A
activation: see brand/branding.
ad audience: the number of unique people exposed to an ad within a specified time period. Compare with audience.
ad banner: also known as a banner ad, one of the most popular forms of advertising on the internet. Banner ads are a form of display advertising that can range from a still picture to a full-motion video.
ad campaign: see campaign.
ad click: pressing a button or hitting the “Enter” key on an advertisement on a web site (ad banner, button, or text link). See CTR.
addressable tv advertising: a form of audience-based ad buying that gives marketers the ability to target specific households, and serve different ads to different viewers within the same program.
ad exchange: a sales channel between publishers and ad networks that can provide inventory to advertisers. They provide automated auction-based pricing and buying in real time. Ad exchanges may include features that are similar to those offered by ad networks.
ad fraud: a type of online deception that involves manipulating digital advertising to steal money from advertisers. It can include fake clicks, impressions, sales, and users.
ad impressions: see impressions.
ad insertion: when an ad is placed in a web document and recorded by the ad server.
ad inventory: the total amount of advertising space a publisher puts up for sale. The term originally came from print media, but now it primarily refers to internet ad space.
ad network: a platform exclusive to online advertising that facilitates the sale of ad inventory; between publishers and advertisers.
ad server: a computer network that manages, delivers, and tracks digital ads. It's used by publishers, advertisers, and ad agencies to run online advertising campaigns.
ad tag: software code that an advertiser provides to a publisher or ad network, that contacts the advertiser’s ad server for the purposes of displaying an advertisement.
ad targeting: delivering an ad to the appropriate audience; see audience targeting.
Advanced TV: See CTV.
advertisement: a commercial message targeted to an advertiser’s customers or prospective customers.
advertising: when a business pays to place its messaging or branding in a particular location. The goal of advertising is to reach people who are likely to buy a company's products or services.
advertising agency: see agency.
advertising in marketing: creating and distributing paid promotional messages to specific target audiences through various media channels, aiming to influence their view of or behavior towards a product, service, or idea.
affiliate marketing: an agreement between two websites in which one site (the “affiliate”) agrees to feature content or an ad designed to drive web traffic to the other site. In return, the affiliate gets a percentage of sales (or some other form of compensation) generated by that traffic.
agency: an advertising agency or marketing agency, an organization that, on behalf of clients, plans marketing and advertising campaigns, drafts and produces advertisements, and places advertisements in the media.
attribution: connecting an ad event to a consumer action; for instance, knowing that a web user who clicked on a car ad later went on to visit the dealership that placed the ad.
audience: the group of people who visit a specific web site or who are reached by a specific ad network. See ad audience.
audience measurement: the counting of unique users and their interactions with online content. This service is conducted by a third party to ensure that a publisher delivers what an advertiser has paid for.
audience segmentation: the practice of dividing a broader audience into smaller, more defined groups based on shared characteristics like demographics, interests, behaviors, or geographic location. These smaller audience groups are called segments.
audience targeting: enables advertisers to show an ad specifically to certain web visitors based on their shared behavioral, demographic, or geographic attributes. Audience targeting uses anonymous data to protect visitors’ privacy.
average view time: measures amount of time a video ad was played by web users.
B
B2B Marketing: or Business-to-Business Marketing, one business informing another business about a product or service. The goal of B2B Marketing is for a seller to communicate with decision-makers at a company, rather than the end customer.
B2C Marketing: or Business-to-Consumer Marketing, is a business model where a company advertises products or services directly to consumers.
banner ad: see ad banner.
behavioral profiling: see behavioral targeting.
behavioral targeting: sometimes also called behavioral profiling, interest-based advertising, or online behavioral advertising, the use of previous web user activity (pages visited, content viewed, searches, clicks, and purchases) to generate a segment, which is used to match ads to users. Behavioral targeting uses anonymous data to protect web users’ privacy.
brand/branding: a client’s brand is their promise to the customer about who they are and what their product offers. Branding (or positioning) is getting someone to believe the brand promise about a product or service; whereas, activation is getting someone to engage in a desired behavior (such as making a purchase). An example of a branding campaign would be McDonald’s over-arching message of “I’m Lovin’ It”; the activation campaign would be a limited time offer with a mobile coupon for a Big Mac.
brand agent: a professional who helps create, manage, and improve a brand's perception. They work with clients to develop a brand's vision, mission, and values, and to ensure the brand connects with its audience.
brand awareness: how well a target audience recognizes a brand. It's the first step in a consumer's relationship with a brand and their journey to purchase.
brand safety: keeping a brand's reputation safe when advertising digitally. This includes avoiding placing ads next to content that is harmful, inappropriate, or objectionable.
brand safety guidelines: a set of industry quality assurance standards that provide confidence to marketers, encouraging them to invest more in digital advertising. See brand safety.
browser cookie: see cookie.
bumper ad: a video ad with clickable call to action; usually shorter than full video ads (3-10 seconds). Clicking loads another video or brings up a new website while pausing the original content.
