ACCESS TIME:  In Television, the half hour immediately prior to local prime time school programming (i.e., 7:30-8:00PM in Los Angeles). Generally, access programming rates are higher than Early Fringe, but lower than Prime Time.

ACCRUAL:  Advertising and/or promotional funds set aside by brand marketers and awarded to resellers of products. Amounts of accruals are generally "earned" by linking a reseller's advertising and promotional activities to net invoices of the products purchased for resale within a prescribed period of time.

ACCULTURATION:  The process by which people in one culture learn to understand and adapt to the norms, values, life styles and behaviors of people in another culture or subculture.

ACTIVITY AUDIT: Independent verification of measured activity for a specified time period. Some of the key metrics validated are ad impressions, page impressions, clicks, total visits and unique users. An activity audit results in a report verifying the metrics. Formerly known as a count audit. A campaign audit is an activity audit for a specific ad campaign.

ACTUALITY:  The actual recorded segment of a news maker speaking. Also known as a "Sound Bite."

AD AUDIENCE:  The number of unique users exposed to an ad within a specified time period.

AD BANNER:  A graphic image or other media object used as an advertisement.

AD CLICK: A measurement of the user initiated action of responding to (such as clicking on) an ad element causing a re-direct to another Web location or another frame or page within the advertisement. There are three types of ad clicks: 1) click-throughs; 2) in-unit clicks; and 3) mouse overs. Ad click-throughs should be tracked and reported as a 302 redirect at the ad server and should filter out robotic activity.

AD CLICK RATE:  Ratio of ad clicks to ad impressions.  The Ad Impression Ratio is click-throughs divided by ad impressions.

AD DOWNLOAD:  The request of an advertising element as a direct or indirect result of a visitor's action, as recorded by the advertisement server software Pushed advertisements may be included as ad downloads. Click Ratio: Clicks divided by Ad Downloads.

AD IMPRESSION:  1) an ad which is served to a user’s browser.  Ads can be requested by the user’s browser (referred to as pulled ads) or they can be pushed, such as emailed ads; 2) a measurement of responses from an ad delivery system to an ad request from the user's browser, which is filtered from robotic activity and is recorded at a point as late as possible in the process of delivery of the creative material to the user's browser -- therefore closest to the actual opportunity to see by the user. Two methods are used to deliver ad content to the user - a) server initiated and b) client initiated.  Server initiated ad counting uses the publisher's Web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content.  Client initiated ad counting relies on the user's browser to perform these activities. For organizations that use a server initiated ad counting method, counting should occur subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher's ad server or the Web content server.  For organizations using a client initiated ad counting method, counting should occur at the publisher's ad server or third-party ad server, subsequent to the ad request, or later, in the process.

AD INSERTION:  When an ad is inserted in a document and recorded by the ad server.

ADJACENCY:  A radio or TV commercial whose placement immediately before or after other programming elements or features is purchased and/or requested in consideration of its content, continuity or strategy. The opposite of Run Of Station (ROS) placement.

AD MANAGER:  The title of an executive, generally within the marketing department of a company, whose primary responsibilities are the research, planning, scheduling, budgeting and validation of the company's investment in advertising.  Also, AdManager is an added feature to Google's AdSense suite of online advertising applications, made possible by Google's acquisition of DoubleClick.  Combined with AdSense,AdManager now makes it possible for all online publishers to schedule, deliver and measure the ads they publish through Google, even when they sell those ads themselves.

AD NETWORK:  A network representing many Web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broad audiences relatively easily through run-of-category and run-of-network buys. An aggregator or broker of advertising inventory for many sites. Ad networks are the sales representatives for the Web sites within the network. Advertising networks provide a way for media buyers to coordinate ad campaigns across dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of sites in an efficient manner. The campaigns often involve running ads over a category (run-of-category) or an entire network (run-of-network). Site-specific buys are not a major emphasis when dealing with advertising networks. In fact, site-specific buys are not even available at some networks, so as not to conflict with in-house sales reps.

AD RECALL:  A measure of advertising effectiveness in which a sample of respondents are exposed to an ad and then at a later point in time are asked if they recall the ad. Ad recall can be on an aided or unaided basis. Aided ad recall is when the respondent is told the name of the brand or category being advertised.

AD REQUEST:  The request for an advertisement as a direct result of a user's action as recorded by the ad server. Ad requests can come directly from the user’s browser or from an intermediate Internet resource, such as a Web content server.

AD SENSE:  A service feature of Google's ad planning, ad tracking and ad placement suite. (See Google)

AD SERVING:  The delivery of ads by a server to an end user's computer on which the ads are then displayed by a browser and/or cached. Ad serving is normally performed either by a Web publisher, or by a third-party ad server. Ads can be embedded in the page or served separately.

AD SPACE:  The location on a page of a site in which an advertisement can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely identified. Multiple ad spaces can exist on a single page.

AD STREAM:  The series of ads displayed by the user during a single visit to a site (also impression stream).

AD TRANSFERS:  The successful display of an advertiser's Web site after the user clicked on an ad. When a user clicks on an advertisement, a click through is recorded and re-directs or "transfers" the user's browser to an advertiser's Web site. If the user successfully displays the advertiser's Web site, an ad transfer is recorded.

ADULT CONTEMPORARY (AC): A radio station programming format based on adult music preferences.  Traditionally known as "easy listening."

ADWORDS:   A paid feature of Google's AdSense that facilitates placement of ads. 

ADVERTISING METRICS:  Click through, click through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-action (CPA), CPM, customer acquisition costs, hit, hybrid model, impressions, page view, pay per click (PPC), pay per lead (PPL), pay per sale (PPS), site stickiness, surround session, unique visitors, Web site traffic, etc.

ADVERTISING PAGE EXPOSURES (APX):  For any individual publication, the product of three factors: 1) its total audience, 2) the average number of days on which each member of the audience is exposed to some portion of its contents, and 3) the average portion seen by each member of the audience per reading day. Thus, if Magazine A contains 100 pages, and if 1,000,000 adults each read pages 1-50 on Monday, pages 51-100 on Tuesday, and pages 1-50 again on Wednesday, the magazine's readership may be described in total as follows: Audience - 1,000,000; Reading Days - 3,000,000; Reading Days Per Reader - 3.0; Ad Page Exposures - 1,500,000; APX/Reader - 1.5.

ADVERTISING REVENUE:  Revenue realized from the sale of advertising.

AFFIDAVIT:  A legal written document which swears to the completion or delivery of agreed-to performance.  An accepted proof that radio and/or TV commercials have aired within the terms contracted and scheduled. A 3602 Form that confirms a direct mail campaign's drop into the US Postal Service, is also an affidavit of performance.

AFFILIATE DIRECTORY:  Affiliate directories can be great starting points for locating and comparing a variety of merchant marketing programs within a network of affiliated merchants. Networks provide aggregated information for their programs, but lack the all-in-one overview of the directories. Some directories provide simple text listings, others offer search features into articles, newsletters, and forums. A very few are affiliate portals functioning truly in the interest of their members. Most are merely interested in hyping programs that turn a profit in behalf of the directory.

AFFILIATED MARKETING:  An agreement between two sites in which one site (the affiliate) agrees to feature content or an ad designed to drive traffic to another site. In return, the affiliate receives a percentage of sales or some other form of compensation generated by that traffic. Compensation is typically based on performance measures such as sales, clicks, registrations, or hybrid models encompassing a combination of performance criteria. 

AFFINITY MARKETING:  Selling products or services to customers on the basis of their established buying patterns. The offer can be communicated by e-mail promotions, online or off-line advertising. 

AGENCY OF RECORD (AOR):  The master agency appointed by an advertiser to oversee all its marketing communications. An agent or media buying company which buys media in conjunction with other agents and buying groups, which oversees and co-ordinates all buying and placement activities in behalf of the advertiser. An agent who shares a fiduciary responsibility for the advertiser's communications investment.

ALBUM ORIENTED ROCK (AOR):  A radio station programming format based on rock record album content.  Also known as "classic rock."

ALGORITHM:  Any number of mathematical rules set in place for solving a mathematical problem within a finite number of steps; e.g., a program for finding the greatest common divisor. The fundamental technology that search engines use to deliver results to specified queries. Search strategies and search engines typically use a number of algorithms in tandem to discover a single page of search results as in targeted keywords and key phrases.

ALTERNATE TEXT:  A word or phrase that is displayed when a user has image loading disabled in their browser or when a user abandons a page by hitting "stop" in their browser prior to the transfer of all images.  Also appears as “balloon text” when a user lets their mouse rest over an image.

ANALYTICS:  A growing cadre of natural and paid search technology tracking arts and sciences that help in the analysis of website performance across all text, audio and video in online communications campaigns. The emphasis of most tracks is focused on user behavior as it relates to web KPIs and campaign strategy. Conversion analytics is a combination of these tracks through lead generation strategies, key words, designated landing page paths, online marketing trends, offers, calls to action, and other campaign elements to model, predict, and test conversion rates as well as other up-sell and cross-sell scenarios. Social analytics track and measure the level of "engagement" among and between vistors in social media. CRM analytics track and measure the on-going history and opportunities in the relationship between an enterprise and its customers.

ANCHOR TEXT:  The clickable text component in any hyperlink that indicates what the page being linked to is about.

ANIMATED ADVERTISEMENT:  An ad that changes over time. For example, an animated ad is an interactive Java applet or Shockwave or GIF89a file.

ANIMATED GIF:  An animation created by combining multiple GIF images in one file. The result is multiple images, displayed one after another, that give the appearance of movement.

ANONYMIZER:  An intermediary which prevents Web sites from seeing a user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address.

APPLET:  A small self-contained application required for use of various features on some Internet sites that is most often used by browsers to automatically display animation and/or to perform database queries requested by the user.  If the application is not found on their computer, users must download and install it separately to view the feature. The effort is usually not worth the time.

APPLICABLE BROWSER:  Any browser an ad will impact, regardless of whether it will play the ad.

APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDER  (ASP):  A provider of applications/services that are distributed through a network to many customers in exchange for convenient installment payments as opposed to one up-front total price payment.

AP STYLE: The conformity of grammar and language used between writers in news media -- specifically newspapers -- consistent with rules established by the Associated Press. Writing consistent with the AP Style Book.

ARBITRAGE:  In Securities, the simultaneous buying and selling at two different prices in two different markets resulting in profit without risks. Such opportunities seldom occur and are often precluded by transactional costs.

ARBITRON:  A radio audience measurement service based on a 7-day dairy, that keeps track of the number of listeners who tune into the radio stations in a given ADI.

AREA OF DOMINANT INFLUENCE/DESIGNATED MARKETING AREA (ADI/DMA):  Areas of Dominant Influence/Designated Market Area:  An exclusive geographic area consisting of those counties or portions of counties within which the TV stations located in a central city or cities receive the largest share of the total viewing hours. Thus, the 28 counties within which the New York stations collectively outperform the Philadelphia stations, the Hartford-New Haven stations, or any other group of stations with common origin, constitute the New York Area of Dominant Influence.  The term ADI is used by the American Research Bureau; the term DMA is used by A.C. Nielsen Company.

ATTITUDE:  Enduring positive or negative evaluations, emotional feelings, and action tendencies with respect to a product, service, company, brand and/or its culture. 

AUDIENCE SHARE:  A program's average audience expressed as a percent of HUT during the Program's Average Quarter Hour.

AUDITABILITY:  A characteristic of modern information systems, gauged by the ease with which data can be substantiated by tracking it to source documents and the extent to which auditors can rely on pre-verified and monitored control processes.

AUDIT TRAIL:  Manual or computerized tracing of the transactions affecting the contents or origin of a record.

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD AUDIENCE:  The number of homes tuned to a television program during its average minute (PAM).

AVERAGE QUARTER HOUR (AQH):  An increment of time used to estimate the size of a radio station's audience during any fifteen-minute period in the Broadcast Day.

BANNER:  A hyperlinked ("clickable") advertising graphic image. The common ad format encountered on web sites. Banner ad:  A graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468x60). 

BANNER BLINDNESS:  The tendency of web visitors to ignore banner ads, even when the banner ads contain information visitors are actively looking for.

BANNER NETWORK:  An advertising networks of Web sites linked strategically to sell advertising and advertised products. Networking makes it easier for media buyers to target and reach broad audiences across dozens or thousands of sites through run-of-category and run-of-network buys. Given the efficiency of networks, site-specific buys are not often available. Networks vary in size and focus. The larger networks may require as a condition of availability premium brands and millions of impressions per month. Conversely, smaller networks may accept unbranded sites with thousands of impressions per month. An key issue for publishers is the question of exclusive or non-exclusive representation. Exclusive representation usually results in a higher percentage of revenue sharing, and sometimes means a  smaller percentage of ad inventory being sold. In non-exclusive arrangements, publishers may use secondary advertising options to fill the gap  left unsold by the primary ad network. 

BARTER:  Also known as "contra," the swap of goods or services without the use of cash. In the context of media, the exchange of space or time in media for goods or services such as "due bills" at restaurants. Or, the exchange of advertiser produced programming for time to air that programming. 

BEACON  A snippet of code placed in an ad, on a Web page, or in an email which helps measure whether the ad, page or email was delivered to the browser and to track actions in general. Also known as a clear GIF or pixel tag.

BEHAVIORAL TARGETING:  The inter meshing of online data from past activities to predict one's future activities.  Online tracking, analysis, and prediction of future online interests, based on where a prospect's browser software has gone, is central to determining the recency and relevance of products and services to the prospects current state of mind. Behavioral targeting is therefore the key to successful online advertising.

BENCHMARKING:  A number of sampling techniques used to survey, track and measure "before and after scenarios" on campaigns-in-process; e.g., comparing awareness for a brand using "nth names" in a target audience or in a medium's subscriber database before, and then after, a campaign is launched to determine the campaign's effectiveness and validity in that audience or database.

BEYOND THE BANNER:  Online advertising not involving standard GIF and JPEG banner ads.

BLEED:  An advertisement which extends past the usual margins to the edges of a page. Many publications do not charge extra for bleed. And many do.

BLENDED SEARCH:  See Universal Search

BLOG:  A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. A blog gives you your own voice on the web. It's a place to collect and share things that you find interesting— whether it's your political commentary, a personal diary, or links to web sites you want to remember. Many people use a blog just to organize their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands. Professional and amateur journalists use blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalists reveal inner thoughts. The blogging experience is about not only putting your thoughts on the web, but hearing back from and connecting with other like-minded folks. Blog authors are called "bloggers," whereas the community of bloggers is generally referred to as "the bloggosphere." Most blogs have a purpose that focuses on informing people about a specific area of common interest. The affinity among followers of these specific areas of interest are primary targets for marketers, so blogs are also used by businesses as a participation medium for advertising, sales promotion, and public relations purposes to inform, to galvanize formative opinions in time-critical forums, to define opportunities and incent promotional calls to action, etc. Audio blogging and/or video blogging are pervasive in podcasts that target these external affinities, but are also used in internal corporate applications. Companies sometimes use "internal blogs" as a time-critical alternative to company e-mail to communicate with their own employees or departments of employees new directives, changes, updates and other information on their work-in-progress.

