These viewing periods provide a critical measure of exposure because certain time slots reach a greater share of the target audience than others. It is calculated by multiplying the number of times an ad aired by the length of the ad. Ad length ranges from 10-60 seconds. These other topics include heart health, lung disease prevention, general health, tobacco control and prevention, gun violence, environmental protection, and drinking and driving prevention. Frequency, GRPs, day part, and cost of placing ads were captured for these issues.
Estimated cost is the value of buying particular advertising slots.
On a monthly basis, data were compiled on the variables cited above, in hard copy and electronic form. These data were reviewed for completeness, reliability, and validation. Quality control checks were also performed. This process is essential because much of television tracking data has been used only by industry analysts for purposes of monitoring political media campaigns and is untested against commonly accepted standards of social science research. These storyboards were used to verify the sponsor and content data.