Glossary
A
AAA- The American Association of Advertising Agencies, the membership organization of American advertising agencies.
ABC- The Audit Bureau of Circulation, formed by advertisers, agencies, and the media to audit the circulation statements of its media members and release this information to advertisers and advertising agencies.
Account- The client of an advertising agency, market research firm, or media-buying service.
Account Executive- The representative of an advertising agency who acts as a liaison between the agency and its clients.
Advertising Agency- A company set up to create and place advertising in the various media. It also serves its accounts by evaluating the results of the ads.
q
Advertising Budget- The detailed breakdown of the costs for space in print media and for time on TV and radio.
Advertising Director- The executive of a magazine who directs and coordinates all advertising sales.
Advertising/Editorial Ratio- In a magazine, a ration representing the percentage of advertising space to editorial pages.
Advertising Linage- The number of advertising pages carried by a magazine in a given period.
Agency Commission- The commission paid by the media to the advertising agency for its services.
Audience Composition- The classification of individuals or households into various demographic characteristics, such as age, education, sex, and income.
B
Basic Paper Weight- The designation of the weight of paper. For example, 50-pd basis means that 500 sheets of 25-by-38 inches weights 50 pds
Benday- A method of laying a screen on artwork to show various shadings and tones.
Bind-in Card- An insert card in a magazine that is stitched in with the printed pages.
Binding- The finishing process following printing which involves folding, collating, stitching, gluing or stapling, and trimming the pages into a complete magazine.
Binding Edge- The inside edge of the page of a magazine, containing the fold and sometimes the stitches.
Black and White Pages- Pages that utilize no color except black.
Bleed- The extension of illustrations photos, or copy to the edge of the paper.
Blow-in-Card- A loose insert in a magazine, used primarily to sell subscriptions.
Blueprints- The final proof pulled by a printer before a magazine goes to press. Sometimes known as brownlines.
Body Typeface- The typeface, usually no larger than 14-point, in which the text of a magazine or book is set.
Boldface- The designation for a typeface that has a heavy or dark stroke.
Broadcast Media- The category of media that includes radio and television.
Bulk Discounts- The discounts offered by the media to advertisers who place large orders. They are measured by the number of pages or total linage placed by one advertiser in a given magazine.
Business Magazine- Sometimes called a trade magazine. This classification represents the non-consumer publication that serves the interests of a particular industry or profession.
Business Plan- A document prepared by the publisher of a new magazine outlining its editorial content, staff, market and financial projections.
C
Call Report- The daily or weekly reports submitted by space salespeople on a magazine to their superiors that conveys the results of particular sales meetings.
Center Spread- The facing pages in the exact center of a magazine. This spot is desirable for advertisers because of its high visibility.
Charter Rate- The reduced rate given to subscribers or advertisers of a new magazine.
Checkerboard Ad- The innovative placement of portions of an ad in a checkerboard fashion, alternating with the editorial content of the page.
Checkout Racks- The racks placed at checkout counters of supermarkets or convenience stores. These racks are advantageous in producing impulse sales.
Circulation- The number of copies sold by a publication through subscription and/or newsstand sales.
Circulation Director- The individual on a magazine with the responsibility of maintaining and increasing the level of subscriptions and newsstand sales.
Circulation Guarantee- The minimum total circulation of a magazine offered to its advertisers.
City Magazines- Sometimes referred to as metropolitan magazines. They deal with the special interests of readers in a particular geographic area.
Class Magazines- Special-interest consumer magazines that treat their subject matter in a sophisticated manner. Their circulation often reflects a high socioeconomic group.
Closing Date- The last date on which an agency can submit advertising material for a particular issue of a publication.
Coated Paper- Sometimes known as slick paper. It refers to paper that has been chemically treated in its manufacture to create a shiny effect.
Color Proof- A full-color representation of an image before printing.
Comp Letter- A sales letter bound into a magazine that is sent to its complimentary of free subscribers.
Consignment- Referring to the trade practice in single-copy or newsstand distribution whereby magazines are offered to dealers with the option returning unsold copies for full credit.
Consumer Magazines- The class of magazines that are sold directly to consumers, as distinguished from business/trade magazines, which deal with readers' business or professional interest.
Contact Year- The twelve-month running period of an ad that an advertiser and its agency contract for. It can be on a calendar- or fiscal year basis or effective with the first appearance of the ad.
Controlled Circulation- A circulation practice usually for a business/trade magazine, whereby the publication is sent free to specific individuals who are selected because of their job titles or function.
Conversion Factor- A phrase used in subscription solicitation relating to the number of "leads" that are converted to actual subscribers.
Copy Editing- The stage in a magazines editorial preparation where the raw manuscript is carefully examined for grammar, spelling, and correct usage.