BLUE TOOTH TECHNOLOGY:  A short range wireless technology used to create Personal Area Networks (PANs) that connect any and potentially all electronic devices for added convenience and benefits. First developed by Ericsson, Blue tooth is named for the 10th century Viking King Harald Blue tooth, a Danish king who conquered Norway. Blue tooth is currently a low cost benefit between PDAs, cellphones, notebooks, laptops, desktops, digital cameras, printers, GPS guidance systems, as well as in home appliances and security systems. 

BOOLEAN SEARCH:  A keyword search optimization protocol used by most search engines that allows inclusion or exclusion of documents that contain operative words such as "and," or  "or," or "not," or "near." or "+" or "-" etc. in order to narrow definitions and search results.  

BOUNCE RATE:  Notification that your e-message, for whatever reason, didn't make it to the recipient. There are three reasons for an email message bounce; (1) if a subscriber changes his or her email address without notifying you; (2) if the recipient's server is down; (3) if the email is inadvertently flagged as spam. In the first instance, you can minimize the email address variance with meticulous database maintenance.  In the second, there's not much you can do about the recipient's technology. In the third instance, when email is flagged as spam, there are sixteen steps you can take to improve deliverability. (See Sixteen Steps Around Spam Filters)

B-ROLL:  Supplemental unedited film, tape, audio/video files  -- containing supplemental "clips," interviews and sound bites -- typically provided to broadcast news media with VNRs for their use in building or repackaging a story. 

BRAND:  Potentially, a company’s most valuable and enduring asset, a brand represents a single, big, relevant social as well as commercial concept that is strengthened by cumulative impressions made upon customers over time. As the metaphor suggests, brands are made deeper and more effective through the consistent, focused application of “heat” (values) and pressure (marketing). A brand should not be mistaken with its graphic identity or logo, which alone is simply the visual representation of the idea behind a brand, product, or service. Brand ideas are abstract concepts that audit, inventory and integrate the relevant assets, hierarchy, and positioning of perceived strengths, weaknesses, and values in brands -- and the equity between such perceptions within and among brands in categorical product/service "brandscapes" -- as they impact and influence individuals, consumers, employees, "stakeholders," media, markets and other constituencies. The idea behind a brand is what identifies and signifies all communications made in behalf of products and services marketed under that brand. When such communications are consistent with the idea behind the brand -- its identity -- a campaign of integral communications is said to be "well tuned," therefore efficient.  To the extent communications are not consistent with the brand idea, a campaign of mixed communications can work at cross-purposes with itself frustrating the efficient transferal of heat and pressure necessary to convey a brand's identity consistently and effectively. The perception and depth of a  brand's identity by those on the receiving end of such communications -- its image -- is the reality of what a brand idea actually is. To the extent identity is always an ideal of what marketers want others to understand and remember about their brand, and to the extent image is always the practical reality of what others actually understand and remember, the communications that make manifest such abstracts need to be researched, integrated, planned, created, validated, managed and kept well turned. The ability to strategically create, place and manage a brand campaign effectively is only possible when clear, accurate, precise, broad, deep, relevant, logical and significant consensus for the understandings behind a brand prevail throughout the campaign process.

BRAND AUDIT:  Quarterly activity of a brand management team that entails fact-based assessments of the current state of the brand, key customer segments, and competitors and their brands. Competitive analysis of the Brandscape.

BRAND EXPRESSION MODEL:  A conceptual road map that describes how a firm and its strategic partners (e.g., consultants, agency) use its brand story-telling model; the brand story’s type and manner of telling.

BRANDSCAPE:  The competitive environment in which brands co-exist on and off the Internet. Any layout of the relative value and scope of brands; usually, brand depth is measure along the horizontal axis of the model, with the shallowest brands to the left and the deepest brands to the right. As a brand deepens, the depth of the brandscape describes the benefits it accumulates; customer awareness, preference, and loyalty; the ability to command higher prices; and demand for the brand from prospective allies and licensees, etc.

BRAND STORYTELLING:  The process of sellers communicating with customers over a satisfaction life cycle, moving customers through five stages: awareness, involvement, trial, commitment, and referral.

BROADSHEET: A standard newspaper page size (normally 10 columns of classified or 6 columns of retail advertising wide by 21 inches deep). A folding "brochure" the size of a newspaper page inserted as one of the parts in classic 7-part direct mail letters.

BROWSER:  A program that allows users to access documents on the World Wide Web (WWW). Browsers can be either text or graphic They read HTML coded pages that reside on a server and interpret the coding into what we see as Web pages Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are examples of Web browsers.

BROWSER CACHING:  The storage of recently used documents on a user's disk to speed browsing. When a user revisits a page, their browser might display the document from the local disk, rather than from a site's Web server. As a result, Web servers may under count the number of times a page or advertisement has been viewed.

BUSINESS APPLICATION PROGRAMMING (BAPI):  Interfaces within a business framework to link SAP´s components to one another and SAP components with third-party components.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MARKETING (B2B):  For large enterprise solutions with long purchase cycles, data mining identifies prospective organizations with matching needs and the key decision makers with them.  This makes it possible to maintain contact with these prospects throughout the year, and beyond, with individually targeted mail and email initiatives generated by the analysis of prospect response patterns and ongoing data enhancements.

BUTTON AD:  A graphical advertising unit, smaller than a banner ad.

BUTTON EXCHANGE:  A Network where participating sites display button ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.

BUZZLOGIC:  One of several new online brand-monitoring companies that track and map "buzz" in the blogs for PR and viral strategists.  Its new service enables advertisers to get a fix on influential conversations within blogs and other social media so that brand marketers can plan and place their messages with recency and relevance to influence those conversations in a timely fashion.

BUZZWORD:  A trendy word, term, or phrase that is usually used more to impress than explain.

CACHE BUSTING:  The process by which sites or servers serve content or HTML in such a manner as to minimize or prevent browsers or proxies from serving content from their cache. This forces the user or proxy to fetch a fresh copy for each request.  Among other reasons, cache busting is used to provide a more accurate count of the number of requests from users.

CAMERA READY:  A general term applied to key components of, or fully composed files for, an ad that is completely ready to print.

CAMPAIGN:  An integrated collection of communications tactics (i.e., new customer trial, pathways to product upgrade, “win-back promotions) aligned around specific strategic goals; an integration of such tactics in advertising media or mix of media  A marketing program.

CASCADING STYLE SHEETS: A data format used to separate style from structure on Web pages.

CASS (CODING  ACCURACY SUPPORT SYSTEM):  A program through which the USPS approves software vendors and other information service providers to provide certified ZIP+4 and address corrections services to the public. To be eligible for automation discounts, a mailing list must have been verified and corrected using CASS certified software.

CENSUS TRACT:  A small, relatively permanent area (US) into which metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and certain other areas are divided to provide statistics for smaller areas. When census tracts are established they are designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status and living conditions. Census tracts are generally between 2,500 and 8,000 residents.

CHANNEL CONFLICT:  The situation that accrues when businesses attempt to sell, distribute, and pay commissions on product when that product is presented to the same customers through a variety of channels that potentially conflict with each other; e.g., selling product at retail through brick and mortar distribution while at the same time selling it direct to consumers online.

CIRCULATION:  The total number of copies distributed per issue by a magazine, newspaper, newsletter, or other print medium. Circulation may be paid or unpaid.  A controlled circulation medium (unpaid) is one which is distributed free to members of a specific population group, such as doctors or beauty shop operators. The number of homes exposed to a radio or television station for at least five minutes in the course of a specified time period; usually one day or one week. The total recipients of any medium broadcast, online, outdoor, transit, or published medium.

CISION:  The leading international resource to marketing and public relations companies, Cision provides integral media intelligence, research, analysis, distribution and evaluation services. Formerly Bacon's, its online database of over 700,000 contacts in media worldwide is the  leading tool for public relations agencies in targeting editors, columnists, and publishers in media.

CIV:  Shorthand for the 3 primary customer values: 1) Customization:  “I want it my way.” 2) Immediacy: “I want it now.”  3) Value: “I want it at the smart price.”

CLICK:  The opportunity for a visitor to be transferred to a location by clicking on an advertisement, as recorded by the server. 1) metric which measures the reaction of a user to an Internet ad. There are three types of clicks: click-throughs; in-unit clicks; and mouseovers; 2) the opportunity for a user to download another file by clicking on an advertisement, as recorded by the server; 3) the result of a measurable interaction with an advertisement or key word that links to the advertiser’s intended Web site or another page or frame within the Web site; 4) metric which measures the reaction of a user to hot-linked editorial content. See iab.net for ad campaign measurement guidelines.  See also ad click, click-through, in-unit clicks and mouseover.

CLICK DOWN:  The action of clicking on an element within an ad and having another file displayed on the user’s screen, normally below or above the initial ad. Click down ads allow the user to stay on the same Web page and provide the advertiser a larger pallet to communicate their message.

CLICK RATE:  Clicks divided by Ad Requests. Also called yield. The percentage of clicks vs. impressions on an ad within a specific page.

CLICK THROUGH:  The process of clicking through an online advertisement to the advertiser's destination.

CLICK THROUGH RATE (CTR):  The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.

CLEAR CHANNEL:  Any radio station that operates at maximum power (50,000 watts) on an exclusive frequency to serve large areas. WLS --AM Radio in Chicago, for example, can serve audiences from Texas to Minnesota at 780AM on the dial. 

CLOAKING:  With reference to SEO, cloaking is often referred to as a spamming technique. The process uses software programs to send search engine spiders to alternative pages that are not seen by the end user. These pages are used to mislead the spiders and capture results from alternative pages as opposed to the pages the end user sees.  Some SEO companies use this practice to obtain rankings. However, as spamming is a serious legal offense, anyone who uses it is in legal jeopardy.

CLONING:  In database mining, modeling, and marketing scenarios it is possible, for example, to match a house file against a larger national database of 30 million names. The match makes it possible to find others with similar demographics and psychographics who are not on the house file.  By "cloning" those who have similar demographic and psychographic characteristics, it is then possible to do regression analysis to generate predictive weights for the demographic and psychographic variables used to select “clones” from the balance of the national database. The report detailing the demographic and psychographic makeup of the customer base in the house file can then be used to shape offers, copy, design as well as the overall selection of markets and market strategies. Subsequently, factor analysis of  test-validated response data can provide more qualified hypotheses upon which to mine other customer bases for other products and services in a related product line.

CLUSTER ANALYSIS:  In Statistics, Cluster Analysis encompasses a number of different algorithms and methods for grouping products of similar kind into respective categories. A general question facing researchers in many areas of inquiry is how to organize observed data into meaningful structures and taxonomies for comparison. Cluster Analysis is an "exploratory data analysis tool" for sorting different product into groups in a way that the degree of association between two products is maximal if they belong to the same group and minimal otherwise. It can be used to discover structures in data without providing an explanation/interpretation. It simply discovers structures in data without explaining why they exist.

CLUSTERING:  Regression-based “cloning” is not possible on lists generally available outside our national database of 30+ million prospects. However, geodemographic clustering – a zip + 4 b-based demographic coding of American households -- can provide a selection screen for rented or compiled lists that will increase response percentages and make a direct marketing investment more effective. By modeling the customer base to determine which clusters are significantly over represented on the house data files relevant to national averages, significant clusters can be used to select from large national buyer lists that have been cluster coded. Geodemographic clusters can also generate zip-select or suppression files for use in renting non-cluster coded lists, which will increase the overall effectiveness of all advertising campaigns.

CMS: See Content Management Systems.

CMYK:  A digital color formatting and printing protocol based on Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.

CODEC:  Short for compressor/decompressor. Codecs are computer algorithms that are used to compress the size of audio, video, and image files. Because these compressed files are much smaller, they do not require as much bandwidth when they are streamed or stored on a computer. The same codec that originally compressed the file must be used to decompress and open the file.

COGNITIVE ANALYSIS: A branch of Cognitive Psychology concerned with the processes of perception, learning, memory, problem-solving and behavior. Cognitive modeling is used to test and predict market behavior relevant to product design and development inclusive of ergonomic, heuristic and motivational outcomes.

COLLABORATIVE FILTERING:  Also called Community Knowledge, this is where matching engines are strategically employed to serve up products and services to discrete customer profiles based upon what other customers with similar tastes or preferences have demonstrated; e.g., Amazon.com uses this to recommend books that were read by customers with similar interests to you.

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION (CFTC):  An agency created by Congress in 1974 to oversee exchange trading in futures.

COMMON LOG FORMAT (CLF):  A log file format developed by NCSA which has become the standard logging format for most Web servers.

COMMUNITY ANTENNA TELEVISION (CATV):  The transmission by wire and microwave services of TV signals to subscribing households.

COMPARISON SHOPPING ENGINE (CSE): Search engines for comparative products that offer a form of pay-per-click advertising which traditional search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google AdWords, can't. Merchants upload products to the CSE. As users search for products, matching merchant and competing companies appear on a results report, ranking products based upon the CSE's ranking criteria; i.e., some CSEs, such as Yahoo! rank on the basis of bids, while others rank on criteria based on relevancy and popularity. Ranking algorithms and methods differ, however the business model is essentially the same. Merchants pay when users click on their product and are forwarded to their websites. The inherent difference between CSEs and PPC is that CSE visitors are further along in the purchase cycle, and are therefore better candidates for conversion. And merchants don't need to compete in the more cluttered markets of major search engines to reach primary markets. And, the contextual information on features, functions, benefits and pricing -- often with product reviews -- expedites the research prior to purchase for visiting consumers.

COMSCORE:  The leading global Internet information provider whose real time behavioral analytics are the primary source for the development and tracking of online advertising strategies.  Ad Metrix, Brand Metrix, Campaign Metrix, Plan Metrix, Ad Networking, Media Metrix, Segment Metrix, Video Metrix, Widget Metrix, World Metrix, Local Market Reporting, qSearch 2.0,  are some of the comScore reports available to marketers through its massive grid of real time online data facilitating the processes of  market sizing and analysis, customer profiling and segmentation, product development and optimization, brand and advertising tracking, and customer satisfaction research.

CONCEPT SEARCH:  A search protocol for locating documents that share conceptual similarities and affinities rather than the use of common key words.

CONJOINT ANALYSIS:  A multivariate technique in research that seeks to quantify the value of product and service attributes. Respondents are asked to choose and rank between attributes relevant to determining brand preferences and brand criteria. Conjoint association is a moderation technique used in discussion groups to stimulate comparisons among market subjects between competing hypothetical products or services and their hypothetical attributes for the purpose of gaining insights into the relative pay values of each.

