billing

Definition:
The standard but indirect measure of an ADVERTISING AGENCY's financial turnover. The term is often used in the plural. It comprises: (i) the total sum of money paid to MEDIA OWNERS on behalf of all its CLIENTS (ii) fees received direct from its clients for non-media services (iii) agreed on-costs associated with the production of campaign material. The first ingredient earns the agency MEDIA COMMISSION, the second is conventionally marked-up at a rate equivalent to the commission discount, and the third is a direct charge. It is assumed that the figure is annual, if unspecified. Billings are the usual yardstick for absolute and comparative evaluation of an advertising agency's size and success, despite periodic pressure in the business to find an alternative that is closer to general practice elsewhere. In 1996, one in Britain had total annual billings greater than £300 million and four more surpassed £200 million. A billing of £100 million would have placed an agency in eighteenth place, £25 million corresponded to 45th place; and so on. World-wide, the billings of the leading agencies in the largest advertising economies were: Japan $11.7 billion; USA $3.1 billion; France $2.0 billion; Germany $1.0 billion; UK $1.0 billion; Italy $0.6 billion; Netherlands $0.5 billion.

Cross-References:
[media commission] [media owners] [advertising agency] [client]

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