of candidate media ranked by Cost Per Thousand to show the relative efficiency with which each reaches the target audience.
Couch Potato
A name given to individuals who watch large amounts of television.
Cover
Abbreviation of Coverage.
Coverage
The proportion of a target group who have an opportunity to see or hear one or more advertisement, issue or spot. Abbreviated to Cover. See Reach, which however is more often used in the broadcast media.
Coverage Rank
List of publications ranked by their coverage of a specified group or target group.
CPA
Cost-per-action/acquisition - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.
CPC
Cost per click - the cost or cost-equivalent paid per click-through.
CPH
Abbreviation of Cost Per Hundred.
v
CPM
Abbreviation of Cost Per Mille. See Cost Per Thousand.
CPT
Abbreviation of Cost Per Thousand.
CRR
Abbreviation for Contract Rights Renewal Ofcoms response to the ITV merger of Carlton and Granda, the mechanism by which agencies and their advertisers can reduce expenditure share based on the ITV1 share of commercial audience decline.
CTA
Abbreviation of Call to Action.
CTR
Click-through rate - the average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.
Cross Media
The idea of using online as well as offline media (TV, radio, print) for your advertising campaign to increase campaign success and brand awareness.
Cross Tabulation
Most tables in standard survey reports are cross tabulations. They provide large amounts of information about target markets or readers of publications in a relatively compact format.
Cumulative Audience
The proportion of a target group who have an opportunity to see or hear one advertisement from a campaign at a specified time e.g. after two spots x% had seen one and after ten spots it was y%.
Cumulative Readership
The Net Reach achieved by a given number of insertions in a single title or schedule. In other words, the number of people who have at least one Opportunity to See an advertisement. It is calculated by using a mathematical model - See Schedule Evaluation. For a single title, cumulative readership takes into account regular and occasional readers as well as average issue readers. In other words, it takes into account.
DAB
Abbreviation of Digital Audio Broadcasting. DAB encodes audio into digital numbers, which are decoded by a receiver. The digital format means that more information can be compressed into the spectrum so improving sound quality, more choice and enabling service such as dynamic labels. See Digital Radio Development Bureau and Dynamic Labels.
DAL
Dedicated Advertiser Location. Is the equivalent of an advertiser’s own TV channel. Having pressed red the viewer switches from the linear broadcast into that channel. The advertiser buys the ‘channel’ on a temporary basis for the duration of their campaign, and can populate it with whatever content they wish. Each DAL is a bespoke design and built totally to the advertiser’s requirements. The opportunities within it are almost endless. The advertiser can run dedicated video and audio, run animation, and even broadcast games for viewers to play. The advertiser has to buy bandwidth on which to host the DAL, the amount of bandwidth each DAL requires depending on the amount of content that is in it.
DAR
Abbreviation of Day-After-Recall.
Data Feed
A data feed is a file (normally CSV or XML formatted) containing product information for a merchant. This file will typically contain URLs, names, images & product descriptions. These files are used by many affiliates to create relevant commercial content for their own sites.
Drop Shipping
A lesser known form of affiliate marketing whereby an affiliate takes orders and payments and the merchant delivers directly to the client (so no stock is required).
Day-After-Recall
A way of measuring TV viewing/radio listening or a publication's readership. Respondents are asked what they watched/listened to/read yesterday, prompted either by time or programme, etc., and the data from many sample days are aggregated together. For TV the data would be reported as average quarter hour viewing of individual channels. Also sometimes used to describe a form of advertising post testing.
Day-part
A broadcast day is split in several day-parts, periods of time corresponding to different audience levels (and to different rate levels). Definition of day-parts may vary by country and by medium.
Decoder
Decoders are supplied to cable and satellite subscribers to enable them to receive signals to their television sets. Also known as a Converter or Set Top Box. Decoders may also convert the television set to an interactive terminal.
Dedicated Banner
An Internet advertising banner that does not rotate and is seen by every visitor to the Web page that the advert is displayed upon. See Banner.
Dedicated Line
A telecommunications line that is permanently connected to the Internet. Also known as a direct connection.
Deep Linking
Linking to a web page other than a site's home page.
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. See Socio-Economic Groups, Geodemographics and Psychographic Groups.
Description Tag
an HTML tag used by web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.
Design Factor
The amount by which the Standard Error of a survey is greater than that of a perfectly random sample (i.e. a Simple Random Sample); the factor by which the standard error of a simple random sample must be multiplied in order to determine the possible error that could effect that survey's findings. Can only be calculated for surveys with random samples. In other words, the design factor is a measure of the margin of possible error resulting from a survey's sample design compared to a simple random sample. Its magnitude depends on the way the sample has been structured and selected. Calculating the design factor is a complex process, but the design factor must be known if Confidence Limits are to be calculated. See Standard Error.
Directory
organized, categorized listings of web sites.
DI
Abbreviation for Digital Intermediate. Transfer of tape or film to a digital form and then back again. Useful for cinema advertising copy.
Dial Up Access
A way of accessing the Internet through the public telephone network using a modem. This method is slower than other methods of connecting to the Internet such as DSL and ISDN. See Diary
Diaries for media research normally consist of booklets with one page, or a double-page spread, for each day of the week. Each day's page can be pre-printed with the names of TV/Radio channels along the top, and time periods down the sides. The rest of the page might work as a grid where respondents record what they viewed/listened. In readership research, a diary is kept by informants to record, over a specified period, reading events in relation to all or a limited number of publications.
Digital
Digital refers to the use of a binary codes made up of 0s and 1s to represent data. Digital technology is becoming increasingly cheaper and more powerful and is used in a wide range of applications including television, telephony and computing etc. See Digitisation.
Digital Broadcast System
The technology used by home satellite-dish owners to receive digital signals that have CD-quality sound and laserdisc quality images.
Digital Media
Any video and audio material that have been digitised into 1s and 0s. See Digitisation and Digital.
Digital Radio Development Bureau
Industry body set up in partnership by the BBC and Commercial Radio to promote digital radio in the UK.
Digital Radio Multiplex
These are the transmitters used by digital radio stations to broadcast digital. In the UK the Radio Authority awards the multiplex (transmission) licences to commercial operators.
Digital Terrestrial TV
Abbreviation DTT, viewers with a TV and aerial can receive DTT via a Freeview set top box. ITV1,2,3 BBC digital channels and a limited number of other TV and radio stations are available. Distribution across the UK is not complete and some areas will not be able to receive DTT until the analogue signal is switched off due to interference with existing analogue stations.
Digital TV
A method for transmitting television signals in a binary rather than an analogue format. This allows more information to be contained within the same bandwidth to provide more channels, higher definition pictures or interactive services.
Digital Video Broadcasting
Also known as DVB. This refers to an organisation with over 220 members in 25 countries worldwide, which devised a set of standards for digital broadcasting by satellite, cable, and terrestrial infrastructures. DVB-compliant equipment is distinguished by the DVB logo.
Digitisation
The process of converting analogue material into a digital format. See Digital and Digital Media.
Dimension
The sizes of press advertisements given in millimetres - The column width and lengths are listed along with the number of columns
Dipstick Surveys
Any survey that provides a single measure. Often used in radio research where tailor-made Aided Recall studies are used to measure recent listening, yielding reach but not hours.
Direct Mail
Delivery of the advertising message direct to people's homes via their letterbox.
Distribution
(Press) The total number of copies distributed per issue whether paid, non-paid or unpaid.
District
ISBA have divided the UK up into 409 districts. They roughly follow town, city and county boundaries. See also Local Authority districts.
Disproportionate Sampling
Deliberate selection of a sample that is not in proportion to the population. For instance if a large area is combined with a small one, an equal selection across them will produce very different sample sizes
Domain Name
The unique name of an Internet site such as (http//www.google.co.uk). It also identifies the type of site for example "edu" for "educational," "com" for "commercial," "org" for "organisation," gov or government, etc. Other, two letter domains represent countries such as .uk for the United Kingdom.
Double Page Spread
Press advertisement that occupies the consecutive left and right hand pages of a publication
Downlink
Satellite signals sent down to earth.
Download
The transfer of electronic files to the user's computer
Downtime
A period of time that a computer system is not functioning. This can be due to a fault or because of planned maintenance.
DPS
Abbreviation for Double Page Spread
Duration
Length of an advertising Spot - usually in multiples of 10 seconds
Drip Campaign
A low weight of TVRs spread over a number of weeks (e.g. 30 TVRs per week over an 8 week period would be described as a Drip Campaign)
Dropped Call
The ending of a mobile telephone call due to a weak signal.
DSL
Abbreviation of Digital Subscriber Line. A high-speed Internet connection that is "always on". This is typically 3-5 times faster than ISDN.
DTH
Abbreviation of Direct To Home. The reception of television signals via a satellite dish attached to a single dwelling.
DTT
See Digital Terrestrial TV
Dual Cable
A way of doubling channel size by installing two cables together each carrying different signals.
Dual Panel Household
In the UK, a dual panel household is a home that reports simultaneously on two separate commercial TV area panels. All dual panel homes must be dual situation homes in commercial TV overlap areas. Not all dual station homes are so used because it is necessary to preserve the sampling representation on each regional panel.
Duplication
The estimated number of people who read either two or more given publications or two or more given issues of the same title or who see two or more TV/radio spots. Hence a Duplication Table charts the estimated duplication between publications. The higher the duplication between any two titles, the higher the Average Frequency and the lower the additional Net Reach that will result from advertising in both of them instead of only in one.
Duration
Associated with poster research, it is the amount of time that a panel of a given size can, from its moment of visibility, stay within the audience's vision.
DVD
Abbreviation of Digital Versatile Disk. Modern DVD's offer very high resolution moving images, also since they can store a lot of data DVD's have the facility to hold different camera shots and extra information about a movie.