CONJUNCTION:  The bulk purchase of broadcast time in large dollar amounts, generally over a 52-week period, in a way that allows short-term advertisers to sponsor top rated programming while receiving the same discounts normally extended only to long-term advertisers.

CONSUMER AFFINITY CLUBS:  Agent-activated real time clustering can find up-sell opportunities with every new purchase. Facilitated by centralized POS data systems, customer history files, and other product selection data, individualized responses to recent purchases made by frequent purchasers can be factor analyzed, created, and bounced back as up-sell offers on the fly, thereby combining the effectiveness of recency-frequency marketing with the savvy of sophisticated purchase-history factor analysis.

CONTAGION: A term used to describe how fads and trends quickly spread, creating a social phenomenon.

CONTANGO:  A market condition in which futures prices are higher in distant delivery months.

CONTEMPORARY HIT RADIO (CHR):  A radio station programming format based on today's contemporary music content.  Sometimes called "Top 40" or "Hit Radio."

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS):  Software or software services used to manage content, distinguished as separate from the design on a Web site. Blogging tools are examples of CMS. Content is separate from the structural design of a website into which content is inserted. A versatile software program for organizing and managing the content of a website into static pages, document stories, blogs and/or wikis for interactive use by large numbers of contributors such as on social networks that includes the inputting, publishing and archiving of a continuous flow of digital content.

CONTENT NETWORK:  Any strategic partnership of websites that have agreed to show ads on their site fed by an advertising network in exchange for a cut of the revenue generated by those ads; e.g., Google's AdSense.

CONTEXTUAL ADVERTISING:   The context in which offers are made. In direct response and interactive marketing, the delivery of information, ads, or offers with recency and relevance to the demonstrated interests of a given consumer; the continuum of collecting histories and integrating data on a customer in order to make product/service offers with real time recency and relevance. A dialog -- especially an interactive dialog --  with a prospective customer based upon their contextual affinity or history of interests made in a timely way. One-on-one advertising driven in real time by a contextual search program that serves up relevant links, pop ups, et al based upon on-line pages and contextual material being searched, viewed, and read. Contextually Targeted Text Ads search the subject of writings on Web pages in news articles and web logs using contextual search software like Google's AdSense and Yahoo Search's Content Match.

CONVERSION RATE:  The percentage of visitors, or any medium's audience, who take a proposed call to action.

COOKIE:  A file on the user’s browser that uniquely identifies the user’s browser. There are two types of cookies: persistent cookies and session cookies. Session cookies are temporary and are erased when the browser exits. Persistent cookies remain on the user’s hard drive until the user erases them or until they expire.

COST PER ACQUISITION:  The costs associated with acquiring a new customer.

COST PER ACTION (CPA):  The cost of advertising based on a visitor taking some specifically defined action in response to an ad. "Actions" include such things as a sales transaction, a customer acquisition, or a click. An online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.

COST PER CLICK (CPC):  Cost of advertising based on click through or number of clicks received. 

COST PER CUSTOMER (CPC): The cost an advertiser pays to acquire a customer.

COST PER LEAD (CPL):  The cost of advertising based on the number of database files (leads) received.

COST PER ORDER (CPO):  The cost of advertising based on the number of orders received. Also called Cost-per-Transaction.

COST PER RATING (CPR):  The cost of an advertising unit (space or time) divided by the average rating of a specific demographic.

COST PER SALE (CPS):   The advertiser's cost to generate one sales transaction. If this is being used in conjunction with a media buy, a cookie can be offered on the content site and read on the advertiser's site after the successful completion of an online sale.

COST PER TARGETED THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS (CPTM):  The difference between CPM and CPTM is that CPM is for gross impressions, while CPTM is for targeted impressions within gross impressions..

COST PER THOUSAND (CPM):  Media term describing the cost of 1,000 impressions. For example, a Web site that charges $1,500 per ad and reports 100,000 visits has a CPM of $15 ($1,500 divided by 100).

COST PER TRANSACTION (CPT):  The Cost Per Order (CPO).

CRAWLER:  A software program which visits virtually all pages of the Web to create indexes for search engines. They are more interested in text files than graphic files.  See also spider, bot, and intelligent agent.

CRITICAL THINKING:  An area of Cognitive Psychology and a fundamental philosophical concept within a movement to reform Education that deals with how people process information to discover, understand, and own what they learn:  In its more popular use, it is a vague term used more to impress than to explain a rigorous intellectual process. In its strong sense, critical thinking is a robust, well-defined body of seminal concepts and collection of best practices that accompany any and all forms of inquiry, discourse and learning. Leading research, mounting evidence, and many leading educators now suggest critical thinking is not merely another literacy skill among a category of many, but the core skill of intellectual engagement by which learning how to learn in any and all domains and disciplines becomes possible. Because it is seminal -- you can't think about nothing -- critical thinking is best taught and assessed across the curriculum in the context of other subjects. In cultures that pressure teachers to teach to tests, and prep students for those tests by fostering memorization tactics at the expense of intellectual engagement and understanding, critical thinking deals specifically with intellectual engagement. It is, itself, a skill that requires instruction and practice. You can't understand, improve, modify or reconcile anything you haven't thought. Fostering the intellectual standards of clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, breadth, depth, logic and significance, critical thinking emphasizes independent objective reason and discourages blind leaps of faith grounded in sociocentric conditioning, group think, and all arguments by authority. Key traits of those engaged in strong sense critical thought are genuine intellectual humility (knowing and admitting what you don't know) and fair minded dispositions that empower free, independent thinking people to entertain and objectively analyze points of view other than their own. In identifying and resolving problems, critical thinking is also the foundational component for all strategic thinking and creative thinking.

CROSS SELLING:  Offering and selling related goods and services to a customer.

CUME:  Short for cumulative audience, it is the unique, unduplicated radio audience listening to a radio program at any specified time; the equivalent of circulation in print.

CUMULATIVE AUDIENCE:  The percent of the advertiser's target market which is exposed to a single advertising vehicle used more than once, such as three telecasts of 60 Minutes or six issues of Woman's Day. (Cume is sometimes used interchangeably with Reach or Unduplicated Audience; however, Cumulative Audience usually implies the repeated usage of a single vehicle, and Unduplicated Audience implies the combination of two or more vehicles.)

CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COST:  Costs associated with acquiring a new customer.

CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE (CLV):  The profitability of a customer over the life time of his/her relationship with a company, brand, and/or service, as opposed to over a single transaction with a company, brand and/or service.  With the demographics of the general population growing older, and with the opportunities afforded by affiliated online marketing networks, marketers are turning to customer relationship marketing strategies (CRM). It is now generally understood that it costs more to replace a customer than to keep that customer.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MARKETING (CRM):  Marketing specifically targeted to increasing brand loyalty with individual customers. One-to-one marketing.  Real-time Marketing. Using the direct response concepts of "recency" and "relevance" to make timely offers relevant to customer profiles and purchase histories in real time, where the exchange between the customer and the marketer becomes mutually beneficial and galvanizes the loyalty to the relationship by both parties. The tracking of such relationships. CRM is the art/science of tracking and measuring short term response to anticipate a customer's long term profitability to marketers over the long term. You can't manage what you can't measure.

DATABASE MARKETING SERVICES (DBMS):  The processes of organizing, appending, comparing, and managing information and relationships between and among various banks of data in order to test and validate insights on response markets and strategies. The strategic processes that enable marketers to mine, mode, and test working marketing pro forma. A company or department within a company that provides such services.

DATABASE MINING, MODELING & MARKETING:   Analyzing information in a database using tools that look for trends or anomalies without knowledge of the data's meaning or consequences, then discovering the relationships among and between data necessary to develop marketing strategies and predictive outcomes. Data mining is crucial in CRM strategies and e-commerce. Analyzing the purchase patterns of existing customers is at the heart of effective data mining. Sophisticated analytical tools rarely used outside of academic behavioral research can be used to enhance, model, and validate external data using those purchase patterns. Finding, modeling, testing, and validating direct markets -- whether it's for traditional snail mail, email, online. DRTV. etc. -- generally falls into one or several of the following categories:  1. Geodemographic Coding & Analysis. 2. Database Modeling & Prediction Using External Databases. 3. Database Analysis Using Multivariate Analytical Techniques (e.g., Factor Analysis, Clustering, Multiple Regression). Relational database software include SAS, Excel, SQL as well as Web-based tools such as Siebel and direct e-mail tools such as Lyris and Responsys.

DAUGHTER WINDOW: An online ad that appears in a separate ad window concurrent with an ad banner where there is an association with other editorial or page content; the content and window banner are usually displayed in advance of the daughter window.

DAYPART:  One of five time slots in the radio broadcast day: Morning Drive Time: 6am -10am.  Midday: 10am - 2pm. Afternoon Drive Time: 2pm -6pm. Evening: 6pm - 12am. Overnight: Midnight - 6am.

DEEP GRAVITY WELL SUPER SITE:  A metaphor that describes a strategy for branded web sites, emphasizing a series of progressively intimate interactions between the brand producer, customers, and other stake holders.

DESCRIPTION TAG:  An html tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.

DEEP LINKING:  Linking to a Web page on a site other than its home page; e.g., links to landing pages and jump pages, et al.

DEMOGRAPHIC EDITION:  That portion of a magazine's subscription circulation which is mailed to a predetermined demographic group, such as physicians or residents of high-income zip code areas.  An advertiser whose target market is highly specialized may find it advisable to place ads in demographic editions where readers are mostly primary prospects.  Regional and Demographic Editions of magazines are offered to advertisers at a higher cost relative to their circulation than is true of the magazine's National Editions.

DESIGNATED MARKETING AREA/AREA OF DOMINANT INFLUENCE (DMA/ADI):  Designated Market Area/Area of Dominant Influence.  An exclusive geographic area consisting of those counties or portions of counties within which the TV stations located in a central city or cities receive the largest share of the total viewing hours. Thus, the 28 counties within which the New York stations collectively outperform the Philadelphia stations, the Hartford-New Haven stations, or any other group of stations with common origin, constitute the New York Area of Dominant Influence.  The term ADI is used by the American Research Bureau; the term DMA is used by A.C. Nielsen Company.

DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING:  Also called direct marketing or pure advertising, direct response encompasses a range of media whose one-on-one contact with end users is direct and measurable. A cadre of database driven disciplines within the Sales Promotion domain, it includes traditional direct mail letters, self-mailers and post cards, mail order catalogs, advertising and ad inserts in print media, as well as DRTV and DRRadio where the customer response to advertised calls to action is measurable. The new online media (Web Marketing 2.0) are all direct response capable, where offers and calls to action are driven and measured by real time data histories of customers' needs. Where traditional direct response has been less sensitive to brand marketing scenarios, its transformation into online strategies now makes it a viable tool for building and maintaining brands. Brandcentric marketers now integrate direct and online campaigns with traditional media in recognition that both strategies serve different needs and opportunities in given markets.

DISCIPLINES:  Skill sets, especially the level of applied skills acquired within well-established crafts and domains with practice and experience.

DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS:  Discriminant function analysis is used to determine which variables discriminate between two or more naturally occurring groups. It is very similar to analysis of variance (ANOVA). For example,  in a random sample of 50 males and 50 females. Females are, on the average, not as tall as males, and this difference will be reflected in the difference in means (for the variable Height). Therefore, variable height allows us to discriminate between males and females with a "better than chance probability":  If a person is tall, then he is likely to be a male, if a person is short, then she is likely to be a female.

DISINTERMEDIATION:  The elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain, also referred to as "cutting out the middlemen."

DOCUMENT READER:  The opportunity for an HTML document to appear in a web browser window as a direct result of a user's click with a web site. A click that is followed by a splash page, an interstitial ad, a web page with several frames, and/or other files may count as several Document Requests.

DOLLAR VALUE/ORDER (DVO):  In direct mail, this sum reflects the average monetary size of purchases for each order received, and it is primarily used to evaluate the performance of specific mailing lists. DVO equals the gross revenue divided by the number of orders.

DOMAIN:  An area of protocols, disciplines and cultures. Advertising, Sales Promotion and Public Relations – the 3 Pillars of Marketing Communications -- are three distinct domains, which individually and/or integrally, have their own distinct protocols, cultures and disciplines. Also, domains within domains, such as Publicity as a domain within Public Relations or Direct Response as a domain within Sales Promotion.  Integrated Marketing Communications, the art/science of synchronizing consistent messages strategically across domains and disciplines, may use “institutional advertising” to support a “financial PR objective;” i.e., to keep stockholders vested in the advertiser’s stock.

DOMAIN NAME:  The text name corresponding to the numeric IP address of a computer on the Internet.

DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS): A distributed directory used to translate between IP addresses and domain names.

DOORWAY DOMAIN:  A domain used specifically to rank well in search engines for particular keywords, serving as an entry point through which visitors pass to the main domain.  Doorway Page:  A page made specifically to rank well in search engines for particular keywords, serving as an entry point through which visitors pass to the main content.

DOUBLECLICK:  A dominant provider of multi-channel solutions for online marketers. Its Web-hosted DART suite of advertising solutions is the mainstay of most online planing, management and serving applications, and is a reliable, scalable tool for targeting, serving and analyzing online campaigns. Its pending acquisition by Google is at the center of what many think may be a renaissance of brand-centric display advertising  into online media placing another nail in the coffin of newspapers and other print media which depend on such advertising.

DOUBLING DAY:  The day on which one-half of the responses from a specific promotional effort have been received. When mailing First Class, this is usually 4-6 days (excluding Sundays) from the first day of responses. When mailing Standard mail, this is 8-20 days . If a mailer can be certain when double day occurs, it is then possible to make rapid decisions on the continuation of mail efforts. Erratic delivery reduces the usefulness of double day as a prediction device.

DOUBLE TRUCK:  In Newspaper: An ad that utilizes two facing pages including the gutter. A spread.

DRILL DOWN:  When an online user accesses more and more pages of the Web site, i.e., he or she goes deeper into the content of the site.

DEDUPE (DUP ELIMINATION):  A specific kind of controlled duplication which provides that no matter how many times a name and address is on a list, and how many lists contain that name and address, it will be accepted for mailing only once by that mailer.

DUAL FEED: The use of two or more programming transmissions to ensure programming schedules will be consistent within Eastern, Central and Western time zones.

DUBLIN CORE METADATA:  A rarely used protocol composed of 15 core elements designed to facilitate meta tag submissions from non technical users where meta tags always include the two characters,  "D.C."

DYNAMIC LOGIC:  A leading market research company with software and expertise in measuring and improving marketing effectiveness across a number of online as well as traditional media metrics, domains, and disciplines. The collective syndicated tools of Dynamic Logic provide a matrix of information through which marketers can effectively conduct brand research, market segmentation research, product research, as well as campaign research. Their CrossMedia Research™  focuses on measuring the synergies between different media channels to understand comparative cost effectiveness of individual media formats and combinations of different media in a campaign mix.  Their AdIndex® uses proprietary patent-pending technology to measure the relative impact of online and off line media using traditional media metrics. Their MarketNorms® -- a syndicated database of over 1,200 AdIndex surveys involving 1.4 million subjects -- is a dynamic petri dish of consumers used by many major marketers, publishers, and their agencies to understand what consumers think and do. This database is one of the better ways in which consumer campaigns can be benchmarked, validated, and improved. 

