Glossary
A
ABC – Audit Bureau of Circulation
The Audit Bureau of Circulations independently checks the circulation of the national newspapers. View website
ACE – Advertising Cost Equivalent
A comparison between the cost of an advertising space and an equivalent editorial piece. Puts a value against PR.
Advertorial
A paid-for article that has the appearance of an editorial. Readers will be able to identify the piece as ‘promotion’ or as ‘advertorial’.
Affiliate Marketing
An affiliate (a web site owner or publisher), displays an advertisement (such as a banner or link) on its site for a merchant (the brand or advertiser). If a consumer visiting the affiliate’s site clicks on this advertisement and goes onto perform a specified action (usually a purchase) on an advertisers site then the affiliate receives a commission.
AIDA
Attention, interest, desire, action — the four-stage buying process.
ASP (Application Service Provider)
A third-party entity that manages and distributes software-based services and solutions to customers across a wide area network from a central data centre. In essence, ASPs are a way for companies to outsource some or almost all aspects of their information technology needs.
Avatar
A picture or cartoon used to represent an individual in chat forums, games or on a website as a help function.
B
Bandwidth
The transmission rate of a communication line — usually measured in Kilobytes per second (Kbps). This relates to the amount of data that can be carried per second by your internet connection.
Banner
A long, horizontal, online advert usually found running across the top of a page in a fixed placement.
Bleed
Printed area which extends off the trimmed area. It is not possible to print all the way to the edge of the paper sheet. To achieve this effect it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. Typically a designer would allow an extra 3mm of bleed to colour and image areas to allow for a little leeway when trimming.
Blind embossing
Printing which creates a raised impression (e.g, in the shape of a logo) on a piece of paper without the use of any colour.
Blog
A portmanteau of web log) - a website where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.
There are currently about 70 million blogs — 120,000 new blogs are mushrooming every day.
You can search for existing blogs on http://www.blogsearch.google.com
Bond Paper
A basic uncoated paper, often used for copying or laser printers. The better quality bond papers, with higher rag content, can be used for letterheads.
Broadband
An internet connection that is always on and that delivers a higher bit rate (128kbps or above) than a standard dial-up connection. It allows for a better online experience as pages load quickly and you can download items faster.
Button
A square online advert usually found embedded within a website page.
C
Case study
Stand-alone publication or article recording a real life example of an experience, project or partnership.
Case study
A project study recording a real life example of an experience, project or partnership that highlights interesting aesthetic or technical elements, problem solving, a high profile architect or project. Case studies help to build awareness, highlight key messages supported by a customer testimonial, demonstrate expertise, demonstrate different offerings as well as providing engagement and awareness.
Circulation
The number of copies distributed by a publication. Circulation figures are available for all major publications.
Click-through
When a user interacts with an advertisement and clicks through to the advertiser’s website.
CMYK
Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black — used as the basic colours in the printing industry.
Coated Stock
Paper which has a coating usually of china clay. It can be gloss, silk or matt and is suitable for jobs requiring a fine finish such as colour brochures and annual reports.
Column Inches
A form of measuring PR success by multiplying the length of a piece of editorial by the number of columns.
Conversion rate
Measure of success of an online ad when compared to the click-through rate. What defines a ‘conversion’ depends on the marketing objective eg: it can be defined as a sale or request to receive more information…etc
Cookie
A small text file on the user’s PC that identifies the user’s browser and hence, the user so they are ‘recognised’ when they re-visit a site eg: it allows usernames to be stored and websites to personalise their offering; it is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The main purpose of a cookie is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages or to save site login information for you. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser, which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
Crop Marks
In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the paper. Used as a guide when cutting documents to finished size.
CTR (click-through rate)
Frequency of Click-throughs as a percentage of impressions served. Used as a measure of advertising effectiveness. See also impression, click-through
Cutting or Clipping
An extract from a newspaper or magazine that makes reference to the client.
D
Die-Cutting
The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes, such as the pockets of a folder.
Digital Printing
Printing processes in which information is transferred from a computer directly onto paper, without the need for film and printing plates. Digital printing is faster and more cost-effective for small/medium print runs and allows special techniques such as personalisation and printing-on-demand.
Domain Name
The unique name of an internet site eg. http://www.cibcommunications.co.uk
DPS
Double Page Spread - layout that covers two facing pages in a magazine or newspaper. If such a layout is featured in the centre of the magazine or newspaper, it is called a centre spread.
E
Encapsulation
A form of protective enclosure for papers and other flat objects; involves placing the item between two sheets of transparent polyester film (available in various thicknesses) that are subsequently sealed around all edges.