Dwelling Unit
An enclosed, private living area that has a separate entrance from a public area - e.g. a flat. What qualifies and does not qualify as a dwelling unit can affect the composition of a survey's universe, and may vary from survey to survey. A house containing two flats is usually counted as two dwelling units while an office is not a dwelling unit unless someone lives and works in the same place - i.e. it is also a private residence.
Dynamic Labels
The system used to display content information for broadcasts via digital radio. See DAB.
e-Commerce
Refers to wholly completed online financial purchases or transactions on the World Wide Web or Internet. See Online Shopping.
Early Peak
In TV, a Daypart that is normally defined as running from 17:30 to 20:00
Eccentricity
[Postar Definition] The amount by which a person has to turn his/her head from straight ahead to see the panel - Marginal, Moderate, Severe or None.
Effective Frequency
An assumed or estimated optimum frequency of exposure in an advertising campaign. Often stated to be 3 or 4, though the basis of this is uncertain and dependent on strategy.
Effective Reach
See Reach.
Effective Sample Size
The sample size after reductions due to weighting and design factors have been taken into account.
Electronic lock
A system where by users has to enter a personal code before a phone can be used. This technology is designed to prevent unauthorised use.
Electronic Programme Guide
Abbreviated to EPG. A device that provides an on-screen listing of all programming and content that an interactive television service subscriber or digital television viewer has available to them. See Interactive Television.
Eligibility Criteria
Requirements that respondents must meet to be included in the sample such as income, country of residence, job title, etc.
Email
Electronic mail carried on the Net.
Email Marketing
The promotion of products or services via email.
Email Spam
Unwanted, unsolicited email.
Embedded Hyperlink
Also known as external link, link, hot text or hypertext. A link from one Web site to another or another part of the current Web site.
EML
Abbreviation of Extended Media List.
Encryption
The process by which data is only made readable by the receiver. This technology is often used to protect credit card transactions over the Internet. See Online Shopping.
Environmentally Targeted
A panel or group of panels which have been specifically selected to suit the advertiser's brief. The location and situation of the panels can reflect the place of purchase or when and where the consumer thinks about the brand.
EPC
Earnings per hundred clicks. This is the most commonly used metric for determining the financial return provided by an affiliate programme. It refers to the average earnings of affiliates for every hundred clicks they deliver to merchant (this data is available to affiliates).
EPG
Abbreviation of Electronic Programme Guide.
Exposure (advertisement)
Actual exposure of the advertisement to the member of the target audience. The conversion of OTS into an impact.
Extended Media List
(EML) The name of the Grouped Titles Technique adopted by the UK's National Readership Survey (NRS). The technique allows much larger numbers of titles to be included in the survey than with traditional research methods. Respondents are shown cards that each list a small group of titles of similar type (such as quality dailies, news magazines, car magazines, etc.). They are then asked if they have read any of the titles on the card during the previous year and, if they have not, the card is discarded. If they have, they are questioned further about their readership of each of the titles on the card
Extranet
An extended Intranet that is available to authorised selected users (such as clients) in remote locations. See Intranet and Firewall.
Eyeballs
Word used to describe the number of people that see a Web site.
E-zine
Web sites that contain magazine type content on the Internet. This can either be a unique offering or sourced from other of- line medium.
Facing Matter
Press advertising that faces editorial.
Fibre optics
Thin glass or plastic cabling that is used to transmit data at high-speed, for example audio and video signals to TV sets.
File Header
A file segment that describes the format and type of data that is contained in a file.
Firewall
Hardware security procedure to protect private networks from unauthorised access from outsiders. Firewall software is also available for home PC users. See Intranet and Extranet.
Flash
Multimedia technology developed by Macromedia to allow a lot of interactivity / video to fit in a relatively small file size.
Flyposting
Fly-posting is the commercially driven defacement of the local environment through the display of advertisements pasted or attached to buildings, street furniture or other structures without the consent of the owner, contrary to the provisions of the Regulations. Fly-posting is illegal, and those responsible for it, or benefiting from it, can be prosecuted.
FM
Abbreviation for Facing Matter
Foot Print
The area that a satellite's transmission covers on Earth. This area can be increased by the use of powerful receiving dishes.
Formula Model
A type of mathematical model used to evaluate media schedules. See Schedule Evaluation.
Forum
An online community where visitors may read and post topics of common interest.
Freeware
Computer software that can be downloaded from the Internet or distributed by other means to users that has no charge for usage. See Shareware.
Frequency
The number of times a campaign is seen or heard by those who see or hear it at all, expressed over a period of time. See Reading Frequency ("How Often").
Frequency Cap
Restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement.
Frequency Weights
See Response Function.
Full Colour
Full colour refers to the 4 colour process (abbreviated to 4Col) - using 4 plates to make up the printing process. Alternatively, Spot Colour refers to a basic colour (usually red) printed on a mono (Black & White) background.
Gatefold
In magazines a fold that folds in towards the centre which when opened provides a double gate effect
General Packet Radio System
GPRS refers to the technology that allows a mobile phone user to have a permanent connection to the Internet. Users can also make voice calls at the same time as using the Internet. Users are charged by the amount of data that is transferred rather than per call. See Mobile Internet Connection.
Geodemographics
Classification of those researched by a survey by the characteristics of where they live/type of area/neighbourhood. Cluster Analysis is often used to create geodemographic groups, with each cluster given a name such as "Stockbroker Belt", "Metro Singles" or whatever. Examples of proprietary geodemographic classification systems are ACORN and MOSAIC.
Ghost
The name given to a shadowy or weak TV picture image.
Golden Square
20m X 20m of perfectly square, poster panel. The Golden Square was designed and created by Clear Channel in March 2000.
Google Adsense
Google programme offering web site owners the opportunity to include ads from its pay per click advertisers. Site owners are paid a percentage of the click cost to advertiser when one of these ads are clicked.
Google Adwords
Google's pay per click advertising solution. Advertisers pay a cost per click which is relative to the type of site content, and how much other advertisers are willing to pay. Ads are shown alongside Google results and advertisers also have the option of ads being displayed by Google's search network including AOL, Ask Jeeves & Netscape. Ads are also distributed via the "content network" which consists of many thousands of sites which are not search engines.
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service is a method of enhancing 2G phones to enable them to send and receive data more rapidly.
Gross Audience
The gross audience represents the total number of people who watch a programme at all i.e. reach.
Gross Coverage
See Gross OTH/OTS.
Gross Impacts
See Impacts.
Gross OTS
Estimate of the total number of Opportunities To See (OTS)/Hear (OTH) advertisements in a given schedule
Gross Rating Points
Gross OTS expressed as a percentage of the target market. One rating point equals one percent of the population. Abbreviated to GRP. If a schedule attained a gross OTS of 200,000 for a target market of 50,000 individuals, it would generate 400 GRPs.
Grouped Titles Technique
See Extended Media List.
GRP
Abbreviation of Gross Rating Points.
GSM
Abbreviation of Global System for Mobile Communications. The international digital cellular standard used by all phones.
Guerilla Marketing
Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Guest Viewing
In television audience measurement, peoplemeter operations approximate panel members' total domestic viewing, whether in home or in someone else's home by measuring the viewing of guests in panel members' homes. This viewing can be regarded as a substitute for the panel members' own viewing when they are guests in unmeasured homes. Guest viewing is measured by asking visitors in a panel home to register their presence by using a special guest button on the hand set. They are also asked to give basic demographics (sex and age).
Hammocking
Maximising the audience to a weak programme by scheduling it between two strong programmes.
Hands Free
A devise that enables a mobile phone to be used in a car without the user holding the phone. These devices are now mandatory in the UK if using a mobile while driving.
Head of Household
The most senior member of a household. The precise definition may differ from survey to survey, and is likely to differ between surveys in different countries. See Chief Income Earner.
HD DVD
Is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital media, including high-definition video – the loser in the format wars.
Head on
Facing the direction of oncoming traffic.
Heavy Listener
See Heavy User.
Heavy User
People who buy, use or consume above-average quantities of given products or services. By definition, heavy users account for a disproportionate amount of purchases. People who watch above-average amounts of TV or listen to above- average amounts of radio are often referred to as Heavy Viewers or Heavy Listeners. The definition of a heavy user varies not only between surveys, but also between products and services.
High Definition TV
HDTV is a digital television broadcasting system with a significantly higher resolution than traditional formats.
Hits
See Page Impressions.
Heavy Viewer
See Heavy User.
Home Shopping
Home shopping refers to any purchasing made from home. This includes purchases from a home shopping channel like QVC, mail order organisations and the Internet. See Online Shopping and Interactive Television.
Home Page
A term associated with the Internet. Either the first page loaded by a browser at start-up, or the main Web document for a particular group, organisation, or person.
Home Page Takeover
The first page (home page) loaded by a browser at start-up that is then dominated by one advertiser. Can be exclusive to one advertiser for a given period.
Homes Connected
The total number of households that have been connected to a cable TV network. See Homes Passed.
Homes Passed
Homes that could easily and inexpensively be connected to a cable network because the feeder cable is nearby. See Homes Connected.
Host
A computer that allows many services to be provided on a single network.
Hours of Viewing
Hours of viewing are usually reported as the average number of minutes or hours viewed per day or minutes or hours viewed per week. See Channel Share.
House Ad
Self-promotional ad a company runs on their own site/network to use unsold inventory.
Household
A group of people who live together and whose food and other household expenses are managed as one unit. The precise definition may differ from survey to survey, especially between surveys in different countries. The main differences usually concern the management of household expenses and duties and the way hotels, retirement homes and the like are treated.
Housewife
Also known as Homemaker (USA) or Housekeeper (Ireland). The member of the household (male or female) who is solely or mainly responsible for the household duties. There is always one housewife per household. Given that these duties are often shared between different household members the concept of a housewife has largely been replaced by that of the Chief/Main Shopper. In establishing who is responsible for household duties respondents are asked what proportion of the household shopping they are responsible for. Analyses based on Chief Shoppers may take into account these weighted proportions.