DYNAMIC AD PLACEMENT:  The process by which an ad is inserted into a page in response to a user's request. Dynamic ad placement allows alteration of specific ads placed on a page based on any data available to the placement program. At its simplest, dynamic ad placement allows for multiple ads to be rotated through one or more locations. In more sophisticated examples, the ad placement could be affected by demographic data or usage history of the current user.

DYNAMIC HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE (DHTML):  An extended set of HTML commands which are used by Web designers to create much greater animation and interactivity than HTML.

DYNAMIC ROTATION:  Delivery of ads on a rotating, random basis so that users are exposed to different ads and ads are served in different pages of the site.

ECONOMIC VARIABLES:  The factors and trends by which economies are assessed, measured, and compared; e.g., wealth, income, inflation, productivity, employment, credit, etc.

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI): The computer to computer transmission of information in a standardized format. EDI is used to transmit media contracts, insertions, and invoices between media, agencies and clients. Benefits of EDI protocols are rooted in the time saved by individuals in media, agencies and clients reconciling contracts with orders against performance.

EIGHTY-TWENTY PRINCIPLE:  The Pareto Principle named after Vilfredo Pareto, the 19th Century economist and sociologist. The situation in which a disproportionately small number (e.g., 20%) of staff, products or users generate a disproportionately large amount (e.g., 80%) of a firm's use/profits. As a general concept whose variables may be 10%: 90% or 5%:95%, an application analysis needs to be conducted to determine the the cause. (See Valuation Skew.)

ELASTICITY:  The degree that an economic variable changes in response to a change in another economic variable. Comes from 'elasticity of demand' to determine what effect in response a change in price or offer will create. Those markets that show little change are inelastic; those that vary greatly with price are highly elastic.

EMAIL MARKETING:  Email, ezine, ezine directory, HTML email, opt-in email, pass-along rate, permission marketing, sig file, viral marketing.

ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM:  ERD is a technical specification, a road map that describes what types of data a company must collect, and how to join relational database tables (two or more types of data) to create high level business intelligence.

ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT:  ECM is the management, sharing, and integration of critical business information on demand across all information types to improve productivity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness; e.g., text, images, multi-media, documents, e-mail, web content, e-records, e-documents, e-reports, on demand relevant to time-critical, responsive message research, content development and delivery. 

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP):  ERP software attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments' particular needs.ERP's best hope for demonstrating value is as a sort of battering ram for improving the way your company takes a customer order and processes it into an invoice and revenue—otherwise known as the order fulfillment process. That is why ERP is often referred to as back-office software. It doesn't handle the up-front selling process (although most ERP vendors have recently developed CRM software to do this); rather, ERP takes a customer order and provides a software road map for automating the different steps along the path to fulfilling it.

EXPLICIT BARGAIN:  The "deal" a marketer makes with a potential customer in order to secure the individual's time, attention, or feedback; i.e., the understanding that exists between a prospect and a marketer that provides the opportunity to sell and buy what is being offered.

EXTENDED COMMON LOG FORMAT:  ECLF is a log file format that includes extra fields after the end of the 7th field. ECLF is intended to meet the following requirements:
    * Support for the existing Common Log Format
    * Enhanced session identification
    * Support for profile (user demographic) data
    * Support for advertising measurement
    * Extensibility for future enhancements (transactions, IRC/chat, audio, video, ftp, etc.)

EZINE:  An electronic magazine delivered by Web site or by email.

FAVICON:  A small icon that is used by some browsers to identify a bookmarked Web site. Internet Explorer is the most notable browser to use favicons.

FIDUCIARY:  One to whom power or property is entrusted for the benefit of another. When you trust your best interests to a doctor, lawyer, banker, accountant, or full-service agency, you're hiring a fiduciary.

FILTERS:  A means of narrowing the scope of a report or view by specifying ranges or types of data to include or exclude.

FINANCIAL SYNDICATION (FIN-SYN):  Regulations set by the Federal Communications Commission that once prohibited networks from acquiring a financial interest in production companies and the syndication of programs they produced. These regulations were subsequently repealed as a result of the increased competition between cable and other formats of home entertainment, and it is now common for network produced programming to appear on other networks.

FINGER:  An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. A finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Not all sites allow incoming finger requests.

FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE:  A sometimes insurmountable advantage gained by the first significant company to move into a new market. A relatively new theory espoused by Brian Arthur of the Santa Fe Institute, where increasing returns cause products that are ahead to get and stay further ahead.

FLASH(tm):  Macromedia’s vector-based graphics file format, which allows much interactivity to fit in a relatively small file size to display interactive animations on a Web page. This form of rich media technology is available via a plug-in.

FLOATING ADS:  An ad or ads that appear within the main browser window on top of the Web page's normal content, thereby appearing to "float" over the top of the page.

FOLD:  An online ad or content that is viewable as soon as the Web page arrives. One does not have to scroll down (or sideways) to see it. Since screen resolution can affect what is immediately viewable, it is good to know whether the Web site's audience tends to set their resolution at 640 x 480 pixels or at 800 x 600 (or higher).

FOURTH ESTATE:  The traditional name for the press which refers to its role as the fourth branch of a democratic government wherein the value and dissemination of clear, accurate, precise, deep, broad, relevant, logical and significant information is critical to a well-informed, thinking, and voting electorate.

FRAME RATE: The number of frames of video displayed during a given time. The higher the frame rate, the more high-quality the image will be.

FREQUENCY:  In online advertising, the number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time period. A site can use cookies in order to manage ad frequency.

FREQUENCY (AVERAGE FREQUENCY:)  (F) The average number of impressions which an advertising schedule delivers against each member of the target market reached (R) who are exposed one or more times to the schedule.  Thus, if a schedule achieves 110,000,000 impressions among 55,000,000 different women, its average frequency is 2. STANDARD REACH AND FREQUENCY FORMULAS:   GRP = R X F;  GRP/r = F

FREQUENCY CAP:  Restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement.

FREQUENCY DISCOUNT:  A reduction from a publication’s regular, one-time, or open rate which is granted to an advertiser who places a specified minimum amount of advertising in space within a specified period of time; usually a year or contract period. Volume Discounts are awarded to advertisers who buy a certain minimum number of pages or spots, or who spend up to certain specified dollar amounts.  Frequency Discounts are earned by those who run any advertising in a specified number of issues. Combination Discounts are sometimes given to those who run ads in two or more magazines published by the same company. An advertiser who contracts to run a sufficient number of ads and/or a sufficient amount of space in a magazine or newspaper is billed during the course of the year at the discounted rate.  If a contracted rate is not met for failure to place the contracted number of ads and/or amount of space, the advertiser is charged a Short Rate at the end of the year to cover the deficiency.

FRINGE TIME:  The viewing hours immediately after prime time, and before access time.  Early Fringe is usually defined as 5:00-7:30PM (Eastern and Pacific) and 4:00 - 6:00PM (Central and Mountain).  TV advertising costs during Fringe Time are lower than during Prime Time, but higher than Morning and Early Afternoon.

FULL SERVICE AGENCY:  An agency that handles all disciplines and domains of the marketing communications mix; id est, marketing/media research, campaign planning, production, placement, management and validation process (specifically, advertising, sales promotion, public relations) in a degree sufficient to enable it to integrate without prejudice a comprehensive level of service required to meet its fiducial responsibilities to a client. Online agencies, creative boutiques, art services, direct mail specialists, media buying services, and other kinds of vendors, which don't practice across the full spectrum of communications services, have a built-in prejudice to recommend and sell only those things they do, while full service agencies have no such conflicts of interest and are free to recommend any and all strategies and deliverables they believe are in the best interest of their clients.

FULL-TEXT INDEX:  An index of documents containing every word of every document cataloged.

FUZZY SEARCH:  A search protocol that overlooks misspellings and other inconsistencies.

GROSS IMPRESSIONS (GI):  A measurement of responses from a Web server to a page request from the user browser, which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close as possible to opportunity to see the page by the user. The total number of times an ad is served in a medium or mix of media, including duplications.

GROSS RATING POINTS (GRP):  The percentage indicating the number of listeners to or viewers of a radio or television broadcast. A quantity of exposures to an advertising schedule equal to 1/100 of the size of the advertiser's target market; i.e., Target Rating Points (TRP). Thus, advertisers trying to reach America's 110,000,000 female adults, achieve one rating point for every 110,000 exposures on the media schedule by female adults. GRP: 100 Gross Rating Points; a quantity of exposures to an advertising schedule sufficient to reach every member of the target market once, provided the exposures were evenly distributed; thus, an advertiser trying to reach 110,000,000 gross impressions among women, regardless of how many individual women are exposed one or more times to the schedule.

GUERRILLA MARKETING:  Unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.

HIGH DEFINITION RADIO:  HD Radio is a broadcast technology that transmits digital audio and data in tandem with traditional AM and FM analog radio signals. Listener with HD Radio receivers CD quality without the static, pops and other noises inherent in traditional analog radio.

HEAT:  The pressure brought to bear upon the brand by all the company’s many marketing and selling tactics; Place, Promotion, Product, Price, Packaging. For maximum efficiency in deepening a brand, these tactical pressure points must be precisely aligned so they exert unwavering pressure in the same direction.

HIT:  The request of a file from a Web server. An early, more primitive form of Web interaction that measured the number of clicks made by users. Frequently misunderstood and misused, hit refers not only to the page served, but to all files, links, and graphics offered on that page. A Web page served to viewers with 15 graphics, for instance, represents 16 hits; one for the page and one for each of the 15 graphics. The term is being used less frequently in favor of  Impression. (See Impression and Gross Impressions.)

HOMES USING TELEVISION (HUT):  An A. C. Nielsen measurement for projecting and measuring TV audiences based on "TV Homes," as opposed to People Using Television (PUT).

HYBRID MODEL:  A combination of two or more online marketing payment models.

HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE (HTML):  Hypertext Markup Language.  The coding method used to format documents for the World Wide Web.

IMPLICIT BARGAIN:  The assumed understanding or "deal" that exists between an off-line prospective customer and a mass marketer necessary to secure the individual's time, attention, or feedback in exchange for the opportunity to sell/buy what is being offered.  Because a mass marketer never knows what advertising was seen by whom, the bargain to present and be heard is implied, as opposed to an Explicit Bargain where the linkage between medium, message, customer and the "deal" is known. 

IMPRESSION:   And impression is a messages received. Gross impressions are the total of commercial opportunities scheduled multiplied by the total audience potentially exposed to those opportunities. Also, a single instance of an online advertisement being served or displayed. 

INBOUND LINK:  A link from an outside site to a specific page on another site that brings traffic onto that page. Inbound links are a major component in the way search engine algorithms measure the popularity of any web page.

INCENTIVITIZED TRAFFIC:  Visitors who have received some form of compensation for visiting a site.

INDEX:  A way to average, weight, rank, and catalog percentages among and between entities in a common database; a Web searchable database of Web pages ranked on every search engine.

INFORMERCIAL:  A commercial -- usually a long-form TV commercial program of 30 to 60 minutes or a short-form commercial of 1 to 2 minutes -- that explains a product's or service's features, functions, and benefits in detail, then sells the product directly to viewers who call in directly to place their orders by phone.

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING (IPO):  A company's first sale of stock to the public.  Generally, IPOs are found in smaller, younger companies seeking outside equity capital and public markets for their stock. Investors who purchase such stock must be ready to accept considerable risks in exchange for the potential higher gains. IPOs by investment companies are closed-end funds and usually include underwriting fees that are passed on as a load to investors.

INSERTION ORDER:  A purchase order that communicates instructions for specific ad's in a schedule of insertions between a buyer of advertising media (usually the advertiser or its agency) and the medium. Generally, Media Contracts secure the total amount of space and/or time purchased in a medium, and separate Insertion Orders specify the dates and rotations for each of a series of ads that will fill that space and/or time. In the absence of a media contract, the IO is itself a Media Contract that specifies the dates, sizes, pricing of space and/or time purchased. See Media Contract.

INTEGRATED COMMERCIAL:  The presentation of sales messages for two or more related products within the framework of a single commercial announcement.

INTEGRATED MARKETING:  The integration of a marketing strategy across all media and disciplines within appropriate advertising, sales promotion, and public relations domains so all communications work symbiotically and consistently to optimize net effectiveness and cost efficiencies in the media mix ; as opposed to multiple campaigns working at cross purposes with each other.  It doesn't necessarily follow that an integrated campaign can't segregate product messaging. However, the benefit of integration is to ensure that one hand always knows what the other is doing. For example the automobile industry is famous for marketing campaigns that support corporate "makes" (e.g., Toyota) and individual "models" (e.g., Camry). And, GE offers everything from jet engines to appliances under one corporate identity, integrating individual product campaigns under that single identity while campaigning separately in behalf of products individually.

INTERNET MARKETING UNIT (IMU):  The standard ad unit sizes endorsed by IAB. See iab.net for more information.

INTERNET PACKET EXCHANGE (IPX):  The networking protocol used by Novell NetWare operating system similar to TCP/IP. A datagram protocol used for "connectionless communications." Higher-level protocols, such as SPX and NCP, are used for additional error recovery services.

INTERNET PROMOTION:  Any and all methods through media used to promote a website's ranking on the Internet. These methods can include the use of other media, such as print, television, outdoor, radio, transit to promote and optimize the website's URL ranking.  Also, called website promotion, website marketing.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP):  Internet Service Provider. A company that provides access to the Internet. Before you can connect to the Internet you must first establish an account with an Internet Service provider.

INTRANET:  An internet-like network within an individual organization, based on client/ server technology and browser software.

INVISIBLE WEB:  The portion of the Web not accessible through Web search engines.

JUMP PAGE:  A link to a specific page within a website other than the home page of the site itself.  Jump pages, or landing pages, are used to provide the continuity of  message, as opposed to interrupting it, initiated in other media. They lead directly to those calls to action that initiate conversions of sales as well as to the process of fulfilling that which what has been bought. (See Splash Page)

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI):  Any predetermined combination of analytics, metrics, methods and techniques which assess a defined progress line to "success" as success is defined by the marketer. Beyond standard analytics and metrics of marketing measurement, KPIs are the critical, quantifiable, applied measurement factors -- set within any specific definition of what success is -- that define, monitor and measure progress of a company and its operations. KPIs are any set of metrics, usually expressed in the context of rates, that define success within the scope of a specific set of objectives within a company or of any objective outcomes that affect any of its vested interests. The range of KPIs can be overwhelming when you take into account the different specialties and objectives of separate departments in a given company and the multitude of ways in which data are interpreted. Therefore, it is essential to define KPIs and measure outcomes within specific contextual definitions. Today's analytics solution software now offer "heatmaps" which help search optimizers identify and tune response activity with respect to online copy, visitor buying cycles, KPIs, etc.

