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CAA   see Creative Artists Agency. 

CAB   see Cablevision Advertising Bureau. 

CARU  see Children’s Advertising Review Unit. 

CASIE   see Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment. 

CASRO   see Council of American Research Organizations. 

CATV   see cable television. 

CBBB   see Council of Better Business Bureaus. 

CDI   see Category Development Index. 

CLTV   see customer lifetime value. 

CMR   see Competitive Media Reporting. 

CMSA   see Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. 

CPC   see cost-per-click. 

CPM   see cost-per-thousand. 

CPM-TA   see cost-per-thousand—target audience. 

CPO   see cost-per-order. 

CPP   see cost-per-point. 

CPV   see customer perceived value. 

CRM   see customer relationship management. 

CTA   click-through to advertiser; see click-through. 

CTR   see click-through rate. 

CUME   see cumulative audience. 

C County   see ABCD Counties. 

cablecasting   see cable television (CATV). 

Cable Communications Policy Act   a 1984 amendment to the Communications Act of 1934, which included provisions aimed at promoting competition in the cable television industry, establishing regulatory guidelines  while minimizing regulation that would severely restrict cable systems in their activities, and assuring that cable systems are responsive to the needs of the local communities; the Act also restricted the cable systems’ collection, maintenance, and dissemination of cable subscriber data. See Communications Act and Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act. 

cable interconnect   see interconnect. 

cable network   a television network of interconnected stations capable of broadcasting programs simultaneously, which is available only to subscribers to a cable service; see cable penetration, cable provider, and cable television (immediately below), and network. 

cable penetration   the number or percent of households that subscribe to a cable television service; generally refers to a specific area. 

cable provider   see cable system operator. 

cable system operator   the organization that owns and maintains the cable television system in a particular community; local cable operators who pick up via satellite the signals transmitted by the cable network and redistribute the signals to cable subscribers. Also called cable provider. 

cable television (CATV)   a television delivery system in which the signals are transmitted via wires (cable) to subscriber households, rather than sending the signal through the air, as in the case of broadcast television; subscribers pay for the cable programming. Transmission of video programming to subscribers. Cable networks and stations also generate funds from advertisers. See advertiser-supported broadcasting, noncommercial broadcasting, and public broadcasting. 

Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act   a 1992 law designed to promote competition in the cable TV industry, foster better service for subscribers, and control subscription rates for the various services; enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

Cablevision Advertising Bureau (CAB)   an industry association of cable networks, cable systems, and cable providers; promotes the use of national, regional, and local cable television as an advertising medium.  

camera-ready art   a finished advertisement, ready for printing exactly as it appears; any drawing, illustration, lettering or other element in an advertising that is suitable for photographic reproduction as is. See mechanical. 

campaign   see advertising campaign and marketing communications campaign. 

campaign flowchart   a grid format or bar chart that shows the entire range of promotion activities over the duration of the marketing communications campaign; i.e., the timing of each activity’s use in the campaign. On the vertical axis is a list of the specific activities (e.g., television advertising, magazine advertising, bus wrap, coupon program, road race sponsorship, festival sponsorship, publicity release, direct mail letter, point-of-purchase displays, and so on) and on the horizontal axis are the months of the campaign broken into weeks, with a bar running from left to right indicating which activities will be used in each week of the campaign. An at-a-glance picture or summary of the entire promotion campaign schedule of activities. See media flowchart and work flowchart.   

campaign launch   the formal introduction of a new advertising or promotion campaign. 

campaign plan   the blueprint for the design and implementation of full-scale marketing communications program; identifies all tasks and rationales for every stage of the promotion plan. Components include: situation analysis, company snapshot, product review, competitive review, buyer analysis, existing promotion program, strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, marketing goals, target market, promotion objectives and strategies, positioning and campaign theme, creative recommendations, media plan, sales promotion recommendations (consumer and trade), direct marketing recommendations, public relations recommendations, personal selling recommendations, campaign flowchart, measurement and evaluation, budget, and timetable. 

campaign theme   the major selling idea that serves as the central premise or foundation of a marketing communications campaign. 

campaign tracking   see tracking study. 

cancellation period   specified period of time during which a media contract may be terminated. 

cancellation rate   in magazine and newspaper advertising, the proportion of individuals who do not renew subscriptions; may refer to the proportion of advertisers who do not renew their advertising contracts or agreements with a media vehicle. Also may refer to the proportion of consumers who, after trying a particular product, do not repurchase it. 

canned presentation   a standard, all-purpose sales message or pitch, memorized by the salesperson for delivery to each potential buyer; the basic selling message may be modified as prospective customers or conditions warrant. 

Cannes Lions   to recognize superlative creative achievement in advertising, annual awards given in a world-wide competition for the best advertising each year; competition is held at the International Advertising Festival, Cannes, France. 

cannibalization   in a company’s product line, the loss of sales of one item to another item within the same line; introduction of a new product sometimes results in the new product simply taking away sales from an existing product in the company’s line, adding little or no extra sales. 

capitalized billings   an accounting adjustment designed to make fee billings comparable to media commission billings. To express fees as the equivalent of 15% commissions, multiply the fee by 6.667. Example: assume a $3,000 fee paid to the advertising agency by the advertiser, and the agency (or client) wants to determine what billings would be needed to produce the same $3,000 earnings as the fee; multiplying $3,000 by the 6.667 factor yields $20,000, or the amount of billings the agency would need to earn $3,000 under the 15% commission method of compensation. (For a 12% commission, use a factor of 8.333; for a 10% commission, use a factor of 10.0; and for an 8% commission, use a factor of 12.50.) Using a capitalized billings approach provides a base for media revenue comparisons of agencies who operate on a variety of fee and commission arrangements.   

capabilities presentation   see credentials presentation. 

captain agency   see agency of record (AOR). 

caption text   copy accompanying a photograph or an illustration in an advertisement; sometimes referred to as a cutline. 

car card   an advertisement inside or on the outside of a bus, train, subway, or other public transportation vehicle; sometimes referred to as a baby billboard. 

car wrap   a form of out-of-home advertising in which an automobile is wrapped with a high-quality vinyl adhesive product on which is imprinted an advertising message; see rolling billboard and bus wrap.  

card deck   a stack of advertisements on post-card size units, each promoting a different product or service; entire collection is distributed as a group. The post card is usually pre-addressed for mailing back to the advertiser to request more information, place an order, or to take some other action. 

card rate   the cost of advertising time or space, as quoted on the media vehicle’s rate card; the basic full rate without the agency commission or special media discounts of any kind. Also called base rate, gross rate, open rate, one-time rate, and transient rate. See base rate, open rate, rate card, agency commission, and media discount. 

car-end poster   in transit advertising, an advertisement on the back of the vehicle.

carriage fee   in television or radio, payment made by a particular station to a network or other entity for the right to carry the network's programming; e.g., fee paid by a local cable operator to ESPN for the right to offer ESPN Classic or ESPN2 programming. Also referred to as carrying fee. See rights fees.

carryover audience   see holdover audience. 

carryover effect   the impact of an advertising or other promotion campaign or activity that lasts after the completion of the campaign. 

cartoon method   in qualitative advertising research, a projective technique in which the respondent is shown a cartoon and asked to describe what is happening, the dialogue among the characters, what is being portrayed, and what thoughts come to mind; typically, the respondent is asked to fill in the words or thoughts of the character(s) in the cartoon. Similar to the picture response test. See word association test, sentence completion test, story completion test, third-person method, and picture response test, as well as qualitative research and projective research techniques. 

car-topper   an advertising display attached to the top of an automobile or some transit vehicle. 

cash discount   a discount, usually 2 percent, offered by the media for prompt payment of invoices; more generally, any price reduction offered to buyers who pay their bills promptly. 

cash refund offer   a sales promotion practice in which cash is offered to the consumer for submission of a mail-in request form, along with proof of purchase of the product. 

cash sponsorship deal   a sponsorship that includes the advertiser providing cash to help defray the costs of staging an event, in return for special consideration such as mention in the event’s advertising, program, or publicity releases. 

cash syndication   where the syndicator, or owner of the program, provides first-run or off-network syndication television programs to local stations, which pay the syndicator a cash license fee for the right to air the show over a period of time; the advertising time is owned and sold by the local station. See barter syndication, cash-barter syndication, first-run syndication, off-network syndication, syndicator, and syndication.  

cash-barter syndication   a combination of cash syndication and barter syndication, where the television station gives up commercial time and also pays a license fee for the right to broadcast syndication programs; see barter syndication, cash syndication, first-run syndication, off-network syndication, and syndication. 

catalog   a book that identifies and describes products for sale by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer; see catalog marketing.    

catalog buyer   in direct marketing, an individual who has made a purchase from a catalog. 

catalog house   the marketer, i.e., seller, using a catalog as its major means of communicating its offering to prospective consumers. 

catalog marketing   a direct marketing method that involves a book containing descriptions of products available for sale, mailed to prospective customers, who place orders by telephone or by mail; see catalog.  