F
Feature
A broad or in-depth newspaper, magazine, Internet, radio or TV article that discusses, analyses or interprets an issue, subject or trend. A feature can be individually negotiated with the editor and written exclusively for the publication for which it is intended, placing the company as the expert and providing credibility on a topic.
Four-Colour Process
The most common system for producing full colour print. The four ink colours are Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black — often referred to as CMYK. The inks can be overprinted and combined in a variety of different proportions to produce a wide range of colours.
FTP or File Transfer Protocol
Short for File Transfer Protocol - used to transfer data from one computer to another over the Internet, or through a network.
Specifically, FTP is a commonly used protocol for exchanging files over any network that supports the TCP/IP protocol (such as the Internet or an intranet). There are two computers involved in an FTP transfer: a server and a client. The FTP server, running FTP server software, listens on the network for connection requests from other computers. The client computer, running FTP client software, initiates a connection to the server. Once connected, the client can do a number of file manipulation operations such as uploading files to the server, download files from the server, rename or delete files on the server and so on.
G
GSM
Abbreviation for ‘grams per square metre’. This indicates the weight of paper or other stock. For example a typical photocopier paper is 80gsm, a good letterhead paper might be 120 gsm, a postcard would be about 300gsm.
H
HTML
Short for HyperText Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes.
I
Image file size
Expressed in bytes, increase with the number of pixels in the image, and the color depth of the pixels. The more rows and columns, the greater the image resolution and the greater the file size. Also, each pixel making up the image increases in size as colour depth is increased. An 8-bit pixel (1 byte) can store 256 colours and a 24-bit pixel (3 bytes) can store 16 million colours.
1. Raster formats — These formats store images as bitmaps (also known as pixmaps).
JPEG — The JPEG format supports 8 bits per color – red, green, and blue, for 24-bit total – and produces relatively small file sizes. The compression when not too severe does not detract noticeably from the image. But JPEG files can suffer generational degradation when repeatedly edited and saved.
TIFF — (Tagged Image File Format) is a flexible image format that normally saves 8 or 16 bits per color – red, green and blue – for a total of 24 or 48 bits, and uses a filename extension of TIFF or TIF.
RAW — RAW refers to a family of raw image formats that are options available on some digital cameras. These formats usually use a lossless or nearly-lossless compression, and produce file sizes much smaller than the TIFF formats of full-size processed images from the same cameras.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file format is regarded, and was made, as the free and open-source successor to the GIF file format. The PNG file format supports true colour (16 million colours) whereas the GIF file format only allows 256 colours.
GIF — GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is limited to an 8-bit palette, or 256 colours. This makes the GIF format suitable for storing graphics with relatively few colours such as simple diagrams, shapes, logos and cartoon style images. The GIF format supports animation and is still widely used to provide image animation effects.
BMP — The BMP file format (Windows bitmap) is used internally in the Microsoft Windows operating system to handle graphics images. These files are typically not compressed, resulting in large files. The main advantage of BMP files is their wide acceptance, simplicity, and use in Windows programs.
PPM, PGM, PBM, PNM — Netpbm format is a family including the portable pixmap file format (PPM), the portable graymap file format (PGM) and the portable bitmap file format (PBM). These are ASCII files that provide very basic functionality and serve as a least-common-denominator for converting pixmap, graymap, or bitmap files between different platforms. Several applications refer to them collectively as the PNM format (portable anymap).
2. Vector formats
As opposed to the raster image formats above (where the data describes the characteristics of each individual pixel), vector image formats contain a geometric description which can be rendered smoothly at any desired display size.
Vector file formats can contain bitmap data as well. 3D graphic file formats are technically vector formats with pixel data texture mapping on the surface of a vector virtual object, warped to match the angle of the viewing perspective.
SVG — SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an open standard created and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to address the need (and attempts of several corporations) for a versatile, scriptable and all-purpose vector format for the web and otherwise. The SVG format does not have a compression scheme of its own, but due to the textual nature of XML, an SVG graphic can be compressed using a program such as gzip. Because of its scripting potential, SVG is a key component in web applications: interactive web pages that look and act like applications.
Impression
The metric used to measure views of a webpage and its elements- including the advertising embedded within it. Ad Impressions are how most online advertising is sold and the cost is quoted in terms of the cost per thousand impressions (CPM).
IP address
The numerical internet address assigned to each computer on a network so that it can be distinguished from other computers. Expressed as four groups of numbers separated by dots.
ISP
ISP (Internet Service Provider) - A company which provides users with the means to connect to the internet. Eg: AOL, Tiscali, Yahoo!