KEYWORD:  A word used in designing a web page and in performing a search.  A phrase of words used by search engines to locate and monitor a web page's performance. 

KEYWORD DENSITY:  Keywords as a percentage of indexable text words.

KEYWORD MARKETING:  Putting your message in front of people who are searching using particular key words and key phrases. The use of key words and key phrases to identify subject domains, categories and rankings. Keyword marketing is a critical component in all search engine optimization strategies.

KEYWORD RESEARCH:  The search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

KEYWORD TAG:  A META tag used to help define the primary keywords of a Web page.

KEIRETSU:  A Japanese term describing a group of affiliated companies with collective broad power and reach. A strategic partnership.

KICKER:  A a short lead-in phrase that sets up and precedes the main headline.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM):  A key measurement track for integrating and measuring success in Customer Relationship Management. In marketing, sophisticated business intelligence and other knowledge-intensive processes are fundamental requirements in campaign creation and support. Collaborative processes for knowledge dissemination are rapidly emerging in sales, and e-learning is becoming an essential part of sales team support.

LEADERSHIP:  Management:  A communications process by which one person influences others on a team to understand, accept, and buy into an integral matrix of visionary goals, objectives and strategies, motivating the others to help make what does not yet exist exist. The dominant respect among peers in a given domain for the integral foundational knowledge, experience, critical points of view and strategies envisioned by one individual in the group with respect to defining and resolving critical problems. As with processes for achieving "success" or "satisfaction," leadership extends well-beyond an individual's inherent human "traits." It can be  defined within a general or specific context. While Max DePrix and others emphasize that Leadership is an Art  which can be learned and cultivated for general use across domains and disciplines, every leadership situation has its own inherent requirements and opportunities. The best leader on one team may not be the best for the next. In this sense, "leadership" is best defined and assessed within the specific context of a given domain, situation, and need. It is not uncommon for the people  most engaged with an issue -- in asking the essential questions,  in assessing the alternatives and critical dimensions of a problem  -- to ascend into leadership on the strength and integrity of a well considered point of view. The POV, or "Vision," is the fundamental characteristic that most distinguishes potential leaders from those who follow. However, communicating the point of view and "sharing the vision," not necessarily authoring it, is where leadership is most manifest. From clearly-communicated defined problems and visionary resolutions flows understanding and leadership acceptance. Marketing: A dominant position within a product/service category or niche based on strategic objectives or metrics for dominance such as brand awareness, sales volume, units sold, market share, etc.

LEAD USER:  Earliest, most influential adopters of a company’s products or services. A particularly valuable source of feedback for developing new product concepts and for refining the company’s marketing and communications plans.

LEVERAGING DEMOGRAPHIC MODELS:  Those who buy a product in a product line are generally prime targets for upsell and cross-sell offers. Once the demographic and psychographic makeup of a customer is established, the relevant demographic information can be appended to the customer lists of other products. This provides a qualifying screen for likely upsell candidates. The two-stage process leverages your database modeling to maximize the return on upsell and cross-sell mailings; to avoid “intuitive” and perhaps ineffective screens as well as to avoid the cost of appending information that is not predictive.

LINK:  A hyperlink.

LINK BAIT:  Content, usually editorial content, on a web page that is frequently sensational or unusual enough to draw people's attention to that web page.

LINK BUILDING:  Any number of processes for optimizing relevant website traffic to improve search engine rankings.

LINK POPULARITY:  A measure of the quality and quantity of Web sites that link to a site.

LOG FILE:  A file created by a web or proxy server which contains all of access information regarding the activity on that server.

LOGISTIC REGRESSION:  In Statistics, binomial (or binary) logistic regression is a form of regression which is used when the dependent is a dichotomy and the independents are of any type. Multinomial logistic regression exists to handle the case of dependents with more classes than two. When multiple classes of the dependent variable can be ranked, then ordinal logistic regression is preferred to multinomial logistic regression. Logistic regression can be used to predict a dependent variable on the basis of independents and to determine the percent of variance in the dependent variable explained by the independents; to rank the relative importance of independents; to assess interaction effects; and to understand the impact of covariate control variables. Logistic regression applies maximum likelihood estimation after transforming the dependent into a logit variable (the natural log of the odds of the dependent occurring or not). In this way, logistic regression estimates the probability of a certain event occurring.

LONG TAIL:  On a search engine performance curve, this references the ability of 10% of the key words to generate a mere 10% of the traffic, where most of the traffic can come from an infinite number of less popular and incidental keywords and phrases. In other words, the cume generated from lesser ranking keywords and phrases can often be far greater than the most obvious top ten keywords and phrases. Deep linking Web sites complement this tendency in linked sites by making most of their information and product catalog available to search engines, shopping portals, and affiliate networks to naturally attract this "long tail" of information. 

LOYALTY:  A strategic objective grounded in the recognition that it is more costly to the bottom line to replace a customer than it is to keep that customer. The core objective in all Customer Relationship Marketing. The antithesis to "planned obsolescence" as a strategy to optimize profitability. In the '40s and '60s, some brand marketers designed limited product life cycles into their products anticipating they could have a "second crack" at selling replacement models to those customers when older products gave out. Yet, there was little significance attached to the notion that, because a customer bought from you once, that they might be more inclined to buy from you again. The "market" was considered a pool of replenishable, non-bondable fish. If you didn't hook your customer on the next round, you'd hook someone else's customer. Behind post World War II consumption was an explosion of Baby Boomers, a replacement market born in the '40s and 60s, that most economists thought would assure an ample target for new product features and functions that follow the endless continuum of new technologies and benefits that would evolve in new products, brands, makes, and models. Nobody anticipated the "pill" or that Baby Boomers would be less inclined to continue the rate of procreation necessary to assure ample markets infinitely into the future. Nobody anticipated the impact of the Internet on our ability to track, anticipate and fulfill customer needs sometimes before customers recognized their needs. Nobody anticipated that engineering better made products and cultivating higher levels of customer satisfaction in the buying experience could bring more to the bottom line in repeat business. And, few anticipated that modern marketing (1.0 and 1.5) would buy into the manufacturing concepts for quality control, satisfaction, and best practices for CRM as first espoused by Dr. Ed Deming, Mac Baldridge, and J.D. Powers. As a result of an aging America, new tracking/communication/participation technologies, and a new focus on quality and satisfaction, modern marketing is embracing loyalty as its pivotal objective. The objective of building loyalty bonds with existing customers represents a major shift in the way marketers look at customers; i.e., to looking at the overall profit value of individual customer life cycles, from looking at customer values based on stand alone transactions; to establishing tight, lasting bonds with customers that enable the anticipation and fulfillment of individual customer needs within the relationship, from waiting to be approached by customers about their wants and needs and not caring about a customer's ultimate satisfaction when fulfillment isn't within the marketer's primary domain. As marketing (2.0) evolves towards participatory relationships in bonds bridged by new, interactive CRM media technologies, loyalty strategies are embracing online linking strategies to fulfill customer needs in partnerships with other marketers or affiliated networks.

MAPPING:  National data maps can be provided to target media buying, to drive retail channel decisions, and to increase distribution efficiency. Mapping delivers a national perspective on prospects and customers that is hard to achieve by examining lists of zip codes and counts.  Database modeling provides prospective counts that can be mapped by SCF and viewed along side customer distribution maps to see where untapped reserves of customers have yet to be effectively mined.  Geographic distribution is provided for prospects and customers in three successively abstracted levels of significance. Raw customer and prospect counts are mapped generally to track population distribution to reveal the hot spots in the large metropolitan areas.  Customer and prospect counts are mapped as a percentage of the population to provide an excellent view of market penetration. Penetration is mapped as a standardized Z-score to provide penetration significance by measuring the national distribution of a product's market penetration and pointing up those areas where penetration is significantly higher or lower than the norm.

MARKET CAPITALIZATION:  The total dollar value of all outstanding shares of a company based on the current market price that is used as a measure of company size.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT FUNDS (MDF):  Promotional funds allocated and spent in conjunction with a joint agreement between strategic marketers of branded products and services and their channel partners.

MARKETING:  The core business process that begins with need or opportunity identification and product/service definition, and then proceeds to delineate and manage every element of the development, sales, and delivery of products or services.

MARKETING PLAN:  The part of the business plan outlining the marketing strategy for a product or service. Where a business plan profiles the investment and what is to be done, a marketing plan outlines a strategy for doing it.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS:  Communications that facilitate marketing strategies for the achievement of marketing goals and objectives. “Marcom” works best when it integrates across media, domains and disciplines to build consistency of message(s) while campaigning for clearly-defined long-term as well as short-term strategies and objectives.

MASHUP: The integration or meshing of two or more domains, disciplines, applications, and other forms of content and technology to create something new.  Any website, widget, or web page that mixes content of other sites or sources to create new added values and experiences for web visitors.

MEDIA CONTRACT:  A Purchase Order for the space and/or time which may or may not specify the rotations of different ads or commercials that will be placed in a given medium. Generally, Media Contracts secure the total amount of space and/or time purchased in a medium, and separate Insertion Orders specify the dates and rotations for each of a series of ads that will fill that space and/or time.  See Purchase Order.

MEDIA METRIX: The leading panel-based media service offered by comScore Networks that measures Internet audience ratings and individual panelist surfing histories. 

MEDIA OBJECTS:  Files, other than HTML documents, which can be displayed or executed within HTML documents, or in a stand-alone fashion. Examples currently include GIFs, JPEGs, video, audio, Flash objects (SWF), PDF, Java applets, and other objects which can be viewed through a browser or using a “plug-in” (see plug-in).

MEDIA RATING COUNCIL (MRC):  A non-profit trade association dedicated to assuring valid, reliable and effective syndicated audience research. The MRC performs audits of Internet measurements as well as traditional media measurements.

MERGE/PURGE (DUPLICATE IDENTIFICATION:  The process of merging together two or more lists available on computer tape. This permits the identification of duplicates which may then be handled separately, that is, purged or mailed again as multi-buyers. See Dupe Elimination.

META SEARCH ENGINE:  A search engine that displays results from multiple search engines. A spider that requests information from any number of search engines and databases simultaneously.

META TAG GENERATOR:  A tool that will output META tags based on input page information.

META TAGS:  The hidden text included in the heading of source codes used to "tag" various aspects of Web pages, including page titles, document descriptions, authors, copyrights, key words and other identifiers.

META TAG DESCRIPTOR:  The hidden “code words” used to describe the content of a Web site.  The descriptors are read by Internet search engines and indexing systems to determine which sites are most relevant to search by a given user.

METCALF'S LAW:  The value of a network increases geometrically with the number of people who use it.

METRICS:  Any criteria used in planning, tracking, and measuring campaign performance -- especially, online criteria -- such as increasing traffic, increasing brand awareness, driving sales, sign-ups and conversions, to a destination site.

MICROSITE:  A smaller website -- a cluster of several pages, or "weblet" -- usually hosted within a larger site to support a special focus or designated aspects or features of the primary website. An extended landing page, consisting of a handful of pages, used to promote a time-specific focus or call to action. A landing spot of specific purpose and cohesion within a larger site's marketing "umbrella."

MINISITE:  A small self-contained site, usually within a site, where the landing page acts as a home page and other closed-link pages follow in content and sequence to address a singular topic, area of interest, opportunity, promotion, etc.  A smaller microsite.

MOORE'S LAW:  The speed of computing doubles every 18 months.

MOUSEOVER:  The process by which a user places his/her mouse over a media object, without clicking. The mouse may need to remain still for a specified amount of time to initiate some actions.

MOUSETRAPPING:  The use of browser tricks in an effort to keep a visitor captive at a site, often by disabling the "Back" button or generated repeated pop-up windows.

MPEG:  1) the file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online; 2) standards set by the Motion Picture Exports Group for video media. 

MULTI-CAMERA ANGLE:  An individualized television technology that allows viewers to control camera angles during live events, select which commercials they want to watch, and generally control a selection of choices content producers provide as part of the broadcast. E-commerce and interaction with those commercials is possible. On the back end, servers collect choice information and offer viewers further selections based on those choices.

MULTIPLE REGRESSION:   In data mining the general purpose of multiple regression is to learn more about the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and a dependent or criterion variable. Data Mining is an analytic process designed to explore data in search of consistent patterns and/or systematic relationships between variables, and then to validate the findings by applying the detected patterns to new subsets of data. The ultimate goal of data mining is prediction, and predictive data mining is the most common type of data mining.  The process of data mining consists of three stages: (1) the initial exploration, (2) model building or pattern identification with validation/verification, and (3) deployment (i.e., the application of the model to new data in order to generate predictions). In general, multiple regression allows the researcher to ask (and hopefully answer) the general question "what is the best predictor of ...".

MULTI-SERVICE OPERATORS:  MSO's are multi-format providers of high-speed Internet access; Fibre-optic cable, DSL, T1, etc.  Cable companies that offer a variety of connectivity formats.

NEEDS-BASED DIFFERENTIATION:  The difference between customers based upon needs, as opposed to reasons why they buy what they buy.

NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH:  Television audience research provides a measure of television viewership. Nielsen Ratings determine what the networks and cable channels charge advertisers for commercials. Based upon samplings of viewer diaries and in-set people meters, Nielsen is the most widely accepted source for audience measurement in Television. 

NETWORK EFFECT:  The phenomenon whereby a service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging ever-increasing numbers of adopters.

NEWSGROUP:  An electronic bulletin board devoted to talking about a specific topic and open to everybody. Only a handful of newsgroups permit the posting of advertising. Newsgroups, like some blogs, are a primary source of news and information to news media.

NEWS RADIO:  A radio station programming format based around coverage of world and local news and current affairs.

NICHE MARKETING:  A marketing segmentation strategy where a marketer concentrates on serving one segment of a market segment; ergo, a smaller distinguishable segment that can be uniquely served.

Nth NAMES:  Random names within a database of names used to sample variable objectives in a media campaign; e.g., benchmarking awareness levels for brand identity, product features, functions, benefits, etc. before and after the campaign is launched to determine campaign effectiveness.

OP-ED: An article, column, letter or communication expressing an opinion or point of view for readers in a newspaper that generally appears on the Op-Ed Page opposite the editorial page.

OPTIMIZATION SERVICES:  Those skills, disciplines and processes used by search engine optimization companies to improve the ranking of a site with search engines, including site content, layout, and the strategies that predetermine where site visitors are taken, what they see, and how they interact.

OPT-IN CUSTOMER:  A customer who agrees in advance to receive messages and other forms of branded communications; e.g., people who agree to receive email and snail mail through direct database media and methodologies.