Category Development Index (CDI)   a measure of the relative sales strength of a particular product category in a specific market area of the United States. To calculate: divide the percent of product category A’s total U.S. sales in market X by the percent of total U.S. population in market X, then multiply the result by 100 to get the index number. Especially useful, along with Brand Development Index (BDI), in deciding media allocations and how much advertising and other promotion effort to put into different market areas. See Brand Development Index (BDI). 

category exclusivity   in sponsorship marketing, a contractual agreement giving a sponsor the right to be the only company in its product category associated with the sponsored property; term may also apply to when any media vehicle gives an advertiser a similar arrangement. 

category killer  a store that carries such a complete assortment of goods in a product category at relatively low prices that other stores find it extremely difficult to compete.

category management   the supervision of and responsibility for all aspects of the marketing program for a particular type of product or line of products, as opposed to a specific brand; e.g., the salty snacks category for Frito-Lay. See brand management.    

category manager   in the advertiser’s organization, the individual who coordinates and is responsible for the marketing of an entire group of related products or product category, as opposed to a specific brand within that product category.

causal relationship   in marketing and advertising research, when it can be inferred that two variables are related in some way; e.g., when a point-of-purchase display results in an increase in sales during the display period, even though the price remains the same. 

causal research   a type of research, with specific hypotheses, designed to determine exactly how one variable influences another to change; i.e., seeks to identify the reasons for a particular marketing or advertising phenomenon. For example: how an advertiser’s side-by-side comparison of its product vs. another brand affects consumer perception of the product or the effect on sales produced by an increase in advertising expenditures or how a particular advertising appeal, tone, or execution format affects the consumer’s reaction to an advertisement. Seeks cause-and-effect relationships. See descriptive research and exploratory research. 

cause-related marketing   a public relations sponsorship-type activity in which the advertiser for purposes of goodwill aligns itself with a not-for-profit organization or program, generally contributing money (and, sometimes, people) to the program in exchange for the advertiser’s name being promoted in connection with the cause; often takes the form of a portion-of-the-revenues contribution to the cause from the advertiser each time the advertiser’s product is bought. Often aimed at socially-responsible consumers to motivate them to buy the advertiser’s product on the advertiser’s pledge to donate part of the sales price to a specific cause. May be done to influence consumer to change their attitudes toward the company or its product. Also called cause marketing. 

caveat emptor   the idea that the customer should bear the responsibility of determining the capability of a product or service to deliver the need-satisfying benefits sought by the consumer and, if an error in judgment is made, the consumer is the one to bear the burden; the opposite of the marketing concept. A Latin term meaning “let the buyer beware.” See marketing concept. 

cease-and-desist order   A Federal Trade Commission order to an advertiser prohibiting further use of an advertisement or promotion practice considered by the FTC to be misleading or deceptive; may be issued if the advertiser refuses to sign a consent decree. See consent decree. 

celebrity endorsement   see endorsement. 

census   in marketing and advertising research, the collection of data from all units in a particular population of interest (as opposed to collecting data from only a portion of the population); e.g., a survey of all advertising agencies that have an automobile account among its list of clients. A complete count of a research universe. See universe and sample. 

center of influence   an actual customer or opinion leader whose actions are respected by others and who may influence their marketplace behavior; see opinion leader. 

center spread   a single advertisement that occupies two facing pages at the exact middle in a publication; also called a double-page spread or double truck. See two-page spread. 

central location   in marketing and advertising research, a single site at which the research is conducted; e.g., a shopping center or a venue at which respondents are assembled. 

cents-off deal   a consumer sales promotion effort in which the consumer pays a price lower than the regular price in the amount imprinted or affixed to the package; see price pack. 

certification mark   a sign or symbol that identifies and guarantees the origin or quality of a particular product; owner may permit another party to use the mark in commerce, e.g., Teflon II is a certification mark owned by DuPont for its Teflon-coated cookware and the cookware producers have DuPont’s permission to use the mark in advertising the fact that their particular brand of cookware is made with Teflon. See trademark, service mark, and Lanham Act. 

chain   a group of newspapers or magazines under single ownership or control; also may refer to a broadcast network. 

chain break   in broadcast network programming, the time during which a network allows an affiliate station to give a station identification (ID); often a :30 break, consisting of a :10 spot and a :20 ID. 

challenger   see market challenger. 

champion   an individual with a great interest in an activity, process, or particular cause and who acts as a group’s prime leader and mover in getting action; a passionate, action-oriented spokesperson for a particular matter. 

change agent   an individual who has such a degree of influence and credibility, often greater than the marketer’s advertising and promotion efforts, that he or she is a major force in getting consumers to change their purchasing and consumption behavior.  

channel   any medium or means by which an advertiser’s message is sent to the receiver or target audience; magazines, television. 

channel captain   in the distribution channel, the organization that takes the lead role in directing, managing, and coordinating the activities of the intermediaries throughout the entire channel; acts as the arbitrator and facilitator for channel conflicts. Typically the organization with the best combination of size, power, influence, respect, and ability to act as a mediator. 

channel conflict   in the distribution channel, disagreement between or among intermediaries as to objectives, responsibilities, expectations, or any marketing or nonmarketing matters relating to the conduct of business in the channel; see channel captain.  

channel grazing   in television advertising, looking in on other channels and programming via remote control during the time a commercial is airing on the channel being watched; also called channel surfing. 

channel length  see distribution channel length. 

channel management   the marketer’s activities involved in organizing, directing, and controlling the marketing efforts of the intermediaries in its distribution channel, with the purpose of developing and maintaining an efficient, effective, and smoothly-functioning team of intermediaries. 

channel of communications   see media. 

channel of distribution   see distribution channel. 

channel surfing   see channel grazing. 

charting the showing   in out-of-home advertising, the process of determining individual unit locations in a particular market to maximize objectives; e.g., circulation is based on traffic volume in a specific market. 

checkerboard programming   in television, the most common method of scheduling programs in prime time, whereby a different program is offered in the exact same time period every night; as opposed to strip programming, which is the common scheduling approach for programs in all other dayparts. Also called checkerboarding. See strip programming, prime time and dayparts. 

checking   the process of confirming the actual appearance or airing of an advertisement or commercial; applies to all media. 

checking copy   formal evidence and verification that an advertisement did appear as scheduled; sent to the advertising agency and advertiser as confirmation. Also known as advertiser’s copy. See affidavit of performance, tearsheet, and unpaid distribution. 

Child Protection Act   a law passed in 1966 to extend labeling requirements to include dangerous toys and children’s products, as well as all hazardous household products (not just those that are packaged, per the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act); also established standards for child-resistant packaging. See Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act. 

Child Protection and Toy Safety Act   a 1969 law regulating all aspects of toy safety, including development, monitoring, and enforcement of safety standards.  

Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU)   an organization devoted to promoting responsible advertising directed to children and to respond to public concerns; a part of the National Advertising Review Council (NARC) along with the National Advertising Division (NAD), this body performs the same type of work as the NAD, but specializing in monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating advertising directed at children under 12 years of age. Major concern is that advertising to the children is fair, truthful, accurate, and socially responsible, and in keeping with the council’s self-regulatory Guidelines for Children’s Advertising. See National Advertising Review Council (NARC), National Advertising Division (NAD), and Guidelines for Children’s Advertising. 

Children’s Television Act  a 1990 law designed to improve the quality of children’s programming on broadcast television; establishes standards pertaining to the number of hours of core educational and informational programming each week, as well as encourages commercial time limits on children’s programming. See Action for Children’s Television (ACT). 

choice set   the short list of brands from which the consumer makes his or her final purchase decision, following elimination of some brands from the larger, evoked set (or consideration set); see evoked set. 

churn   customer loss; see audience turnover. 

Cigarette Labeling Act   see Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. 

cinema advertising   advertising in movie theaters. 

cinemads   commercials on the big screen in movie theaters, generally appearing before the feature attraction; often are made-for-TV-like ads, created specifically for movie theaters. 

circular   a single-page advertisement mailed or hand-delivered; also called a flyer. See handbill. 

circulation   most commonly refers to distribution of a publication, but can apply to other media as well. In print, the number of copies of the publication that are distributed, on average, in its normal distribution period; e.g., the average number of newspapers distributed daily, or the average number of magazines distributed weekly. Non-paid circulation refers to the number of copies distributed free of charge, as distinguished from paid circulation. In broadcast, the number of households tuned to a station a certain number of times within a period of time; e.g., the number of households tuned to a particular television station at least once a day. In transit, the number of riders who have an opportunity to see a car card in an average day, week, or month. In outdoor, the number of people, based on traffic volume, who have an opportunity to see a billboard during a specific period of time, such as daily or weekly. Not to be confused with the term audience. See controlled circulation, non-paid circulation, paid circulation, and qualified circulation. 

circulation audit   in print media, a complete accounting and analysis of every aspect of a publication’s distribution, including methods of distribution, paid and unpaid circulation, distribution outlets, and geographical distribution; see Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). 

circulation rate base   the guaranteed minimum number of copies of a publication that are sold with each issue; the basis for determining the advertising rate. 

circulation waste   the number of individuals in an advertiser’s audience who, though they have been reached by the paid message of the advertiser, are not customers or genuine prospects of the advertiser; commonly called waste circulation. 

circus layout   in print advertising, a layout style consisting of a variety of fonts sizes and typefaces, illustrations, slanted copy and graphics, and any other means to set the advertisement apart from others and to make it entertaining; also called an omnibus layout.  

city magazine   a consumer publication whose editorial and subject matter, and its audience focus is centered around a particular locality, generally a metropolitan area or, perhaps, a region. 

city-zone circulation   in newspaper advertising, the number of newspapers distributed within a city’s limits by the paper, as opposed to outlying or suburban areas. 

claimed-recall score   in television advertising research, a finding reported by a day-after-recall test, identifying the percentage of respondents who remember seeing the commercial in question; see related-recall score, day-after-recall test, and ASI Recall Test.  

claims   what the advertising promises the product or service will do for the buyer and user; product-centered statements describing the product and the benefits to be gained by the buyer. See substantiation of claims. 

Claritas, Inc.   a leading provider of comprehensive databases for a broad range of marketing and advertising applications, including strategic planning, channel development, analysis of customer behavior for target marketing efforts aimed at customer acquisition and retention, and measurement of marketing program performance.  

class magazine   a publication that reaches a select, upscale audience; as opposed to a publication with a large, mass circulation. See special-interest magazine. 

classified advertising   advertising, set in small type, in newspapers or magazines that is arranged by category, such as automotive, employment, or housing, and which typically appears in the “classified section” of the publication; a text-only format, i.e., the ad is entirely copy. See classified display advertising.  

classified display advertising   advertising similar to standard classified advertising, except that it also includes photos, artwork, or special borders; see classified advertising. 

