Do you know TV advertising’s lingo?

The French TV advertising sector is not safe from the use of jargon that can sometimes seem obscure to a beginner. Find the main terms used for TV advertising, as well as their definition, in order to manage your TV advertising campaign with ease.

Sommaire de l’article sur le vocabulaire de la publicité TV 

1. Vocabulary around TV metrics
2. Vocabulary about TV advertising formats
3. Vocabulary about broadcast time slots
4. Bonus definition 

Couverture (coverage): number of people exposed to a television advertising campaign.

GRP: short for gross rating point, the GRP is an indicator that is used to determine the advertising pressure, mainly on television. It is the average number of advertising contacts obtained on 100 individuals of the target you want to reach. The GRP is calculated by multiplying the coverage rate (in %) by the number of repetitions of an advertising spot. The higher the GRP, the higher the chances to reach your target.

Indice format (format index): the "indice format" is a coefficient used to determine the cost of a TV spot of a non-standard duration TV ad compared to a reference spot. This coefficient is available in the terms and conditions (CVG - conditions générale de ventes) of the advertising agencies' websites.

Le coût GRP (cost per GPR): it is used to determine the average cost of a GRP. It is obtained by dividing the net budget of a campaign (excluding taxes) by the indice format, the whole divided by the number of GRPs. The formula for calculating the GRP cost is as follows: (Net TV budget excluding tax ÷ format index) ÷ number of GRPs. The lower the cost, the better.

ODV (OTS): This abbreviation is used to refer to the "opportunity to see" (opportunité de voir) indicator. It helps determine the power of a time slot by calculating the probability that a targeted population has to see a TV ad.

Nombre de contacts (number of contacts): this is the average number of times an individual is exposed to advertising content.

Taux de couverture (coverage rate): the coverage rate evaluates the capacity of a TV spot to reach a given target. It is expressed as a percentage.

BA: BA stands for "bande-annonce" (trailer). This is a billboard that is shown before the trailer of a program sponsored by a brand or company.

BB: BB stands for billboard. A short TV spot billboard, from 6 to 12 seconds (8 seconds in general) can be found around a TV program sponsored by a brand or a company. This format is specific to sponsorship.

>>> See the difference between a classic TV ad and a TV sponsorship ad

BB-in: billboard broadcast at the beginning of a TV program. "This program is brought to you by…”

BB-out: billboard broadcast at the end of a TV program. "This program was brought to you by…”

BB-inter: billboard broadcast during the program.

Emplacement préférentiel (preferential slot): the preferential slots represent the order of TV spots broadcasted during a commercial break. The broadcast window is between 1 and 99, EP1 being the location of the first spot just after a program and EP99 the one just before the program resumes.

Spot classique (classic spot): this is a classic commercial of about 30 seconds broadcast on TV during commercial breaks.

Day: This is a general and broad time slot between 9 am and 6 pm.

La tranche matinale (morning slot): this is the first time slot in the morning, between 6 am and 9 am.

Morning: a slot that extends to noon.

Noon: lunchtime slot between 12 pm (midday) and 2 pm.

Afternoon: slot between 2 pm and 6 pm.

Access: the time slot before the prime time. The access slot is often broadcasted between 6 pm and 8 pm.

Prime time: also known as “première partie de soirée” in French, corresponds to the time slot between 8 pm and 10 pm. This is the time slot with the largest audience, which advertisers try to obtain.

Night: the evening slot between 10 pm and midnight. 

Deuxième partie de soirée (second half of the evening): 10 pm - 11 pm 

Late night: also known as “troisième partie de soirée”, is a time slot starting at 11 pm or midnight.

Programme de nuit ou fin de programme (Night or late program): midnight to 6 am

ARPP (Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité): organization in charge of the regulation of the advertisements diffused on television. The ARPP validates the advertising spots before their broadcasting on television.