C
campaign: in traditional marketing, a campaign is a series of advertising messages that share a single theme. In digital advertising, a campaign will refer to a set of ad buys from a specific ad network or publisher. Also may refer to the advertising period during which an ad delivery strategy is executed.
CDM: Customer Data Management is the collection, organization, and interpretation of information from your customers. When you collect and analyze customer data, you learn more about your target audience and how they interact with your website.
click: see ad click.
companion ad: video advertising products have the option of pairing with companion ads. These are ads (text, display advertising, etc.) that wrap around and run alongside the video. This offers sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video experience. Companion ads may be clickable or offer rich media experiences, such as expansion of the ad, for further engagement opportunities.
Connected TV: see CTV.
content: anything that conveys information. Content can be written, audio, video, or images. It can include articles, videos, podcasts, and more.
contextual ads: digital advertisements (text and image) that appear on web pages that are not search engine pages. Ads are matched to keywords extracted from the page content.
contextual targeting: placing ads next to web content that deals with specific topics.
convergent TV: the combination of linear TV and streaming TV. From a viewer’s perspective, they can seamlessly watch linear TV and various forms of digital/streaming TV without necessarily being aware of the difference. From an advertiser’s perspective, you can buy and sell video on linear and streaming at the same time, and in a way that works together.
conversion: when the user performs the specific action that the advertiser has defined as the campaign goal. For instance, if the goal of an online ad is to get the user to click through to a website, and the user does this, this is a conversion. Conversions are often tracked by a bit of software code called a conversion pixel.
conversion pixel: a specific type of web software code that triggers to indicate a user has successfully completed a specific action, such as a purchase or a website registration. This user action is considered a conversion.
conversion rate: the percentage of web users who are exposed to an online ad (impressions) who complete a desired action (such as a purchase or a website registration, i.e. a conversion).
cookie: also known as web cookie or browser cookie, a string of software code sent from a website to a users’ web browser, that allows that website to track that user’s online behavior. Cookies are used to collect information about users to build user profiles that can be used for ad targeting.
co-op advertising: the creation of advertisements by one party (usually retailers) that include the specific mention of a second party (usually manufacturers), where the second party will pay some or all of the advertising cost.
cost-per-impression: the Industry standard measure for ad impressions. The cost of reaching one thousand households or persons with a commercial is called CPM (“cost per mille,” with “mille” meaning “one thousand”). The total price paid is calculated by multiplying the CPM by the number of impressions. For instance, one million impressions (a thousand mille) at $10 CPM will cost $10,000.
CPA: Cost Per Action, what an advertiser pays for each visitor who takes some specifically defined action in response to an ad beyond simply by clicking on it, such as visiting a website, or signing up for a newsletter. See conversion.
CPC: Cost Per Click, how much an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.
CPM: Cost Per Mille; see cost-per-impression.
creative: ads that use storytelling, visual design, and emotional appeal to create memorable experiences for consumers.
creative retargeting: enables advertisers to show an ad specifically to visitors that previously were exposed to or interacted with the advertisers’ creative. For instance, if a user clicks on an ad, they will be shown similar ads later in their web browsing.
cross-device targeting: the ability to serve multiple ad messages to the same consumer from one device to the next (e.g., first on a person’s desktop then again on the same person’s smartphone).
cross-screen measurement: the tracking and measurement of video viewing across multiple devices (phone, tablet, TV, computer) that can be tied to the same user.
CTA: a Call to Action is a written instruction in marketing campaigns that encourages or prompts readers, viewers, and website visitors to take the desired action; examples include “Buy Now!” And “Click Here!”
CTR: Click-Through Rate is the percentage of ad impressions that were clicked on (ad clicks), compared to the entire number of ad views. In other words, the ratio of users who click on a link versus the total number of users who view a page, email, or advertisement. CTR is commonly used to measure the success of an online advertising campaign as well as the effectiveness of email campaigns.
CTV: A Connected TV, also referred to as Advanced TV, is a television set connected to the internet that can access web-based content. TVs can be connected through an add-on device like a PlayStation, a Roku, or an Amazon Fire TV stick; or the TV can have connectivity capabilities built in. The content viewed is Video On Demand, and streams just like your computer, smartphone, or tablet. OTT (Over-The-Top) is a term describing any of the devices used to connect a TV to the internet.