Clayton Antitrust Act   a 1914 act passed to amend, clarify, and supplement the Sherman Antitrust Act; prohibited exclusive sales contracts forcing dealers to accept other products in a seller’s line, as well as local price-cutting to freeze out competitors. See Sherman Antitrust Act and Robinson-Patman Act. 

clearance   in television or radio, the permission given to stations to air a particular network or syndicated program; from the individual station’s viewpoint, a promise made to the network to carry a particular program. 

click   on the Internet, when a web site visitor interacts with an advertisement, actually clicking on it to be headed toward the advertiser’s destination; does not mean the visitor actually waits to fully arrive at the destination, but simply that the visitor started to go there. Also called a hit.

click rate   the number of clicks on a web site relative to the number of ad requests made by users; ratio is computed as clicks divided by ad requests.    

click stream   on the Internet, the series of pages viewed by a user during a single visit to a particular Web site. 

clicks-and-mortar   a business that has merged an online presence with its physical plant; e.g., a retailer that gives customers the opportunity to buy products online or at the physical store location. Also called brick-and-click. See bricks-and-mortar and on-line marketing. 

clickthrough   on the Internet, the successful arrival of a user to an advertiser’s web site; also called ad transfer.  

clickthrough rate (CTR)   in Internet advertising, the percentage of times that users respond to an advertisement by clicking on it and actually arriving at the advertiser’s web site.   

client   the individual, organization, or other entity for which the advertising agency or other promotion services specialist does its work; the one with the product or service to be marketed or advertised; also called the account or, in some cases, the sponsor. 

Clio Awards   prizes given to recognize advertising creativity and excellence worldwide; the organization, through its awards competition, is dedicated to the advancement of advertising professionals and the entire industry.   

clip art   professionally-prepared preprinted drawings, images, and other artwork that can be purchased or are otherwise available for use in creating advertisements, brochures, and other printed matter; as opposed to artwork specially commissioned for the assignment at hand. The images come on glossy paper, and are ready-to-use simply by cutting the image from the paper. Available in computer software packages and on the internet.      

clipping bureau   see clipping service. 

clipping service   an organization that monitors many periodicals for advertisers on a contract basis, securing and forwarding to the advertiser copies of its publicity releases, mention of the advertiser in conjunction with an event or a particular issue, competitors’ advertisements, or any other matter of interest to the advertiser. Also called a clipping bureau. See monitoring service.  

close   see closing. 

close billboard   a brief announcement at the end of a broadcast program in the form of “The preceding portion of this program has been brought to you by (sponsor’s name).” See open billboard and middle billboard. 

close date   see closing date. 

closed-end questions   in survey research, questions in which the alternative answers are listed and from which the respondent must choose an answer; i.e., respondents are provided with a pre-determined list of possible answers from which they select their answer. For example, multiple-choice, true-false, or rating-scale questions. Also called structured questions. 

closing   the stage of the personal selling process in which the sales representative asks the potential customer for the order; the stage at which the sale is completed or the commitment is received from the prospect. See prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, handling objections, and follow-up. 

closing date   the deadline for submitting advertising material in production-ready form to a publication or station for the advertising to appear in a specific issue or on a particular broadcast. 

closure   a sale or other final action desired or aimed for by a direct marketer. 

cluster   in marketing and advertising research, a specific group that may be considered homogeneous in terms of demographic or lifestyle characteristics as determined by the researcher; in television and radio advertising, a group of commercials for broadcast during the same break. 

cluster sample   in survey research for marketing and advertising, a type of probability sample that uses a method of choosing respondents in which the population is divided into mutually-exclusive groups (e.g., counties, city blocks) and then drawing a random sample of the groups to include in the survey; also called an area sample. See probability sample, simple random sample, stratified random sample, non-probability sample, and survey method. 

clustering   in marketing and advertising research, identifying and grouping similar characteristics and patterns within various sets of data.  

ClusterPLUS   a geodemographic segmentation system that enables very specific targeting of consumers according to the lifestyle characteristics of individuals in a specific neighborhood; consumer profiles are developed on the basis of socio-economic factors (e.g., education, occupation, income) and lifecycle stage (e.g., age, family structure), permitting a sharp snapshot of individuals and their consumer behavior patterns. A product of Donnelly Marketing Information Services (part of Dun & Bradstreet Corporation). See geodemographic segmentation.   

clutter   the total number of  advertisements competing for attention of the audience, usually mentioned in the context of excessive amounts of advertising; can refer to the number of ads appearing in a media vehicle, a particular medium, or the totality of all media with advertising vying for reader and viewer attention. In television and radio, all non-program content. See non-program material. 

clutter reels   in advertising research, videotapes containing several television commercials including the one(s) being tested; used to determine a particular commercial’s ability to stand out from the rest of the commercials, draw attention, measure awareness and comprehension, i.e., cut through the clutter. 

Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment (CASIE)  an organization formed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)  to promote electronic commerce and advertising; its mission includes activities and programs designed to encourage new media services such as the Internet to rely on advertising as a major source of funding, research and tracking consumer use of the new media, and proactive efforts with legislative and regulatory agencies in dealing with the evolving new media. See American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and Association of National Advertisers (ANA).   

coat-out   in outdoor advertising, covering an advertising message with paint to prevent old copy from showing through; see bleed-through. 

co-branding   a promotional effort in which two or more established, well-known brands join together for a special offer to the consumer, are mentioned in the same advertising or on the same package, or unite for some other joint effort; e.g., American Airlines places its logo on MasterCard and then awards free air mileage points each time the credit card is used, an advertisement proclaiming that the Budweiser racing team uses Goodyear tires on all its cars, or a Pillsbury cake mix package or advertisement identifying Hershey chocolate as a key ingredient. Sometimes referred to as dual branding. 

code of ethics   standards and guidelines established by industry associations and other organizations, governing operating procedures and behavior in the conduct of marketing, advertising, and other businesses and endeavors. 

cognition   the mental thought process of interpreting and integrating information, generally from a variety of sources, including advertising and direct experience; see cognitive learning.  

cognitive consistency   the tendency for individuals to act in a way that supports their attitudes and beliefs, being drawn to and reacting positively to stimuli that conform to and agree with those attitudes and beliefs, while rejecting those that do not; see selective perception. 

cognitive dissonance   the mental discomfort, anxiety, or tension experienced by an individual in the post-decision stage of the consumer decision process; the doubt or uneasiness arises from the consumer not being sure a particular marketplace decision or choice was the right one given the alternatives. Most likely to occur with difficult or high-involvement decisions where the perceived risks or consequences of an action such as product choice are greatest. Essentially, the consumer questions the wisdom of his or her decision.  See post-decision evaluation stage. 

cognitive learning theory   the acquisition of knowledge resulting from an internal mental process of problem solving by the consumer in the course of making marketplace decisions; the process by which consumers acquire new information as they seek to make appropriate purchase decisions. A view of learning that rests on thinking, reasoning, and understanding. 

cognitive processing   see cognitive learning theory, cognitive responses and information processing. 

cognitive responses   thoughts consumers form in reaction to advertising and other marketing communications activities based on thinking, reasoning, and understanding; such thoughts occur during information processing. An individual’s change in opinion, attitude, or behavior as a result of his or her exposure to information. See information processing. 

coincidental interview   in marketing and advertising research, an interviewing method in which the respondent is questioned during the particular activity of interest, such as a television program, watching an event, or participating in a promotion; interviewing may be by telephone or in person. See telephone coincidental. 

coined word   a word consisting of an original combination of consonants and vowels, and often used for brand names; e.g., Kodak, Cheerios, Advil, Tabasco, Kleenex, or Scrabble. 

collaborative marketing   in advertising, projects or campaigns that require the teamwork of many advertising agency offices, often in distant locales. 

collateral materials   supplementary, non-media material for concurrent use with advertising and other promotion campaign elements, especially materials designed for dealer use; e.g., brochures, catalogs, videotapes, exhibits, sales kits; non-commissionable media used in an advertising or promotion campaign. Typically called collateral. 

collateral services   the additional services needed to prepare the key elements in a marketing communications plan, such as marketing research, package design, event sponsorship planning, print and broadcast production, consultants, and other services required to make the plan ready for execution. 

column   in newspaper advertising, the standard vertical unit of space; see column inch. 

column inch   in newspaper advertising, a unit of space measuring one column wide by one inch deep; one inch deep equals 14 agate lines. In a broadsheet, or standard-size newspaper, a full-page advertisement measures 126 column inches (six columns wide by 21 inches deep). See Standard Advertising Unit (SAU), inch rate, and agate line. 

co-marketing   a general term for a wide variety of activities and programs when two or more organizations combine resources and efforts to pursue a common marketing or promotion objective; a partnership effort between or among manufacturers and retailers to advance the branding message of each organization. Examples: Black & Decker and Home Depot joining forces to promote power tools for a given period of time, thereby leveraging the equity of both the brand and the store; Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart developing a spring cleaning promotion that features P & G cleaning products at reduced prices in Wal-Mart stores; or Subaru automobiles and Head USA ski-maker joining together for sponsorship of nationwide skiing clinics for women. Usually initiated by the manufacturer when it involves a retailer. Sometimes referred to as cross-marketing, dual marketing, joint marketing, partnership marketing, or promotional partnership. 

combination method of agency compensation   a method of compensating an advertising agency in which payment is based on some combination of fee, commission, and/or results; most often, a combination of fee and commission. See fee method, commission method, and performance-based method. Also see agency commission and sliding rate.   

combination offer   in sales promotion, when two related products are packaged together and offered at a lower price than if each were sold separately; e.g., toothpaste and brush offered as part of the same package. 

combination package   see co-pack. 

combination program   in sales promotion, the use of two or more techniques in combination with one another. 

combination rate   a special discounted advertising rate offered when the advertiser buys space or time in two or more publications or stations owned by the same company; e.g., the rate paid by an advertiser for space in two newspapers under common ownership, which is a lower rate than for the individual newspapers bought separately. 

command headline   a type of headline for an advertisement or a commercial in which there is a strong statement or order telling the audience to do something, or to take action; e.g., “Trust your swing. Trust your clubs. Attack the course.” (Cobra golf clubs) or “Start the new year on the right foot.” (Spenco insoles). See headline, as well as benefit headline, curiosity headline, news-information headline, and question headline.  

commercial   a sponsor-paid advertising message that is broadcast on a television or radio station; the broadcast equivalent of a print advertisement. Also called an announcement. See advertisement. 

commercial break   in television or radio, a pause in a program to air an advertising  message, i.e., a commercial, for a company’s product or service, or for some other message. Referred to as a pod. 

commercial code number   a group of numbers and letters used to identify a particular broadcast commercial as that of a specific advertiser, product, and advertising agency; also includes the title of the commercial, such as “Sandlot Baseball.” 

commercial impressions   see gross impressions. 

commercial lead-in   in television or radio, an announcer’s introduction of an advertising message; e.g., “There’s a break in the action, so we’ll have a few words from our sponsors.”  