J
Java
A general purpose programming language with a number of features that make the language well suited for use on the World Wide Web. Small Java applications are called Java applets and can be downloaded from a Web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
JPEG
Jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) — the most commonly used digital image format; allows pictures to be greatly compressed with negligible loss of quality.
K
KPIs
Key Performance Indicators – financial and non-financial metrics used to help an organisation define and measure progress toward organisational goals. KPIs can be aligned with all PR, advertising and creative work providing a benchmark/target to measure success and coverage against.
L
Laid Paper
Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has a textured pattern of parallel lines similar to hand made paper. Compare to Wove Paper.
Lamination
A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection. Available in matt or gloss finish.
Lithographic Printing (litho)
A conventional (non-digital) print process. The process works by first transferring an image to thin metal, paper, or plastic printing plates. Rollers apply oil-based ink and water to the plates. Only the inked image portion is transferred to a rubber blanket that then transfers the image onto the paper as it passes between it and another cylinder beneath the paper.
M
Mechanical Data
The layout details of a publication including page size, width of the columns and number of columns.
Meta-tags
HTML tags that identify the content of a web page for the search engines
Microsite
A sub-site reached via clicking on an ad. The user stays on the publisher’s website but has access to more information from the advertiser.
MP3
A computer file format that compresses audio files up to a factor of 12 from a .wav file.
MPEG
File format used to compress and transmit video clips online.
MPU
Multiple Purpose Units -A square online advert usually found embedded in a web page in a fixed placement. Called ‘multiple purpose’ as it is a flexible shaped blank ‘canvas’ in which you can serve flat or more interactive content as desired.
N
Natural search results
The ‘natural’ search results that appear in a separate section (usually the main body of the page) to the paid listings. The results listed here have not been paid for and are ranked by the search engine (using spiders or algorithms according to relevancy to the term searched upon.
O
Outsert
A form of advertising in which an advert or marketing literature is printed and stapled around the front and back pages of a publication, also referred to as a wrap-around.
P
Pantone
Pantone, Pantone Matching System and PMS + are Pantone Inc’s industry-standard trademarks for colour standards, colour data, colour reproduction and colour reproduction materials, and other colour related products and services, meeting its specifications, control and quality requirements.
Paper Sizes
The most common system of paper sizes in Europe is the ISO standard. Most people are familiar with the A series which includes A4 the usual letterhead size:
A0 - 841 x 1189mm
A1 - 594 x 841mm
A2 - 420 x 594mm
A3 - 297 x 420mm
A4 - 210 x 297mm
A5 - 148 x 210mm
A6 - 105 x 148mm
The C series is for envelopes - a C4 envelope being ideal for holding an A4 sheet. There is also a B series which provides intermediate sizes for the A series but this is rarely used.
The other series which you may come across is SRA which is used by printers. It is slightly larger than the A series to provide for grip, trim and bleed:
SRA0 - 900 x 1280mm
SRA1 - 640 x 900mm
SRA2 - 450 x 640mm
SRA3 - 320 x 450mm
SRA4 - 225 x 320mm
Perfect Bound
A way of adhesive binding multi-section jobs. Individual sections are collected together and the spine is ground off (typically 3mm). Glue is then applied to the spine and a cover pulled on before the product is trimmed to size.
Phishing
An illegal method whereby legitimate looking e-mails (appearing to come from a well-known bank, for example) are used in an attempt to get personal information that can be used to steal a user’s identity.
PHP
Short for Hypertext Preprocessor, an open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages.
Podcast
Podcast (a portmanteau of the name of Apple’s portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast) — a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. A podcast is a specific type of webcast which, like ‘radio’, can mean either the content itself or the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting.
Pop-under
An ad that appears in a separate window beneath an open window. Pop-under ads are concealed until the top window is closed, moved, resized or minimised.
Pop-up
An online advert that ‘pops up’ in a window over the top of a web page. See also interruptive formats.
PPC
Pay per Click - Allows advertisers to bid for placement in the paid listings search results on terms that are relevant to their business. Advertisers pay the amount of their bid only when a consumer clicks on their listing. Also called sponsored search/ paid search.
PR (Public Relations)
According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.
Public relations not only tells an organisation’s story to its publics, it also helps to shape the organisation and the way it works. Through research, feedback communication and evaluation, the practitioner needs to find out the concerns and expectations of a company’s publics and explain them to its management.
Press office
A press office handles all media enquiries, distributes editorial and puts out all company messages or press releases to the media on behalf of the organisation.
Press pack/kit
A branded pack handed out to the media by an organisation. It normally contains background material, photographs, illustrations and news releases.