Cover Lines- Often called sell lines; these are adjunctions to the photo or illustration on a cover of a magazine. They tell the reader about some of the contents in a particular issue.
Cover Positions- The premium-priced cover space in a magazine. The second cover is the inside front; the third cover, the inside back; and the fourth cover, the outside-back cover.
CPM- Cost per thousand- A dollar figure used by agencies and advertisers to evaluate their relative cost of various media within a selected audience criterion. It is achieved by dividing the audience or circulation of a publication by its cost per page.
D
Demographic Characteristics- The phrase used to categorize the various social and economic characteristics of a group of households or individuals. It refers to such statistics as sex, age, and size of family, education, and economic levels of the audience of a magazine.
Direct Mail- Advertising sent by mail to the consumer's residence, often used to generate magazine subscriptions and containing a response mechanism for ordering by return mail.
Distributor- The term in newsstand distribution referring to the national organization that distributes magazines to the hundreds of local wholesalers.
Dot pattern- The coarseness or fineness of a screen in a photo or illustration. It is measured by the number of dots per given area.
Double Spread- Two facing advertising or editorial pages.
Dummy- The prototype of a new magazine in either artist's roughs or printed form.
F
Face- The designation of type style.
Four-Color Process- The process of color printing using four engravings or films, each with a different color ink, to reproduce color artwork, which has been reduced to its basic colors by a filtration and separation process.
Fractional Page Space- Advertising space measuring less than one full page, usually one column, a halfpage, or two-thirds of a page.
Free-lance Writer- The outside contributor to a magazine's editorial content.
Frequency Discount- A rate discount allowed to an advertiser who purchases a specific amount of space within a given period of time.
Fulfillment- The process of maintaining and running off the subscription names of a publication.
G
Galley Proof- The proof of a page or quantity of type. Galley proofs are sent to a magazine's proofreading staff for checking and correction.
Gatefold- An additional leaf, usually on a magazine's front cover, that is attached to an advertising page and folds over to partly or fully covers the page.
General Magazine- A consumer magazine that has a broad editorial appeal and is not directed at a specific or specialized audience.
Gravure- One of the three major printing processes. Utilizes a depressed or cell-like area to produce an impression.
Greek Type- Type, often used in a dummy of a new magazine, that is not meant to make sense.
Grid- The design pattern of an editorial page of a magazine.
H
Halftone- The tonal variation used for the reproduction of black and white photographs. The original graphics are photographed through a halftone screen, which breaks down the image into a small, varied dot pattern.
House Agency- An advertising agency that is controlled in full or owned by one advertiser.
House Organ- The in-house publication of a business organization or union often used to improve employee relations.
I
Ink-Jet Imaging- Technology used, along with selective binding, by magazine publishers to target their editorial and advertising content to readers.
Insert- A preprinted advertisement supplied by an advertiser to a publication and bound into its pages.
Insertion Order- The form or document sent to a publication by an advertising agency that contains information relating to an ad's placement-its size, rate, frequency, date, and any other special information.
K
Kill Fee- The fee paid to a free-lance writer by a magazine when the assigned article or story is not used.
L
Layout- The rough designation by an art director or designer of what will appear on a printed page.
Letterpress- One of the three major printing processes. Uses a raised or relief plate for the printing impression.
Libel- A term in law relating to a written defamatory statement that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression or tends to expose another individual or group to public contempt.
Lightface- Designation for type that has relatively light, thin lines.
Linotype- The typesetting machine that casts characters of a given typeface into a line or slug of metal type.
List Broker- The clearinghouse or compiler of mailing lists for a direct-mail subscription campaign.
Logo- A single piece of type or art indicating the name of a publication or a trademark.
M
Mail-Order Ads- Advertisements that solicit direct response by mail for merchandise or services.
Make Good- Repeat of an ad in a magazine to compensate for an error in the original insertion.
Mass Circultaion- Denotes consumer magazines with large circulation and distribution.
Masthead- The page or section in a magazine set to list the publication's title, personnel, and publishing policies. Often it appears alongside the table of contents.
Mechanical- The composite of the elements of an ad or editorial page.
Media Kit- A package used by magazines in advertising sales. It includes a rate card, survey results, demographics, and often publicity about the magazine.
MPA- The Magazine Publishers of America, the official organization of major consumer publications.
MPX- Magazine page exposures, denoting how thoroughly a consumer reads magazines.
MRI- Mediamark Research Inc., a major syndicated research organization that measures the size and characteristics of the audience of major magazines.
N
National Advertising- The class of advertising that deals with nationally distributed advertisers, as distinguished from local or mail order advertisers.
Newsletter- A small publication, not usually sold on newsstands, that concerns itself with the special interests of a particular group.
