Dictionary of Marketing Terms: column inch
column inch
unit of measure in a publication by which advertising space is sold. Magazines and newspapers are divided into so many columns wide and so many inches deep (depth = height). A column inch measures 1 inch deep by 1 column wide, whatever the standard width is for the particular publication. If an advertiser's message fits into space that measures 4 columns wide by 5 inches deep, the advertiser needs 20 column inches (4 X 5 = 20). If the rate quoted by the publication is $20 per column inch, the space for the advertisement will cost $20 X 20 column inches, or $400.