ORGANIC SEARCH OPTIMIZATION:  In SEO, the art of using a range of techniques and strategies that include augmenting HTML code, Web copy, campaign links, and site navigation to improve the "natural" rankings on search engines for targeted topics.

OUTBOUND LINK:  A link to a site outside of your site.

PAGE VIEWS:  A request to load a single HTML page. All Web sites are collections of electronic" pages." Each Web page is an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document that may contain text, images, or media objects. A page can be either static or dynamically generated. Page View refers to the number of individual times a page on a Web site is opened for viewing. If a site has 10 pages, and all pages are opened once,  the site generated 10 page views. 

PAID INCLUSION:  A fee-based listing used by a number of search engines and directories, including Ask, Yahoo, Lycos, and others. Fees are determined a number of ways including cost/URL page to a one-time fee for a directory listing. In offering inclusion within listings, search engines provide better opportunities for marketers to secure better listing results; therefore, rankings. A premium surcharge above the paid inclusion is usually offered that can elevate a marketer's increased exposure even more. The surcharge listing is typically served at the top of the results page above the other paid listings.  This means faster listing times, more access to your listing when changes need to be made, and better reporting overall on those who click on to your site. Sites that buy paid inclusion get a listing in the results database.  Optimization within the results database listing is still needed to create an effective listing.

PAID SEARCH:   An SEO method based on paid search engine sponsorships.  Paid search is generally used in tandem with "organic search" methods to optimize exposure on some search engines such as Google. Other search engines, such as Yahoo Search, are formatted exclusively for paid search. The rates for Paid Search seek their own levels in the open market based on "bid" and "asked" pricing within varying supply and demand. As such, rates tend to opt or price themselves out of the market within short campaign runs.  Paid Search is therefore a short term solution for elevating rankings on search engines.

PAID PLACEMENT:  Text ads that target keyword search results on search engines using programs such as Google's AdWords and Yahoo Search's Precision Match or any Pay-per-Click or Cost-per-Click advertising formats.

PAINTED BULLETIN:  A steel structure, usually 50 foot by 15 foot, upon which the outdoor advertisement is hand painted rather than posted.

PARTICIPATION SPOT:  A commercial aired during the course of a program.

PASSALONG AUDIENCE:  That portion of a publication's total audience other than its Primary Audience.  Passalong Rate:  The percentage of people who pass on a message or file.

PAY PER CALL:  A pay-for-performance advertising format where customer phone calls in response to offers made in other media, including online media, is the basis for media payment. In 2001, less than 250,000 of the 14 million businesses in the U.S. used this format. Many merchants and service providers didn't  have ecommerce-based websites that would enable them to buy click-based online order formats. By 2008, with the auction-based costs of Pay Per Click keywords over extended, with click counts over inflated by as much as 50%, and with conversion rates fixed around 4% of those clicks, there is growing interest and more viability attached to online concepts where advertisers are charged for actual phone calls, orders, and/or other acquisition qualifying scenarios. 

PAY PER CLICK (PPC):  A keyword system for paying for fixed positions within a search engine based upon bid/asked pricing on key words and phrases.. The cost of maintaining fixed positions is determined by what the competition is willing to pay for the key words and phrases. PPC campaigns are generally short term focused. Unlike traditional optimization strategies, PPC also carries a risk that your competitors could intentionally click onto your listing to run up your costs and force you out.

PAY PER CLICK SEARCH ENGINE (PPCSE):  A search engine where results are ranked according to the bid amount and advertisers are charged only when a searcher clicks on the search listing.

PAY PER IMPRESSION (PPI):  An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay based on how many users were served their ads.

PAY PER INQUIRY ADVERTISING:  Direct response advertising on cable and other media, where media time or space is paid for based upon the inquiries generated rather than upon the prevailing rates for time or space in the market.

PAY PER LEAD (PPL):  An online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying leads.

PAY PER SALE (PPS):  An online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying sales.

PAYMENT THRESHOLD:  The minimum accumulated commission an affiliate must earn to trigger payment from an affiliate program.

PAY PER VIEW (PPV):  On-demand movies and other special programming that cable subscribers can request in exchange for a fee supplemental to their normal monthly cable subscription fees.

PENETRATION ANALYSIS:   Standard Industrial Classification, business size, and geographic region will pinpoint statistically significant differences between your current customer makeup and the universe of potential customers. The differences provide instant insight into the opportunities, obstacles, and strategies needed to compete. Market Penetration is mapped as a standardized Z-score.  These maps provide penetration significance by measuring the national distribution of a product's market penetration and pointing up those areas where penetration is significantly higher or lower than the norm. 

PERFORMANCE PRICING MODEL:  An advertising model in which advertisers pay based on a set of agreed upon performance criteria, such as a percentage of online revenues or delivery of new sales leads. 

PERMISSION MARKETING:  When individuals give a company their permission to solicit their business.

PIGGYBACKING:  The practice of combining separate commercials for unrelated products made by the same advertiser within a single time of period, usually 60 seconds in length; :30/:30, :40/:20, etc.

PLUG-IN:  A program application that can easily be installed and used as part of a Web browser. Once installed, plug-in applications are recognized by the browser and their function integrated into the main HTML file being presented.

PODCAST:  An mp3 digital audio blog that is generally updated daily or weekly. A subscriber requested audio file produced in the form of a radio show that is automatically uploaded to a computer, PDA,  iPod or any other form of computer. Distinguishable from a Vodcast, a blog post in video form, which adds video to the equation.

PORTAL:  A site featuring commonly used services providing an entry point and frequent gateway to the Web -- "Web portal" -- or a niche topic -- "vertical portal."

POP-UNDER AD:  An ad that displays in a new browser window behind the current browser window. The pop-under ad is not seen until the top window is closed, moved, or minimized.

POP-UP AD:  An ad that displays in a new browser window over content already on-screen, which is similar to a daughter window, but without an associated banner.

POSITIONING:  The unique space occupied by a product or service within the competitive landscape or Brandscape. The strongest positions are embodiments of the company’s capabilities and assets, and they pre-empt attempted entry by others.  The position is often expressed in the form of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), a clear and concise statement that serves as a reference for advertising themes, packaging copy, promotions, and other marketing communications.

POSTER PANEL:  A surface on which outdoor advertisements are mounted.  The standard panel measures 25 foot by 12 foot, and is made of steel with a wood, fiberglass, or metal molding around its outer edges.

PRECISION:  The percentage of match between lists sought and lists found in a search. 

PREDICTIVE PURCHASE MODELS:  The same techniques used to pick clones from Polk's national database can also be used to predict future purchases. Appended demographics used to predict buyers and non-buyers from any other list, including product-by-product predictions from within your house list, can be used to predict specific purchases.  Multiple regression separates the wheat from the chaff unlike any other selection criteria you may have used before. It predicts, individually and with statistical confidence, just who will buy and who will not, instead of simply guesstimating who may be a good prospect based upon fuzzy intuitive similarities.

PRE-EMPTION:  The replacement of scheduled programs and/or commercials with special broadcasts frequently of a public service nature.

PREROLL:  Placement of an online video ad where the video ad precedes the program content.

PRIMARY AUDIENCE:  That portion of a publication's total audience which encompasses the subscriber or newsstand purchaser and others who are provided access to it on a passalong basis.

PRIME TIME:  Those hours during which television usage is highest.  Prime time is usually defined as 8:00-11:00PM -- Eastern and Pacific Standard Times -- and 7:00 - 10:00PM -- Central and Mountain Standard Times.  Advertising costs are highest during prime time.

PRIVATE LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE (PLI):  A partnership of CEOs from 15 corporations and 9 business associations using research to create a climate of trust that will accelerate acceptance of the Internet and the emerging Information Economy, both online and offline, as a safe and secure marketplace. 

PRODUCT LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT (PLM):  Managing the process products go through from introduction and growth to maturation and decline.

PROFILING: The tracking of information relevant to patterns of consumer interest through online movements -- legally traced without any need for personal information -- that provides strategic insights on what and how content is being browsed, searched and accessed; the path or click-stream of online data.

PROGRAM COVERAGE:  The percent of U.S. homes capable of viewing a network television program by virtue of its being telecast on stations which their sets can receive.

PROMOTIONAL DOMAINS:  Alternative domains, generally on the SEO provider's server, that are integrated with the main domain so that spiders will visit. These secondary

PROXY CHACHING:  The storing of downloaded pages by a proxy server A proxy server works as a receptacle of frequently requested files on the Internet, so that several users may download the same object while using less bandwidth. As a result, Web servers may undercount the number of times a page or advertisement has been viewed.

PROXY SERVER:  A proxy server is a server that acts as a "go-between"between an organization and the Internet. They serve to improve performance by filling a request directly rather than forwarding the user to the Internet if the necessary information is available. Proxy server also serve to block unauthorized activity - outgoing or incoming (referred to as "firewalls").

PR SCULPTING:  Also called "siloing," PageRank Sculpting is the highly-debated issue and SEO practice of attempting to manipulate Google PageRank within websites to pass link values or "link juice" onto site rankings.

PULL PROMOTION:  Pull promotion, in contrast to Push promotion, addresses the customer directly with a view to getting them to demand the product, and hence “pull” it down through the distribution chain. It focuses on advertising and above the line activities. See Push Promotion.

PUSH PROMOTION:  Push promotion relies on the next link in the distribution chain - e.g. a wholesaler or retailer - to “push” out products to the customer. It revolves around sales promotions - such as price reductions and point of sale displays - and other below the line activities. See also 'Sales Promotion'

PUSH ADVERTISING:  Pro-active, partial screen, dynamic advertisement which comes in various formats.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:  A method of Advertising information gathering that emphasizes the quality of meanings behind consumer perceptions and attitudes; e.g., in depth interviews and focus groups.

QUALITY CONTROL:  An outgoing analysis of operations to verify goods or services meet specified standards, or to better answer customer and/or user complaints.

QUALITY SCORE:  A score determined by search engines based on an ad's click through rate that factors in the relevant significance of the landing page that includes its historical keyword performance as well as other components and attributes; ie, considerations that affect bid requirements.

QUERY:  A search of key words on search engine indices.

QUERY-BY-EXAMPLE:  A search of similarities and proximity between words, combinations of words, ideas, concepts and core contexts among Web sites.

QSR:  Quality System Regulation.

RADIO DAYTIME:  The weekday hours of 10:00AM to 3:00 PM; during which larger concentrations of female listeners were traditionally alone at home; which is not necessarily the case in markets with high concentrations of double income households.

RADIO DRIVE TIME:  The normal weekday commuting hours of 7:00-9:00AM and 4:00 - 7:30PM, at which times the use of automobile AM/FM radios rises sharply.  Radio advertisers who which to reach commuters are often advised to concentrate their announcements in drive time.

RANKING:  A list of weighted entities that prioritizes those entities. In traditional marketing, media rankings prioritize target market access among potential media alternatives.  In SEM, online rankings translate directly to visibility; they  prioritize Web site listings on and among search engines. A 1 ranking on a search engine list ensures exponentially better visibility than a 50 ranking on that same search engine list.

RATING:  The percent of the advertiser's target market which is exposed to a single advertising vehicle, such as 60 Minutes, Woman's Day, or the Wall St. Journal.

RATING POINT:  A quantity of exposures to an advertising schedule equal to 1/100 of the size of the advertiser's target market; i.e., TRP. Thus, advertisers trying to reach America's 110,000,000 female adults, achieve one rating point for every 110,000 exposures on the media schedule by female adults. GRP: 100 Gross Rating Points; a quantity of exposures to an advertising schedule sufficient to reach every member of the target market once, provided the exposures were evenly distributed; thus, an advertiser trying to reach 110,000,000 gross impressions among women, regardless of how many individual women are exposed one or more times to the schedule.

REACH, NET REACH, UNDUPLICATED AUDIENCE (R):  The percent of an advertiser's target market which is exposed one or more times to the media schedule.  Thus, an advertiser trying to reach 110,000,000 women achieves a reach of 55 if 55,000,000 women are exposed one or more times to his schedule.  ONLINE REACH: 1) unique users that visited the site over the course of the reporting period, expressed as a percent of the universe for the demographic category; also called unduplicated audience; 2) the total number of unique users who will be served a given ad. STANDARD REACH AND FREQUENCY FORMULAS:   GRP = R X F;  GRP/r = F

READERSHIP:  Exposure to any portion of a publication's contents. The total number of people exposed to a single issue of a magazine or newspaper, including its Primary Audience and its Passalong Audience; that publication's total audience or, assuming the issue in question is broadly representative, its average-issue audience.

READING DAYS, ISSUE EXPOSURES:  A publication's total audience multiplied by the average number of days on which each member of the audience is exposed to some portion of the publication's contents.  Back covers of magazines are often evaluated in terms of reading days on the supposition that when someone reads or looks into any portion of a magazine, he is likely to be exposed to the message which appears on that magazine's back cover.

REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION (RSS):  RSS is a standard whose specific purpose is delivering updates to web-based content. Using the standard, webmasters provide headlines and fresh content in a succinct manner. On the receiving end, web customers use RSS readers and news aggregators to collect and monitor their favorite feeds in one centralized program or location. RSS feeds were initially used by news services to provide news room editors with continual updates on breaking stories. Today the standard, also known as Rich Site Summary, is used by a range of organizations whose time-critical information is important to their markets and constituencies. 

REAL-TIME MARKETING:  Regis McKenna's term for Relationship Marketing (CRM).

RECENCY:  The proximity between a customer's recent actions, interests and purchase history and a new relevant offer. Recency and relevance are critical to formulations of bounce back offers in all online as well as off line direct response scenarios, because recent purchase history is by far the best indicator of future purchase history.  A chronological tracking of customer interests and purchases enables marketers to tailor the offers to customer needs when and where those needs occur.

RECIPROCAL LINKS:  Links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.

RECOMMENDERS:  Any ecommerce system that uses data mining technology to discover insights into customer needs and make recommendations on those discoveries.  Today's leading recommender algorithms use a customer's online behavior, statistical analysis and artificial intelligence to establish implicit and explicit links between items, needs and sources in order to make calculated real time judgments for customers.

REFERRAL LINK:  The referring page, or referral link is a place from which the user clicked to get to the current page. In other words, since a hyperlink connects one URL to another, in clicking on a link the browser moves from the referring URL to the destination URL. Also known as source of a visit.

REGIONAL EDITION:  Those copies of a magazine which are distributed within a predetermined geographic area, such as the New England States, or Metro Los Angles.  An advertiser whose product is not sold nationally and who wishes to advertise in magazines will probably find it advantageous to run in regional and/or Metro (city) editions that correspond to the area within which the product is distributed.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS:  A statistical procedure for determining the relationship between a random variable and corresponding values of one or more independent variables. The goal of regression analysis is to determine the values of parameters for a function that cause the function to best fit a set of data observations that you provide. Regression analysis generates predictive weights for the demographic and psychographic variables that are used to select "clones" from the balance of the national database. A report detailing the makeup of your customer base can then be used further to shape offers, copy, and design, as well as to select markets and customize market strategies. Factor Analysis of  test-validated response data can then provide more qualified hypotheses upon which to mine other customer bases for other products and services in a related product line.

