Glossary A–ZLetter A
Advertising medium
An advertising medium is the medium or surface through which an advertising message reaches people, such as a poster, a magazine or a screen.
It is distinct from the creative, the design that runs on it. In out-of-home advertising the term often also refers to the individual site.
In a screen network, every screen at its site is an advertising medium with its own characteristics: size, format, surroundings, operating hours and impression figures. Media agencies plan with these characteristics and compare them with other media. A screen in a station concourse and one in a bakery may be technically identical but very different as advertising media.
Operators should describe the characteristics of each advertising medium fully and keep them up to date, ideally with photos of the situation on site. Only screens that are actually allowed to show advertising belong in the offer. A screen that shows nothing but information, for example as part of a wayfinding system, is not an advertising medium, even if it technically could be one.