ATL/BTL (above/below the line)
DefinitionPaid Media
ATL/BTL (above/below the line)
The old agency split between above-the-line media advertising (TV, print, radio, outdoor, bought for reach) and below-the-line activity (promotions, direct mail, PoS, paid on results or fees). The line was an accounting convention for how agencies got paid; in an integrated media world the distinction survives mainly as shorthand for broad brand media versus targeted activation.
Evidence from the library
5% / 10% / 15%Unbundling media from creative let media agencies work for 5% of the old 15% commission, but clients wouldn't pay the remaining 10% for creative, pushing creative onto labor-based fees that procurement then halved again.CaseA 1980s four-channel mantra is being asked to carry a millions-of-assets problemPrincipleBusy Work = 38% of campaignsAdvertising Planning Matrix - Growth Engine, Cult Hit, Paid Noise, Busy WorkPrincipleThe brand-performance balance has shifted far less than the brand bubble believesWarning62:38 / 64:36The most successful 2016 campaigns still split their budget close to 60:40 between brand building and activation.Stat
Source
Marketing Definitions
agency tradition; the 'line' originates in mid-century agency commission accounting
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