HTML
Abbreviation of Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the language used to create Web documents, which allows users to move between pages by clicking on links embedded in the page.
HTML Email
Email that is formatted using Hypertext Markup Language, as opposed to plain text email.
Hurdle Question
Also threshold or general filter. The non time-related filter question screening certain information as in or out at the beginning of an interview. See also Time-Related Filter.
Hypertext
Hypertext Markup Language. See HTML.
IA
Abbreviation for Interactive Advertising.
Illumination
A poster is 'illuminated' if lit from overhead, ground or base or rear.
Image Resolution
The number of pixels in an image.
Impacts
The gross number of opportunities to see an advertisement. In terms of television and radio research, one impact is one person's viewing or listening to one spot. These are added together to give total impacts for an advertising campaign, or total impacts for all commercial airtime on a certain station. Total monthly impacts are used to assess the performance of television stations in reaching target audiences - both by making year on year comparisons, and by calculating a cost per thousand for different audience categories. The impacts total may be weighted according to timelength usage.
Impressions
Another name for Impacts (see above). Refers to the number of times a banner ad or web site page is requested from the server.
Impulse Pay Per View
Also known as IPPV. A pay-per-view facility that allows subscribers to purchase programmes without the need to order it in advance. See Subscribers, Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View.
Impulse Response
Interactive ad format with a simple overlay on the screen, whereby the viewer can press the red button and request a brochure, call-back, sample or other info.
In Home Viewing
Where the TV audience is restricted to people who are watching TV in a private house. See Out of Home Viewing.
Inbound Link
A link to your site from an external site.
Incentivised Traffic/Action
Visitors who have received some form of compensation for visiting a site.
Infomercial
An advertorial that contains a lot of information. These are often used on direct response television such as shopping channels. See Home Shopping.
Informant
See Respondent.
Information Superhighway
Term used to describe online services such as the Internet and Interactive TV.
Inline
A browser that allows certain media or file formats to be directly supported so eliminating the need for a helper function. See Browser.
Insert
A piece of printed material that is inserted into another piece of printed material, such as a magazine or catalogue.
Interactive Advertising
TV advertising that includes an interactive element inviting the viewer “Press red”. This will lead the viewer to Impulse Response, DAL or Microsites.
Interactive Research
A generic term to describe using the Internet as a research tool.
Interactive Television
The mixing of traditional television with interactive content in order to create a richer viewing experience. Interactive features include links to further programme related information, Internet sites, e-mail, betting and online shopping. See Online Shopping.
Interface
The software that allows a user to operate an application
International Roaming
The ability to use a mobile phone outside its home country.
Internet
A global network of computer networks which contains a huge variety of information entered by users. Information is in the form of 'pages' or 'sites', which have their own individual address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The Internet is often confused with the World Wide Web (or Web); however they are not the same. The Internet is the connection of computers around the World. The Web is just one of the ways to make these machines communicate. Its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of cross-referencing. In most Web sites, certain words or phrases appear in coloured text or underlined. When one of these words or phrases is selected the user will be transferred to the site or page that is associated with that word or phrase. Sometimes there are buttons or images that are 'clickable'. If the pointer is moved over a spot and it changes to a hand, this indicates that clicking on the image will transfer the user to another site.
Internet Relay Chat
Also known as IRC. This software allows Internet users worldwide to connect with others users and enables them to chat in real time by typing messages. See Chat.
Internet Research
This covers both researching the Internet itself (e.g. measuring Internet penetration), as well as using the Internet as a research tool. See Interactive Research.
Interstitial
An advertisement that loads between two content pages.
Intranet
A private Web site designed for sharing data and e-mails within an organisation. Usually made secure by a firewall. See Extranet.
Intrusion Index
The Intrusion Index is a measure of the efficiency of TV advertising. The index compares achieved levels of Proven Recall for a TV commercial with expected levels of Proven Recall (known as the Intrusion Norm). The Intrusion Norm is based on four key inputs; the Proven Recall 'start point', the weekly media plan for the campaign (measured in TVRs), the expected level of build in Proven Recall per week on air, and the expected level of decay per week when off-air. Intrusion modelling is used mainly to measure advertising efficiency, but can also be applied to examine 'what if' scenarios for specific campaigns using alternative media laydowns. See Advertising Post-testing.
Interstitial
An advertisement that loads between two content pages.
IP address
Internet protocol address - an IP address is a unique number that identifies your computer on a network (like the Internet). This addressing system allows information to be delivered to and from other resources on a network, such as between computers and web servers on the Internet.
IPTV
Internet Protocol Television – receiving TV and/or video signals and/or other multimedia services via your Internet connection, in particular your broadband connection.
ISDN
Abbreviation of Integrated Services Digital Network. An international standard for digital communications over telephone lines, which allows for the transmission of data at 64 or 128 Kbps.
Issue Recognition
In a readership survey, the measurement of reading by using issues of the publication, stripped issues, front covers, and/or table of contents.
Itemised Billing
The facility to list all calls charges and timings on a phone invoice.
Java
A computer programming language that allows animation and interaction to be used on the Internet.
Java Script
A scripting language used to create interactive web sites.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group is a commonly used standard method of compression for photographic images.
Junction Type
On Postar there are 4 choices, No Junction, T - Junction, Other Junction/Crossroad, and Roundabout.
Keyword
A word used in a performing a search.
Keyword advertising/marketing
Putting your message in front of people who are searching using particular keywords and key phrases.
Kiosk
See Meta Keywords
Kiosk
Electronic devices that are installed to be used by general public. They are usually designed for a specific purpose for example automated travel information at train stations etc. See Touch Screen.
Landing page
First page arrived at through search.
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 (e.g. "yesterday" for a daily, "last week" for a weekly, "last month" for a monthly, etc.). Last Issue Period is also known as Last Publication Period. See AIR and Recent Reading.
Last Issue/Publication Period
See Last Issue Readership.
Latency
Latency and bandwidth are the two factors that influence the speed of Internet connection. Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for data to move across a connection. See Bandwidth.
Late Peak
In TV, a Daypart that is normally defined as running from 20:00 to 23:00
Late Night
In TV, a Daypart that is normally defined as running from 24:30 to 05:59
LCD
Abbreviation of liquid crystal display. This technology is used in many items such as mobile phones, watches and computers and is used to display information on a screen.
Lenticular
A printed image (or poster site) that shows depth or motion as your viewing angle changes.
Lifestyle Research
The investigation of the impact that people's lifestyles have on their attitudes and behaviour.
Lifestyles
Psychographic Groups created with advertisers' needs in mind. Most are based on Cluster Analysis of quantitative Attitude Research.
Link Building
The process of acquiring links to a website from other sites.
Link Intelligence
Assesses which links generate the most traffic
Link Popularity
A measure of the quantity and quality of sites that link to your site.
Link Text
The text contained in (and sometimes near) a hyperlink.
Local Authority Districts
Following the Local Government Reorganisation in the 1990s major changes were implemented to create administrations most appropriate to the needs of the area concerned. The key feature of this change was the introduction of unitary authorities, single-tier administrations with responsibility for all areas of local government.
Log File
A file that is used to record the activity of visitors to a website. Log files enable a Web site owner to identify who visits their site and how they navigate through it.
Login
Identification-process to gain access to a website / network, usually requiring a username and a password.
Longitudinal Analysis
Analysis of two or more sets of data from the same respondents over time. Can therefore only be conducted on samples of people involved in regular research (e.g. panels) or repeated interviews. Is normally restricted to 'continuous reporters' - i.e. those respondents providing information for all periods.
Magazine Page Exposure Studies
Research designed to estimate how often pages in magazines are read and the value to advertisers of that Repeat Reading. Abbreviated to
MPX or PEX (Page EXposure)
See QRS.
Market Penetration
See Penetration.
Mastering
The name given to the process of transferring videotape material onto master optical disk that is then used to produce video disks or CD-ROMs. See CD-ROM.
Masthead Cards
A Masthead card is the reproduction of a publication's "masthead" (logo as appearing on front cover) in the form of a show-card, which is used as recall-aid in the interview. Masthead cards may be loose (for Card Sorting methods) or bound into a booklet, then called Masthead Booklet. See also Card Sorting.
MATV
Abbreviation of Master Antennae Set. A MATV set is a set receiving a TV signal by wire from a communal aerial on a multi-occupancy building, such as a block of flats.
Media Plan
See Media Schedule.
Media Schedule
A plan of the advertising campaign which details which advertisements are to be used, using which media, on which dates, at what time of day and the number to be used etc. Also known as a Media Plan.
Mega 6
Large portrait upright poster site.
Memory Effects
Differences in response levels resulting from the respondent's ability to remember something he or she is asked about - such as reading events, when products were purchased, etc. The respondent's ability to remember reading events is especially important because of the extensive nature of readership questions on most readership surveys and the influence that inaccurate replies can have on readership scores.
The most obvious memory effect is the respondent's ability to remember the names of the publications, TV and radio programmes, etc., that he or she read, watched or listened to and to confuse them with each other.
Memory Prompts
See Aided Recall.
Merchant
Online retailer/ business owner.
Meta Description
An HTML tag hidden in the source code to describe a web page’s contents.
Meta Keywords
On the web, a keyword is a reference to the content and/or type of meta element in a given web page’s HTML code to aid in the page’s ranking within a search engine’s listings (see Page Rank)
Meta Tags
META tags are part of HTML but are there for the sole use of search engine spiders. These (numerous) tags contain various information that the site owner wants to deliver to these spiders.
Microsite
Interactive ad format which is similar to Impule Response. It offers an interactive overlay with the TV screen still shown in a quarter screen.
Middleware
Software that connects two applications so allowing data transfer to take place.
MIDI
Abbreviation of Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This refers to any interface that is used to connect musical instruments to computers.
