The media team has been blogging for a while now. Sometimes we may speak in media tongue. So what does it all really mean? It might help to explain some of this media jargon.
Below I have included some of the most commonly used words in the Media Department. These are just some of the basics. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the math behind the scenes.
Media 101:
– Ratings: A percentage of households or people tuned into a TV program during a quarter hour.
– CPP (Cost Per Point): The cost to deliver a single rating point.
– GRPs (Gross Rating Points): The total of all ratings from the programs within the order.
– Share: The percentage of TV sets in use or people tuned in to a program.
– CPM (Cost Per Thousand): The cost to deliver to 1,000 households or people.
– Reach: The number of different homes/people exposed to a program or commercial across a certain period of time. It can also be referred to as the cumulative or unduplicated audience.
– Frequency: Goes hand-in-hand with Reach. This is number of times an ad is delivered to a specific group.
– Post: This is the Nielsen counted rating points achieved for the programs purchased. Our goal is to achieve 90% of our rating points estimate. Any shortfall is what we refer to as underdelivery (UD.)
All the terms above are pieces that we fit together when we are negotiating your media buys. We not only negotiate the cost but the rating points for each program. Using the industry terminology allows us to compare apples to apples when speaking to station reps. It also helps us hold stations accountable– they know what we expect and they are better able to deliver when expectations are set from the beginning.
Of course, all the numbers are important, but they are only a few pieces of the puzzle when we put together your buys. We also expect a certain level of station performance based on the response you receive and we keep tabs on those metrics as well. Each decision is made with response in mind. Ultimately, call volume is our end goal.
Source: Pocket Guide to TV Terms – Nielsen
