A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Above The Line
Forms of marketing that involve mass-market advertising e.g. using TV, Press, Radio and Posters.
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 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 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.
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 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 Marketing
An affiliate (web site owner or publisher), displays an advertisement (such as a banner or link) on its site for a merchant (the brand or advertiser). If a consumer visiting the affiliate's site clicks on the advertisement and goes onto perform a specific action (purchase) on an advertiser's site then the affiliate receives a commission.
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.
Algorithm
the set of 'rules' a search engine may use to determine the relevance of a web page and its natural search ranking. See also Search Engine Optimisation.
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.
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.
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?'
B
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.
Barring
The ability to stop certain types of broadcast channels or phone calls.
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%.
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.
C
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.
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 datamore than once. See Burn.
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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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 000’s) 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.
CPH
Abbreviation of Cost Per Hundred.
CPM
Abbreviation of Cost Per Mille. See Cost Per Thousand.
CPT
Abbreviation of Cost Per Thousand.
CRR
Abbreviation for Contract Rights Renewal – Ofcom’s 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 ofcommercial audience decline.
CTA
Abbreviation of Call to Action.
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 mathematicalmodel - 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
D
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