Migration
Migration is the activity of a mobile phone user transferring their mobile number and occasionally their equipment to another provider.
MMA
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit association that strives to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented association designed to clear obstacles to market development, to establish standards and best practices for sustainable growth, and to evangelize the mobile channel for use by brands and third party content providers. The MMA has over 500 members representing forty-plus countries.
Mobile Data Services
Includes SMS, MMS, WAP, LBS and video.
Mobile Internet Connection
Any Internet connection using a mobile phone or other hand held devices such as PDA's. See General Packet Radio System and Web Enabled.
Mobile Marketing
A form of advertising that is communicated to the consumer/target via the handset. This type of advertising is most commonly seen as a Mobile Internet banner (top of page), Mobile Internet Poster (bottom of page banner) and full screen interstitial, which appears while a requested mobile internet page is “loading”. Other forms of this type of advertising are SMS and MMS ads, mobile gaming ads, and mobile ads (pre, mid and post roll).
Modem
(MOdulate DEModulate) A device for communicating between computers using telephone lines or cable connections. Converts analogue signals into digital format.
Mouse Over
Triggering of optical/sound effects by moving cursor of the mouse over a text, button or graphical element on a web site (without having to click), often used to indicate the user, which parts of a web site are interactive.
MOSAIC
A proprietary Geodemographic classification system developed by Experian that is available for a number of European countries.
MPEG
Moving Pictures Experts Group is a standard for compressing digital video.
MP3
Compressed audio computer files that retain near CD quality sound. It is a widely used format for downloading music from the Internet since MP3 files are quick to download.
MPU
Message Plus Unit takes the form of a square advert that usually occurs in the middle of ordinary internet page content.
MPX
See Magazine Page Exposure Studies.
Multi-Channel Home
Households that are capable of receiving broadcasts from either cable or satellite channels in addition to terrestrial channels. Current homes penetration is 60.4% (15.0m homes)
Multimedia
1) Generic term used to describe applications that can bring together a combination of media such as text, sound, graphics, animation and video. Due to the size of the files they generate multimedia often uses delivered on CD-ROM. See New Media.
2) The use of more than one medium for ad campaigns - e.g. Press and TV, or Posters and Radio, etc. This would be termed a multimedia campaign.
Multiplex
A single broadcast frequency that carries a number multiple compressed digital radio and television channels.
Multi-Stage Sampling
The selection of a nationally representative sample may involve several stages of selection - Local Authorities at the first stage, wards at the second stage and individual addresses at the third stage. This is referred to as multi-stage sampling.
MUX
See Multiplex
Narrowcasting
Programmes designed for minority or special audiences.
Navigation
That which facilitates movement from one web page to another web page.
Near Video on Demand
A pay per view facility offered by digital television providers where a subscriber can request from a list of videos a movie with staggered start times (usually half to quarter-hour intervals). This avoids the cost of using video on demand technology. See Subscribers, Impulse Pay Per View and Pay-Per-View.
Net Audience
Net Audience is the estimate of the number of people who will have at least one opportunity to see or hear a programme or channel/station or an insertion in a given schedule or hear a commercial.
Net Coverage Net Impacts
See Impacts.
Net OTS
See OTH/OTS.
Net Press Run
Total of copies printed suitable for distribution.
Network
A National or regional station or channel offering common programmes through a series of transmitters or a group of stations or channels affiliated with each other for common programming, at certain times of day.
Network Effect
The phenomenon whereby a service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging ever-increasing numbers of adopters.
Network Override
This is the charge applied by networks to merchants on top of commission payments. The cost to merchant is typically 30%.
New Media
Generic term used to describe the digital publishing and multimedia sector. This phrase is often associated with interactive technology such as the Internet. See Multimedia.
Newsletter
Periodically issued email for a group of registered users that are particularly interested in a distinctive topic or prefer just-in-time-updates via email over individual online research.
NICAM
Abbreviation of Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplexing. A system developed in the UK by the BBC used to transmit digital stereo audio as part of an analogue TV signal that is then decoded by Nicam compatible TV sets and video recorders.
Niche Channel
A channel aimed at a niche market.
Niche Market
A market that is closely defined as a relatively small number of individuals to be targeted.
Noise
Disruptive electrical signals caused by electrical devices like power lines and radio transmitters. These signals can interfere with data carried on cable lines.
Nomogram
Chart used to estimate Confidence Limits. A nomogram for one survey should not be used to estimate the confidence limits of other surveys. This is because the Design Factor of the survey is built into the nomogram, and the design factor varies from survey to survey.
Noting Scores
Percentage of a publication's readers who claimed to read or look at a specific editorial item, advertisement, type of advertisement, etc. Noting scores should be used with caution as they have been shown to reflect interest and involvement in the subject of articles or advertisements rather than genuine exposure.
NRS
(National Readership Surveys Ltd). NRS is the joint industry company responsible for the provision of readership estimates for UK newspapers and consumer magazines. Currently it publishes data for around 250 titles. NRS Ltd is funded by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) and Periodical Publishers Association (PPA). Ipsos-RSL has operated this service for NRS Ltd for many years. A new contract was awarded in 2002 which included the testing of Ipsos-RSL's new Double Screen CAPI technology which provides on-screen display of mastheads and other visual aids. The annual sample size for the NRS is 36,000 individuals, selected using random probability methods.
NTSC
Abbreviation for National Television System Committee, the standard has a fixed vertical resolution of 525 horizontal lines. Format used in the USA, South America and others.
OBC
Abbreviation for Outside Back Cover.
Object Database
Also known as ODB. A database that can manage complicated data such as audio and video images.
Occupational Groups
See Socio-Economic Groups.
OFCOM
Abbreviation of the Office of Communications. This organisation is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
OFTEL
Abbreviation of the Office of Telecommunications. This organisation is the UK's telecommunications regulatory and supervisory body.
Omnibus Surveys
Quantitative surveys where the questionnaire is shared between clients. Omnibus surveys provide a cost-efficient means of achieving large samples, particularly if only a limited number of questions are asked. They can also be cost-efficient at achieving good samples of groups of people who are difficult and therefore expensive to locate. The savings arise because these groups are often sub-samples of the omnibus survey's total universe.
Online
Directly controlled by or connected to a computer.
Online Research
See Interactive Research.
Online Shopping
Purchasing from the Internet usually over a secure server. Also known as e-Commerce. See Home Shopping, Secure Server and Encryption.
Opportunities to See (OTS)/Hear (OTH)
Opportunities to see the advertisements in a campaign. The term "opportunity" recognises that while everyone who reads/looks at an advertisement could see that advertisement, not everyone does so. The definition in terms of television research is to say that someone who is "in the room with the set switched on and turned to a particular channel" has an opportunity to see a commercial transmitted on that channel at that time. The definition in terms of print research is the number of people who claim to have read or looked at a publication during the issue period. In terms of poster, cinema and radio research OTS occurs when a person passes a poster site, when he/she sits in a cinema and when he/she finds him/herself listening to a radio station at a time when a given commercial is transmitted (OTH- opportunity to hear). "Opportunity to see" is abbreviated to OTS. See Gross OTH/OTS, Net Reach (= Net OTS) and Average Frequency (= Average OTS).
Opt-In
Email that is explicitly requested by the recipient.
Opt-Out
(1) Type of program that assumes inclusion unless stated otherwise.
(2) To remove oneself from an opt-out program.
Optical Character Recognition
Also known as OCR. This allows a scanner to identify characters on a printed page and can save them as a text document.
Optimisation
A computer programme that calculates the "best" media schedule for a given budget, target group and candidate media. Optimisations should be used with caution.
Order Effects
Differences in survey results, caused by the order in which questions have been asked and items have been presented e.g. the order in which publications are listed in a readership survey. See Title Confusion and Title Rotation.
OTH/OTS
Abbreviation of Opportunities to Hear/ Opportunities to See
Out of Home Viewing
The TV audience where people are watching anywhere outside a private house, such as in pubs, clubs, offices, and other work places, hospitals, doctors'/dentists' waiting rooms, hotel rooms, airport lounges, post offices, etc. This type of "non-domestic" viewing may be particularly important for some broadcasters, e.g. niche satellite channels.
Outbound Link
A link to a site outside of your site
Outdoor Research
Research on outdoor media such as posters, bus sides, adverts in Underground tubes etc.
Overclaim
When respondents claim to own, purchase, fly more frequently, earn more, to have read a publication, have seen an advertisement (and so on) more than they actually do or have done. The opposite of Underclaim.
Overlap
In TV, areas of the country that can receive 2 or more ITV1 transmission signals.
Oversampling
Used to provide larger samples of certain groups of people than representative sampling would give. These are usually sub-universes that are of particular interest to advertisers (such as top management, etc.). To do this, quotas are set for the sample sizes of these groups. The quota sample then has to be weighted back to the overall survey universe so that the sub-universe is not over-represented. Also known as Booster Samples.
P3P Privacy Policy - Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P)
A protocol defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for sharing private information over the Internet. A Web site's privacy policy is defined by the Webmaster answering a standard set of multiple-choice questions, which result in tags embedded in the Web site's home page. Users also define their privacy requirements in their P3P-enabled browsers; for example, whether they allow their names disclosed to third parties. If the Web site policy and user preference are not the same, the browser alerts the user. P3P also assists with online sales, letting users decide what specific data they are willing to divulge automatically to the site, such as shipping address and credit card number. If the site requests more data, the browser alerts the user, who can then decide whether to share it or not.
Packet Switching
The way in which data is transferred on the Internet. All transmitted data is put into chunks with each chunk having an address of where it came from and is going to. Packet switching therefore allows data from different machines to co-exist on the same line.
Page Impression
The exact number of times a specific Web site has been accessed or viewed by a user. A page impression acts as a counter for Web pages, informing site owners how many times their sites were visited. Page impressions are also referred to as hits.
