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LNA   see Leading National Advertisers. 

LTCV   see lifetime customer value. 

label copy   the text that appears on the label of a product’s package. 

laboratory test   in marketing and advertising research, a method whereby consumer behavior and reactions are measured under controlled conditions, as opposed actual normal conditions the consumer would face in the marketplace; also referred to as a simulated test market. See field test and experimental method.  

laggards   the fifth and last group of the adopter categories and the diffusion process of new products, services, or ideas, i.e., those individuals who are extremely slow to adopt a new product and do so only after the innovators, early adopters, early majority, and late majority; since they are individuals steeped in tradition and intent on shunning a new product because “what was good enough in the past is good enough now.” Acceptance of a new product is often the result of the unavailability of its predecessor. See adoption process, adopter categories, adoption curve, diffusion process, innovators, early adopters, early majority, and late majority. 

landscape format   a layout of an advertisement in which the width is greater than the height, as opposed to the more common portrait format which has the height greater than the width; see portrait format. 

Lanham Act   a federal law, passed in 1946, dealing with trademark definition, registration, and protection and that also regulates advertising by prohibiting false claims made by an advertiser about its own product or service; also permitted the registration of service marks. Unlike the Federal Trade Commission Act, this act permits an advertiser to file a civil suit against a competitor for false and deceptive claims the competitor makes about its own product or service in its advertising.  Scope of civil action possibilities was broadened by the Trademark Law Revision Act. See trademark, service mark, certification mark, and Trademark Law Revision Act.   

large rectangle ad   see rectangle ad. 

last-chance method   a selling technique in which the target audience is told that a particular deal or offer will no longer be available if they do not act promptly or immediately; e.g., often used in advertising messages near the end of a sales promotion program such as a rebate offer.   

late fringe   in the television broadcast day, the time period 11:30pm-1:00pm; see dayparts (television). 

late majority   the fourth group in the adopter categories and the diffusion process of new products, services, or ideas, i.e., those individuals who adopt a new product long after the innovators, early adopters, and early majority, and who are generally quite skeptical, uncertain, and cautious about new products, essentially satisfied with the product they are using and, when they do respond, it is because “the time has come to get in step with others.”  See adoption process, adopter categories, adoption curve, diffusion process, innovators, early adopters, early majority, and laggards. 

late news   in the television broadcast day, the time period 11:00pm-11:30pm; see dayparts (television). 

late night   in the television broadcast day, the time period 1:00am-6:00am; see dayparts (television). 

launch   the formal introduction of a new product, service, advertising campaign, sales promotion activity, or an entire marketing communications campaign. 

law of diminishing demand   in the relationship between price and quantity demanded, the principle that suggests that if the price of a  product is raised a smaller quantity will be demanded; conversely, if the price of a product is lowered, a greater quantity will be demanded. 

law of diminishing marginal utility   the principle that suggests the consumer derives less benefit or satisfaction from each additional unit of a product or service consumed or used; e.g., the consumer gets less extra benefit (i.e., marginal utility) from buying and eating each additional Snickers chocolate bar,  or from each additional hot dog, pair of sunglasses, or radio. See marginal utility and law of diminishing returns. Note: popular usage in marketing is for the law of diminishing marginal utility and the law of diminishing returns to be used interchangeably. 

law of diminishing returns   the principle that suggests the gain from each additional unit of product, activity, or resource becomes smaller as more units are used; e.g., for the marketer, the benefit of each added dollar of advertising becomes smaller as more advertising is done. See marginal utility and law of diminishing marginal utility. Note: popular usage in marketing is for the law of diminishing returns and the law of diminishing marginal utility to be used interchangeably. 

layout   the specific physical arrangement or exact placement of all the elements of a print advertisement, including headline, subheads, illustrations, body copy, logo, symbols, and whatever else appears in the advertisement; the total design and appearance of an ad. Often refers to a working drawing that shows how a print advertisement is to look and where all the elements are positioned in the ad. See balance, contrast, emphasis, flow, gaze motion, harmony, and unity. Also see thumbnail, rough layout, comprehensive, and mechanical. 

layout development process   the various stages in creating the final design of a print advertisement; see thumbnail, rough layout, comprehensive, and mechanical. 

layout person   the individual responsible for the physical arrangement of the elements in a print advertisement; see layout and layout development process. 

lead   an individual or organization that has shown buying interest in a particular product or service.  

lead agency   see agency of record (AOR).    

lead generation   refers to the several methods by which sales prospects are identified for future contact.  

lead time   the time period between the closing date (when all materials in final form have to be in the hands of the media vehicle) and the running of the advertisement or commercial; see closing date. 

lead tracking   in trade show marketing, the means by which an exhibitor follows-up on a prospect whose interest was developed at the trade show.  

leader   see market leader. 

leader pricing   setting very low prices in an attempt to generate retail store traffic. 

lead-in   in television or radio, the program immediately preceding an advertiser’s program on the same station; also can refer to the first few words in a television commercial or in the body copy of a print advertisement. See audience flow, holdover audience, and lead-out.  

leading   in print advertising, the amount of space between lines of copy. 

