As posted in The Gaston Gazette:
(6/22/14) BELMONT, N.C. – One month ago, we helped get your feet wet with a handful of communications terms specific to the public relations industry. This month, we tackle advertising and marketing, providing increased insight into the details you’ll need as you create more brand awareness in the marketplace.
Communications – from PR to product marketing and placing advertisements – requires a bare minimum understanding of terminology specific to these industries. As you work toward cost-effective strategies for communication efforts within your own business or organization – and potentially utilize our monthly columns in the process – keep these definitions handy to help increase your knowledge and professionalism:
- Advertising – Starting at the basic level, what is advertising? Advertising is merely the purchase of space or time to tell your story within the media.
- Banner ad – Banner ads are the most common type of online advertising, displayed atop many commercial web sites and approximately 468×60 pixels in size.
- Branding – Branding refers to the name, design, symbols, logos, taglines and various features that comprise a company’s or business’ distinct image, separating it from others within the same field or industry. Originally used in the U.S. to indicate property ownership (think cattle branding), it has evolved to business and product identification to capture market share.
- Brand marketing – In effective marketing, the brand is recognized as the combination of personality, values, traits and benefits that define the competitive difference and bring to light both emotional and intellectual triggers that will impact, resonate and persuade the desired audience to act. Brand marketing requires deliberate decisions regarding the brand’s personality, value proposition, company positioning, logo design and messaging – creating a promise to customers that will be delivered consistently across every single interaction.
- Cost Per Thousand (CPM) – Advertising is typically sold in units by the thousand. Cost per Thousand is the cost a business, individual, etc. will pay for the advertising to reach an expected 1,000 households or viewers. CPM is the acronym for this term, utilizing the Roman numeral M for thousand.
- Flighting – a technique of scheduling an advertising buy, based on the goals you want to accomplish.
- Frequency – The number of times someone is exposed to an advertisement. Frequency is important because people rarely remember a message they have seen only once. Increased frequency increases the possibility that your message will be remembered.
- Impressions – Impressions are a means of delivering broadcast and online advertising. For broadcast, an impression represents a device (TV, radio, etc.) that is tuned to a specific channel or station. For online, an impression represents a device (computer, mobile phone, mobile device, etc.) where your message shows on the screen.
- Marketing – According to the American Marketing Association, “marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.” While advertising only encompasses the space and time to tell a company or brand’s story, marketing is the communication effort that brings the advertisement to life – it’s creating the ad’s message, designing the ad, conducting all of the research to ensure its placement achieves optimal results and much more.
- Marketing research – A component implemented to aid good, sound marketing decisions. Research can include forecasting of what is likely to occur in a market, focus groups, analyzing industry data and researching the marketplace.
- Market share – As the word “share” tends to imply, a market share is a company’s portion or holding within the entire market in which it operates or conducts business. In advertising and marketing, this term is used to reference the amount of sales and interest captured by a particular brand or company.
- Media buy – The purchase of media for a communications (advertising, marketing, etc.) campaign. Media buys are multiple ads, segments, etc. as one package, conducted via television, radio, print, online, outdoor, etc.
- Promotion – Incorporation of techniques such as special events, promos and stunts to create and encourage interest in a product, cause, company, organization or person.
- Rate card – Media organizations use rate cards to display advertising costs, requirements, deadlines, etc. These are updated on a regular basis, usually annually.
- ROI – Return on Investment (ROI) represents the amount of money a communications message or campaign produces. Use the following calculation: ROI = (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) / (Cost of Investment)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – SEO is a popular phrase lately with clients clamoring for increased online visibility. Search Engine Optimization is the method of producing this greater online presence for a website via search engine rankings and implementing specific, structured on- and off-site elements. Significant knowledge of SEO is often necessary to successfully increase results. This all begins with making a website searchable and findable, then using particular search words and other methods toward increasing the site’s visibility and click rate when discovered by users.
- UVPM – Unique Visitors per Month measures the unique persons visiting a website each month. This measurement is helpful information when selecting media outlets for online advertisements.
You wouldn’t dive into a swimming pool without knowing how to swim; don’t jump into advertising or marketing without the fundamental terms laying the groundwork. Utilize this list as needed and expand your knowledge of the communications field as you incorporate various advertising strategies into your business marketing efforts.
Elaine and Melia Lyerly share their 35+ years of marketing, advertising, public relations and brand strategy experience with readers each month in a column published by The Gaston Gazette. See this month’s edition at http://bit.ly/1xwTgty.