AADT - Average Annual Daily Traffic is a measurement representing the total number of vehicles passing a given location, based upon 24-hour counts taken over an entire year. Mechanical counts are adjusted to an estimate of annual average daily traffic figures, taking into account seasonal variance, weekly changes and other variables.
Ambient Media - Refers to any non-traditional out-of-home medium, but specifically includes media designed to reach audiences close to the point of purchase. Ambient media ranges from street vision, mobile media, venue advertising, washroom advertising and small screen advertising such as ATM and CCTV.
Amortization - In accounting terms, this refers to the method in which an intangible asset is depreciated over a specified period of time.
Audited Circulation - The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement (TAB) independently audits records and circulation data for outdoor advertising according to established national procedures approved by the buyer and seller community.
Bi-directional diagnostics: - Two-way communication between a display and its controller. Bi-directional diagnostics assist in pre-maintenance, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Candela - A measurement of directional light/intensity from a point source.
Circulation - Gross Daily - All the people including passengers in autos, public transportation, trucks, pedestrian, going in all directions, who pass given a point during a 12-hour daylight period or an 18-hour period in case of illuminated panels.
Commercial/Industrial Area - Those districts established by the zoning authorities as being most appropriate for commerce, industry, or trade, regardless of how labeled. They are commonly categorized as commercial, industrial, business, manufacturing, highway service or highway business (when these latter are intended for highway-oriented business), retail, trade, warehouse, and similar classifications.
Cluster - A grouping of LEDs that act as a single pixel.
Color Temperature - The degree of hotness or coolness of a color, measured in degrees Kelvin. If a video display is said to have a color temperature of 7,000 degrees Kelvin, for example, the whites have the same shade as a piece of pure carbon heated to that temperature. Low color temperatures have a shift toward red, and high color temperatures have a shift toward blue. The standard white for the National Television System Committee (NTSC) in the United States is 6,500 degrees Kelvin.
Contrast Ratio - Ratio between the brightness or intensity measurement taken when the screen is displaying a blank video signal and a full, white video signal. This ratio determines the readability of the display so as to measure "depth" of an image or as a measure of how well the image can be seen in high ambient light.
Conspicuity - The capacity of a sign to stand out or be distinguished from its surroundings and thus be readily discovered by the eye. It is the noticeable contrast between a sign and its background, attributed to an exogenous (unplanned) or endogenous (planned) mindset, with the display having features that attract attention to the sign. Conspicuity is considered a subjective outcome.
Controller - computer or computer-type device used to program and operate digital displays.
CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand - the most common method for comparing media advertising costs. Expressed in dollars, the CPM is the media cost for generating one thousand exposures.
To calculate CPM for outdoor advertising, first multiply the daily effective circulation by the number of days in the showing period, then divide the result by 1,000 to determine the "number of thousands." Finally, divide the cost per board by this number.
DEC - Daily Effective Circulation . It is a measurement of the audience (18 years old and over) that has the opportunity to view the advertising message each day. It is based on the annual average daily traffic (AADT) count of a location taking into account the average number of persons 18 and over in each vehicle, the visible traffic flow and the hours of illumination of the display. The resulting number is expressed in thousands to facilitate the calculation of the costs per thousand (CPM) impressions per month.
Degradation - The standard method used to express the life of a display is the time it takes to reach 50% of its day one brightness.
Dimming - Changing the brightness of a display, or the capability of increasing or decreasing the overall display intensity. The brightness level should be highest during the day to compete with daylight, and lower at night.
Dissolve - A mode of message transition on an LED display accomplished by varying the light intensity or pattern, where the first message gradually appears to dissipate and lose legibility simultaneously with the gradual appearance and legibility of the second message.
Fade - A mode of message transition on an LED display accomplished by varying the light intensity, where the first message gradually reduces intensity to the point of not being legible and the subsequent message gradually increases intensity to the point of legibility.
Frame - A complete, static display screen on an LED display.
Frame Effect - A visual effect on an LED display applied to a single frame to attract the attention of viewers.
GPS (global positioning system) is a Satellite Navigation System. It is funded by and controlled by the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD). While there are many thousands of civil users of GPS worldwide, the system was designed for and is operated by the U. S. military. GPS provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time. Four GPS satellite signals are used to compute positions in three dimensions and the time offset in the receiver clock.
GRP stand for Gross Rating Points. It refers to the total number of impressions delivered by a media schedule, expressed as a percentage of the total market population. In outdoor advertising, GRP's refer to the total number of impressions made on a daily basis, and are synonymous with "showings".
Intensity - Often called brightness. The LED industry measures display intensity in candelas per square meter, which is also referred to as "nits".
Just Compensation - Just compensation is an amount paid for the rights and interests for the sign and site owner based on a fair market value estimate. The Highway Beautification Act of 1965, as amended, requires the payment of just compensation for the removal of an off-premise sign along a federally-controlled highway.
Lease - (license, permit, agreement, contract or easement). An agreement, oral or in writing, by which possession or use of land or interests therein is given by the owner or other person to another person for a specified purpose.