Page Rank
The name Page Rank is a trademark of Google. It is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to a website by measuring its relative importance. The higher the number, the more important it is in the eyes of Google.
Page Traffic
The percentage of a publication's readers who claimed to have read of looked at anything on a particular page of that publication.
Page View
Request to load a single HTML page.
PAL
Abbreviation of Phase Alternation by Line. The colour television and video system used in majority of Europe and many other places in the world (excluding the United States, France and Eastern Europe). Based on 625 lines making up the vertical resolution
Panel
Sample of people used for regular research (keeping diaries etc.) or periodic (repeated interviews) research that are therefore susceptible to longitudinal analysis. Panel is also another word for the location of a poster.
Parallel
A parallel poster to the roadside can be seen from both sides of the road.
Parallel Readership
When a respondent reads more than one issue of a publication during its Last Publication Period (i.e. "yesterday" for a daily, "last week" for a weekly, "last month" for a monthly, etc.). This can lead to an underestimate in a readership survey, an opposite effect to Replicated Readership.
Parent Survey
A survey used to provide either a universe estimate for another survey or the Sampling Frame of another survey (though sampling frames can of course be provided by other means - such as directories, etc.). See Sample and Sampling Frame for more detailed explanations of how a Parent Survey relates to the final sample.
Passages
In outdoor research this is a measure of the number of people passing a site. The number of gross passages is reduced by a visibility adjustment (taking into account the position and location of the panel) to give the number of net passages.
Passive Sensing
An approach to TV audience measurement where no active participation from panel members is required. For example, image recognition might be used to identify household members. However no such technique has yet been successfully implemented.
Pass-On Readers
Readers of an issue of a publication that was not bought by themselves or a member of their household, or who were not the original recipients of a title sent free of charge. Also referred to as Secondary Readers.
Patronage
See Channel Reach.
Pay Cable
Cable programming service for which subscribers pay a monthly fee on top of that required for the basic cable service.
Pay-Per-View
Pay-TV service enabling users to pay for each programme watched, rather than on a monthly subscription basis. Programming often consists of blockbuster films or popular sporting events.
Pay-TV
TV service supported by subscription income rather than by advertising. Includes Pay Cable and Subscription TV.
PDA
Abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistant. Often a hand-held device, such as a Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, Hand Spring and Jornada. They are used as personal organiser and some can provide to access to the Internet.
PDF
Abbreviation for Portable Document Format and is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for desktop publishing use.
Peak
In TV, a Daypart that is normally defined as running from 17:30 to 23:00
Penetration
Another name for Coverage and Reach. Strictly speaking, penetration refers to the proportion - usually expressed as a percentage - of the target market or target group reached, hence the term Market Penetration.
Peoplemeters
Peoplemeters are used to record electronically who is watching TV. They consist of a recording unit or set meter (which is usually placed on top of the TV set being measured), and a separate handset. The handset looks like a TV remote-control unit, and has a number of buttons on it. Each member of the panel household is given an individual number, which they press on the handset each time they start or stop watching TV. TV set usage and channel choice are recorded automatically. The information is stored in a central unit and is then collected overnight via the household telephone line (some systems use GSM modems as an alternative).
Peripheral
A generic term used to describe any devices such as printers, modems, joysticks and monitors that are connected to a computer and controlled by its microprocessor. See Plug and Play.
Permission Marketing
Marketing centered around getting customer's consent to receive information from a company.
Personal Communication Device
Also known as PCD. A term used to describe small portable communication devices such as pagers and cellular phones.
Personal Meters
A new type of device currently under development to permit the measurement of an individual's overall television viewing, radio listening or both. Designed to be worn or carried by selected individuals, personal meters can potentially capture viewing/listening in all types of out of home locations. The channel/station identification technique may be based on either audio comparison or recognition of a broadcaster code.
Personal Television
A TV set-top device that enables viewers to pause fast-forward and rewind live programmes. Some of the appliances also have the capability to suggest programmes for users by recognising their viewing behaviour. Companies offering this technology include Replay TV and TiVo.
PEX
See Magazine Page Exposure Studies.
Picture in Picture
This is also known as PIP. A facility where some television sets and set top terminals are able to show a small secondary picture from another channel within the main picture.
Pixel
Unit of measurement of online ad formats e.g. Skyscraper dimensions are 120x600. There are 72 pixels per inch or 100 pixels = 25 mm. These measurements will vary depending on the screen size.
Platform
The computer hardware and operating system that applications are run on. Also the means of delivering broadcast material to the home - e.g. analogue terrestrial, satellite, DAB
Plug and Play
This is the name given to computer systems that can automatically configure a device that is added to it. These devices include such things as printers, modems and monitors. See
Peripheral
An online advertisement that appears in a separate window over a web page that is being viewed.
Population
The number of people in the survey Universe, sub-universe or Target Group.
Pop-Under Ad
An ad that displays in a new browser window behind the current browser window.
Pop-Up Ad
An ad that displays in a new browser window. These are used very infrequently by reputable advertisers
Portal
A site featuring a suite of commonly used services, serving as a starting point and frequent gateway to the web (web portal) or a niche topic (vertical portal).
Post Peak
In TV, a Daypart that is normally defined as running from 23:00 to 24:30
Postal Address File
A list of all the postal delivery points in the UK compiled by the Royal Mail. This is frequently used as a sampling frame.
Postal Survey
See Self-Completion Survey.
Postar
Poster audience research company
Poster Research
See Outdoor Research
Poster Specialist
A company that constructs an outdoor campaign for a client, often using sites bought from a number of different contractors.
Poster
Posters come in a variety of standard sizes, measured by the number of sheets. In the UK, 4 sheet posters are typically found at bus shelters, or in shopping areas, 16 sheets on the side of buildings and 48, 64 or 96 sheets and larger on major roads. Some large posters use back lighting and are able to rotate different advertisements.
PPC
Pay per click - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
Pre-rolls
Advertising that appears prior to streamed online video content.
Primary Readers
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 a publication in the greatest depth.
Primary Sampling Units
A group of eligible units (geographic areas, post codes, addresses, etc.) used as the first stage in the creation of the Sample. See Sampling Frame for a detailed sample. Abbreviated to PSU.
Print Run
The number of copies of an issue of a publication that were printed. A publication's Print Run should logically be larger than its Circulation, which is the number of copies actually distributed.
Probability Model
A type of mathematical model used to evaluate media schedules. See Schedule Evaluation.
Probability Sample
Also known as a Random Sample. See Sample.
Profile
The way a TV/radio programme's audience or a publication's readership breaks down across a single variable like age, job title, income, and so on. For example, a TV programme's audience's profile by age might be 29% aged under 35, 27% aged 33-44, 19% aged 45-54 and 25% aged 55+. The profile should always sum to 100%.
Programme Genre
The classification of programmes by type e.g. sport, drama, chat show etc.
Programme Sponsorship
A form of promotion where a company associates its name with a programme, usually by references to itself or an associated product at the beginning and/or end of the programme and the programme breaks. See Sponsorship Research.
Projectible Universe
See Universe.
Protocol
Standards that identify how traffic and communication are handled by a computer or network. See Network.
PSA
See Pure Station Average
PSU
See Primary Sampling Units.
Psychographic Groups
Classification of those researched by a survey into groups defined by their attitudes, motivations and values rather than by their Demographics or purchasing habits. These groups are usually devised using Cluster Analysis of Attitude Surveys. Respondents are grouped according to the extent to which they agree with various attitude questions. See Cluster Analysis, Attitude Research and Lifestyle Research.
Public Switch Telephone Network
Also known as PSTN. The name given to the landline telephone network.
Publication Interval
See Publication Period.
Publication Period
The time interval between issues of a publication. Hence the Last Publication Period (also known as the Last Issue Period) is "yesterday" for a daily, "last week" for a weekly, "last month" for a monthly and so on. Another name for the publication period is Publication Interval.
Publisher's Statement
A document issued by a publisher giving circulation details of a publication and/or one of its regional or demographic editions. Publisher's Statements often bear the logo, official format and imprimatur of an independent auditing company, but they should not be confused with the official circulation audit certificate. Unlike the audit certificate, not all the details printed on such a Publisher's Statement will have been verified by the auditing company. For example, in the UK, neither ABC nor BPA audit breakdowns of paid circulation, yet unverified circulation breakdowns appear on Publisher's Statements bearing the ABC and BPA logo. See Audited Circulation.
Pulse Campaign
Concentrated bursts of activity over a sustained period (e.g. week-on week-off TV advertising for 8 weeks each week having 80 TVRs)
Pure Station Average
For any given month, the PSA is calculated by taking the total net advertising revenue taken by the TV station divided by the 30” equivalent impacts for a specific audience delivered in the month. This figure is the grossed up by 15% (divided by 0.85) to account for agency commission.
PVR
Personal Video Recorder, a device capable of recording TV programmes or video images from a video or external source onto a hard disk or other device than can store the images digitally.
QRS
See Quality of Reading Survey.
Quality of Reading Survey
The aim of the Quality of Reading Survey is to give advertisers, media planners, buyers and media owners a greater understanding of the value of the print medium and the differences within it. The survey measures a wealth of behavioural and attitudinal characteristics among the readers of magazines and newspaper sections and supplements, including time spent reading, number of times a publication is picked up, how a publication is read, page exposures (PEX), action taken as a result of reading and attitude statements.
Quota Sample
See Sample.
Rack Sales
Sales of newspapers from racks or boxes, placed on street corners or other convenient points, with the customer depositing coin in payment in a box provided for the purpose. Same as "box" or "honour box" sales.
Radio Index
The appreciation index for radio programmes is sometimes referred to as an RI - Radio Index. See Appreciation Index.
Radio Ratings
See Ratings (Rating Points).