Press release
Also known as a news release, a press release is a written communication distributed to the target media audience along with an image. The release can cover new contract wins, product or service innovations, company updates on staff and other developments. A press release provides consistent visibility in key media, helps to build the brand awareness as well as repeatedly communicating the company messages.
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Reach
The number of unique web users potentially seeing a website one or more times in a given time period expressed as a percentage of the total active web population for that period.
Ream
Five hundred sheets of paper
RGB
Red, green, blue additive primary colours.
Rich Media
The collective name for online advertising formats that use advanced technology to harnesses broadband to build brands. It uses interactive and audio-visual elements to give richer content and a richer experience for the user when interacting with the advert.
RSS
RSS (which stands for “Really Simple Syndication”) — a format for delivering regularly changing web content such as news, blog entries, headlines or podcasts. It has been around since 1999.
RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favourite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.
RSS content can be read using software called a “feed reader” or an “aggregator.” The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon (usually )in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.
S
Saddle Stitch
In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it (stapling) through the middle fold of the sheets.
Screen printing
Used to print non-paper items such as promotional mugs and pens in solid colour
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it “ranks”, the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As a marketing strategy for increasing a site’s relevance, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site’s coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site.
Second Life
A 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 8,001,733 Residents from around the globe.
From the moment you enter the World you’ll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you’ve explored a bit, perhaps you’ll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
You’ll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.
The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
The process which aims to get websites listed prominently in search-engine results through search-engine optimisation, sponsored search and paid inclusion.
Server
A host computer which maintains websites, newsgroups and email services.
Session
The time spent between a user starting an application, computer, website…etc and logging off or quitting
Skyscraper
A long, vertical, online advert usually found running down the side of a page in a fixed placement.
Social bookmarking
On a social bookmarking system or network, users store lists of Internet resources that they find useful. These lists can be accessible to the public by users of a specific network or website. Other users with similar interests can view the links by topic, category, tags, or even randomly.
Other than web page bookmarks, services specialized to a specific subject or format — feeds, books, videos, shopping items, map locations, wineries, etc. — can be found.
e.g. http://del.icio.us/; www.diigo.com; www.netvouz.com; www.stumbleupon.com
Spambot
An automated computer program designed to assist in the sending of spam.
Spider
A programme which crawls the web and fetches web pages in order for them to be indexed against keywords. Used by search engines to formulate search result pages.
Splog
Splog is short for spam blog, a slang term used to describe blogs that are established only to promote affiliate Web sites in order to help those sites achieve a better search engine page ranking.
Spot Varnish
A way of highlighting an area of a page by selectively applying a gloss varnish to it.
Streaming media
Compressed audio/video which plays and downloads at the same time. The user does not have to wait for the whole file to download before it starts playing.
Superstitials
A form of rich media advertising which allows a TV-like experience on the web. It is fully pre-cached before playing. See also Rich Media, Cache.
T
TIFF
TIFF — Tagged Image File Format (abbreviated TIFF) is a file format for storing images, including photographs and line art.
Tip on
A promotional item, such as a magnet or game piece, affixed to the cover of a publication.
U
URL
Uniform Resource Locator — Technical term that is used to refer to the web address of a particular website. For example www.iabuk.net
V
Viral Marketing and viral advertising
Viral Marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of funny video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, images, or even SMS text messages.
It is claimed that a satisfied customer tells an average of three people about a product or service he/she likes, and eleven people about a product or service which he/she did not like. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behaviour.
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
Technology that allows the use of a broadband Internet connection to make telephone calls.
W
WAP
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) — Standard for providing mobile data services on hand-held devices.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services which facilitate collaboration and sharing between users
The idea behind it is to use the power of the Internet to hook people together to create content, share expertise, and provide checks and balances through social interaction.
This covers Blogs, RSS feeds, Social bookmarking, Wikis, Podcasts, etc
Webhosting Service
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Webhosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called colocation.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) — The ability to connect to the internet wirelessly. Internet ‘hotspots’ in coffee shops and airports..etc use this technology.
Wiki
Wiki is a collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it. A wiki enables documents to be written collaboratively, in a simple markup language (a combination of text and extra information about the text e.g. HTML) using a web browser. A single page in a wiki is referred to as a “wiki page”, while the entire body of pages, which are usually highly interconnected via hyperlinks, is “the wiki”. A wiki is essentially a database for creating, browsing and searching information.
Wikipedia is one of the best known wikis.
Wove Paper
An uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has no obvious surface texture or pattern. Compare to Laid Paper.
Wrap-around
A form of advertising in which an advert or marketing literature is printed and stapled around the front and back pages of a publication, also referred to as an outsert.
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