Leading National Advertisers (LNA)   a research service of Competitive Media Reporting (CMR) that collects and reports advertising expenditures on a wide range of media; sharpest focus is on the top 100 advertisers by expenditure level. See Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).  

lead-out   in television or radio, the program immediately following an advertiser’s program on the same station; see audience flow, holdover audience, and lead-out. 

lean-over marketing   the practice whereby a marketer hires someone to talk about a product or service when there are people gathered within hearing distance, in the hope of generating a buzz about it; e.g., two company “agents,” riding an elevator, discussing the merits of a particular tennis racket, restaurant, movie, sports medicine clinic, museum exhibit, or bank. Average people planted among a crowd touting a product or service, with the audience unaware the agents are being paid for their pitching the product. A questionable practice from an ethical viewpoint. See under-the-radar marketing, viral marketing, and word-of-mouth advertising. 

leap of faith   when a marketer or advertiser engages in a move without the customary deliberation or testing, instead relying on instinct and judgment; creating and running an advertisement or commercial, relying on the strong belief that it is the right thing to do and will work. Often employed when time is crucial to take advantage of an opportunity or to respond to a marketplace development. 

learning   changes in an individual’s knowledge or behavior as a result of previous experience or exposure to new information; see reinforcement. 

leave-behind   a promotional brochure or an advertising specialty item that is left with a prospect following a sales presentation; also called a leave-piece. 

leave-piece   see leave-behind. 

legend   the description or explanation accompanying an illustration such as a chart or graph in an advertisement. 

length of assortment   see product line length. 

letterbox ads   television commercials characterized by black borders across the top and bottom of the television screen; the rectangular format typically found in cinemas is converted to the more “boxy” format of the television screen, giving a wider field of view which is achieved by reducing the size of the image. 

letterpress   in print production, a process in which the printing surface or area to be printed is raised, rather than flat (as in offset lithography printing) or etched into a printing plate (as in rotogravure printing); virtually identical in concept to the use of a rubber ink stamp. See offset lithography and rotogravure. 

lettershop   a company that serves a direct marketer by specializing in the production and mailing of sales letters, as well as other direct mail pieces used by the marketer or advertiser.  

lexicographic decision rule   a decision rule whereby the consumer ranks in order all criteria considered important in a particular product being contemplated for purchase (e.g., brand image, warranty, durability, number of features, price, color, in order of importance), and then selects that brand that is judged best on the most important criterion; if more than one brand is rated “best” on this most important attribute, the choice depends on how those brands are rated on the next most important attribute. See compensatory decision rule, non-compensatory decision rule, consumer decision rules, and evoked set. 

library art   see stock art. 

Library of Congress   the U.S. government agency that regulates and controls copyright materials; e.g., an advertisement can legally be copyrighted if it contains entirely original copy or artwork, but neither a slogan nor a common design or symbol can legally be copyrighted. See copyright. 

library research   see literature search.   

licensed brand   a brand name that another company buys the right to for use in its marketing and advertising program; e.g., Russell Athletic purchases the right to use the NFL brand and logo on a line of sweatshirts, David sunflower seeds purchases the right to use the MLB brand and logo in its advertising and sales promotion activities, and Reebok markets its NBA Collection series of apparel. 

licensing   the process by which an advertiser obtains permission to use in its advertising and promotional efforts a character, trademark, or other promotional entity owned by another person or organization; such rights are obtained by payment of a licensing fee. 

licensing fee   payment by an advertiser to obtain rights to use a person’s or organization’s logo, character, and other identifiable entity or terminology; see licensing. 

life   see commercial life and publication life. 

lifestyle   the general manner and behavior exhibited by individuals that characterize them and set them apart from other individuals who display another manner of behavior or pattern of living; basically, the way a person lives his or her life regarding factors such as behavioral patterns, attitudes, opinions, interests, and activities. See AIO. 

lifestyle advertising   generally upbeat advertising that features individuals and families engaging in the activities of everyday life, interacting with each other and with the world around them, expressing their attitudes, interests, opinions, and values in a “this is what we’re all about” context. 