RAJAR
(Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd). RAJAR is the industry company responsible for the provision of radio audience research information in the UK and is jointly owned by the BBC and the CRCA (Commercial Radio Companies Association). The information is collected using personalized diaries which are personally placed and collected. Over 120,000 adult diaries are processed annually (there is an additional sample for children aged 4-15) making RAJAR the largest radio audience research system outside the USA.
Random Sample
Sample designed to strict procedures to ensure that each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected for interview. Sometimes referred to as EPSEM (equal probability of selection for every member). Also known as a Probability Sample. See Sample.
Ratecard
Published tariff for the purchase of media
Ratings (Rating Points)
Television Ratings are the percentage of the potential TV audience who are viewing at a given time. TV ratings (TVRs) can apply to any time period, such as one minute, a quarter hour, an individual commercial, a commercial break or a programme. For a programme or time period longer than a minute the rating is the average of all the minutes comprising the period involved. For an individual commercial, of 60 seconds or less, the UK calculation is based on the minute in which the commercial appeared. For a given category of individuals (e.g. men, women or children) this is the number of individuals viewing, expressed as a percentage of all such individuals. Spot Ratings, in terms of television research, are the estimated audiences for a specific commercial spot, expressed as a percentage of the total target market. They are used to buy and sell TV advertising. Radio Ratings are similarly expressed as a percentage of the population group being measured. Spot Ratings for radio are usually based on the quarter-hour or half-hour which the commercial was aired.
Reach
In broadcast research, the estimate of the number of people exposed to a TV or radio station/channel at least once in a defined period or who have had an opportunity to see a single advertisement or a given schedule. Sometimes called Coverage or Penetration. Specific reach definitions are as follows;
Campaign Reach - the number of different individuals who are exposed to any part of a schedule of commercials. May also be expressed as a percentage of the total population.
Channel Reach (or Patronage) is the absolute percentage of people who watch a channel at all over a particular period of time (typically one day, week or month). It is a key measure for both broadcasters and advertisers. The calculation is made minute-by-minute and then an average is taken.
Channel Reach is particularly important for public-service broadcasters, who have a remit to appeal to all the people some of the time. For advertisers, channel reach is a strong indication of how much that channel may be able to contribute to their campaign. Daily/Weekly Reach - is the estimated number of people who viewed a particular television channel in an average day/week (in the UK this must be for at least three consecutive minutes) or who listened to a particular radio station in an average day/week (in the UK the criteria is that they must have listened for at least five minutes in a fifteen minute period). Effective Reach is the percentage of the target audience who have the opportunity to see (OTS) the desired number of TV spots, or hear radio spots, or see press ads etc. For example, if it is desired that the target audience see between two and eight spots, then the effective reach of the schedule is the percentage with between two and eight OTS.
Reach and Frequency
The number of people who, for example, have had an opportunity to see an insertion in a given issue of a publication or who watch a television channel and the frequency which they read or watch it. Reach and Frequency Analysis or Schedule Evaluations calculate reach and frequency. See Schedule Evaluation for an explanation of how the calculations are made.
Reach and Frequency Analysis
See Reach and Frequency and Schedule Evaluation.
Readers Per Copy (RPC)
Estimate of the number of people who read an average circulated copy of a publication. It is calculated by dividing a title's total Average Issue Readership by its circulation, ideally its Audited Circulation. If a title's total readership is not measured by a readership survey then the number of readers per copy can only be guessed at.
Readership-Remembrance
The number and percentage of people who remember having seen individual posters - based on home interviews.
Reading and Noting
The readership measurement technique by which page traffic scores are obtained. "Noting" is generally accepted to mean seeing the page and "Reading" is reading some part of the page. See Noting Scores and Page Traffic.
Reading Frequency ("How Often")
The estimation of the frequency of exposure to a publication. Measurement techniques include verbal frequency scales (or categories), numeric frequency scales (or categories), mixtures of both, and recognition of a series of publications.
Reading Probability
For a given publication, reading probabilities are calculated for people falling within each claimed reading frequency group. The probability may be calculated in two ways, either on the claimed frequency or as an "observed frequency". The former is straight arithmetic, e.g. reading 3 out of 6 is a probability of 0.5 for the average issue. Observed frequency is a cross-tabulation, and the probability is the proportion within the frequency grouping who in fact qualified as average-issue-readers in answer to a recent-reading question.
Real Audio
Software that permits Internet users to listen to audio in real time. For instance, as a page is loading, the user can hear music or other sounds. See Real Time.
Real Time
The process by which software enables large quantities of fast changing audio/video data to be received almost immediately. See Real Audio.
Recall
The respondent's ability to remember something he or she is asked about. See Aided Recall and Memory Effects.
Recency
In readership surveys recency measures, for a given publication, the lapsed time between the last reading event and the day of interview.
Recent Reading
The term to describe the technique that establishes readership levels by asking respondents when they last read or looked at any issue of each publication. In most markets recent reading is the approach favoured for the estimation of readership levels. See Recency.
Reciprocal Links
Links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.
Recognition
See Issue Recognition.
Rectangle Ad
Any one of the large, rectangular banner sizes suggested by the IAB.
Regular Readership
Estimate of the number of people who read a publication on a regular basis. This can be defined in a variety of ways, such as those who read three out of the last four issues of a title, irrespective of whether it is a daily, weekly, monthly or whatever. Not to be confused with Average Issue Readership.
Repeat Reading
When an issue of a publication or a particular page inside it is read or looked at on more than one occasion. It is not measured by most readership surveys but is extremely valuable to advertising. See also Opportunities to See (OTS)/Hear (OTH)
Replicated Readership
When a respondent reads the same issue of a publication during two or more different Publication Periods (i.e. "yesterday", "last week", "last month", etc.). This leads to the statistical probability of a single reader being counted twice or more as an average-issue-reader, resulting in readership figures which are over-estimated. See also Parallel Readership.
Residual Earnings
Income generated from programmes where merchants pay commission on subsequent transactions by customers originally referred by an affiliate.
Respondent
Person who was successfully interviewed for a survey or who completed a usable questionnaire. Another name for Informant.
Response Function
Response functions attempt to identify a relationship between the number of Opportunities To See insertions in a schedule and the resulting effectiveness of the advertising. To do this, values - i.e. Weights - are put on the different numbers of opportunities to see insertions in the schedule; hence response functions are also known as Frequency Weights. Applying these weights gives the Effective Reach of the schedule, which is a measure of its effectiveness. Response functions can be stipulated for any schedule evaluation or Optimisation.
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. The response rate should exclude cases that are outside the scope of the survey, for example addresses that are unoccupied.
Returns
Copies returned to publisher by dealer or other distributor for credit. Frequently, to save transportation charges, complete copies are not returned but only paper headings or covers.
Reversal
Is when a merchant removes sales commissions from an affiliate. This is usually due to returned goods, declined credit cards, or fraudulent activity.
Rich Media
New media that offers an enhanced experience relative to older, mainstream formats.
Road blocking
Placing a commercial on as many cable (or other minority) services as possible at the same time, to maximise ratings.
Rollervisions
Poster sites with the capacity to scroll between screens. A Rollervision can scroll up to 8 times. Also known as Scrollers
RON
Run of network - ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.
ROS
Run of site - ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages of the target site.
Rotation
A change in the order of presentation of publications over the sample of interviews. Rotations may be obtained randomly (e.g. shuffling of logo cards) or systematically (e.g. calculated permutation orders; forward and reverse orders; randomised starting points etc.). Rotations may be applicable (a) to the order of groups of publications and (b) to titles within publication groups. The same principle is also applied to pre-listed stations in TV/radio diaries.
RPC
Abbreviation of Readers Per Copy.
RR Survey
Abbreviation of Recent Reading Survey.
Sample
Those respondents identified as being eligible to be interviewed or questioned for a survey. It often refers to those actually interviewed or questioned (i.e. those who were successfully interviewed or who returned usable questionnaires), which is the Analysis Sample. In fact, it is usually the analysis sample that is quoted in computer analysis of readership surveys. See Random or Probability Sample.
Sample Weights
See Weights.
Sampling Frame
Known data used to generate the sample. More specifically, a grouping or listing of all the eligible units (such as countries, post codes, addresses, establishments, etc.) which are used to provide the sample. The sampling frame is often derived from one or more directories, Parent Surveys or lists. See Sample.
Sampling Point
A geographic district where interviews were carried out. The definition of the districts will be determined by the structure of the sampling frame. The selection of sampling points is usually the first stage of a multi-stage sampling procedure (the second stage comprises the selection of individuals within these points).
Sampling Procedure
See Sample.
SAP
See Station Average Price.
Schedule Evaluation
An estimate of how a schedule or schedules perform against given target markets. A means of comparing different schedules. Generated by computer to give - for each schedule - Reach, Average Frequency, Gross OTS, Cost-Per-Thousand Net Reach and usually Cost-Per-Thousand Gross OTS. Frequency Distributions can also be provided if requested.
SCC
Abbreviation for Single Column Centimetre.
Scrambling
In cable television this refers to process of electronically modifying or encrypting a broadcast signal to allow only persons with an appropriate decoder to view the output.
Screen Grabs
The name given to the process of capturing images and video stills to a digital file.
Screening
The identification of eligible units (people, addresses, companies, etc.) within the Sampling Frame. For example, if the sampling frame is a list of eligible geographic areas, screening is necessary to identify eligible addresses or individuals within those areas; if it is a list of eligible organisations, screening is necessary to identify eligible individuals working in those organisations. These are then sampled.
Scroller
See Rollervision
Search Engine
A sophisticated database or index that helps users find content or information on the Web or similar environment. See Content.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
The process of improving volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via natural search results for targeted keywords (see Page Rank).
Search Engine Spam
Excessive manipulation to influence search engine rankings, often for pages which contain little or no relevant content.
Search Engine Submission
The act of supplying a URL to a search engine in an attempt to make a search engine aware of a site or page.