O
OCR- Optical character recognition, the advanced technique that uses a computer to read a page of manuscript and reproduce it on paper or film
One Shot- A special edition of a regularly published magazine.
Out of Register- Poor lineup (registration) of color plates in a printer reproduction; a color ad that appears blurred.
P
Pass-along Readers- The secondary audience composed of readers who did not actually purchase the publication.
PE- Printer's error, a mistake on a galley proof that is the fault of the typesetter, not the magazine's editorial staff.
Perfect Binding- The process of binding that uses glue rather than staples or stitching and results in a square spine.
Photoengraving- The process by which black-and-white and color artwork is made into plates and film.
Phototypesetting- The typesetting technique that eliminates the casting of metal.
Pica- A printer's unit of type size, equal to 12 points.
Point- The basic unit of typographical measurement; 72 points equal one inch.
PR- Public relations used on magazines for image building and the promotion of newsstand and advertising sales.
Premature- In newsstand distribution, the early return of a magazine by a dealer before the end of the magazine's on-sale period.
Prepress- The prepatory process, such as typesetting and camera work, done before a magazine goes to press.
Print Order- The document sent to a printer by a magazine stating the print quantity, delivery instructions, and other pertinent information.
Production Manager- The individual on a magazine assigned the responsibility for typesetting, printing, and binding functions.
Progressive Proofs- A set of proofs of color film and plates, servicing as a guide for a magazine's art staff and printer.
Promotion Director- The magazine executive charged with the task of promoting its subscription, newsstand, and advertising sales efforts. Often the function of public relations is assigned to the promotion department.
Psychographics- A measurement of a publication's audience as to attitudinal and personality criteria that affect life-style and purchasing behavior.
R
Rate Card- The magazine's detailed document listing its ad rates, frequency, closing dates, and other production information.
RDA- Retail display allowance, given to dealers who agree to display a magazine full face.
Regional Edition- A breakout of a magazine's circulation to smaller geographic areas than it's national distribution.
Reo- An advertising sales representative of a publication who is not a full-time member of its staff.
Repro Proof- A perfect type proof on good-quality paper, suitable for photographic reproduction.
Research Director- The individual with the responsibility of developing information that can be used to promote circulation and advertising sales.
Rollout- The large mailing of a direct-mail campaign, conducted after a test.
Roman Typeface- A style of type that appears straight up and down. The ordinary type style, as distinguished from italic.
S
Saddle Stitching- The binding process whereby a publication is held together by staples at the folded edge.
Sans Serif- Letter or characters of a typeface that are devoid of the short finishing strokes of a serif face.
Schedule- In advertising, the complete list of publications in which the advertiser schedules its advertising.
Seed Money- Venture money for a new magazine.
Selective Binding- A method that implements ink-jet imaging in targeting readers.
Sell-through- The number of single copies distributed that are actually sold.
Serif- The designation of a typeface that has short lines stemming from and at an angle to the upper and lower ends of the main strokes of a letter.
Side Stitching- The binding process whereby a publication is held together by stitches or staples a fraction of an inch in from the folded edge.
Signature- The name given to a printed sheet of a magazine or book after it comes off the press and has been folded into eight, sixteen, or thirty-two pages.
Simmons- A syndicated media research organization that measures product usage, demographics, and so forth of a publication's audience.
Single-copy Sales- The current phrase denoting newsstand sales of magazine.
Space- Term used to denote advertising linage.
Specialized Magazines- The classification of publications geared to the special interests of a group of readers.
Special Position- The result of a special request of an advertiser for an ad to appear in a specific place in a magazine. Usually involves a higher ad rate than regular space does.
SRDS- Standard Rate and Data Service, the organization that lists and categorizes the media.
Subscription Director- The executive of a magazine's circulation department assigned the function of generating and maintaining subscription sales.
T
Tabloid- Format used primarily by newspapers and some trade publications. In magazines this is a large format; in newspapers it is smaller.
Target Marketing- Advertising or sales promotion keyed to a specific group or regional area.
TGI- Target Group Index, another of the major syndicated research organization that measures the audience of national magazines. Now merged with Simmons.
Title- Designating a given name to a magazine.
Total Audience- Combined total of a magazine's paid circulation and its pass-along readership.
Trade Magazine- Popular phrase for business magazine, used to designate non-consumer publications that serve the interests of an industry or professional group.
Trading Out- The practice by which one magazine exchanges space with another, with no cash involved.
Typography- General term for the typesetting function.
W
Waste Circulation- That portion of a magazine's circulation who are not prospects for a particular advertised product or service. Includes circulation in an area where an advertiser does not have distribution.
Wholesaler- The local marketing organization that distributes newsstand magazines within a given geographic area.
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