Glossary / Media terms / 2026
Hong Kong advertising glossary.
The 40 terms you’ll meet when you buy media in Hong Kong — from 12-sheets and Tube Cards to rotational spots, CPM and KOL usage rights — defined in plain language by the people who book them, with 2026 prices where they help.
Quick answer
What is the difference between media cost and production cost?
As Hypertree defines it, media cost is what you pay for the advertising space or airtime itself; production cost is what it takes to make the ad — design, printing, fitting or filming. For example, a Super Whole Bus wrap costs HK$36,000–70,000 per bus for four weeks in media, plus HK$8,000–15,000 per bus to print and fit.
Ask us anything about a quote →Buying & pricing
- Rate card
- A media owner’s published price list. Real prices often differ after negotiation, volume and season. More →
- Media cost
- What you pay for the space or airtime itself, excluding production, printing and fitting. More →
- Production cost
- The cost of making the ad: design, printing, fitting, video shoot and edit. Bus wraps add HK$8,000–15,000 per bus. More →
- Flight
- The period a campaign runs, e.g. a two-week or four-week flight.
- Lead time
- How far ahead a booking must be made — from 1 week for programmatic DOOH to 12 weeks for iconic LED and station takeovers. More →
- Material deadline
- The last date to deliver approved artwork or video to the media owner before go-live.
- Media buying agency
- An independent agency that plans, negotiates and books media across many owners, unlike a media owner that sells only its own inventory. More →
Outdoor & digital
- OOH (out-of-home)
- Any advertising seen outside the home: MTR, bus, tram, billboards, airport and street furniture. More →
- DOOH (digital out-of-home)
- OOH on digital screens, where ads rotate in a loop and can change by time of day. More →
- Programmatic DOOH
- DOOH bought automatically through a platform, often by audience or time slot. In Hong Kong it can go live within a week, from HK$30,000. More →
- Loop and slot
- A digital screen plays a loop of ads; each advertiser buys a slot (share) in that loop.
MTR
- 4-sheet lightbox
- A smaller backlit MTR poster panel at high-footfall transition points: HK$8,000–18,000 per station for two weeks. More →
- 12-sheet lightbox
- The classic large backlit MTR panel on concourses, walkways and platforms: HK$15,000–32,000 per station for two weeks. More →
- Tube Card
- A printed panel above the seats inside MTR trains, read during long rides. More →
- Motion Zone
- A large digital wall in MTR concourse transit zones, used for creative-led storytelling. More →
- Digital Escalator Crown
- Synced digital panels at the top of MTR escalators with near-guaranteed attention. More →
- Station takeover
- One advertiser brands an entire MTR station — walls, floors and pillars: HK$300,000–500,000+ for two to four weeks, booked about 12 weeks ahead. More →
Bus & tram
- Super Whole Bus
- A full-body bus wrap across all sides and the back: HK$36,000–70,000 per bus for four weeks. More →
- Emperor Plus
- A premium bus exterior format covering the rear and both sides — near-whole-bus impact. More →
- Mega Panorama
- A bus format covering one full side plus the rear. More →
- Seatback
- Printed panels on the back of bus seats, bought network-wide: from HK$2,000 per bus for four weeks. More →
- Signature Tramcar
- A full-body tram wrap sold in three-month blocks: HK$130,000–220,000 per tram. More →
TV & video
- Rotational spot
- A TV spot the station places across a time band rather than a fixed slot. TVB rotational 30s spots start from HK$3,500. More →
- Fixed spot
- A TV spot booked into a specific programme or break, priced higher than rotational. More →
- Programme sponsorship
- Title or segment sponsorship of a TV show. TVB Jade title sponsorship starts from HK$500,000. More →
- Product placement
- Integrating a brand or product into TV or online programme content. More →
- Pre-roll
- A video ad that plays before streamed content, e.g. on myTV SUPER or YouTube. More →
- TVC
- A television commercial, usually produced as a 30-second master with 15-second cut-downs. More →
Measurement
- Reach
- The number or share of people who see an ad at least once.
- Frequency
- The average number of times each person reached sees the ad.
- Impressions
- The total number of times an ad is seen or served, counting repeats.
- CPM
- Cost per thousand impressions — the standard way to compare the price of reach across media.
- GRP / TRP
- Gross (or target) rating points: reach × frequency, used mainly to plan TV. More →
KOL, social & AI
- KOL
- Key opinion leader — a creator or influencer paid to feature a brand. Hong Kong rates run from HK$3,000 (nano) to HK$300,000+ (celebrity) per post. More →
- KOC
- Key opinion consumer — an everyday user who posts authentic reviews, common on Xiaohongshu seeding. More →
- KOL tiers
- Creator size bands: nano (<10K), micro (10K–50K), mid (50K–200K), upper-mid (200K–500K), macro (500K–1M), celebrity (1M+). More →
- Usage rights
- Permission to reuse a creator’s content in paid ads; adds 30–100% to the KOL fee. More →
- Seeding (種草)
- Spreading authentic product notes across many creators so search and AI pick them up over time. More →
- GEO
- Generative engine optimization — making sure AI assistants such as Doubao, DeepSeek and ChatGPT describe and recommend a brand accurately. More →
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