SECAM
Abbreviation for Systeme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire, similar to the PAL standard (625 lines)
Secondary Readers
See Pass-On Readers.
Secondary Target Audience
An audience for secondary consideration in the targeting of a campaign
Secure Server
Encrypting system that allows confidential information (such as credit card details) to be sent safely sent over the Internet. See Online Shopping and Encryption.
Section
Distinct part of a newspaper, usually with a distinct numbering system
Self-Completion Survey
A survey for which the questionnaire or a diary is wholly or partly completed by the respondent him/herself. The method of placement and/or collection (=return) of questionnaire or diary may be postal (e.g. by mail) or personal through the interviewer, or by mixed methods (e.g. personal placement and postal return). Self-completion surveys may also be conducted electronically via e-mail or the world-wide-web.
Server
Computers or workstations on a network that handle requests from other computers, or clients, serving them stored data and files or processing power e.g. Web servers, mail servers, and file servers.
Service Provider
The company or group that provides access to the Internet or an online service (e.g. AOL, Earthlink, Wanadoo, Netcom, etc.).
Set Meters
TV meters which only collect information on set/equipment/channel - i.e. no information on who is viewing. Rarely used nowadays except in single source panels in order to reduce respondent workload. See Peoplemeters.
Set-Top Box
See Decoder. Also known as a Converter.
Share
Channel or Audience Share is calculated by comparing the average minutes viewed/listened for each channel/station in a given time period (See Hours of Viewing). Reporting in decimal minutes per day is preferable to hours, because of the greater precision allowed. This becomes increasingly important as the number of channels available increases, and the average time spent watching each of them falls. The minutes viewed per day should be calculated for the whole time that TV is available in the day, usually 24 hours.
Share of Viewing/Listening
The percentage of total viewing or listening time accounted for by a channel/station.
Share of Voice
In TV - the share of total Impacts for product/advertiser across a market category
Shareware
Software that can be downloaded from the Internet for users to try before deciding to buy. Once the software has been used for a set trial period the user must normally pay a fee for its continued usage. See Freeware.
Sheetage
The number of individual panels, by size available for sale by each contractor.
Shockwave
Shockwave allows interactive multimedia content such as sounds and animation to be seen on the Internet. See Multimedia.
Signal Strength Indicator
The display on a mobile phone that indicates if a user has a good signal reception for making and receiving calls.
Significance Testing
Statistical technique for measuring the significance of research results, taking account of sample size and construction.
Sim Card
Abbreviation of Subscriber Identity Module Card. A card used inside a mobile phone containing a computer chip which stores information such as the users identity and received SMS messages.
Simple Random Sample
A single-stage sample where every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. See Stratification.
Simulation
The systematic ascription of figures to populations in analysis for which such figures were not obtained by standard interviewing methods. The three terms Simulation, Adjustment and Ascription are used loosely and inter-changeably. There is a difference between invention and amendment, but the borderline is not clearly defined. (See also Ascription).
Single Column Centimetre
Currency of press buying to indicate size of a press advertisement (e.g. 25x4 is an ad that is 25cm high by 4 columns wide – this equates to 100 scc). Column widths vary from and in publication to publication.
Single-Copy-Sales
The sales figure applicable to the single copies of a publication which are sold, on a "casual" basis, by the retailer to the buyer; that is, it excludes "committed" sales via subscriptions, or via regular orders from a newsagent.
Site Architecture Review
Alternatives or suggestions for Meta Tags and descriptions in the technical (coding or text) parts of sites.
Skeletonised Copies
Stripped-down copies of publications consisting of the front cover and a number of key pages/articles. These may be used as the test issues in surveys which determine Average Issue Readership from the number of people who claim to read a specific issue of each title, because it would be physically difficult for interviewers to carry around full issues of all the titles asked about.
Skyscraper ad
A vertical online ad, typically 120x600 pixels
SKYPE
Skype is a software program that allows users to make calls over the Internet to other Skype users free of charge. Calls to landlines and cell phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.
SLA
Service Level Agreement is a formal negotiated agreement between two parties. It is a contract that exists between customers and their service provider, or between service providers. It records the common understanding about services, priorities, responsibilities, guarantee, etc. with the main purpose to agree on the level of service.
SMATV
A SMATV or Satellite Master Antennae TV set is a set receiving a TV signal by wire from a communal satellite dish on a multi-occupancy building.
SMS
Also known as Short Message Service. This technology allows mobile phone users to send and receive text messages up to 160 characters long.
Social Class
See Socio-Economic Groups.
Social Grade
See Socio-Economic Groups.
Social Network Service
Primarily a web based service that allows users to interact using chat rooms, email, video, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups etc. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are popular examples.
Socio-Economic Groups
Classification of social status, usually based on the occupation of the head of household.
Socio-Economic Data
Indication of 'class' based on occupation of the head of the household.
Total VAC's expressed as a % of total OTS.
Solus
Definition for a given outdoor panel satisfying the parameters of solarity by the POSTAR/Solus working group.
Source Code
The technical programming code behind a website
SOV
See Share of Voice, Share of Viewing
Spam
A term used to describe unsolicited e-mails. See Email.
Specials (Outdoor)
Designed to maximise standout for the advertiser and dominate the location they occupy. E.g. Specials include Fort Dunlop; Europe’s largest Outdoor advertising site.
Specials (TV)
Programmes designated by TV contractors to be sold at a premium rate
Spectaculars (Outdoor)
Bespoke billboards designed especially with one advertiser in mind. Capable of supporting many types of creative design and generating huge PR and impact for the advertiser.
Spider
An automated program that reads Web pages from a Website and then follows the hypertext (HTTP) links to other pages.
Splash Page
A branding page before the home page of a web site.
Split-run
The insertion or substitution of different advertising content for a portion of the distribution of an edition or of an issue for either a newspaper or periodical.
Sponsorship
A form of promotion where a company associates itself or/and a product with a particular activity or event.
Sponsorship Research
Research to aid the understanding of the effectiveness of this communication vehicle in the sports, arts and broadcast sectors.
Spontaneous Recall
The respondent's ability to remember things he or she is asked about without visual aids or other Memory Prompts. See Aided Recall.
Spot
In TV, a single commercial transmission
Spot Colour
See Full Colour
Spot Ratings
See Ratings (Rating Points).
Spread Traffic
See Page Traffic.
Stand Alone Computer
Name given to any computer that is not part of a network and not connected to any other computers. See Network.
Standard Error
A measure of the amount by which a survey finding may differ from reality. It is used to calculate Confidence Limits. The standard error varies from one survey finding to another. Its magnitude depends on the sample size, percentage of the sample which fall into the group being measured and the Design Factor (which is a function of the Sampling Procedure) of the survey.
Standby Time
The amount of battery power time that a mobile phone has whilst not in use for conversation and left on to receive calls.
Station Average Price
See Pure Station Average
Stickiness
The degree to which an Internet site can keep online users and encourage return visits.
Stratification
If some important detail is known about the population which is being sampled, and this is associated with the variables that are to be measured, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the sample. This is achieved by ordering the sampling units according to the detail that is known and selecting systematically through the ordered frame. This assists an unbiased representation in respect of this detail. This deliberate arrangement of the sampling frame before sampling is called stratification.
Streaming Audio/Video
Compressed digital multimedia files either audio and/or video that are transmitted one-way over the Internet in real time. This means that the content sent can be viewed or heard almost as soon as data is fed to the receiver without the necessity to transfer an entire large file first. An example of streaming audio is Internet radio. An example of streaming video are real time images sent via a webcam.
Strike Weight
Number of Ratings delivered over a given period, normally a week.
Subscribers
A household or business that legally receives and pays for cable and / or pay cable services.
Subscription TV
System usually transmitted over the air but scrambled to stop non-subscribers viewing. A device attached to the TV set decodes the signal for subscribers.
Supplement
A part (usually a colour magazine) separate from a newspaper itself.
Surfing
The process of moving between Internet web pages/sites by clicking on links to go from one page to the next. Also sometimes used to describe frequent channel changing when watching TV.
Surround Session
Advertising sequence in which a visitor receives ads from one advertiser throughout an entire site visit.
Syndication
The packaging of a radio or TV programme for sale to individual stations.
T1 Line Connection
A high-speed phone line composed of fibre optic cabling used by companies to access the Internet.
Talk Time
This is the period of time that a mobile phone can transmit using a single battery charge.
Target Audience
Generally used interchangeably with Target Market or Group. However, Target Audience is sometimes used to mean the nearest meaningful approximation to the Target Market or Group specified in the creative brief.
Target Group
See Target Audience.
Target Market
See Target Audience.
Target Ratings
Total number of ratings that a time-buyer aims to achieve by area in a given time. See Ratings (Rating Points).
Telephone Interview
When the respondent is interviewed by telephone either for the main interview or at the Screening stage of a survey. Telephone interviewing can be more economical than face-to-face research. Also it may make contact with individuals difficult to reach in face-to-face surveys.
Telephone Screening
When eligible units (usually people or addresses) within the Sampling Frame are identified by telephone. These are then sampled. See Screening.
Telescoping
Telescoping occurs when a respondent overclaims behaviour or events, i.e. they believe they have seen/read/heard/done something more recently than is in fact the case. See Memory Effects.
Teletext
The reception of broadcast textual information on a specially adapted TV set. Transmission occurs in the vertical blanking interval of the normal over-the-air signal. Includes Ceefax and Teletext UK in Britain.
Television Rating Points/TVRs
See Ratings (Rating Points).
Teleworkers
Workers that operate from home, communicating with the office via telephone and the Internet.
Text Link/Ad
Advertisement using text-based hyperlinks.
See Hurdle Question.
Through The Book
Methodology that establishes readership levels by showing the respondent copies of a specific issue of each title and asking him or her whether or not they have read or looked at that particular issue.
