Media Buying Glossary
Media buying is the process of purchasing ad space and time on digital and offline platforms, such as websites, YouTube, radio, and TV. A media buyer is also responsible for negotiating with publishers for ad inventory, managing budgets, and optimizing ads to improve campaign performance.
Media Buying
CMYK
An acronym for cyan, magenta, yellow and black – the four ink colors used in full-color printing.
Media Buying
Column Inch
Publication space that is one column wide by one-inch high, used as a measure of advertising space. Column inches are used to determine the cost of ads.
Media Buying
Combination Rate
A discounted advertising rate offered to advertisers for buying advertising space in two or more publications owned by the same company.
Media Buying
Connected TV
Video content that is delivered to a user via the internet rather than a traditional cable subscription.
Media Buying
Cooperative advertising (Co-Op)
Retail advertising that is paid partly or fully by a manufacturer when set guidelines are followed (slang “co-op”). Co-op advertising may only be available at limited times of the year and on certain products.
Media Buying
Corporate Discounting
Rate discounts offered to advertisers with numerous brands of products; all of the corporation’s advertising buys are combined for a larger discount level.
Media Buying
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The total cost of the campaign divided by the total number of clicks.
Media Buying
Cost Per Rating Point (Cost Per Point, CPP, Cost Per GRP)
The cost of advertising to reach one percentage point of the target group, audience, or population in a given market or geographic area.
Media Buying
Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
The cost of every 1,000 digital ad impressions purchased.
Media Buying
Cover Position
Advertising on the cover of a publication, often at a premium cost due to limited availability. Cover positions can include front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover, outside back cover or section cover.
Media Buying
Coverage Area
The geography of where a media has coverage. In print, the coverage area equates to the circulation area.
Media Buying
Cume (Cumulative Audience)
The total number of individuals or households reached by an advertising campaign at least once during the media buy.
Media Buying
Deadline
The final date and time for accepting final buy to meet a publication schedule.
Media Buying
Desktop Delivery
Digital ads that are served on a traditional desktop computer or laptop device.
Media Buying
Direct Mail Advertising
Any printed material sent via mail directly to target customers.
Media Buying
Display Advertising
Print advertisement that is placed outside of classified advertising. Display ads can range from small to the full size of the print page. Ads generally contain typeset copy, graphics, and design to attract customer interest. The size of the ad is based on the number of columns wide by the number of inches tall.
Media Buying
Doorcrasher
An advertisement designed to promote a heavy volume of response/foot traffic for a special event or short-term sale.
Media Buying
Dots Per Inch (dpi)
The number of electronic dots per inch that a printer can print affecting resolution. The higher the dpi, the higher the resolution.
Media Buying
Double Truck
A large newspaper ad measurement that uses two facing full pages, including the gutter or fold. The entire ad is treated as one unit and is traditionally the center spread of the section.
Media Buying
E-Tearsheet
An electronic tear sheet – an electronic image of a newspaper page used to prove proof of publication.
Media Buying
Eblast
A promotional email sent to targeted opt-in users where the client owns the entire message and appears as the sender.