Lifestyle Market Analyst, The   a widely-used and comprehensive reference source that breaks down the U.S. population geographically and demographically, and provides extensive lifestyle information on interests, hobbies, and activities; market profiles, lifestyle profiles, and consumer segment profiles data are presented for all 210 Designated Market Areas (DMAs), and includes regional- and national-level summary data and profiles. Includes a comprehensive list of consumer magazines and direct mail lists targeted to each lifestyle profile. A publication of Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS). See Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS) and the individual listing under SRDS. 

lifestyle segmentation   see psychographic segmentation. 

lifetime customer value   see customer lifetime value.    

lift letter   an additional letter or note included in a direct-mail package to increase the response; e.g., a “personal” note from the marketer, perhaps, the CEO or marketing director. 

light users   consumers who purchase and use a product or service in much smaller quantities and/or much less frequently than others, in contrast to heavy users, moderate users, or non-users. 

likability   the extent to which a commercial or advertisement is pleasant or engaging to the consumer; often used in pre-testing to help predict the  advertising’s ability to meet its objectives. A measure of advertising effectiveness. 

Likert scale   a research technique that involves a scale on which there is a series of statements and respondents are asked to indicate the degree to which they agree or disagree with each statement; most often uses a five-point scale that includes strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Some scales, though, are four-point scales, eliminating the mid-point to force the respondent to a choice on either side of neutral. Composite scores can be calculated by summing responses to all the statements. 

limited problem solving   consumer decision making characterized by a moderate level of information seeking and evaluation of alternatives in the brand selection process; the consumer generally has previous experience with the particular need or problem, but is uncertain as to which course of action is best at the time. The consumer’s perception of the risk of making a wrong choice is such that there is little motivation to engage in extensive information search or rigorous evaluation of alternatives. See extensive problem solving and routine problem solving. Also see high-involvement decision making and low-involvement decision making. 

limited-function wholesaler   a merchant wholesaler (one who takes title to the goods) that provides some but not all of the functions normally associated with wholesaling; also called limited-service wholesaler. See middleman functions and service wholesaler. 

limited-service advertising agency   an agency that offers less than a complete range of advertising services, instead confining its efforts to creative, copywriting, or media; see creative boutique, full-service advertising agency, and media buying service.  

limited-time station   a television or radio station that broadcasts only certain hours of the normal broadcast day; i.e., a part-time station. 

line   in newspaper advertising, a unit for measuring space; see agate line and column inch. 

line drawings   advertising drawings or images in black and white (no tones) that give excellent detail; referred to as pen-and-ink drawings and line art. 

line extension   a brand strategy whereby the marketer introduces a new product using the existing brand name; e.g., Post-It notes coming out with new colors in a variety of sizes, Advil adding a medication with special arthritis-fighting ingredients, Salada introducing green tea to its line of teas, Snickers with a new bite-size chocolate bar, or Turtle Wax using its brand name to extend its line of car-care products from the original car wax to car polish, car wash, leather cleaner/conditioner products, even lubricating oil. See brand strategy, brand extension, multibranding, and new-brand strategy. 

line of sight   in out-of-home advertising, standing at one billboard location, all other billboards or units that can be seen simultaneously from that position.  

line rate   in newspaper advertising, the charge per line of space; see agate line, column inch, and Standard Advertising Unit (SAU). 

lineage   in newspaper advertising, the total number of agate lines taken up by a single advertisement, several advertisements, or the total volume over time; may be viewed from the advertiser’s side, the medium’s or media vehicle’s side, or as it relates to a particular product category. See agate line. 

line-up   a listing of the television or radio stations carrying a particular program.  

link   on the Internet, a connection between one page and another on a Web site, allowing the user to click on it and be transferred to another page or Web site. 

list   a list of prospective buyers’ names and addresses, or those of other individuals or organizations, used by direct marketing or other firms for a wide range of promotional purposes; see list catalog. 

list broker   an individual or organization, working as an intermediary, that arranges for the rental of a mailing list from the owner of the list to the list user; represents the list user and is paid a commission by the list owner. Also called a list house.  

list buyer   in direct marketing, the individual or organization that purchases (actually, rents) and uses a mailing list from a list compiler, typically on a one-time use basis; term may also refer to the person or firm that actually buys a list for future rental. See list, list broker, list catalog, list compiler, list rental, and one-time use.   