Thumbnail
mini-image including a hyperlink to an image in a higher-resolution, used to save page loading time.
Tiered Commission
Commission structure offered by merchants which increases on a sliding scale based on performance. This can be based on number of sales or sales value.
Time Shift Audience
For a particular broadcast, the timeshift audience is the cumulative audience who view that particular broadcast as video playback within seven days of its transmission
Time-Related Filter
The filter question screening in or out publications by reference to reading within a specific time period stated. See also Hurdle Question.
Time-Shift
Time-shift viewing is the recorded viewing of programmes or recordings on video and viewed in real time (i.e. not fast forwarded) within a week of transmission.
Title Confusion
This occurs when respondents mistake one title for another. They might confuse, for instance, two titles with similar-sounding names or two titles with similar-looking mastheads. Title confusion can be reduced by grouping titles on one card. See Extended Media List.
Top and Tail
Placing 2 creatively linked commercials for the same product within the same ad Break, usually at the start and the end.
Total Hours of Listening/Viewing
Total amount of time spent listening to the radio/watching television or a given radio/TV station by all individuals who watch/listen to it in, for example, an average week.
Touch Screen
Computer monitors that respond to either heat or pressure generated for example by a finger. This technology is used in such environments as kiosks. See Kiosk.
Town Type
On Postar there are fourteen selections available. Metropolitan, London Borough, County Town, Market Town, University Town, Coastal Town, Port, Other, BR Station, LT Station, Eire, Airport, Motorway Services.
Tracking
Tracking studies monitor the extent to which a variable is changing over time. Advertising tracking, for example, monitors the recall of advertisements at different stages during a campaign. The research may be either continuous or else repeated at regular intervals.
Traffic
The number of visitors a web site receives. The standard timelines for measuring web site traffic are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
Trade and Technical Publication
A publication designed for people in trade, technical, and professional occupations. Such publications are often distributed under controlled circulation. See Controlled Circulation.
Traffic Count
Counting the movement of people or vehicles past a given point.
Transmission Logs
Transmission logs are records (usually electronic) of exactly what was transmitted on television.
Transportable
A high-powered portable phone that can be used on the fringes of a networks' coverage. These are often used in remote areas.
TSA
The Total Survey Area of a radio station defined using its own criteria which will include signal quality and marketing elements. In the UK, each TSA is defined in terms of postcode sectors.
TVCR
The name given to a television set with a built in video recorder.
TVRs
Abbreviation of Television Ratings. See Ratings (Rating Points).
Twitter
A free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. See Social Network Service.
Two Tier Affiliate Programme
Programmes of this kind reward you for signing up sub affiliates. This means that you are paid a certain percentage of their earnings for the life of the affiliate.
UMD
Abbreviation for Universal Media Disk, new “mini DVD” as used in Sony’s PSP
Underclaim
See Overclaim.
Under Delivery
Delivery of less impressions, visitors, or conversions than contracted for a specified period of time.
Unduplicated Net Readership
The part of the readership of a publication (or schedule of publications) which does not overlap with another specified publication (or other publications within the schedule). See Duplication.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) refers to the format used by World-Wide Web documents to locate other files, effectively the 'address' for a Web site. A URL gives the type of resource being accessed (e.g., ftp, telnet, web, etc.) and the path of the file.
Unique Visitors
Individuals who have visited a web site (or network) at least once in a during a fixed time frame.
Universal Remote Control
A remote control unit that is able to control more than one brand of Television, video recorder or set top box etc.
Universe
Either the collection of people whose total number represents the ultimate potential reach of a piece of activity or all of the people researched by a survey or any sub-group of it. Often used interchangeably with Population, which is the number of people in the universe.
Unweighted Base
See Base.
Unweighted Sample
Those survey respondents who were successfully interviewed or who returned usable questionnaires (i.e. the Analysis Sample) before sample weights have been applied. Sometimes called the Unweighted Base. The number of respondents in the unweighted sample is the Unweighted Count. See Weights.
UPS
Abbreviation of Uninterruptible Power Supply. A device that provides battery back up supply and protects against power surges. Computer owners often use these.
URL
Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator.
USB Flash drive
Abbreviation of universal serial bus Flash Drive being a memory storage device that are typically portable, removable and rewritable memory sticks, much shorter than a floppy disk (1-4 inches or 25-102 mm), and weigh less than 2 ounces (56g). Storage capacities typically range from 64MB to 32GB or more.
Usability
The ease with which visitors are able to use a web site.
Usability Review
Analysis of users usage of a website through analytical tools or other market research.
User Session
Refers to the period of time that an Internet user spends online surfing the Internet in a single session. See Surfing.
VAI
Abbreviation of Visibility Adjusted Impact.
Validation
The validation of audience or readership claims obtained by one method via another thought to be more accurate (but which may only be viable in specific conditions).
VCR
Abbreviation of Video Cassette Recorder. A device that electronically records images and sounds onto video cassettes which can also be played back for viewing purposes.
Video Conferencing
Sound and video links that allow people in different locations to engage in a virtual meeting. See
VAC - Visibility Adjusted Contacts
The score of all adults, pedestrian and vehicular, who will see (make eye contact with) a panel over a one week period. It is arrived at by multiplying OTS by the visibility factor for each panel and summing the results.
VAC Audience Share
The net audience share of all adults who will see (make eye contact) each panel over a one week period.
Vehicular VAC '000s
The total number of VAC's per week for drivers and passengers summed over all panels.
View Time
Time a specific advertising format is visible to the user.
Viral Marketing
Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
Visibility Index
Total VAC's expressed as a % of total OTS.
Visit
Time span during which a unique visitor stays within the different pages of your site.
Video On Demand
A pay per view facility offered by some digital television providers to households where a subscriber can request from a list of videos a movie that can be seen at any time and will start immediately. Some of the systems have the ability to offer VCR type functions such a pause, rewind, and fast-forward. See Subscribers, Impulse Pay Per View, Near Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View.
Virus
A programme that is passed to one computer to another via infected files. Viruses can potentially cause great damage to a computer but can be prevented by installing computer anti-virus software. There are many types of viruses.
Visibility Adjusted Impact (VAI)
The amount of people who view a poster site. VAIs use computer experiments to measure eye movement when passing a site and are calculated by measuring this information against the gross number of people who pass the site. The better the panel, the closer the VAI to the gross.
Visual Clutter
The level of distraction (usually associated with posters or printed media) that draws attention away from the advertising message e.g. a poster against a background of trees has less distractions than a poster in a busy high street. (Existing experimental evidence suggests that this can be at least as important as whether the poster is solus or shares the site with other panels, which is another aspect of clutter).
Volume Discount
A discount based on the volume of business/expenditure booked by an advertiser in a calendar year.
Walled Garden
On the Internet this refers to a browsing environment that controls which Web sites a user can access. This facility is often used to stop children coming into contact with adult content through the use of password controls. A walled garden also refers to Internet, digital television and mobile phone operator services that are only made available to their subscribers. See Subscribers.
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol. Brings Internet content such as news, weather, travel, etc to mobile phones and can also be used to deliver formatted content such as wallpapers, ringtones, video, games, portals and other useful links. Incentivated provide the mechanisms to write and deliver mobile Internet content to subscribers.
Web, The
The World Wide Web or WWW consists of graphic and text documents published on the Internet that are interconnected through clickable "hypertext" links. A Web page is a single document. A Web site is a collection of related documents. The World Wide Web is often confused with the Internet. See Internet for an explanation of how they differ.
Web Based Discussions
Also known as newsgroups or communities of forums. Internet based bulletin boards that allow people to post comments about specific topic. Unlike Internet chat these are not live. See Chat.
Web Enabled
This refers to the facility on digital handsets such as PDA's and mobile phones that allows users to access the Internet using these devices. See Mobile Internet Connection.
Web Hosting
The business of providing the storage, connectivity and services necessary to serve files for a web site.
Web Site Traffic
The number of visitors and visits a web site receives.
Web Site Usability
The ease with which visitors are able to use a web site.
Weekly Reach
See Reach.
Weighted Sample
A sample to which all the necessary Sample Weights have been applied. See Weights.
Weighting
Cell weighting is the traditional form of weighting and involves target variables (e.g. sex, age and region) being interlaced to form a matrix of target cells in the population. The sample is analysed into interlacing cells in the same way. A weight is then calculated for each cell to achieve the target for that cell. The overall target may be set to equal the actual sample size (in which case the average weight = 1), or the population size (in which case grossing up is done at the same time as weighting). Cells incurring very high weights can be amalgamated with neighbouring cells to bring the weights down.
Rim weighting looks at each target variable in turn. The sample is weighted to the first variable (e.g. region). Keeping this set of weights, the computer then compares the balance of the sample with the targets for the second variable (e.g. sex). Fresh weights are calculated to correct this, which are multiplied by the first set of weights. This process is then repeated until all the target variables have been covered. At this stage, the weighted sample will not be exactly balanced against any one variable, but the overall balance should be an improvement. The whole process can then be repeated as often as necessary, until the weighted sample reaches a satisfactory level of accuracy or no further improvement is possible. The advantage of rim-weighting is that only the marginal totals are needed for each variable.
Weighting Matrix
See Weighting.
Whiteboard
A video conferencing device that allows users in different location to draw on a shared virtual surface. See Video Conferencing.
Widescreen
This refers to televisions that can have screens that can display pictures with a wider aspect ratio than normal.
Worldwide Readership Symposium
A bi-annual conference run jointly by Ipsos and BMRB to foster the spreading of best practice in readership research. Started in 1981 and held alternately in European and American venues.
World Wide Web (WWW)
See Web, The.
XTP
Cross-track projection onto poster sites on London underground sold by CBS.
Zapping
Flicking through different TV channels, often to avoid a commercial break.
Zipping
Fast-forwarding through recorded commercials when watching a home-recorded videotape.