Media Glossary
Make sense of common media terms
Welcome to our glossary! We've compiled a list of commonly used terms in media reporting to help you navigate the jargon. Whether you're new to the industry or just need a refresher, this resource will provide you with a clear understanding of the terminology used in media planning, buying, and analysis.
COMMON TERMS:
| Metric | Definition |
| Media Cost | Ad spend. The price you pay for advertising during a specified date range |
| Nielsen Media Cost | Ad spend on nielsen rated stations / dayparts |
| MER | Media Efficiency Rate. A metric to measure how efficiently paid media is driving total revenue Formula: Revenue / Media Cost |
| ROAS | Return on Ad Spend. A metric that measures revenue earned for each dollar you spend on advertising Revenue / Media Cost |
| Ecom Order | Reported orders placed online .com + amazon.com |
| CPO | Cost per order. The average cost of advertising per sale Media Cost / Orders |
| CPA | Cost per acquisition. A metric that measures the total cost of a customer completing a specific action Media Cost / New Customers |
| RPO | Revenue per order. The average amount spent by customers per transaction Revenue / Orders |
| Conversion | A positive result toward marketing goal |
| Conversion Rate | The effectiveness of turning an opportunity into a conversion TV Formula: Calls+Visits / Orders. Digital Formula: Conversions / Clicks |
| IMP (000) | The estimated number of viewers Formula: Impressions / 1000 |
| CPM | Cost Per Thousand (impressions). A bidding method where you pay based on the number of impressions received Formula: Media Cost / IMP (000) |
| GRP | Gross rating point. A percent of the target market reached multiplied by the exposure frequency Formula: audience size / total exposures |
| TRP | Target rating point. Total number of in-market impressions from a target audience as a percentage of market population |
| CPP | Cost Per Point or Cost Per Gross Rating. The cost of advertising exposure opportunities that equals one rating point in any geographically defined market Formula: Media Cost / GRP |
| Digital 3P Cost | Third party digital spend |
| View | Ads watched for a defined time period (seconds). The default number of secs varies by platform |
| Video Completed View | When an ad is watched start to finish |
| View Rate | A ratio showing the number of paid views of a video ad to the number of impressions that were eligible for views Formula: Views / Impressions |
| Video Completion Rate | The percentage of users who successfully watched 100% of the video ad Formula: Video Completions / Impressions |
| TrueView In-Stream | A skippable video ad that auto-plays before a YouTube video starts |
| Engagement | Any interaction with your ad – view, click, like, share, comment |
| Click | User interacts with a digital ad |
| CPC | Cost Per Click. A bidding method where you pay each time your ad is clicked |
| QR Scan | When a user scans a QR code and clicks the link |
| CTR | A ratio showing how often people who see your ad end up clicking it Formula: Clicks / Impressions |
| Visit | When a user arrives to a website |
| Source | Phone Number / URL address |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator. KPIs are the metrics and results that determine your progress toward a marketing campaign objective |
| Brand Lift | The increase in effectiveness measurements (e.g., message recall) between respondents who did not view the ad and those who did |
| Prospecting | An advertising strategy that finds and targets new prospective customers based on behavior, interest, demo, geo and many other attributes |
| Retargeting | An advertising strategy that utilizes lists or pixels to serve ads to audiences who have previously engaged with your website or brand |
| Daypart | Block of time that divides the day into segments for purposes of selling advertising time on TV and radio |
MEDIA CHANNELS:
| Channel | Description |
| Linear TV | Traditional television delivered at a certain time via cable or satellite. |
| VOD | Video On Demand: Shown on a cable or satellite provider’s app when a consumer chooses to watch a show that previously aired. |
| VMVPD | Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor: Aggregate live and on-demand TV and deliver over the internet in a linear fashion (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, Playstation Vue, PlutoTV) |
| FAST | Free Ad-supported Streaming TV. Available without a paid subscription. (Pluto TV, Xumo, Tubi, The Roku Channel) |
| Digital | Online ads via search engines, social media, display and more |
| CTV | Connected TV: Digital content accessed by apps and streamed over Smart TVs, OTT Devices (Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Roku) or Gaming Consoles (Xbox, PlayStation). |
| OTT | Over the Top: Streaming content that is delivered via an internet connection rather than through a traditional cable/satellite company, on any device. |
| OLV | Online Video: Video clips, TV shows and movies streamed from the Internet. |
| FEP | Full Episode Player: Professionally produced, TV-like content 30-60 mins in length on apps or websites (Bravotv.com or the Bravo app). |
| Programatic Display | Automated method of buying display inventory executed using data and typically algorithmically driven systems with direct access to publisher ad servers, ad exchanges and networks. |
| DSP | Demand Side Platform: Software used to buy mobile, search, video and CTV/OTT ads programmatically. |
