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Above-the-line advertising
advertising in the mass media, including press, radio, television, and posters

ACORN
stands for A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods, which is a system of UK geodemographic segmentation provided by the CACI company

Acquisition
usually, the purchase of a company by another company

Adapted marketing mix
an international marketing strategy for changing the marketing mix for each international target market

Ad-hoc research
a research project which focuses on a specific problem

Administered vertical marketing system
a channel situation where a manufacturer who dominates a market through its size and strong brands may exercise considerable power over intermediaries even though they are independent

Advertising
any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the prime media, i.e. television, the press, posters, cinema and radio, the internet and direct marketing

Advertising agency
an organization which specializes in providing services such as media selection, creative work, production and campaign planning to clients

Advertising allowance
money paid to a retailer by a manufacturer for featuring its brands in the retailer’s advertising

Advertising clutter
the confusion caused by the presence of many advertisers using the same media

Advertising message
the use of words, symbols and illustrations to communicate to a target audience using prime media

Advertising platform
the aspect of the seller’s product that is most persuasive and relevant to the target consumer

Agent
(1) generally, a representative of a company (2) an organization which acts for another usually in an intermediary role and paid on commission

AIDA
awareness, interest, desire, action – the stages through which a consumer is believed to pass before purchasing a product

Ambush marketing
originally referred to activities of companies who try to associate themselves with an event (e.g. the Olympics) without paying any fee to the event owner; now meaning the sponsoring of the television coverage of a major event, national teams and the support of individual sportspeople

ATR
awareness, trial, reinforcement – the stages a consumer is said to pass through when buying a product in a low involvement situation

Attitude
the degree to which a customer or prospect likes or dislikes a product

Automatic vending
machines retailing products in convenient locations 24 hours a day

Awareness set
the set of brands that the consumer is aware may provide a solution to the problem