commercial life   the length of time an advertisement continues to be used; the length of time a particular execution(s) is judged to be effective. 

commercial load   the amount of time (i.e., minutes) consumed by advertising on a particular television or radio program, or some other time period such as one hour; also can refer to the advertising time available (i.e., before it is sold) in a certain time period.  

commercial minute   in television or radio, sixty seconds of advertising time. 

commercial pod   see pod. 

commercial pool   an advertiser’s ready-at-any-time reservoir of television or radio commercials available for use as the occasion presents itself. 

commercial protection   a broadcast media vehicle’s guarantee to an advertiser that there will be no commercial for a competing product within a specified time (e.g., 10 minutes) of the airing of the advertiser’s commercial; see competitive separation and piggyback commercial.

commercial retention rate   in television and radio advertising, the extent to which a program's audience stays tuned to that station during commercial breaks and is therefore exposed to the advertising; see ad pod rating. 

commercial sign   in outdoor advertising, structures on roofs or walls of buildings such as business establishments or factories to identify that particular business; privately-owned by the business. 

commercial speech   speech that has as its goal some sort of transaction or action between a seller and a buyer, i.e., advertising; the First Amendment offers some protection to commercial speech as long as it is truthful. Examples of allowable commercial speech based on challenges in various states ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court: advertising done by or for public utilities, gambling casinos, prescription drugs prices, alcoholic beverage prices, or legal services. 

commercialization   the eighth and final stage of the new-product development process, in which the marketing plan is finalized based on the market test and the product is rolled-out to select markets; see new-product development process, idea generation, idea screening, concept testing, market evaluation, product development, marketing plan, and market testing. Also see roll-out. 

commission method of agency compensation   payment to the advertising agency from the advertising media vehicle as compensation for the agency’s placing its client’s advertising with that vehicle; an agency compensation method based on the amount of media space or time purchased for the advertiser. Traditionally 15 percent. See fee method, combination method, and performance-based method. Also see agency commission and sliding rate.   

commissionable media   advertising media that pay a commission to an advertising agency for buying advertising space or time with them; e.g., television, radio, magazines, newspapers, outdoor, transit, and other traditional media. See agency commission and non-commissionable media. 

commodity   a product perceived to be essentially the same regardless of brand, due to lack of significant differentiation among competing brands.

commodity advertising programs  campaigns aimed at promoting sales of a commodity, e.g., the beef industry's "It's What's for Dinner" campaign, the pork industry's "The Other White Meat" advertising, the milk industry's "Got Milk?" campaign, or a campaign promoting cotton. 

communicability   the extent to which a product’s or service’s features benefits can be clearly and effectively described to the potential customer or target market. 

communications   oral, written, visual, or sensory information that travels between a sender and a receiver; the sending and receiving of messages.  

Communications Act   the 1934 federal act that established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

communications audit   a comprehensive and systematic review and appraisal of a firm’s or organization’s entire marketing communications program, its organization, activities, strategies, and people; also referred to as promotion audit. 

communications channel   the particular means or route by which a marketer or advertiser sends a message to its target audience; e.g., radio, magazine, billboard, direct mail, personal selling. See media. 

communications effect of advertising   the extent to which the consumer is influenced by an advertiser’s message; see sales effect of advertising. 

communications-effect research   measurement of the effectiveness of advertising on consumers; determination of whether the intended message got through to the consumer. See copytesting. 

communications mix   the components of an organization’s marketing communications program – advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling – and the way in which they are blended together to form an integrated plan; the particular combination of promotion elements and activities used by a company to pursue its communications and marketing objectives. See integrated marketing communications.     

communications objectives   in advertising and promotion, an organization’s campaign goals such as to achieve a particular level of consumer awareness, influence attitudes and opinions, create or change an image, increase knowledge, create or change preferences or purchase intentions.     

communications plan   a formal blueprint outlining an organization’s situation analysis, budget, objectives, communications strategies, implementation guidelines, and measurement and control systems for the communications part of the marketing effort for a particular product or service; an action plan for all the components and activities needed to make a firm’s promotion plan successful. Also referred to as a promotion plan.  

communications platform   see copy platform. 

communications satellite   a space vehicle deployed to receive television and radio signals and which transmits those signals back to earth. 

communications task   the job of advertising, such as creating awareness, comprehension, conviction, or action; see DAGMAR.  

communications test   in advertising research, pretesting a message to determine if it is communicating the intended points. 

communications vehicle   see media vehicle. 

community marketing   see municipal marketing. 

community newspaper   a newspaper published and circulated in a local area, such as a town or small group of contiguous towns; usually a weekly publication. 

community-access television programming   see public access and public-access channel. 

commuter clock   a rapid transit terminal poster or sign with a built-in clock; measures approximately 21” high x 46” wide. See terminal poster. 

comp   see comprehensive. 

company ambassador   an individual appearing as a spokesperson or representative on behalf of a particular company or organization, as part of the marketing and promotion program, particularly in the role of promotion goodwill; e.g., Tiger Woods for Buick or Michael Jordan for Nike. Title and role as a true ambassador often reserved for those individuals perceived by the audience as extraordinary in their field of endeavor, and who are believable, trustworthy, and of impeccable character. Same principle as product ambassador. See goodwill, spokesperson, and product ambassador. 

company magazine   see house publication. 

comparable-store sales   see same-store sales.

comparison advertising   advertising in which the advertiser compares its product or service to a competitor’s offering, either by direct comparison of attributes (naming the competitor) or indirect comparison (implying the identity of the rival); generally used by an advertiser to claim superiority over one or more competitors. Also referred to as attack advertising or comparative advertising. 

comparison format   in advertising, a creative execution format featuring a side-by-side evaluation of one product against another; e.g., a Progresso chicken noodle soup commercial making a direct comparison with Campbell’s chicken noodle product, a Total cereal commercial showing how it delivers more vitamins per serving than does Kellogg’s or Quaker products, a commercial comparing Advil’s pain-relief effectiveness against Tylenol, or a Ford pickup truck advertisement showing its features in a side-by-side comparisons with Chevrolet. See straightforward factual, news, demonstration, problem-solution, slice-of-life, dramatization, symbolic association, fantasy, animation, still-life, humor, spokesperson, and testimonial formats. See also comparison advertising. 

comparison advertising guidelines   see Guidelines for Comparison Advertising. 

compensation plan   see agency compensation method. 

compensatory decision rule   a decision rule in which the consumer, choosing between two or more alternatives, evaluates each brand on each relevant attribute and then chooses the brand that offers the best overall score; criteria are evaluated separately and then combined, so that a brand’s favorable attributes or strengths can offset its shortcomings and unfavorable aspects or weaknesses when compared with competing brand alternatives. Also called compensatory model. See non-compensatory decision rule, lexicographic decision rule, consumer decision rules, and evoked set. 

competitive advantage   the enduring superiority a product or a company has over another; originates from a variety of factors, such as product features, company resources, dealer network, or advertising and promotion programs. The degree to which a firm’s marketing mix or offering is perceived as better than that of a competitor. Also referred to as differential advantage or relative advantage. 

competitive advertising   see persuasive advertising. 

competitive barriers   the factors and conditions that make it difficult for an organization, once in operation, to effectively compete or even hold its own in an industry; include, among several others, pricing tactics of competitors, large expenditures for advertising, extensive sales promotion methods, and rapid innovation. See barriers to entry. 

competitive check   monitoring and analysis of the advertising levels and                        scheduling patterns of competitors; generally done using syndicated data, such as that provided by Competitive Media Reporting (CMR), Broadcast Advertising Reports (BAR), and other services. See Competitive Media Reporting (CMR), Broadcast Advertising Reports (BAR), and Leading National Advertisers (LNA). 

competitive environment   the number, types, and methods of competitors and the way they conduct their businesses. 

competitive intelligence   the broad range of information an organization has pertaining to its market competitors. 

Competitive Media Reporting (CMR)   the premier provider of advertising expenditure data and intelligence used by advertisers, advertising agencies, and the media; collects and disseminates advertising expenditures on network TV, network cable TV, spot TV, national syndicated TV, Internet, consumer magazines, business magazines, international magazines, Sunday magazines, outdoor, national newspapers, local newspapers, national radio, national spot radio, and local spot radio.    

competitive parity method   a method of setting the advertising or promotion budget by matching the expenditures of competitors, either by dollar amount or rate of spending; a top-down approach to budgeting. See affordable method, arbitrary method, objective-and-task method, percentage-of-sales method, and unit-of-sales method. See also build-up approach to budgeting and top-down approach to budgeting. 

competitive positioning   the process of establishing a distinctive place in the minds of consumers, relative to the competition; see positioning. 

competitive report   a compilation of media spending and/or media usage statistics of a firm’s competitors; generally broken down by individual brands. 

competitive separation   the amount of space or time between advertisements or commercials for competing products; in a magazine, for example, the number of pages separating advertisements for Goodyear and Michelin automobile tires or, on television, the number of minutes elapsing between commercials for Bud Light and Coors Light beers. See commercial protection, piggyback commercial, product protection, and separation. 

competitor analysis   a complete examination and evaluation of all aspects of the important competitors, both current and potential, of an advertiser’s product or service, their strengths and weaknesses, the threats they pose, and their vulnerabilities; an important part of the preliminary investigation that precedes development of a marketing communications plan. See situation analysis. 

competitor positioning   see positioning by competitor. 

competitor repositioning   a marketer’s strategy of getting consumers to change their attitudes and beliefs about a competitor’s product; e.g., an attempt to alter consumers’ overly-high perceptions about the quality, value, or others claims of a competing brand. See positioning and repositioning. 

compiled list   a direct-mail list that has been assembled and organized by a source other than the advertiser or user; e.g., a readily-available list of automobile owners, appliance stores, florists, recent home buyers, or marathon runners. See list compiler and list rental. 

complementary products   goods that are consumed or used together and which are normally demanded together; the price of one complement and the demand for the other change in the opposite direction, e.g., an increase in the price of one results in the decrease of demand for the other. Examples: cameras and film, VCRs and videotape cassettes, fountain pens and ink, hot dogs and hot dog buns. Often bundled for sales promotion programs. See substitute products, independent products and bundling. 