RELEVANCY:  The relationship between recent history and future probabilities. In contextual marketing, the common denominator between a customer's recent history of actions and/or interests and their probable future actions and/or interests. Recency and relevance are critical to formulations of bounce back offers in all online as well as off line direct response scenarios, because recent purchase history is by far the best indicator of probable future purchase history. 

REPORT UNITS:  A Reporting Unit is a separate, individual account that allows a user to view a specific site on a network or a segment of a single web site within an enterprise. This segment can be a specific business unit, a destination or site section.

RESIDUALS:  A use fee paid to performers for their contributions to a radio or TV commercial when it is aired.  Residuals are overseen and governed by AFTRA, SAG, and other actors' unions.  Residuals are paid based upon designated talent cycles or periods of use time (usually 13 weeks). When a commercial airs beyond one talent cycle into a new talent cycle, additional payment is required. Residuals are sometimes covered in initial production costs as a "buyout,"  which, depending on a commercial's reuse, may or may not be beneficial to all concerned.

RETURN DAYS:  The number of days an affiliate can earn a commission on a conversion-to-sale or conversion-to-lead in exchange for a referred visitor.

RESPONSE RATE:  A general and universal metric for measuring outcomes from investment.  Yet, as opposed to measuring simply gross volume of response on marketing investments of the past, today's online response rates are refined beyond click-through rates and cost/purchases to profitability/purchases across customer lifecyles in relationship to customer online histories. Customer relationships with brands and companies evolve with time. So, today's response rates measure and take into consideration each customer's propensity for churn before responding to calls to action as well as other habitual analytics and insights of customer behavior. As opposed to managing toward a concept of "zero churn," today's savvy CRM marketer understands a customer's likely sweet spot changes and is arguably best detected through performance curves based on norms of gender, age, income, geography, etc. The short term tracking of customers' habits incrementally makes it possible to better project their potential profitability to the marketer over the long term.

RICH INTERNET APPLICATION (RIA):  State-of-art cross-platform development tools (notably those advanced by Macromedia) which use a proprietary client, as opposed to a Web browser, as their front end for server-side software programming. In RIA user interface, visitor events are not connected to page views, which changes the way performance data is collected, measured and analyzed. 

RICH MEDIA:  Any new media format that offers an enhanced experience relative to older, mainstream, ordinary formats. An infinitely growing  range of digital interactive elements -- from dynamic HTML and interactive Flash to Streaming Video -- that can be downloaded or embedded on a web page that makes it possible to create, produce and exhibit dynamic motion. Motion programs may be designed to interact over time or instantly in direct response to a user's long-term contextual or momentary interests. 

RICH SITE SUMMARY (RSS):  See Really Simple Syndication.

ROADBLOCK:  A strategy of scheduling commercials in simultaneous time slots across a selection of different stations to maximize reach.

RUN OF NETWORK (RON):  The scheduling of Internet advertising whereby an ad network positions ads across the sites it represents at its own discretion as available inventory permits. The advertiser usually forgoes premium positioning in exchange for more advertising weight at a lower CPM.

RUN OF PRESS (ROP):  Advertising that appears in the newspaper itself, as opposed to various kinds of preprinted inserts and tabloids that are sometimes inserted in the fold of a newspaper.

RUN OF SITE (ROS):  The scheduling of Internet advertising whereby ads run across an entire site, often at a lower cost to the advertiser than the purchase of specific site sub-sections.  Run Of Network (RON): Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.

SAMPLE:  A subset of a universe whose properties are studied to gain information about that universe.

SATELLITE:  A station which relays TV signals to areas located outside the usual coverage area of the parent station.  Satellites are located principally in the thinly populated Rocky Mountain and Great Plains States.

SCORE: Any analytical protocol created to affect and measure marketing objectives.

SCOTCH DOUBLE TRUCK:  A double truck ad that doesn't completely use the space in two facing pages, where the gutter is utilized but at least one column of text borders both sides and/or above the ad.

SCF:  Survey of Consumer Finances.

SECONDARY AUDIO PROGRAM (SAP):  An NTSC audio channel used for auxiliary transmission, such as foreign language broadcasting or teletext.

SEARCH ENGINE ALGORITHM (SEA):  A set of governing rules by which organic crawler-based search engines determine relevancy and recency of information when confronted with millions of Web pages to sort through that are triggered by the keywords and phrases provided for a search. Exactly how any given search engine algorithm is programmed is a closely-held trade secret. No search provides the same collection of Web pages or criteria to search through. Yet all SEA's follow a general set of rules based upon the location and frequency of keywords on a Web page. 

Some basic search rules are:  Pages with keywords appearing in the HTML title tag are assumed to be more relevant. Keywords that appear nearer the top of a page -- such as a headline or the first few paragraphs -- are assumed to be more relevant to the topic. The frequency of keywords is another key component of SEA programming. A search engine will factor analyze how often keywords appear in relation to other words on a Web page. Pages where words appear together more frequently are often deemed more relevant than other pages.  Each search engine guards its search algorithm much as a chef guards a unique recipe. Some recipes index more pages than others. Some index content more deeply. Most will penalize or discard pages from an index when they detect search engine manipulation. 

Today's crawler technology uses agent-activated database decision models that learn from prior data history.  Webmasters constantly rewrite Web pages to outsmart the algorithms they have targeted. Some go to great lengths to "reverse engineer" individual SEAs.  To counter this attempt at manipulation, search engine programmers  will use "off-the-page" ranking criteria. For example, link analysis provides an insight of how Web pages link to each other, the content of an individual page -- whether it is likely to be as significant as others in the ranking mix -- and screen out attempts by manipulators to build "artificial links" or "artificial keyword frequencies."  Click through measurement is another off page method by which search engines can keep track of results. If a page garners a high ranking but has a low click through, the search engine programmer can gradually drop it and promote lower-ranking pages that actually do reflect higher levels of interest. These kinds of off-the-page ranking criteria can quickly spot artificial links designed to manipulate a search engine algorithm.

SEARCH ADVERTISING:  Paid search placement of ads where an advertiser bids for the chance to have their ad displayed when any user searches for a given keyword or phrase. Usually featured above and to the right of the "organic" search results, most search ads are sold on a PPC basis, where advertisers pay only when users click on the ad or text link.

SEARCH ENGINE:  A program that helps Web users find information on the Internet. The method for finding this information is usually done by maintaining an index of Web resources that can be queried for the keywords or concepts entered by the user.  AdBright, AskJeeves, Commission Junction, ePilot, Enhance Interactive, FastClick, Google, InfoSpace, Intermix Media, LookSmart, Overture, Venadare Group, Yahoo, and 24/7 Media are examples of such programs.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM):  Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is now the undisputed gateway between the world and any website. In online marketing, all techniques and strategies used to lead visitors from search engines to web sites. Effective SEM includes a range of applications ranging from strategic natural or "organic" optimization to pay per click advertising, from paid inclusion management to shopping feed management, leveraged public relations search and publicity, and other tracking and analysis that improves website visibility and relevance to enhance visitor experience, optimize conversions to sale and, ultimately, the campaign's return on investment.

SEARCH ENGINE PLACEMENT:  In the general sense, it is synonymous with the process of search engine optimization and positioning used to guide visitors to sites relevant to their search criteria and to get rankings for a website. In a specific sense, it is the position of a site within a search engine's directory.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO):  SEO is the applied art/science of getting your website positioned higher on search engine lists. Its main goal is the placement of a site for optimum traffic and exposure. Organic or natural optimization is a body of learned search techniques that come from applying a thorough understanding of crawler technology with hands-on experience. Natural optimization is free for the taking.  There are also paid optimization approaches that affect rankings, but they are considered almost always temporary at best.

SEARCH ENGINE STRATEGIES (SES):   An approach or combination of methods used to help improve the rankings of a specific website.  SES strategies include a set of techniques that can include optimizing html code, paid inclusion, doorway pages, cloaking, escription tag, doorway page, doorway domain, invisible Web, keyword, keyword density, keyword research, keywords tag, link popularity, link text, log file, manual submission, meta tag generator, meta tags, pay per click search engine, search engine optimization, search engine submission, search spy, title tag, top 10, URL, volunteer directory. 

SEARCH ENGINE RANKING REPORT:   A monthly, weekly or daily documented report of comparative rankings for key words and key phrases on search engines that tracks the progress of a search engine optimization campaign in progress.

SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS PAGES (SERPS): The page searchers get after entering queries which lists a number of web pages relevant in context to the searcher's query.  Increasingly these, what are becoming blended reports, provide searchers with an array of performance comparisons relating to images, videos, and keywords from specialized databases in their competing niches.

SEARCH ENGINE SPAM:  Excessive manipulation to influence search engine rankings, often for pages which contain little or no relevant content.

SERVER CENTRIC MEASUREMENT:  Audience measurement derived from server logs.

SERVER INITIATED AD IMPRESSION:  One of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two methods - server-initiated and client-initiated. Server-initiated ad counting uses the publisher’s Web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content. For organizations using a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher's ad server or the Web content server, or later in the process. See client-initiated ad impression.

SERVER PULL:  A process whereby a user's browser maintains an automated or customized connection or profile with a Web server. The browser usually sets up a unique request that is recorded and stored electronically for future reference. Examples are: requests for the automated delivery of e-mail newsletters, the request for Web content based on a specific search criteria determined by the user, or setting up a personalized Web page that customizes the information delivered to the user based on pre-determined self selections.

SERVICE ADVERTISING PROTOCOL (SAP):  A NetWare protocol used to identify the services and addresses of servers attached to a network used to update information in a router known as the Server Information Table. SAP makes the process of adding and removing services on an IPX internetwork dynamic.

SERVER PUSH:  A process whereby a server maintains an open connection with a browser after the initial request for a page. Through this open connection the server continues to provide updated pages and content even though the visitor has made no further direct requests for such information.

SERVICE:  A level of accountability and commitment. "Service isn't always easy to define, but it easy to recognize . . . especially, when you're not getting it." Also, skill sets needed to provide a specific benefit. A Full Service marketing services agency provides a full range of services in all the primary domains of marketing communications. In its capacity as fiduciary, its "services" are only one aspect of service; the other is its level of commitment.

SFA:  Sales Force Automation.

SHARE:  The number of persons who listened to a radio or TV station during a specific time period expressed as a percentage of people who listened to radio or TV during that time period in the market.

SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE (SMS):  Service technologies that transmit short text messages of 160 alphanumeric characters or less to and from mobile phones, faxes, and IP addresses.  Point-to-point delivery of SMS is facilitated through a Short Message Service Center (SMSC).

SHOWING:  The number of posters or painted bulletins required to achieve a desired level of coverage within a market. A #100 showing (or 100 GRP’s) is made available to advertisers who desire intensive coverage of most major streets and highways during the course of a month. Advertisers willing to settle for lower levels of reach and frequency of exposure may buy the less expensive #75, #50, or #25 showings.

SIG FILE:  A short block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information about them.

SIMMONS MARKET RESEARCH BUREAU (SMRB):  The leading syndicated research service for American consumer products/brands and behavior for over 50 years. Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS) profiles 25,000 adults in a single cross-cultural database. In association with other syndicated research providers, it is the primary tool for integral media planning.

SITE CENTRIC MEASUREMENT:  Audience measurement derived from a Web site's own server logs. 

SIX SIGMA:  A measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.It describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect. 

SKINS:  Customized and interchangeable sets of graphics, which allow Internet users to continually change the look of their desktops or browsers, without changing their settings or functionality. Skins are a type of marketing tool.

SKYPE:  A shared cross-platform peer-to-peer software program used to make free local and international computer to computer and computer to telephone calls. An abbreviation of geekdom's original term for the technology, "Skyper," which combined the word "Sky" with peer-to-peer. All other internet phone systems use client-server configurations to distribute their phone traffic. Skype is unique in that it is the only Internet phone system using peer-to-peer distribution. The Skype software technology was registered initially in 2003, by Niklas Zenstrom and Janus Fris of Luxemburg, remarkable in that the company was acquired by Google less than three years later for over $3 billion.

SKYSCRAPER AD:  An online ad significantly taller than the 120x240 vertical banner.

SOCIAL NETWORK:  Any sociological structure consisting of individuals and/or organizations that are bonded together by one or a number of types of interdependency which may include, values, visions, ideas, concepts, financial interests, friendships, sex, etc.  A category of websites based on user-generated participation such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc. Analysis of Social Networks is centered around the relationship of "nodes" (the players) and the social ties that bind them. Research indicates social networks operate on many concurrent levels; from individuals and families to institutions to nations. Social Networks are essential in the processes of communicating issues, building consensus, resolving problems and in facilitating the ways organizations and individuals fulfill their social needs. "Networking" is the social process by which individuals and organizations succeed in achieving their needs. Brand marketing is optimized when marketers understand where node interdependencies and their brand's relationship to such interdependencies, lie. Providing  identity and support to a matrix of social needs looking for consensus and cohesion is what a brand does best. Thus, researching and analyzing social networks is a fundamental tactical path to effective viral marketing. In this context, brand advertising is no longer a one way proposition. It is participatory by consent of the social network. The care and feeding of simulated environments and virtual worlds with mnemonic entities that define identities and facilitate social cohesion among individuals and organizations in our shrinking global community is the leading edge of branding, and therefore, of brand advertising.

SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS):  A vendor distribution model where application software services are made available to users over an online network. A business process outsourcing (BPO) model for Web-based software delivery as opposed to earlier corporate-owned mainframe models. SaaS provides software on demand without the costs associated with vertical main-frame ownership and operation models, because software companies assume the primary responsibility for competing to provide leading-edge applications. By applying economies of scale to the software service process, service providers offer better, less costly and more reliable software applications to most enterprises than can be attained internally.

SOURCE CODE:  Identifying items used on reply devices to identify the mailing list or other source from which the address was obtained. (2) A structure of letters and numbers used to classify characteristics of an address on a list.

SPADEA:  In newspapers: a single page folded vertically that wraps around the spine of a section but which does not completely cover the front and back pages.

SPIDER:  A software program that downloads Web pages following their links to discover all pages with the purpose of indexing them for a search engine. Spiders are often used for a variety of research and analysis specific to the use and effectiveness of language.

SPILL-IN:  Exposure by residents of one geographically definable television market, such as Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, to the stations of an adjoining market, such as Des Moines.

SPILL-OUT:  Viewers attracted by the television stations of one market, such as Des Moines, in neighboring markets, such as Cedar Rapids-Waterloo.  Spill-in and spill-out express the same viewing condition in opposite ways.  In planning a spot TV schedule, an advertiser should take cognizance of the existence of spill-in within the geographic area he wishes to cover, so that his campaign will achieve the desired rating point levels in each individual market.

