© 2009 Media Marketing, Inc 1

Media Mix Terms & Acronyms MediaAnalyst uses a number of terms to communicate concepts, facts and data to your advertising clients. In this course we have identified ten terms and acronyms that are important to you as a media mix consultant.

Cume

The number of people listening in a one-week period.

• Includes duplication

• It is the biggest number that media salespeople use because it’s the cumulative audience of a one-week period (minimum 5 minutes)

• Cume is like a 'guest register' because it measures how many people stopped by in a one-week period. This includes everyone no matter how long they listen or view

• Irrelevant to advertiser – no indication of spot’s audience

• A number typically unattainable except by station or equal to all ads all week

• Newspaper Example = 5-Issue Net Reach – the number of different people who read the paper over 5 days (or four Sundays).

• (Internet) similar to User Sessions

AQH (Average Quarter Hour)

The number of people (anyone age 12+) that are listening or viewing a broadcast media at least five minutes in a typical fifteen-minute period.

• The most relevant number to the advertiser because it represents how many people are in the audience to potentially hear or see the commercial

• In newspaper terms, AQH equates to single average issue insertion reach and the number of adults the advertiser can expect to reach on the day the ad runs

• AQH represents the number of listeners the station reaches at any point in time; rarely used by a media rep

Rating/AQH and Reach

The percentage of the population or homes exposed to a particular medium.

• 1 Rating Point = 1 Percent Reach

• When used for broadcast advertising this is synonymous with radio’s AQH

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• The term best used in talking to broadcast advertisers to relate to newspaper reach

• Rating and Reach are potentials – no guarantees

• Ratings reflect programming, not the commercial break

• Can be based on any target demographic audience – usually the one that supports the sales pitch

• RATING = AQH Listeners ÷ Target Population x 100

• REACH = Average Issue Adults ÷ Target Population x 100

Share

The percent of those listening to radio (or watching television) tuned to a given station or TV program at a specific time.

• The second most frequently used term by the broadcaster because it presents a more favorable view of the station or program

• Share is not a percentage of the total population, but rather is a percentage of that population actually listening or viewing at any point in time

• Formula: AQH ÷ (Listeners or Viewers) x 100

• Audience is composed of radio listeners or television viewers

• Share reflects the audience delivery of a station relative to other stations (or in television shows, a comparison of programs)

Format Share

Same as share but Target Listeners are limited to the station’s potential “listener-ship”.

Gross Rating Points (GRPs)

GRPs illustrate the gross, duplicated number of persons reached by a series of spots or ads. The sum of the ratings of the individual media buys that make up an advertising schedule. GRPs is a term used by all media.

Share sounds like this

But, is actually this

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Formula: Rating multiplied by the number of spots or insertions in a schedule.

Example: Typical rating of radio station (3) x number of commercials (example 20) = 60 GRP’s.

• GRP’s implies percentage of total population but it actually constitutes a gross

representation of the population delivered by an advertising schedule

• GRP’s do not take into account the presence of audience duplication. The full percentage of the population implied by GRP’s will not actually be reached by the schedule. Because of duplication a smaller percentage will be attained multiple times

• Knowing the GRP’s is a necessary first step in evaluating the audience delivery of a any advertising schedule

Frequency

The average number of times people (or homes) are exposed to an advertising message over a given time.

Formula: GRP’s ÷ % Reach Example: 60 GRP’s ÷ 23 Reach = 2.6 times per week

• Desirable frequency equals three times per four weeks or three times in a purchase cycle. This measure of an effective radio/TV schedule is an accepted industry norm

• Frequency is NOT the equivalent of the number of insertions or ads in a particular media

• In media that has sound or moving visuals, too much frequency produces annoyance (audience is annoyed with advertising)

• Too much frequency is not an effective strategy. The result is repeated advertising to mostly the same audience when the goal should be to reach more of the target audience you are not reaching

Gross Impressions

The total number of exposures for all spots/insertions in a given schedule, including duplication.

Formula: Reach x Frequency (average)

• Similar to GRPs but expressed in persons instead of percentages

• Is an opportunity and delivery measurement used for broadcast and online schedules, often masking low reach/high frequency

• Duplication is not removed = smaller population reached multiple times

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Turnover

The number of times a station’s audience turns over during an average week.

Formula: Weekly Cume ÷ AQH

• Relationship between total cume and AQH audience.

• Goal: Reach core (20%) audience 3+ times per week; 60% at least once.

CPP (Cost per Point)

The cost per rating point of total audience.