completion technique   see sentence completion test. 

complex message   an advertising or promotional message that is decidedly difficult for an individual to absorb and comprehend; often cannot be fully understood in just one exposure. 

complex problem solving   see extensive problem solving. 

complimentary copy   in print publications, a copy of a magazine or newspaper sent as a courtesy to advertisers, agencies, prospects, or anyone else deemed worthy by the publisher; see exchange copy. 

component   in direct mail, any one of the elements in the package; e.g., sales letter, reply card, order form. See component test. 

component test   in direct mail, a test of the effectiveness of an element in the package; e.g., measuring the results obtained with one sales letter vs. another, one incentive vs. another, or the addition or removal of an element such as a reply card or an incentive. See component. 

composite of sales force opinion   a sales forecasting method that is based on information provided by members of the sales force; each salesperson estimates future product sales in his or her territory, with the individual estimates then combined to arrive at an overall sales forecast. See sales forecast, expert opinion, jury of executive opinion, test marketing, market potential, and sales potential. 

composition   the demographic makeup of an audience. 

comprehension   a cognitive process of interpreting and understanding an advertiser’s message. 

comprehension test   in advertising research, an effectiveness test to determine whether or not the advertisement or commercial communicated the intended message; i.e., whether or not the message “got through.” 

comprehensive   see comprehensive layout. 

comprehensive layout   in the layout development process, a complete layout of a print advertisement, with all elements in their final places to show exactly what the finished ad will look like; usually computer-generated, it is intended as a true representation of the ad for the advertiser to evaluate just prior to producing the mechanical that will be sent to the printer. Commonly called a comp. See layout development process, thumbnail, rough layout, and mechanical. 

compressed advertising message   in broadcast advertising, a commercial that is a shorter version of another commercial; e.g., a :60 reduced to a :30. See re-sizing.   

compression   a questionable practice by which a local television station, using what is called a “time machine,” takes a live program and shrinks its content by about 30 seconds every half hour (through a process of micro-editing done by the time machine), to permit extra commercial time and, therefore, additional advertising revenue for the station; since it occurs in real time and the time machine edits and eliminates meaningless video frames, the viewer cannot detect any loss of program content. A highly complex process, and very questionable.  

computer clip art   see clip art. 

concave response curve   a model of the relationship between advertising expenditures and sales, in which the effects of advertising expenditures follow the law of diminishing returns; as advertising outlays increase, incremental sales decrease, i.e., the initial outlays are most effective, followed by diminishing returns. When plotted on a graph, advertising expenditures are on the “x” axis, with sales on the “y” axis. See S-shaped response curve. 

concentrated marketing   a marketing strategy whereby the firm’s efforts focus on providing one or more products to a single market segment; see differentiated marketing and mass marketing. 

concentrated media mix   a media strategy of allocating an advertiser’s entire media budget to one particular medium, such as radio; may also apply to placing all media dollars in one specific media vehicle, such as a particular magazine. See varied media mix. 

concept   the underlying idea of a product or service, as well as the idea upon which the advertising is based; see concept statement and concept testing. 

concept reel   in television advertising planning, a extra-long (e.g., five minutes) commercial from which selected parts are taken, culminating in a :30; used to get the feel of the commercial and have the opportunity to piece together the most appropriate parts, resulting in a “best” approach.   

concept statement   a written statement, sometimes including a visual element, of an idea underlying a product or service and describing its features and benefits; used for presentation to consumers to obtain their reaction prior to development of the product or service. Statement that describes and explains in consumer terms a product or advertising that does not yet exist in physical form. Same principle applies to getting reaction from consumers about advertising and other promotion activities. See concept testing. 

concept testing   a research method which calls for asking a representative sample of target customers to indicate their interest in a new-product idea or “concept,” even though the product does not exist in physical form; developmental research often done to determine the best appeals to use in advertising messages, using focus groups. In advertising usage, a commercial or advertisement may exist in rough form and the respondent is asked for an opinion or reaction to the idea underlying the execution, i.e., testing to measure the effectiveness of rough ideas prior to finalizing them (the concept may be presented verbally or in the form of a rough ad). The third stage of the new-product development process. See concept statement, new-product development process, idea generation, idea screening, market evaluation, product development, marketing plan, market testing, and commercialization. 

conceptualization   see visualization. 

conclusive research   in marketing and advertising research, an approach aimed at evaluating different courses of action to find the best one.   

conditioned response   automatic response to a given stimulus or situation as a result of repeated exposure. 

conditioning theory   a theory of consumer behavior maintaining that learning is achieved through a process of trial-and-error; also called stimulus-response theory. See cognitive learning theory. 

confirmation   a formal statement given to an advertising agency and/or an advertiser by a media vehicle marking the vehicle’s receipt and acceptance of an order for a commercial, advertisement, or media schedule. 

conflicting accounts   see account conflict. 

consent decree (order)   in situations where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) believes a company is engaging in an unfair or deceptive practice, such as advertising, a legally binding document initiated by the FTC and signed by the advertiser, who voluntarily agrees to stop the advertising in question, with no admission of guilt, wrongdoing, or violation of any law, and who agrees to take steps to remedy the situation. See cease-and-desist order. 

consideration set   see evoked set. 

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA)   in metropolitan areas where Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs) are defined, the larger area of which the PMSAs are components; a definition of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). See Metropolitan Area (MA), Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA).    

consumer   the individuals and families who use the advertiser’s products and services; also those individuals who influence other people’s buying and consumption behavior.    

consumer activists   groups or individuals who are champions of consumer rights and who take active and vigorous measures to get their message heard on any given issue; the people who believe so strongly about a particular consumer issue or cause that they organize formal movements and actions such as visits to legislative bodies, appearances on television, press releases, interviews, and letter-writing campaigns to get their message heard. See consumer advocates and consumerism. 

consumer advertising   advertising aimed at people who are the ultimate consumers of a product or service or who buy for someone else or in some way influence the purchase of consumer products and services. 

consumer advocates   groups or individuals who are champions of consumer rights, doing their own research into questionable practices by marketers and actively investigating complaints received from consumers, to the point of requesting the marketer or advertiser to discontinue a practice if it is deemed objectionable; in the event of a marketer’s non-compliance, the efforts often include a formal and methodical application of public criticism and pressure on the offending marketer. See consumer activists and consumerism. 

Consumer Affairs   see Office of Consumer Affairs. 

consumer behavior   generally encompassing all the activities involved in and  related to an individual’s quest for need-satisfying products and services for personal or household use; see consumer decision process.  

Consumer Credit Protection Act   a law passed in 1968 to require full and complete disclosure of all terms and rates credit and loans; see Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

consumer deal   a general term referring to any of a number of sales promotion activities that involve an incentive or a special offer beyond the usual terms of sale for the consumer to purchase the product; e.g., see bonus pack and cash refund offer.  

consumer decision process   a series of stages through which the consumer proceeds in making marketplace decisions, considering products and services for purchase; stages include problem recognition, search for information, evaluation of information, the decision to purchase or not purchase, and post-decision evaluation. See complex decision making, limited decision making, and routine decision making. Also see high-involvement decision making and low-involvement decision making. 

consumer decision rules   guidelines and procedures followed by consumers as they make marketplace decisions; usually established to reduce risks associated with purchasing behavior. Different decision rules for different purchasing decisions. See compensatory decision rule, non-compensatory decision rule, lexicographic decision rule, and evoked set. 

Consumer Goods Pricing Act   a federal law, passed in 1975, that repealed the Miller-Tydings Act (1937), which had allowed resale price maintenance contracts and agreements between manufacturers and resellers (i.e., fair trade); rendered resale price maintenance arrangements illegal. See fair trade and Miller-Tydings Act. 

consumer information networks   systems and organizations that exist for the dissemination and exchange of a wide range of marketing-information relevant to consumers; most are formal entities and require membership. 

consumer jury   a group of consumers from whom an advertiser seeks opinions and thoughts about advertising and other promotion elements, especially in pre-testing; usually used on a special-purpose or single-case basis (i.e., ad hoc basis), as opposed to a permanent basis. See pre-testing and consumer panel.  

consumer magazine   a publication aimed at people who buy products and services for personal or family use; sometimes referred to as a general-circulation or general-interest magazine, though such reference is not accurate, since the publication may certainly be a special-interest magazine. See trade publication, general-circulation, special-interest magazine, and  general-interest magazine.  

consumer market   the totality of individuals and households who buy or are genuine prospects to buy products and services for their own use or someone else’s personal use; the people who go into the marketplace to satisfy their own specific needs or to help others do the same. 

consumer marketing    marketing programs and activities directed at consumer who are making marketplace decision about products and services for personal consumption; often referred to as B2C. See business marketing, industrial marketing, or organizational marketing. 

consumer panel   a group of individuals, families, or households carefully recruited, retained, and monitored to provide an advertiser with continuous data, information, and opinions on marketing matters, such as those relating to purchase behavior, consumption patterns, and advertising and promotion programs; typically kept intact over an extended period of time, sometimes for as long as three years. A type of longitudinal research. Often referred as a panel. See longitudinal research. 

consumer problem solving   see consumer decision process. 

consumer products   products or services purchased by individual consumers for personal or family use or consumption; see consumer products classification system. 

consumer products classification system   an arrangement of consumer products in groups based on how people buy the products; see convenience products, shopping products, specialty products, and unsought products. 

Consumer Products Safety Act   a 1972 law stating that the public should be protected against unreasonable risk of injury associated with consumer products, that consumers should be assisted in their evaluation of the comparative safety of products, and that there should be uniform safety standards for consumer goods; established the Consumer Products Safety Commission. See Consumer Products Safety Commission.  