Leasehold Value - The leasehold value is the present worth of the difference between the contractual rent and the current market rent at the time of the appraisal.
LED - Light Emitting Diode - a semiconductor diode that emits light when a voltage is applied to it and that is used in an electronic display.
LED brightness - The brightness level of an LED is measured in milli-candelas. The materials used to manufacture the LED determine the brightness of the LED.
Light Detector, Light Sensor - An electrical component used to detect the amount or level of ambient light surrounding a display. If dimming has been set to "AUTO", the light detector or sensor adjusts the intensity of the LED accordingly.
Message Area - The area within the sign panel describing the limits of the message.
Milli-Candela - One thousandth of a candela.
MSA - Metropolitan Statistical Area - The U.S. government uses a three-tiered classification of metro markets. The purpose of this census system of market designation is to enable federal agencies to use consistent geographic definitions when collecting and disseminating metro area statistics. The basic unit - the MSA - is defined as a geographic area comprising a significant population nucleus together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus.
Plant - The term "plant" refers to an outdoor advertising company in a geographical location. It may also refer to all the advertising structures in a market operated by such a company.
Permit - A license granted by the state and/or locality to authorize a sign structure on a site. All states have laws requiring state permits for billboards along the Interstate, Federal-Aid Primary highways and the National Highway System. Localities may also require permits for billboards.
Pixel - The smallest single point of light on a display that can be turned on and off. For LED displays, a pixel is the smallest block of light emitting devices that can generate all available colors. For incandescent displays, a pixel is an individual lamp on the matrix.
Reach - Reach is an estimate of percentage of the total target audience's population, which will be potentially exposed to the advertising message one or more times during all advertising programs common to all media.
Reflective Disks - Metallic disks attached to the surface of an outdoor structure that sparkle or shimmer in sunlight.
Resolution - The basic measurement of how much information is displayed on a screen, expressed in units of pixels. The pixel pitch and the physical dimension of the display determine resolution. To calculate resolution, divide the area of the display by the area of an individual pixel. Most displays of video quality have a resolution greater than 10,000 pixels. Generally, the greater the resolution, the better the image will appear. Commonly listed as number of pixels per square meter.
Saturation - The color intensity of an image. An image high in saturation will appear to be very bright. An image low in saturation will appear to be duller and more neutral. A 100 percent saturated color does not contain any white; adding white reduces saturation. An image without any saturation is also referred to as a grayscale image.
Scotchlite © - The registered trade name of reflective sheeting made by bonding tiny glass spheres to a flexible resin backing. Each sphere reflects lights directly back to its source. Since Scotchlite gleams brightly when illuminated by the headlights of approaching vehicles, it is often used on non-illuminated highway painted displays to give them nighttime circulation value. Reflectorized paints (Scotchal) are also manufactured employing the same principle, but permit more flexibility in change of copy and wider range colors.
Scroll - A mode of message transition on an LED display where the message appears to move vertically across the display surface.
Sequence - Group of two or more frames that may consist of words, graphics or animation that are grouped together under one name. May range in size from a few frames up to a hundred or more.
Sign Face - The surface area of a sign on which the advertising message is displayed. A sign may have more than one face.
Sign Facing - The cardinal direction that an outdoor unit faces. As an example, vehicles traveling south would view a north-facing bulletin.
Snipe - Refers to a small, added strip along a poster design to announce special or revised messages. Originally, a snipe was a small advertisement illegally pasted on the surface of a legitimately rented poster space.
TAB is the Traffic Audit Bureau of Media Measurement; an independent firm that provides its members with audited circulation figures for outdoor boards in accordance with nationally recognized standards. TAB covers more than 225,000 advertising billboards in over 1,000 U.S. markets. What Nielson is to TV and the Audit Bureau of Circulation is to newspapers, TAB is to the outdoor advertising industry.
"Transit" outdoor category is defined as: Advertising displays affixed to moving vehicles or positioned in the common areas of transit stations, terminals and airports. It may consist of the following: Airport Displays, Bus Displays (interior & exterior), Mobile Displays, Subway and Rail Displays (exterior graphics, interior posters & train cards),
Transition - A visual effect used on an LED display to change from one message to another.
Travel - A mode of message transition on an LED display where the message appears to move horizontally across the display surface.
Unilluminated Unit - An outdoor unit that has not been equipped with lighting for nighttime illumination of an advertising message. The daily effective circulation for an unilluminated unit is calculated using a 12-hour viewing period. Sometimes referred to as a regular unit.
Viewing Angle - The area that will provide optimum viewing of a display. The angle is determined by the horizontal and vertical points at which the measured light intensity is 50 percent of that measured directly in front of the display. Expressed another way, the maximum viewing angle is defined by the vertical and horizontal points where the information displayed can no longer be interpreted by the viewer. (This does not mean that the LED cannot be seen outside the viewing angle. Viewing angle is an industry-accepted term and used by the LED manufacturers themselves.)
Wavelength - The distance in a periodic wave between two points of corresponding phases. The LED's wavelength determines its color.