list catalog   a directory containing the collection of categories for which the list seller has names of individuals and organizations meeting the specifications of the marketer that seeks to use the list for direct-marketing purposes; e.g., a list of sports events, specific magazine readers, golfers, do-it-yourself home repair enthusiasts, ski resorts, individuals who attend art museums, individuals who regularly donate to charitable causes, and a virtually endless set of lists. 

list compiler   an individual or organization that assembles and organizes mailing lists for rental and, sometimes, sale to direct marketing firms, advertisers, mail-order houses, or other organization that uses direct mail. 

list exchange   an arrangement between two marketers who agree to swap mailing lists for use in a direct marketing program; applies to lists that are compiled by the firms involved in the exchange (i.e., not rented lists). 

list house   see list broker. 

list maintenance   in direct marketing, the activities involved in keeping a mailing list up-to-date. 

list manager   in direct-mail marketing, an individual or organization in charge of supervising and directing the efforts involved in marketing a list to buyers. 

list marketing   all the activities involved in locating potential buyers and selling them a direct-mail list that meets their needs; typically includes preparation and distribution of a list catalog. See list and list catalog. 

list owner   in direct marketing, the individual or organization who holds title to a particular mailing list. 

list rental   payment for the use of a mailing list owned by someone else; generally, the rental fee is for a one-time use of the list. 

list source   the origin of a mailing list; e.g., an auto maker’s list of new car buyers, a state golf association’s list of public golf course owner-operators, a state bar association’s list of attorneys, a subscription list of a magazine. 

list user   see list buyer. 

listener   an individual who is listening to a radio program. 

listener diary   see diary method. 

listening area   in radio broadcasting, the geographical area in which the station’s signal can be heard clearly; the area in which the signal is totally static- or interference-free is the primary listening area. 

listing allowance   in trade promotion, money that a manufacturer or wholesaler gives to a retailer to advertise a product. 

listservs   on the Internet, electronic mailing lists allowing list members to participate in a dialogue on matters of mutual interest; e.g., an e-mail list of individuals working on or interested in sponsorship marketing. 

literature rack   a display stand that holds promotional literature available for the taking by consumers. 

literature search   as part of the marketing communications planning process, the investigation of relevant book collections, journals, reports, Internet listings, and other available literature; also called library research.    

lithography   see offset lithography. 

little America plan   in marketing and advertising research, the idea of testing a campaign in whole or in part prior to national launch by putting it on trial in a selected market(s) that is representative of the entire country to get a good look at how it might work on the national scale; see test market and test marketing. 

live action   in television advertising, the use of real people, objects, and scenes in a commercial; as opposed to animation. 

live copy   in radio and television advertising, copy that is read on-the-spot by an announcer, as opposed to a taped commercial. 

live copy area   in out-of-home advertising, the space on a billboard within which all print should be placed; keeping all copy within this dimension enhances readability and prevents the copy from being too close to the structure’s frame or edges.  

live production   in television or radio advertising, a live commercial; done to add realism and spontaneity, but danger lies in lack of control over the commercial with a potential threat that it does not achieve its goal. 

live tag   in a television or radio commercial, a short live message tacked on at the end, usually indicating dealer locations or an accompanying promotional offer. 

liveamatic   a technique of pre-testing a television commercial in preliminary form which involves filming live talent doing the commercial but the commercial is a rough, i.e., is not in fully-finished form; see pre-testing, animatic, liveamatic, photomatic, ripomatic, storyboard, and rough.    

live-script radio commercial   a live (vs. taped) radio commercial in which the announcer reads from a formal, detailed script; see fact-sheet radio commercial and live copy.  

live-video insertion system   see virtual placement process. Also called digital insertion system. 

load factor   in out-of-home advertising, the average number of people riding in each vehicle going past a particular advertising display unit; see traffic count. 

loader   see dealer loader and display loader. 

loading deal   see dealer loader and display loader. 

local advertiser   a retailer that advertises in the same market as its place of business. 

local advertising   spot advertising undertaken by a local retailer; also can refer to advertising that focuses on a small area (e.g., county, city, town, or small trading area) in proximity to the retail store, or any advertising placed at the local rate (e.g., manufacturer-retailer cooperative advertising placed at the local rate available to the retailer). In contrast to national advertising. Also called retail advertising. See national advertising, retail advertising, local rate, cooperative advertising, and spot advertising. 