Consumer Products Safety Commission   the independent federal regulatory agency responsible for monitoring all aspects of consumer product safety and enforcing the provisions of the Consumer Products Safety Act; has the power to recall products suspected to be unsafe. See Consumer Products Safety Act. 

consumer profile   a description of the buying habits and the demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics of the individuals or households who are users or prospective users of a product; also called user profile. See audience profile, demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioristic segmentation. 

consumer protection   the concept of safeguarding consumers’ interests as they make marketplace decisions; includes initiatives and measures to assure that products are safe, advertising and selling messages are truthful and free from deception, prices do not contain hidden costs, relevant information is not withheld, products deliver the promised performance, and other assurances to enable the consumer to make informed choices and, where there is a wrong, there exists a procedure to address and resolve the problem. 

consumer research   a wide variety of designs, methodologies, and techniques used to investigate and analyze buyer behavior; see consumer research process. 

consumer research process   the several stages of the organized study of buyer behavior; generally, consists of setting objectives, collecting secondary data, preparing the research design and methodology, collecting primary data, analyzing the data, and producing a formal report that focuses on the findings and recommendations for action. 

consumer risk-taking   see risk-taking. 

consumer sales promotion   short-term incentives directed at people who purchase products and services for personal consumption; e.g., coupons, sampling, premiums, deals. See trade sales promotion and sales promotion. 

consumer satisfaction   the extent of an individual’s fulfillment arising from the purchase and use of a product; the consumer’s goal in purchase behavior and based on his or her evaluation of the usage experience. 

consumer socialization process   the manner in which an individual becomes a skillful consumer, capable of making intelligent and informed marketplace decisions. 

consumer survey   survey research done on consumers; see dealer survey. 

consumerism   refers to consumers’ attempts, often acting as a group, to make known their position, exert power, and strongly influence an organization’s marketing activities; actions aimed at preserving the rights of the buying and consuming public. See consumer advocates. 

container premium   in promotional marketing, a special container (other than the product’s standard package) that is reusable after its contents are consumed; e.g., a grape jelly container or package designed to be used as a drinking glass after the contents are depleted. See premium. 

content tie-in   see convergence. 

contest   a sales promotion activity in which participants compete for prizes or money, with entries judged on the basis of skill; audience may be consumers or trade members. See game and sweepstakes.

contiguity   in broadcasting, two back-to-back programs offered without a break for commercials; more common in radio; see contiguity rate. 

contiguity rate   in television or radio advertising, a reduced rate for an advertiser who sponsors two or more successive programs on the same station.  

continuity   in advertising media scheduling, the particular pattern or manner in which the advertising appears, i.e., the timing of the media insertions; see continuous scheduling, flighting, and pulsing. 

continuity discount   see frequency discount. 

continuity program   a sales promotion activity used by the marketer to encourage consumers to make repeat purchases of a product by offering additional savings, premiums, or other values with the continuing purchases; see frequency program.   

continuous scheduling   a pattern of media scheduling, in which advertising runs at a steady uninterrupted level over the duration of the campaign, and with little or no variation in pressure. See media scheduling, blinking, flighting and pulsing. 

contract rate   a special rate offered by print media for advertisers who sign a contract to place a certain number of ads or use a certain amount of space during a given period of time; commonly offered by newspapers to local advertisers. See earned rate and short rate. 

contractual VMS   a vertical marketing system (VMS) in which independent distribution channel members at all stages work together by formal contractual commitment; channel members benefit from more efficient and effective marketing programs than could be achieved acting alone. See vertical marketing system (VMS), corporate VMS, administered VMS, conventional marketing system, horizontal marketing system, and hybrid marketing system. 

contrast   in advertising design and layout, the principle of presenting the advertisement’s elements in different styles, sizes, shapes, and colors to help the ad stand out among other ads and to make it eye-catching and out-of-the-ordinary; usually, an attempt to cut through the clutter. See clutter, balance, emphasis, flow, gaze motion, harmony, and unity. 

contribution margin   the difference between a product’s selling price to the consumer and the variable cost of the product; i.e., difference between a product’s total revenue and its total variable cost, or what the product contributes to fixed cost. See fixed costs and variable costs. Also see break-even point (BEP). 

controllables   those elements and aspects of the marketing mix over which the marketing manager has full command and control; i.e., product, price, distribution, promotion. See uncontrollables and marketing mix. 

controlled circulation   free copies of publications, usually business magazines or newspapers, that go to a select list of qualified recipients the publisher believes important, especially those in a position to influence buying decisions of the advertised products; see circulation, non-paid circulation, paid circulation, and qualified circulation. 

convenience products   consumer products that the customer generally purchases frequently with a minimum of time and effort, and which are usually relatively inexpensive; see consumer products classification system, shopping products, specialty products, and unsought products.    

convenience sample   in survey research for marketing and advertising, a type of non-probability sample in which respondents are chosen by virtue of their accessibility and the ease with which they can be contacted; see non-probability sample, judgment sample, quota sample, probability sample, and survey method. 

convenience store   a small retail store that carries a limited line of convenience-type goods, and open seven days per week. 

conventional marketing system   a distribution channel setup in which the various channel members, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, make little or no effort to cooperate with each other or to coordinate efforts; typically results in each channel member doing what it considers best for itself without regard to the other members or the system as a whole. See vertical marketing system (VMS), corporate VMS, contractual VMS, administered VMS, horizontal marketing system, and hybrid marketing system. 

convergence   in television, the practice of blending marketing messages into media content via product placement, reference to a company or brand, or any other method that makes the marketer’s message an integral part of the program; essentially, an ultra form of product placement, one carried beyond the simple placement of the product in a scene. Also called content tie-in and product immersion. See product placement. 

cookie   a data file downloaded to a person’s computer when he or she visits a particular web site; the data file allows the web site to track information on the user, such as the web sites or pages he or she visit and the date of the most recent visit to a given web site or page. 

co-op   see cooperative advertising. 

cooperative advertising    a joint advertising effort in which the cost is shared, typically on an equal basis, by the parties involved, such as a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, retailer, vendor, or supplier. For example, manufacturer and retailer (vertical cooperative advertising) or a group of businesses related by the products they sell or by common interests (horizontal cooperative advertising). Manufacturer or industry association (in the case of horizontal cooperative advertising) usually provides the advertisements or commercials. Common to all media. Often called co-op advertising or just plain co-op. See horizontal cooperative advertising, vertical cooperative advertising, and cooperative advertising kit. Also see vendor support program. 

cooperative advertising kit   a package of materials provided by a manufacturer or industry association to its partners in a cooperative advertising program; includes ready-to-use newspaper and magazine advertisements, television commercials, radio scripts, direct mail pieces, brochures, sales promotion materials, participation guidelines, procedures for ordering materials, reimbursement guidelines and procedures, and other information relevant to making the joint advertising and promotion effort work smoothly and successfully. See cooperative advertising, horizontal cooperative advertising, and vertical cooperative advertising.

cooperative mailing   a promotional mailing in which several noncompeting advertisers targeting the same audience enclose materials in the same envelope on a shared-cost basis; e.g., several companies targeting the “do-it-yourself” home repairs market, each with a different product. Also called direct mail co-op, group mailing, or shared mailing. 

cooperative program   a television or radio network broadcast that is sold on a local basis and which is sponsored by both national and local advertisers; e.g., The Tonight Show. See network cooperative program. 

co-pack   a sales promotion technique in which two complementary products are physically packaged together and priced as one unit; e.g., shampoo with conditioner or saline solution with daily cleaner for contact lenses. 

co-promotion   see tie-in promotion. 

copy   the words, including headline and message, that comprise an advertisement or a commercial; see body copy.    

copy approach   the manner in which the advertising copy attempts to deliver the message to the target audience; e.g., emphasis on facts or heavy use of emotion. Also called copy style. See copy slant, copy platform, and tone.  

copy area   in out-of-home advertising, the viewing area or space available for placement of copy, illustration, or other display element, on an outdoor unit. 

copy platform   a written statement, based on research and insight, that guides the creative team in developing an advertisement, providing direction and focus for what the ad will say and how the message will be executed, with a description of the target audience, key benefit, product features that are promised to the user, support, reassurance, and tone; an outline of the basic ideas that guide the creation of an advertisement. Also called the creative brief or creative strategy statement. 

copy points   the specific selling points or themes in a product’s advertising. 

copy research   in advertising research, the review, analysis, and evaluation of an advertising message; see copytesting. 

copy slant   the particular approach or perspective used in presenting the benefits, support, claims, and promises in an advertising message; see copy platform, copy approach, and tone. 

copy style   see copy approach. 

copy thrust   see copy platform.  

copycat marketer   a marketer whose marketing activities, techniques, and programs essentially are carbon copies of others in the industry, showing very little originality or inventiveness. 

copyfitting   in print advertising, the process of estimating the amount of space the copy will take once it is set in type. 

copy-heavy ad   an advertisement dominated by the amount of copy; also called a heavy-copy ad. 

copyright   legal protection available to the author or owner of an original work, such as a literary, artistic, dramatic or musical work, preventing others from using it without permission; per the Library of Congress, the owner has exclusive rights to print or reproduce the material for his or life and 50 years following. Only advertising that contains original copy or artwork can be copyrighted, though slogans and common symbols and designs cannot be protected. The vast majority of advertising is not copyrighted. See Library of Congress. 

copytesting   in advertising research, a variety of procedures and measures used to determine the effectiveness of advertisements; measurement of the extent to which an advertisement performs well, i.e., the extent to which it is received, understood, and responded to in the way desired by the advertiser. Also referred to as communications-effect research. See message research, PACT, pretesting, and posttesting.  

copywriter   the individual at the advertising agency who helps formulate the ideas for the advertising message and then writes the words (copy) for an advertisement or a commercial. 

copywriter’s rough   an initial version of the text that will eventually appear in an advertisement or commercial to provide a basic idea of the style and manner of presentation; submitted to get approval that the text is “on strategy” and will meet expectations. 

copywriting   the process of developing an action-inducing message about a product, service, idea, or whatever is being sold. 

core product   the advantages and benefits offered by a product; e.g., a stationary exercise bicycle provides the user with fitness, resulting in higher self-esteem or lawn fertilizer produces a thicker, healthier lawn and pride of ownership to the user. See actual product and augmented product. 

corporate advertising   public relations-type non-product advertising by a company for the primary purpose of promoting the firm overall by instilling favorable attitudes, enhancing its image and reputation, gaining name recognition, increasing public awareness of the firm, or building support, goodwill and confidence among its publics, as opposed to directly promoting its products; generally geared for long-term effects, rather than the relatively shorter-term effects sought in product advertising. Also called image advertising, institutional advertising, and public relations advertising. Also see advocacy advertising and cause-related marketing. 

