Media Vocabulary and
Math ForMulas
Vocabulary Formulas
For more information, read chapter 1 of Media Flight Plan (Martin & Coons, 2015).
Content collected and designed by Emily Linginfelter (Xavier, ‘17) on March 2, 2017.
Universe (Population) - The total group of persons in a
specific geographic area that share a common, mutually
exclusive characteristic
Impression - One opportunity for an individual to see an ad-
vertisement. There is no guarantee a viewer, reader or listener
is exposed to the adverisement
Exposure - Occurs when a person consumes an ad.
Note: When “exposure” is used as a synonym for impression,
think “exposure to the medium” and not “exposure to the
advertisement”
Reach - A count of persons with at least one impression. The
number of impressions received is irrelevant to reach; each
person is only counted one time
Rating - The portion of a demographic universe that is
exposed to a specific media vehicle expresses as a
percentage of that universe
Share - Indicates the portion of the available television (or
radio) audience that is viewing a particular television
program (or radio station)
Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and Target Rating Points
(TRPs) - GRPs refer impressions of households are
counted with duplication and TRPs refer to GRPs for a
specific demographic
Average Frequency - Used to describe the average
number of times a reached individual was exposed to a cam-
paign (*Remember- exposure to the medium NOT an
advertisement)
Cost Per Thousand (CPM) - The cost of delivering 1000
gross impressions
Cost Per Point (CPP) - The cost of one gross rating point
(00) - Indicates numbers are in the hundreds. Usually used
with radio audiences and universes
(000) - Indicates numbers are in thousands
Reach
# of people reached
# of people in universe
Rating
impressions (000)
universe (000)
or
# of people exposed to a vehicle
# of people in universe
Share
rating
number of people in the universe using a
medium during a particular time period
GRPs
gross impressions
universe
or
reach x average frequency
Average Frequency
gross impressions
persons reached
or
GRPs
reach
CPM
total cost (in dollars)
total gross impressions
CPP
total cost (in dollars)
total GRPs
x 100
x 100
x 100
x 100
x 1000
x 100