CTV advertising: video ads delivered via a streaming service during a viewer’s movie, TV show, or other video content, and viewed on an actual TV set. This viewing could be either directly on a Smart TV or via a connected device (see CTV).
Customer Data Management: See CDM.
D
data aggregator: see third party.
Deal ID: a number that is assigned to a programmatic advertising transaction, used by both the buyer and seller in an invitation-only auction (aka a PMP).
Demand-Side Platform: See DSP.
demographics: data about the size and characteristics of a population or audience, used for audience segmentation, such as age, gender, household income, purchasing history, personal preferences, etc.
demographic targeting: enables digital advertisers to show an ad specifically to visitors based on demographics information such as age, gender, and income.
Designated Market Area: see DMA.
digital advertising: a marketing strategy that uses online media channels to promote a brand or its products and services. It involves creating and placing ads on websites, social media, search engines, and other online platforms.
digital marketing: online marketing campaigns that appear on a computer, phone, tablet, or other device.
digital outdoor: see DOOH.
direct response: see DR.
display advertising: ads delivered online that combine text copy, images and video, and call-to-action (CTA) messaging, that link to a landing page. Display advertising can help brands market their brand and products to target audiences across various online platforms.
DMA: a Designated Market Area is a geographic area in the United States in which local television viewing is measured by the Nielsen Company. DMA data is essential for any marketer, researcher, or organization seeking to utilize standardized geographic areas within their business. These regions can be applied to digital marketing as well as linear TV.
DOOH: Digital-Out-of-Home, also called digital outdoor, is a digital sign where the screen rotates through different ads, or rotates through a single brand’s creative, and in some cases even allows passersby to interact, either through touching or motion. DOOH can be used for advertising wrapped around buildings in Times Square, on large billboards along the highway, or in kiosks in airports and malls.
DR: direct response ads are designed to compel the viewer to take immediate action; for example, in digital advertising, this often means a click, a signup, a download, or a purchase.
DSP: A Demand-Side Platform is software that allows an advertiser to buy advertising with the help of automation, allowing the purchase of large amounts of high-quality ad traffic easily.
E
earned media: publicity or exposure that a brand receives from outside sources, such as word of mouth, social media, or news coverage. See paid media.
email marketing: a digital communications strategy for sending messages to customers or prospects via email.
endpoint: the device upon which the viewer sees advertising content, such as a television set, a laptop computer, a smartphone, or a public kiosk. See multiscreen TV.
engagement: refers to the interaction a consumer has with brand content, whether it’s viewing a video, clicking on a button, or responding to a social media post.
F
frequency: the number of times an ad is delivered to the same web browser in a single web browsing session or in a set time period. A site can use cookies to measure and manage ad frequency.
G
geo-fencing: limiting ads to a specific geographic location. It uses GPS and mapping technology to create a virtual boundary around a physical location, then send targeted messages to users when they enter the area.
geo-targeting: delivering advertisements or content to users based on their geographic location; tailoring marketing messages to people in specific regions, cities, or even neighborhoods, to provide a more relevant ad experience.
GRP: Gross Rating Point, a measurement of the size of an audience reached by specific advertising. It measures the exposure of one or more commercials, without regard to multiple exposures of the same advertising to individuals. For example, an advertisement that is aired five times, reaching 50% of the target audience each time it is aired, would have a GRP of 250 (5 × 50%). GRPs are used by media buyers to compare the strength of media platforms.
I
in-banner video: a video delivered as part of (inside of) the display advertising creative, rather than initiating the use of a separate video player. In-banner video ads use the banner ad space to deliver a video experience.
in-feed video: a native video ad (see native advertising) found in a social media or online shopping feed.
in-page video ad: a stand-alone video advertisement appearing on a web page, that does not have other related content associated with it.
in-stream video ad: played just before, during, or just after the streaming video content that the consumer has requested. These ads cannot typically be stopped from being played. In-stream video ads can be played inside short or long videos.
interactive advertising: all forms of online, wireless, and Connected TV advertising, including ad banners, e-mail, keyword searches, referrals, online classified ads, and interactive TV commercials.
in-text video ads: delivered from highlighted words and phrases within the text of web content. The ads are user activated, and shown only when a user chooses to move their mouse over a relevant word or phrase.