local agency   in international advertising and marketing, an independent advertising agency in a foreign market or one located in a foreign market and part of a global agency’s network of shops, hired because of its knowledge of and capabilities with the specific local market conditions and culture; can also refer to any advertising agency located in any particular market area or region, in the U.S. or outside, that handles an advertiser’s program in that market because of its local knowledge and capabilities, often being an agency whose scope of operations is limited primarily to that relatively small area or region.  

local magazine   see city magazine. 

local management agreement (LMA)   in television, an agreement by which a local station owner in a particular market manages some part of the business of another station, owned by another party, in the same market; also called a local marketing agreement. 

local media   advertising media whose circulation or coverage is limited geographically to a particular city, town, county, or other small region, usually the same area in which the media vehicle originates. 

local metered-market ratings   see overnight ratings and set-tuning meters. 

local program   a television or radio program directed exclusively to a local audience, e.g., a town, city, or county. 

local programming   in television or radio, programming created by and originating from local stations, rather than broadcast networks. 

local radio   see spot. 

local rate   the advertising rate charged by a local media vehicle such as a newspaper to a local advertiser; lower than the national rate. See general rate. 

local ratings   see metered-market, diary method, and sweeps. 

local regulation   the local-level programs and efforts to control the activities of marketers and marketing in the best interests of the public; largely concerned with protecting local consumers against unfair or deceptive practices by local merchants, e.g., those involving advertising. See Better Business Bureau (BBB), as well as federal regulation, state regulation, in-house regulation, and self-regulation. 

local retail advertising   see local advertising. 

local spot advertising   advertising bought by a local advertiser from a local television or radio station, and which is aimed only at the audience in the particular market; see spot and national spot advertising. 

local station   a low-powered television or radio station that broadcasts only to a small viewing or listening area. 

local supplement   see Sunday supplement. 

local tag   in a television or radio commercial, identification of local dealers at the end of the commercial, either pre-recorded as part of the commercial (including as a graphic on a television commercial) or voiced live; see live tag. 

local television   television programming offered by network affiliates and independent stations that is not the programming of the broadcast networks; see spot. 

local time   in radio advertising, spots purchased by a local advertiser. 

local-channel station   a television or radio station restricted to broadcasting to its own locality; e.g., a college radio station whose license allows it to broadcast to its campus only or, perhaps, to the town in which it operates. 

localization   see localized marketing strategy. 

localized advertising strategy   in international advertising, an advertising strategy designed for a specific country or foreign market, as opposed to a single advertising strategy for several countries as might be used in a global approach; campaigns involving different messages and creative executions for each foreign market served by the company. 

localized campaigns   advertising and promotion campaigns that feature different messages and executions for each foreign market a company is in; same principle can be applied to a domestic marketer targeting several regions of the country, i.e., regional advertising. 

localized marketing strategy   in international marketing, an approach whereby marketing mix strategies are tailored and adapted for individual markets in which a marketer operates vs. a more general approach; also referred to as localization. See globalization and regionalization. 

location   in television or radio advertising, a setting other than a production studio. 

location list   in out-of-home advertising, a listing of all sites used in a particular promotion program; e.g., in billboard advertising, the exact location of all panels in a showing. 

location map   see spotted map. 

location media   see outdoor advertising, transit advertising, and out-of-home media.

location shoot   in television commercial production, filming the commercial at the actual site; e.g., a stadium, a tennis court, a mountaintop, or a retail store. See set shoot and production stage. 

log   the official minute-by-minute record of a television or radio station’s programming; a licensing requirement of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

logical appeals   see rational appeals.   

logistics   see physical distribution. 

logo   the distinctive design of a company’s or a product’s name that provides individuality and immediate recognition in advertising, packaging, point-of-purchase, and other promotional efforts; short for logotype. Also called a signature cut. See identity media. 

logo merchandise   a product on which is displayed a company, product, team, or event logo or other promotional image or message; e.g., a t-shirt, golf cap, note pad, or other useful object. Also called advertising specialties. See advertising promotional products. 

logotype   see logo. 

longitudinal research   in marketing and advertising research, a research design in which there is a fixed, i.e., continuing, sample of respondents whose marketplace behavior is repeatedly measured over time; see consumer panel.  

lottery   a plan in which an individual makes a payment in exchange for a chance to win a prize which is determined by a random drawing among entries received; illegal as a promotional tool for advertisers. See contest and sweepstakes. 

low-involvement decision making   marketplace decisions on products and services that have little personal relevance for the consumer and for which the perceived risks and consequences of the decision are not significant in the mind of the consumer; the consumer engages in relatively little information search. See consumer decision process and high-involvement decision making.

loyalty   see brand loyalty.

loyalty program   see frequency program.