Formula: Spot Cost ÷ Rating (AQH)

• A measurement of cost effectiveness

• Cost of reaching 1% of the target population

• Effective means to compare stations within a format and dayparts within a station.

Net Reach

The unduplicated percentage of the population reached by an advertising schedule. (Internet – Unique Visitor)

• To determine Net Reach use the Net Reach to GRP’s graph below

- The horizontal axis represents GRP’s.

- The vertical axis represents percentage Net Reach.

Example: A sample schedule of 20 commercials x average rating of 3 delivers 60 GRP’s which equals 43% Net Reach (found from Net Reach graph).

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GRP

Broadcast TV Net Reach

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• Net Reach is the number to compare with the coverage, penetration or reach of a newspaper schedule when talking to a broadcast advertiser. Net Reach will factor out duplication inherent in GRPs

• The graphs for determining Net Reach are based on advertising industry standards; same or similar graphs used in Advertising Measurement classes

• Reach curves exist for Cable, Radio, Broadcast TV, and Newspaper. Using the standards for these media and incorporating the dynamics of online media, an Online Net Reach graph has been generated with Online Media Analyst

CPM (Cost per Thousand)

The cost to deliver to 1,000 people or homes

Formula: Cost of schedule divided by audience size multiplied by 1,000

Example: Cost of schedule: $20,000 Audience size: 500,000 adults CPM = $40

• CPM is one of two standard yardsticks for comparing costs across different media. The other is cost-per point. Broadcast media use CPP almost exclusively. Print media use both. Ad agencies use both, but more often CPP.

Skew

The portions of a demographic range reached better than any other portion. Media buyers use the phrase ‘this media skews upscale’ when referring the portion of the market reach most efficiently by a media.

• Skews are used to determine market fit

• Below is an age index chart for age that shows newspapers traditionally skew 35+

• This skew does not mean traditional newspapers do not reach adults younger than 35 just that they tend to reach 35+ better than average

• MediaAnalyst uses skews in matching media market fit to marketing strategy for Age, Gender and Income

Newspaper Age Reach Index

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 +

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Target Market Fit

Percentage of an audience that contains the advertiser's target market.

Example: If a radio station delivers 50% of an advertiser’s target audience, the station delivers a 50% target market fit.

• One of three measurements that are extremely important to an advertiser

• The most efficient ads: reach the most target audience at the best cost per point

TRP (Target Rating Point)

The rating points (reach) of an advertiser’s target audience.

Formula: The number of GRP's delivered by a medium x the target market fit.

Example: If a schedule in a medium delivers 100 GRPs, and the target market fit is 85%, the number of TRPs equals 85 TRPs i.e. 15% of the audience is not a part of their target

• One of three measurements that are extremely important to an advertiser

• Gross ratings points are based on every adult reached by a medium, but to an advertiser, some adults are valuable to reach and others are not

• GRPs reflect the rating points for the entire audience; TRPs reflect only the audience the advertiser is targeting

• TRPs “tell” an advertiser how effective their ad dollar is within an ad, an advertising medium, and an advertising schedule

• The higher the TRP the better the ad efficiency (reaching their target)

• Goal: High TRPs with a Low TCPP (see next item)

TCPP (Target Cost Per Point)

The cost per rating point of target audience.

Formula: cost (of a schedule) divided by TRP

Example: If a schedule costs $8,000 and delivers 80 TRPs, then the TCPP is $100.

• One of three measurements that are extremely important to an advertiser

• Cost per point (CPP) is based on every adult reached by a medium, but to an advertiser, some adults are valuable to reach and others are not

• TCPPs “tell” an advertiser how effective their ad dollar is within an ad, an advertising medium, and an advertising schedule

• The lower the TCPP the better the ad efficiency (cost to reach their target)

• Goal: High TRPs with a Low TCPP (see previous item)

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Average Weekday Readership Average number of adults who read the paper yesterday.

Average Sunday Readership Average number of adults who read the paper on Sunday.

Consolidating Key Media Terms

Industry Term Formula

Cume AQH x Turnover Factor

AQH Population x Rating

Rating AQH ÷ Population

GRPs Rating x # of Commercials in a schedule

Turnover Factor Cume ÷ Average Quarter Hour Rating (AQH)

Share AQH ÷ Viewers

Net Reach Percentage based off of GRP curve*

Frequency GRP's ÷ Reach

Target Rating Point GRP's x Target Market Fit

Target Cost Per Point Cost ÷ Target Rating Point

Cost Per Point Cost of Schedule ÷ GRP

Target Market Fit

% fit of Target Market age overlaps within a market demographic

CPM Cost of schedule ÷ Audience size x 1,000