Glossary: M
- magazine covers
- Media placement that typically includes the front cover (Cover 1), inside front cover (Cover 2), inside back cover (Cover 3) and back cover (Cover 4). Magazines typically charge a premium for advertisements that appear on a cover position.
- magazine editor
- Person responsible for writing, assigning and editing the non-advertising content of a magazine.
- market demand
- The total volume of a given product or service bought by a specific group of customers in a specified market area during a specific time period.
- market potential
- An estimate of the maximum possible sales of a commodity, a group of commodities or a service for an entire industry in a market during a stated period.
- market research
- The systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data with respect to a particular market, where market refers to a specific customer group in a specific geographic area.
- market share
- The proportion of the total quantity or dollar sales in a market that is held by each of the competitors.
- marketing
- As defined by 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 a society at large.
- marketing plan
- A document composed of an analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and threats analysis, marketing objectives, marketing strategy, action programs and projected or pro-forma income (and other financial) statements. This plan may be the only statement of the strategic direction of a business, but it is more likely to apply only to a specific brand or product.
- mark-up
- A fee added to a product or service passed along to a third party. Advertising agencies often mark up third-party purchases by as little as 10% or as much as 50%.
- masthead
- In a publication, this is the listing of information about its staff, operations and circulation.
- material closing
- The deadline date by which advertising materials must be received by a publication in order to appear as scheduled.
- media
- Avenues for conveying advertising or publicity, including, but not limited to: publications, television, radio, billboards, transit advertising, direct mail and the internet.
- media buy
- The purchase of a specific amount of time or space in an advertising media vehicle. It is sometimes referred to as a "buy."
- media buyer
- Person who negotiates costs for advertising time and space.
- media kit
- A package of promotional materials relating to a specific advertising media vehicle, including the rate card, audience statistics, case studies showing success stories and related materials.
- media planner
- Person who develops an advertising schedule that meets the objectives set for or by the client.
- message team
- A 5MetaCom team responsible for identifying strategic messages to be conveyed in communication pieces and advertising campaigns.
- meta search engine
- An internet search engine that displays results from multiple search engines.
- meta tags
- Sections of source code on a web page not seen in normal browser viewing that contain information about the page; important in search-engine optimization.
- metrics
- A system of measures that helps to quantify particular characteristics.
- MIME
- Multi-purpose internet mail extensions, a method of encoding a file for delivery over the internet.
- mission statement
- An expression of a company's history, managerial preferences, environmental concerns, available resources and/or distinctive competencies to serve selected audiences. It is used to guide the company's decision making and strategic planning.
- mock-up
- A model or sample item created by hand for evaluation, demonstration or testing. Also known as a "folding dummy" or "prototype."
- model release
- Legal form on which an individual agrees to allow use of his or her photograph for advertising purposes.
- MPEG
- A file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online.