corporate barter   see barter.   

corporate discounting   a practice by which a media vehicle allows advertisers with multiple brands to combine the advertising schedules for its brands to earn a larger discount on time or space; an incentive to advertise with the particular vehicle; e.g., Procter & Gamble with its several brands. See blanket contract. 

corporate identity   all the elements that combine to give a company its individuality or personality; e.g., the firm’s name, logo, colors, slogan, logo, among other things. 

corporate image   the public’s perception of the company or organization as a whole; consists of many factors, such as size of the company, its people, financial transactions, marketing practices, advertising, prices, sponsorship of events or causes, stance on important issues, local charitable efforts, and other elements that affect the company’s appearance in the public mind.  

corporate VMS   a vertical marketing system (VMS) whereby there is one channel member that has ownership of all stages along the distribution channel; leadership, cooperation, and coordination are brought about by the common ownership at each distribution channel stage  See vertical marketing system (VMS), contractual VMS, administered VMS, conventional marketing system, horizontal marketing system, and hybrid marketing system. 

corrective advertising   advertising that is mandated by the Federal Trade Commission, in which the advertiser is to rectify false impressions or beliefs created by previous advertising that contained an error or which was deceptive or misleading in some way; an attempt to eliminate any residual effects of previous advertising deemed misleading or deceptive as to the advertiser’s claims about its product. 

co-sponsorship   in event marketing, several advertisers sponsoring a particular event or property, with each assigned to a particular segment or location; e.g., multiple sponsors of a golf tournament. In the case of television advertising, the term refers to an advertiser joining with another to share the program’s production costs and to share the commercial time as well. See sponsorship. 

cost efficiency   the balance between media cost and audience size, reflected in the cost of reaching the target audience using a particular medium or vehicle, relative to the cost of reaching the total audience of the medium or vehicle; i.e., the effectiveness of an advertising medium or vehicle as measured by its delivery of the advertiser’s target audience relative to the medium’s or vehicle’s total audience or circulation. Also can refer to the cost of reaching the target audience using a particular medium compared with another medium, or a similar comparison of one media vehicle with another vehicle. The notion that media selection should take into consideration the medium’s or media vehicle’s ability to reach the largest target audience at the lowest unit cost. For commonly used measures of efficiency, see cost- per- point (CPP), cost-per-thousand (CPM), and cost-per-thousand--target audience (CPM-TA), cost-per-sale and the several other “cost-per” measures.  

cost of goods sold   the net cost to the company of the goods sold; i.e., the value at cost of the raw materials and the manufacturing of the finished products. See gross sales, gross profit, gross margin, net sales, and net profit. 

cost-benefit analysis   an investigation into the relationship between what a product or service costs and the expected benefits of having it; where the comparison shows expected benefits exceed the costs of obtaining the product or service, there is justification to purchase it, while a reverse relationship makes the purchase difficult to justify. 

cost-of-sales   see cost-of-goods-sold. 

cost-per-action (CPA)   in Internet advertising, what an advertiser pays for each visitor who takes some specific action in response to an advertisement beyond simply clicking on it; e.g., a web site visitor may visit an advertiser’s site and take advantage of a offer by making a request to subscribe to the advertiser’s newsletter.    

cost-per-click (CPC)   in Internet advertising, what an advertiser pays for each visitor to a web site who “interacts with an advertisement,” i.e., clicks on it to get headed toward the advertiser’s web site or destination (though the visitor may not actually wait to fully arrive at the destination); see click. 

cost-per-clickthrough (CPCT)   in Internet advertising, what an advertiser pays for each visitor who actually arrives at the advertiser’s web site. 

cost-per-impression   media cost relative to the total number of target audience exposures, including duplication, to the vehicles in a media schedule. See gross impressions. 

cost-per-inquiry (CPI)   in direct marketing or public relations, a measure of the number of inquiries (e.g., requests for information) produced relative to the cost of the activity.   

cost-per-lead (CPL)   in Internet advertising, what an advertiser pays for each visitor who provides enough information at the advertiser’s site to be used as a genuine sales lead; i.e., a more specific form of cost-per-action. Also applies to the cost of generating prospects for direct marketing and personal selling efforts. See cost-per-action (CPA).   

cost-per-order (CPO)   in direct marketing, the number of orders received relative to the cost of the direct marketing effort; e.g., the number of sales generated by a direct-response advertisement or commercial. To calculate: divide the cost of the direct marketing effort by the number of sales made. Also called cost-per-sale and applies to personal selling efforts.  

cost-per-point (CPP)   the cost of reaching one percent of a television or radio audience in your target audience; i.e., cost of achieving one rating point. Used as a measure of cost efficiency by comparing different broadcast vehicle alternatives. To calculate: divide the cost of the commercial by the program’s audience rating. Generally done by specific demographic group; e.g., females 25-44. Also called cost-per-rating point (CPRP). See cost efficiency and rating. 

cost-per-rating-point (CPRP)   see cost-per-point. 

cost-per-sale (CPS)   in Internet advertising, the amount of sales made relative to the cost of the advertising; sales figure is that of product sold directly from the web site or otherwise traceable to a sales lead resulting from the web advertising. In personal selling, the dollar value of a sale divided by the total cost of getting the sale. Often used synonymously with cost-per-order(CPO).   

cost-per-thousand (CPM)   the cost of reaching 1000 households or individuals in a media vehicle’s audience; universally used as a measure of cost efficiency for intermedia comparisons (e.g., television vs. magazines, radio vs. newspapers) or intramedia comparisons (e.g., one magazine vs. another). To calculate: divide media cost by circulation and multiply by 1,000. Common to all media for use in relative cost comparisons. See cost-per-thousand—target audience (CPM-TA), cost efficiency, and circulation. 

cost-per-thousand—target audience (CPM-TA)   the cost of reaching 1000 households or individuals in a medium’s or vehicle’s audience who are members of the target audience sought by the advertiser. Used as a measure of cost efficiency in same way as CPM and calculated using basic CPM formula with appropriate adjustment of circulation figure. See cost-per-thousand (CPM). Also called effective cost-per-thousand, target cost-per-thousand, and weighted cost-per-thousand. 

cost-plus method of agency compensation   a way of compensating an advertising agency, in which the agency is paid a fee for the work it performs plus an agreed-upon dollar sum for profit. See fee method, commission method, combination method, and performance-based method. Also see agency commission and sliding rate.   

cost-value ratio   in sponsorship marketing, the cost of a particular sponsorship divided by the estimated value of the sponsorship.  

Council of American Research Organizations (CASRO)   the trade association of survey research firms dedicated to developing guidelines aimed at promoting the highest standards of practice and conduct in the survey research process, including data collection, data processing, and reporting; its commitment to ethics and professionalism in the survey research industry is represented to its Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research, which must be followed by all member firms. 

Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB)   the parent organization of the local-oriented Better Business Bureau (BBB), but doing its work at the national level; assists industries and companies in developing advertising codes and standards, as well as providing regulatory information to advertisers, advertising agencies, and the media. Plays a major role in the advertising industry’s self-regulatory efforts, through two of its divisions – the National Advertising Division (NAD) and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). See Better Business Bureau (BBB), National Advertising Division (NAD) and Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU). Also see self-regulation. 

counteradvertising   advertising undertaken to challenge or oppose another advertiser or organization on a particular matter, such as its claims in a previous advertisement or its position on a given issue; e.g., an advertiser’s response to a competitor’s product claims or a labor union presenting its case via media advertising against an employer in a labor dispute or the company’s response to the labor union’s message. 

counter card   see counter display. 

counter display   an advertising card (called a counter card or counter stand) or a point-of-purchase display featuring merchandise or promotional material situated on a store counter, often at the check-out area. 

counterprogramming   in television or radio, purposely placing a program that is aimed at the exact same audience as that of a particular competing program on another station directly opposite it at the same time on the same day.  

counter stand   see counter display. 

counterattack   see counter advertising. 

counting station   in out-of-home advertising, the specific point on a street or other locations where the number of vehicles or passers-by is recorded to arrive at circulation statistics to be used in setting advertising rates; see traffic count, hand count, and official count. 

county size   see ABCD Counties. 

coupon   a certificate for a stated value as a price reduction on a particular product applied when the certificate is presented at the point of purchase. 

coupon drop   in sales promotion, the distribution of coupons, typically specified by geographical area. 

coverage (area)   the geographic area or the total number or percentage of individuals or households within a specific geographic area blanketed by a media vehicle; can also be expressed in terms of a media class, subclass, or a complete media plan; also a measure of the potential audience that is in a position to be reached by a media vehicle. Not to be confused with reach, which refers to a specific target audience. See reach. 

cover date   the date on a magazine’s cover. 

cover position   advertisement placement on the inside front, inside back, or outside back cover of a magazine (called the second, third, and fourth cover); generally, a cover position carries a premium price. 

cowcatcher   a short commercial for a product at the very beginning of a television or radio program, the only time the product will be advertised during the program.    

crawler   see promotional crawl.  

creative   a catch-all term referring to the copy and artwork that comprise an advertising execution; also refers to the advertising agency department responsible for producing the copy and the artwork for a client. 

Creative Artists Agency (CAA)   a premier production and talent firm whose services include providing marketers, advertisers, and advertising agencies with creative artists and talent for advertising production and executions, particularly television commercials; provide an entertainment emphasis for brand marketing efforts. Typically work as an adjunct to an advertising agency, handling much of the creative efforts, though the agency does independently create advertising concepts and television commercials. 

creative auction   see online reverse auction.

creative boutique   an organization or advertising shop that specializes in providing creative work to advertisers and, sometimes, other advertising agencies; the focus is on developing advertising concepts, creating messages, copywriting  doing artwork, and designing advertising layouts.   

creative brief   see copy platform. 