IMC: “Integrated Marketing Communications” involves unifying a brand’s messaging to make it consistent across all media that the brand uses to reach its target audience.
impressions: in digital advertising, the number of ads served to users. If a 1,000 people each see an ad once, that’s 1,000 impressions. If a 100 people each see an ad 10 times, that’s 1,000 impressions. Ads can be requested by the user’s web browser (pulled ads), or they can be pushed ads, such as e-mails.
interest-based advertising: see behavioral targeting.
inventory: see ad inventory.
IP-based geo-targeting: using geo-targeting to deliver ads to a user’s geographic location as determined by his or her Internet Protocol (IP) address.
K
keywords: online, words or groups of words a user enters to perform a search in a search engine or search bar.
keyword targeting: placing ads online next to relevant keywords, to target audiences searching for specific information
L
landing page: a web page designed to encourage a specific action from visitors, such as entering their email or downloading a document. Landing pages are often used in marketing campaigns and are reached by clicking a link in an email or online ad.
lead generation: when advertisers pay internet advertising companies to refer new, specific potential customers, as when an auto dealer pays a fee in exchange for receiving a qualified purchase inquiry online. The companies provide consumer information (demographics, contact info, and behavioral data) to the advertiser when the consumer volunteers to be contacted by a marketer.
LGM: “Lead Generation Marketing” involves attracting prospective customers to your business and increasing their interest, all with the end goal of converting them into a customer.
linear TV: Video content watched on a pre-determined schedule. The term can be applied to traditional TV or to streaming TV. Linear is a viewing style rather than a marketing channel.
M
marketing: a company's overall process of promoting and selling products or services to consumers. It involves creating interest in a brand and its products, and making them seem valuable to customers. Advertising is a form of marketing.
marketing agency: see agency.
marketing channel: the type of medium used to advertise your company; examples include print, radio, TV, and social media. Also media channel.
marketing deck: also known as a pitch deck, a visual presentation of marketing concepts for your product or service.
marketing in business: planning and executing the development, pricing, distribution, and promotion of products or services to satisfy customer needs.
marketing in sales: the strategic use of marketing tactics and activities to support the sales process by generating leads, building brand awareness, and educating potential customers about a product or service. The aim is to promote sales conversions and increase revenue for a company.
media buy: the purchase of advertising from a media company such as a television station, newspaper, magazine, blog, or website. Includes negotiation for price and placement of ads, as well as research into the best venues for ad placement.
media buyer: an advertising professional who negotiates the purchase of ad space and time. They analyze target demographics, develop media buying strategies, negotiate rates with media outlets, and optimize budgets to effectively reach target audiences.
media buying: securing ideal locations, placements, and times to run ads to maximize their effectiveness with specific audiences.
media channel: see marketing channel.
media mix: the combination of advertising media channels employed in meeting the promotional objectives of a marketing plan or campaign. This can include radio, TV, print, and online advertising.
mid-roll: a video ad that appears in the middle of the video the viewer is watching. See pre-roll and post-roll.
Multichannel Video Programming Distributor: See MVPD.
multiscreen TV: This term is used to refer to content shown on multiple devices; for instance, an ad viewers see on their TV, laptop, and smartphone all during the same period. These devices are referred to as endpoints.
MVPD: A Multichannel Video Programming Distributor is a company that delivers multiple television channels to subscribers using various technologies.
N
native advertising: paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the media channel in which it is placed. Paid ads aspire to be so cohesive with the page content, natural to the design, and consistent with the platform behavior that the viewer simply feels the ad belongs there.
O
omnichannel marketing: ensures a positive and seamless customer experience through the integration of multiple offline (retail store, events, call centre) and online channels (website, app, social media, email, SMS) while maintaining a consistent brand presence.
online behavioral advertising: see behavioral targeting.
online publisher: a creator and/or aggregator of online content, (such as a website, social media platform, or streaming service) that often earns money by displaying advertisements.
OOH: Out of Home advertising appears in public places; for example on billboards, in airports and grocery stores, on and in taxi cabs, in bus stations, etc.
OTT: Over-The-Top refers to video seen over the internet or another device, rather than through the traditional cable set-top box. It can describe the content, a service, or a device. See also CTV.
Over-The-Top: See OTT.
owned media: any corporate content or asset that belongs to your brand, that your company creates and has control over. Assets are not just images, content, video, etc., but also people, resources, experiences, and subject matter experts.
P
paid media: any advertising media that is paid for; you pay to boost your exposure through the channel. See earned media.
pitch deck: see marketing deck.
pixel: see conversion pixel.