SPLASH PAGE:  A branding page before the home page of a Web site.  Or, a branding page on a Web site other than the home page, that jumps or lands on a brand or trade name other than that displayed on the home page. (See Jump Page)

SPLIT RUN:  The purchase of a publication's National Edition, but insertion of different ads within various portions of its circulation; an A/B SPLIT that places two versions of an ad evenly within the circulation; a FULL RUN SPLIT that places two versions of the same ad split equally within the circulation, usually for testing purposes;  a GEOGRAPHIC SPLIT that places one version of an ad in a Geographic Edition (generally for purposes of distribution relevant to that area) with the balance placed in the remaining circulation of that issue's National Edition.

SPOT ADVERTISING:  The purchase of commercial time on local radio or television stations, without regard to their affiliation with any of the national broadcasting networks.  An advertiser whose product is not sold nationally, and who wishes to advertise it on radio or TV will probably find it necessary to buy spot schedules on individual stations whose audiences reside in areas where the product is distributed.

STRUCTURED QUERY LANGUAGE (SQL):  A standardized query language for data management systems that enables operation of a data management system from a client.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (SCM):  The active management of the entire supply chain from supplier to customer.

SPONSORSHIP:  Packaged advertising that hosts or co-hosts an event, program, or Web site. Advertising that seeks to establish a deeper association and integration between an advertiser and Web publisher, often involving coordinated beyond-the-banner placements.

STAKEHOLDER:  Individuals, groups, and companies that have an emotional or economic stake in the health, well-being, and success of a brand and the brand-producing firm.

STICKY APPLICATION:  An area in a Web site designed to interact with customers, capture data, assess, anticipate and meet individual customer needs. Done well, the "application" becomes "sticky" as customers gain a stake in the service and grow reluctant to take their business elsewhere.

STICKINESS:  The amount of time spent at a Web site or Web page over a given time period.

STRATEGIC ATTRACTORS:  Elements that the deep gravity well super site uses to induce a stakeholder to form progressively more intimate, trusted relationships and to reward their contributions.  They include a fun user-interface, personalized information, results on demand, community and kinship, and take on a special form at each layer.

STRATEGY:  A dynamic plan born of market conditions that is created by management to guide the business process and the coordination of individual tactical elements. Overall planning and conduct of business to result in long-term benefit to the company’s stakeholders. The best strategies are clear, actionable, logical frameworks for tactical decision-making.

STREAMING:  1) technology that permits continuous audio and video delivered to a computer from a remote Web site; 2) an Internet data transfer technique that allows the user to see and hear audio and video files. The host or source compresses, then "streams" small packets of information over the Internet to the user, who can access the content as it is received.

STRIPPING:  The scheduling of syndicated programs at the same time, every day of the week; as opposed to checkerboarding, the usual method of scheduling programs on prime time.

SUMMARY LEAD: The initial paragraph in news reporting that contains the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of a story that follows. The "nut.:

SUPERSTITIAL AD:  A trademarked name for an interstitial ad product provided by Unicast, a New York-based, rich media company. The distinguishing feature of the Superstitial ad is that it  loads 'behind' a web site, which means a user doesn't see the ad until it's totally downloaded and ready to run.

SURROUND SESSION:  An advertising sequence of impressions in which a visitor receives ads from one advertiser from a number of directions throughout an entire site visit.

SURVEY OF CONSUMER FINANCES:  Conducted by the Federal Reserve,  the SCF is a triennial survey and index of the balance sheet, pension, income and other demographic characteristics of U.S. families. It oversamples high income because that's where the wealth is. The Survey also gathers information on the use of financial institutions.

SWEEPS:  Rating periods (typically February, May, July and November) when Nielsen Media Research measures audiences. (See Nielsen Media Research).

SWOT ANALYSIS: Analysis that explores the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing a company and its products and services.. The report summarizing a Brand Audit that compares such entities across a competing "Brandscape," and/or which adjusts marketing strategy in light of such findings.

SYNDICATE:  An association that buys and sells stories, editorials, columns, games, features, cartoons and other content for use by media.

SYNDICATION:  The packaging of a radio or television program for sale on a local market basis.  Many successful network television programs of past years are syndicated to individual stations throughout the US; i.e., Star Trek, I Love Lucy, Cheers, and Seinfeld.

TALK RADIO:  A radio station programming format based around radio personalities and discussions with listeners and on-air interviews with others relevant to current affairs.

TARGET MARKET:  The people who the advertiser is trying to reach with his sales message. These people may be defined as the "universe" of men, women or total adults in the United States, or limited in terms of demographics (women 18-49, men 18-34, who earn $50,000+; mothers of children under 12; etc), or product behavior (online software buyers; female household heads who buy two or more jars of mayonnaise per month, etc).

TARGET RATING POINTS (TRP):  The percentage indicating the number of listeners to or viewers of a radio or television broadcast that reach a defined target audience.

TENT POLE:  A TV program whose attraction is of sufficient strength to retain a network audience throughout the evening.

TEXT LINK EXCHANGE:  A network where participating sites display text ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.

TITLE TAG:  The most critical component of search engine optimization, the title tag is both the compelling key word, phrase or sentence and the hyperlink that takes visitors to a site from a search engine's results pages (SERPs).

TOP TEN:  The top ten search engine results for a particular search term.

TOTAL AUDIENCE:  The number of homes exposed to a television program for five or more minutes regardless of the program's length.

TOTAL AUDIENCE PLAN (TAP):  A packaged plan of radio spots divided over day parts, designed to deliver a station's total audience.

TRICK BANNER:  A banner ad that attempts to trick people into clicking, often by imitating an operating system message.

TV HOME:  A household containing one or more television receivers, not including CATV or cable TV. Virtually 100% of households in the U.S. qualify as TV Homes.  Ratings of television programs are normally calculated in terms of the universe of TV Homes rather than total homes; Homes Using Television (HUT).

TRANSACTIONAL MARKETING:  Any direct marketing or sales strategy and body of tactics that focuses on the immediate sale or customer conversion, generally at the expense of developing potential customer relationships. The transactional focus usually carries a lower cost/sale but ignores the potentially greater lifetime value of the customer over the long haul.

TRANSITIONAL AD:  An ad that is displayed between Web pages. In other words, the user sees an advertisement as he/she navigates between page ‘a’ and page ‘b.’ Also known as an interstitial.

TRANSITIONAL POP UP:  An ad that pops up in a separate ad window between content pages.

TRIGGER:  A command from the host server that notifies the viewer's set-top box that interactive content is available at this point. The viewer is notified about the available interactive content via an icon or clickable text. Once clicked by using the remote control, the trigger disappears and more content or a new interface appears on the TV screen.

TWO TIER AFFILIATE PROGRAM:  An affiliate program structure whereby affiliates earn commissions on their conversions as well as conversions of webmasters they refer to the program.

UNQUALIFIED USAGE:  Any Web server requests which were not fully delivered, or which delivered an error (for example, File Not Found, or Permission Denied). In addition, usage which evidence suggests has been delivered to a non-human (for example a spider or hit-bot) is unqualified. I/PRO removes all unqualified activity from its audited reports.

UNIVERSAL SEARCH:  A blended or federated search results report that pulls data from multiple databases, which sometimes include results on images, maps, video, product information, related news, as well as keywords and phrases.

UP SELLING:  Selling upgrades, add-ons, or enhancements to a particular product or service which has already been sold.

USER APPLICATION VIDEO (UAV):  A viable alternative to testimonials for and among peer groups in professional markets. A strategic marketing tactic created by Paul Worsham of Worco Marketing to expose brand preferences for products and their applications within professional and technical circles whose representatives are less likely to lend their professional reputations to endorse branded products, and/or to make statements about branded products they may or may not use.  By transferring the emphasis onto applications among known customers who have specified, bought, and used a branded product, Worsham discovered that professionals are much more open to discussing actual product performance. Designated customers  -- especially users who are recognized peers within their professions -- are more inclined to explain in detail, and with their own words -- more clearly, precisely, accurately, and credibly -- the concerns and thinking behind their selection of a product over others in the market. And now that product has been in use, these users are also more likely to share their  findings in the context of the specified applications with which they are intimately familiar. Unlike traditional testimonials, where someone else's written caption appears under a smiling face endorsing a product, video allows peer professionals to see and hear their industry "heroes" discussing different options within specified applications in their own words. The implied endorsement from the user and the user's company is much more credible.

USER INTERFACE (UI):  User interface is an art based on science whose purpose is to strategically design and optimize website use and throughput. UI looks at website use through a number of stages, including: website requirements, information architecture, interaction design, screen layout, heuristics, ergonomics, documentation, etcetera. UI designers are multidisciplinary with skills in information design, graphic design, software development, cognitive modeling, technical writing, and the full range of online data collection and testing techniques.

USER TESTING:  A range of methods used to evaluate the user interface of websites by collecting data from people who actually use the site.

USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN (UX):  A body of discovery concepts that places end users at the hub of creative development; therefore, a core component in strategic and creative development among creative teams.  User Experience Design, that focuses on shared experiences with end users, is a methodology for developing communications which emphasize shared experiences to say what often can not be said any other way.  Although universal to all media, the UX methodology has come to the fore recently as a direct result of new participatory, interactive media which engage end users directly and in real time.  It offers marketers the added potential of communicating to decision makers better with greater levels of credibility within languages that are often fragmented, incomplete and discursive. The mere recognition of significant shared experiences between marketers and markets that both sides understand creates added value for viral communications strategies among like affinities. UX attempts to capitalize on the fluidity of human relationships in online media as a basis for campaign strategy, creation and management.

VALUATION SKEW:  The extent to which the value in a customer base is concentrated in a small percentage of customers. A deep skew places the value of the database with fewer customers.  A shallow skew distributes the value of the database more evenly over more customers.

VALUE CHAIN:  The additive string of processes that move a product or service from raw material all the way to delivery. Each business that takes part in the process must contribute some value along the way (information, logistics, and so on) to justify its cost and position within the chain.

VALUE CREATION:  A five-stage process that spans offer-market development, demand creation, sales conversion, solution fulfillment, and strategic development. Value creation thus integrates product development, marketing, sales, service, and training.

VENTURE CAPITAL:  An investment in a startup business that is thought to have excellent growth potential but which has no access to Capital Markets.

VERTICAL BANNER:   A banner ad measuring 120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.

VERTICAL MARKET SEARCH ENGINE:  A search engine that fixes on one domain category.

VIEWERS PER SET:  The most widely used method of depicting a television program's audience profile.  Within any demographic category, such as women 18-34, Viewers Per Home are equal to the Program's Average Minute audience in the specified viewer category divided by its average minute household audience.

VIEW THROUGH:  In advertiser sponsored listings, an advertiser bids for placement and is ranked according to their bid. Payment is made whenever a customer clicks onto their listing or anywhere else on an affiliate network.

VIRAL MARKETING:  A term used to describe the phenomenon of users becoming one of the primary channels of communication and distribution (the viral hosts) for a given Web site. Certain market segments are naturally more contagious than others, especially those populations where frequent interaction between groups serves to propagate use of the site. 1) Any advertising that propagates itself; 2) Advertising and/or marketing techniques that "spread" like a virus by getting passed on from consumer to consumer and market to market. 

VISIT:  A  measurement which has been filtered for robotic activity of one or more text and/or graphics downloads from a site without 30 consecutive minutes of inactivity and which can be reasonably attributed to a single browser for a single session.

VISITOR:  An individual who interacts with a Web site. I/PRO uses Unique IP Addresses with heuristic statistical modeling to identify a visitor This is one of the four methodologies approved by the IAB, and the only one that can be applied to all Web sites.
VODCAST: A Podcast with video. A subscriber requested digital audio/video file that is that is automatically uploaded to a computer, PDA,  iPod or any other form of computer. 

WEB CASTING:  Any use of the Internet as a broadcast medium. Sometimes referred to as "Net-casting," a broadcast of audio and/or video online, delivered live and/or prerecorded, where online sponsorship and advertising is presented at the beginning of the broadcast.

WEB PAGE:  A Web page consists of HTML-formatted text and or included elements displayed together in a single browser window. All websites are collections of electronic "pages." Elements can include text, images, or media objects such as Real Audio player files, QuickTime videos or Java applets. Pages can be static or dynamically generated.

WEB SITE DESIGN & MARKETING:  Above the fold, ad space, ALT tag, animated GIF, bookmark, cascading style sheets (CSS), favicon, Flash, frames, home page, JavaScript, linkrot, navigation, shopping cart, site search, splash page, Web browser, Web design, Web site usability.

WEEKLY RATING POINTS:  The number of rating points scheduled to run over the course of a week.

WIDGETS:  Bits of code in software that viewers can drag and drop onto the personal pages of their social networks and blogs, which function as storefronts for selling products and services, and to which online ads can be attached.  Developers, media, and retailers are learning that by widgetizing their programming, news, video clips, and product/service offerings on social networking sites, they can reach groups of like-minded prospects with almost identical affinities for the same products and services. Widgets are rapidly becoming a primary key to successful viral marketing.

WIKI: A collaborative Web site featuring the collective work of many authors, and/or the software that enables such sites. In Hawaiian, "wiki wiki" translates to "quick." Where blogs are typically authored by individuals, not allowing visitors to change the original posted material, a wiki lets anyone edit, delete or modify content which has been placed on the site -- including that of other authors -- using a browser interface. 

WIRELESS APPLICATION PROTOCOL (WAP):  A specification for a set of communication protocols to standardize the way that wireless devices, such as cellular mobile telephones, PDAs and others can be used for Internet-based access.

WIRELESS APPLICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER (WASP):  An organization that provides content and applications for wireless devices.

WIRE SERVICE:  Any of a number of news-gathering and distribution agencies (e.g., Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Bloomberg, et al) which provide news content to subscribing news media.

W3C LOG FORMAT:  W3C is the Microsoft IIS 4.0 extended log format. The common log file format is supported by the majority of analysis tools, however the information about each server transaction is fixed. In data marketing scenarios, it is often essential to record more information. Sites sensitive to personal data issues may wish to omit the recording of certain data. And, ambiguities arise when analyzing the common log file format, since field separator characters may in some cases occur within fields. The extended log file format is designed to 1) permit control of the data recorded, 2) support needs of proxies, clients and servers in a common format, 3) provide robust handling of character escaping issues, 4) allow exchange of demographic data, and 5) allow summary data to be expressed.The log file format described permits customized log files to be recorded in a format readable by generic analysis tools. A header specifying the data types recorded is written out at the start of each log. 

XTREME MARKETING:  Marketing that is effective and which manifests a direct, causal relationship to results and the bottom line.  In contrast to marketing where the direct, causal results are "fuzzy" or in question.

Z SCORE:  A statistical measure that tells how a single data point compares to normal data. A Z Score tells not only if a point was above or below the norm, but how unusual the measure is. Used to map market penetration.