Creative Code   a set of guidelines governing the standards of truthfulness, claim substantiation, and tastefulness of the written, spoken, and visual content and presentation of advertising; established by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) as a code for the highest level of moral and ethical conduct for its members. See American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), Standards of Practice, and Guidelines for Comparative Advertising. 

creative concept   the distinctive central idea, or creative point-of-difference that sets a particular campaign apart from those of competitors; see unique selling proposition (U.S.P.). 

creative director   the individual in an advertising agency who is responsible for the copy and design elements of advertising produced by the agency; see copy and art. 

creative development research   in advertising research, any of several specific types of qualitative research used during the creative stage of advertising development. 

creative execution style   see execution format. 

creative plan   the blueprint of the sequence that takes the creative strategy to final execution in the form of an advertisement or commercial; the copy platform, or a set of guidelines for the activities that must be coordinated during the copywriting and artwork phases of preparing advertising messages. Sometimes may refer to the creative brief itself. See creative brief. 

creative selling   in personal selling, where the salesperson’s focus is on getting new business; order-getting vs. order-taking. 

creative strategy statement   see copy platform. 

creative team  the specific individuals – copywriters and art people – in the advertising agency’s creative department who are responsible for the advertising executions in a campaign; they take the copy platform and bring it to life by creating advertisements and commercials that reflect the agreed-upon advertising strategy. 

creativity   the skill to produce and initiate compelling, distinctive and suitable ideas to be used in all phases of the marketing communications plan. 

credentials presentation   that stage in a company’s search for an advertising agency where a personal visit is made to the agency by a prospective client to give the agency the opportunity to sell its capabilities, introduce their executives, management team, and key personnel, as well as to expound on their marketing and advertising philosophy; an opportunity for the agency to show a prospective client what it is all about and, for the company, to help determine if the agency is capable of handling its account. Sometimes referred to as a credentials visit. Also called a capabilities presentation. 

credibility   the believability and trust of the communication source, as perceived by the receiver; based on several factors such as the source’s knowledge, experience, and objectivity. See source credibility.  

credit   a monetary deduction given by the media vehicle to an advertiser when a commercial or advertisement fails to run or does not run according to the agreed-upon scheduling. See make-good and preemption.  

crisis management   the actions and practices undertaken by an organization following an occurrence that has had or is likely to have a profound and significant negative impact on the organization, and which will get worse in the absence of remedial action; the actions taken by Johnson & Johnson with the Tylenol tragedy or Firestone with the automobile tire disaster. Includes actions taken to dispel a rumor about a company or product if the rumor is having or is likely to have a negative impact. 

cross-couponing   a coupon that features a cents-off or other special offer for more than one product; a coupon that comes with one product (usually inside the package) that is good for a price reduction on a product other than the one with which it came. See cross-ruff. 

cross-elasticity of demand   the sensitivity or extent to which demand or consumption for one product is affected by a change in the price of a related product; e.g., the impact on demand for a golf pro shop’s merchandise when the golf course greens fees are increased. 

cross-media advertising   occurs when a company places its advertising message in several different types of media that are available from a single company or organization; e.g., scheduling advertising in the San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Houston Chronicle newspapers, any combination of its many broadcast television stations and cable TV networks, its radio stations, and Redbook, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, House Beautiful, and Good Housekeeping magazines, to mention just a few of the properties under the Hearst Corporation banner. See multi-media buy. 

cross-magazine advertising deal   when two or more magazine publishers make their magazines available to advertisers as one package deal or buy; see multi-magazine deal. 

cross-marketing   see co-marketing. 

cross-media bundling   see bundling, cross-media advertising, and multi-media buy. 

cross-media buy   see cross-media advertising and multi-media buy. 

cross-merchandising   a sales promotion technique in which a point-of-purchase display for a particular product features savings on other brands, usually complementary or related in some way; can refer to when the products are placed in separate but adjacent or nearby displays. Sometimes referred to as cross-selling. 

cross-ownership   when one person or organization owns more than one communications medium in a particular market; e.g., single ownership of a television station and a newspaper. 

cross-plug   in television or radio programs that are alternately sponsored by different advertisers, each advertiser places one commercial in the program sponsored by the other advertiser, thereby maintaining weekly exposure; see alternate sponsorship.   

cross-platform   in media, an advertiser’s use of two or more media types in a marketing communications program, i.e., use of several channels to carry a marketer’s advertising message; e.g., newspapers, television, and radio. 

cross-promotion   a sales promotion technique whereby the advertising or promotion for one product includes a promotional message for another product, and the other product reciprocates in its advertising or promotion; e.g., a movie and a video game based on the movie. Term may also apply to a joint integrated marketing effort by two sponsors of a particular event or property, in which the property itself provides the central theme for the promotion efforts. 

cross-read   in outdoor advertising, a poster or bulletin that is visible and readable from the opposite side of the road that the autos viewing the board are traveling on. 

cross-ruff   a coupon or other special offer contained in or placed on a particular brand’s package that is good for another product or brand, which is usually a product of the same company, but could be for another company’s product in a joint marketing effort or tie-in; e.g., a coupon for Bausch & Lomb daily cleaner for contact lenses placed inside the Bausch & Lomb saline solution package. Essentially synonymous with, but a slightly broader concept than cross-couponing. See cross-couponing. 

cross-selling   in direct marketing, offering existing customers a new or related product or even one that is not related; e.g., Time magazine offering its subscribers the opportunity to receive Sports Illustrated, People, or other magazine it publishes. Or, an online book seller offering its customers the opportunity to purchase certain music selections. May apply to any promotion program directed at purchasers of other products, in which the marketer uses the sale of one product to push for the sale of another product, usually related. See cross-merchandising. 

C-store display   a point-of-purchase display located at the entrance to convenience stores. 

cue   a stimulus or impetus for action by the consumer; e.g., a catchword, slogan, advertisement, sign, brand name, distinctive color, or other stimuli that prompts a reaction from the consumer. 

culture   the complete set of learned beliefs, ideas, norms, values, morals, ethics traditions, and behavior shared by members of a particular society; the basic and distinctive character of a society that governs much of its members’ behavior, including consumer behavior. See subculture. 

cume   see cumulative audience. 

cume duplication   the percentage of estimated cumulative audience (i.e., cume persons) for one station who also listened to another station; see cumulative audience. 

cume persons   see cumulative audience. 

cume rating   the percentage of different people in a market area’s population or target audience who were tuned to a particular radio station for at least five minutes during a given daypart; measures the cumulative audience (cume) during that daypart. To calculate: divide the cume by the population or target audience number. See daypart and cumulative audience.  

cumulative audience   the number of different people (unduplicated audience) who listen to a particular radio station for at least five minutes during a given daypart; commonly called cume or cume persons. Sometimes called cumulative reach. Also refers to the total number of different individuals exposed to an advertisement, commercial, or campaign through multiple insertions in more than one medium, media vehicle, or in the entire campaign media schedule. See daypart, horizontal cume, vertical cume, and unduplicated audience. 

cumulative quantity discount   a reduction in price offered to a customer based on the amount purchased over a specified period of time, e.g., one month or one year; see non-cumulative quantity discount. 

curiosity headline   a type of headline for an advertisement or commercial in which the advertiser attempts to raise the inquisitiveness of the audience and stimulate them to explore further, perhaps by making a provocative statement; e.g., “78 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. What a hazardous day for a drive.” (Ray Ban sunglasses for driving) or “Instead of hiding our future technology, we sell tickets to it.” (Ford Motorsports). Also called a provocative headlilne. See headline, as well as benefit headline, command headline, news-information headline, and question headline. 

custom exhibit   in trade show marketing, a display designed and constructed to meet the specific requirements for an exhibitor. 

custom marketing   tailoring a product or service to the specific needs and requirements of an individual customer; more common in the industrial market than the consumer market.  

customer acquisition cost   the cost of acquiring a new customer or, in some cases, winning back a former customer. 

customer database   see database. 

customer lifetime value (CLTV)   the total profit generated for a marketer by a single customer during his or her lifetime; the extent to which the revenues derived from that customer are greater than the total costs of marketing to him or her. 

customer perceived value (CPV)   the extent to which the satisfaction of a product is greater than the cost of obtaining it, as measured by consumer perception; the consumer’s view of the difference between the cost incurred to purchase a product or service and the satisfaction derived from its ownership and use. The consumer will favor the company or brand that he or she perceives to offer the highest delivered value.    

customer profile   a description of the buying habits and the demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics of the individuals or households who are users or prospective users of a product; also called user profile. Term also applies to the description of business or trade customers, i.e., organizational buyers. See audience profile, demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioristic segmentation. 

customer relationship management (CRM)   all activities designed to launch, preserve, and enhance a long-term bond and mutually-beneficial connection between a company and its customers; see partner relationship management (PRM).     

customer satisfaction   the consumer’s ultimate goal in entering the marketplace and the marketer’s ultimate goal in serving the needs, wants, and expectations of the consumer; the pleasure, happiness, and comfort emanating from a positive marketplace experience. In the final analysis, the degree to which the marketer meets the needs, expectations, and requirements of the customer. 

customer service   all the pre-sale and, especially, post-sales activities in dealing with the customer, designed to increase the product’s value and the consumer’s satisfaction with the product and the company behind it; the before-and-after activities surrounding the actual selling transaction and treatment accorded the customer. A key criterion in the consumer’s final selection.  

customer value   the difference between the cost incurred to purchase a product or service and the satisfaction derived from its ownership and use; the extent to which the satisfaction of a product is greater than the cost of obtaining it, as measured by consumer perception. The consumer will favor the company or brand that they perceive offers the highest delivered value. 

customer-oriented marketing   an approach to marketing whereby the organization views its major mission as focused on developing and executing a marketing program that results in unequaled delivery of value and satisfaction to the customer. 

customized rotation   see rotary bulletin. 

custom magazine   a magazine with editorial content directed at an audience with a very specific interest; often referred to as a special-interest magazine, though it is for a sub-set of a special-interest group. For example, the National Football League’s publication, NFL Insider, published for an audience with an intense interest in the latest inside information on the NFL and its teams. Also called an enthusiast publication or niche magazine. See special-interest magazine. 

cut-in   a local commercial announcement inserted into a network program; a commercial that replaces a network commercial at the local level, i.e., in a specific local area. Often done to either test a new commercial in a representative market area or to give better or more custom support for the advertiser’s product locally.  

cutline   see caption text. 

cut-out   in outdoor advertising, a display of letters, figures, mechanical devices, or lighting attached to the face of a bulletin to give a three-dimensional or special effect; used to draw attention to the advertising message. Also called an embellishment. See bulletin and extension. 

cybermarketing   marketing, advertising, and promotion over the Internet.