PMP: a Private Marketplace is a digital advertising service that allows publishers to sell premium ad space to a selected group of advertisers. PMPs are a type of real-time bidding (RTB) that allows for more control over ad placement.
post-roll: a video ad that appears at the end of the video the viewer is watching. See pre-roll and mid-roll.
pre-roll: a video ad that appears at the beginning of the video the viewer is watching. See mid-roll and post-roll.
PPC: Pay-Per-Click, when advertisers pay agencies or media companies based on how many users clicked-through to a website on an online ad or e-mail message.
PPI: pay-per-impression, in which advertisers pay based on how many users were served their digital ads. It is not based on whether the ad was clicked or not, only that it was shown.
Private Marketplace: see PMP.
programmatic advertising: the use of software to purchase and sell digital advertising, as opposed to the traditional process that involves RFPs, human negotiations, and manual insertion orders.
programmatic media: the use of automated technology to buy and sell digital ad space.
programmatic media buying: media buying using an automated process to purchase digital space for ads. Programmatic media buying also cuts down on wasted ad impressions by serving ads to relevant audiences and minimizing ad fraud risk—making it cost-efficient, as well.
programmatic tv buying: a data-based and automated process for purchasing and delivering TV ads. It uses algorithms and real-time viewership data to target specific audiences with video content.
pitch deck: see marketing deck.
positioning: see brand/branding.
pricing in marketing: determining the price at which a company will sell its products or services.
promotion in business: a venture that involves persuading customers to buy products to increase sales.
pulled ads: see impressions.
pushed ads: see impressions.
Real-Time Bidding: See RTB.
R
retargeting: see creative retargeting, search retargeting.
RTB: Real-Time Bidding is a form of programmatic advertising involving the buying and selling of digital ads in real time. When users go to a website or mobile app, a digital auction is conducted where advertisers bid and compete for an ad space.
S
sales in business: exchanging goods or services for money; the activities a business undertakes to help customers buy their products.
sales in marketing: convincing potential customers to buy a product or service. Uses various techniques and tactics to influence buying decisions, close sales, and increase revenue.
search retargeting: enables advertisers to show ads to visitors based their web searches.
search targeting: shows ads to users who have made specific web searches. Local search targeting helps advertisers find users when they look for places, businesses, housing, entertainment, etc. in specific geographies using a search engine (such as Google or Bing).
segment: see audience segmentation.
segmentation: see audience segmentation.
Set-Top Box: See STB.
Set-Top Box Video on Demand: See STB VOD.
smart TV: a television that can connect to the internet and support streaming apps. See CTV.
SMMA: a Social Media Marketing Agency is a business that offers services to help brands grow and succeed through strategic use of social media.
SMS marketing: short message service (SMS) marketing sends promotions to customers via text messages.
social media marketing: uses social media—the platforms on which users build social networks and share information—to build a company's brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
STB: a Set-Top Box is a device that converts signals from cable, satellite, digital, or internet sources into TV signals. STBs allow users to watch video content on their television. Your cable box is a set-top box.
STB VOD: Set-Top Box Video on Demand is video content that is consumed whenever a viewer wants, after its official release date or original air date and time. This type of content is found on an MVPD subscriber’s set-top box.
Streaming TV: See STV.
STV: Streaming TV is video content delivered via internet connection rather than a cable or broadcast signal.
T
traffic: in digital advertising, the number of visitors to a website or web page. It's a key measurement that helps marketers judge the success of their campaigns.
tag: see ad tag.
TAG: Trustworthy Accountability Group is the leading global certification program fighting ad fraud and increasing trust in the digital advertising industry.
target audience: the intended audience for an ad, usually defined in terms of specific demographics (age, sex, income, etc.), product purchase behavior, product usage, or media consumption.
targeted advertisement: an ad shown only to users with specific attributes (age, income, etc.), or in a specific context or at a particular time of day. See ad targeting.
targeting: see ad targeting.
third party: an entity that gathers data about customers. Third parties, such as data aggregators and ad networks, collect information from websites and stores not owned or controlled by a single entity. They can offer smaller websites and stores that do not have the technical resources the ability to compete against large companies.
traditional TV: Video content delivered via cable, satellite, or broadcast, as opposed to the internet. It features scheduled ads during commercial breaks. Traditional TV programs are broadcast on a set schedule, and viewers tune in at specific times; this is different from streaming TV, where viewers can usually choose to watch whenever they like. See linear TV.
V
video advertising: the use of video content to sell products or services.
Video On Demand: See VOD.
vMVPD:A Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor is a service that helps users stream television channels online without cable connections.
VOD: Video On Demand allows customers to see videos, television shows, and films by means of a computer or a CTV (Connected TV) system. See STB VOD.
W
web cookie: see cookie.