Where every click is a journey and every impression counts.
An algorithmic process that identifies new prospects who share characteristics with your existing customers, based on the bold assumption that people who look similar on paper will buy similar things. Statistical stereotyping, but make it marketing.
A comprehensive document dictating exactly how a brand should be presented, from logo placement to approved adjectives. It's the brand police manual ensuring global consistency while crushing the creativity of anyone who dares color outside the lines.
In marketing and advertising, a single instance of an ad being displayed, regardless of whether anyone actually looked at it or immediately scrolled past. Digital marketers obsess over impressions like they're collecting Pokemon, even though an impression doesn't guarantee anyone's eyeballs actually made contact. It's the vanity metric that makes your campaign look successful before you check the click-through rate.
An ad buying method where inventory is offered sequentially to buyers in descending priority order until someone bites. Like a retail clearance rack that goes through progressively less desirable shoppers.
The portion of a printed ad design that extends beyond the trim edge to ensure no white borders appear after cutting. Because even paper guillotines need a margin of error.
A media scheduling approach where advertising runs in bursts with gaps between flights, as opposed to continuous presence. Perfect for brands that want intermittent relevance and confused consumers.
Research conducted after a campaign runs to measure effectiveness and extract learnings. The marketing equivalent of an autopsy, but hopefully with better news.
A tall, narrow display ad format typically 160x600 pixels that dominates page sidebars. Named optimistically for architectural achievements rather than the user annoyance they cause.
A physical page torn from a publication proving an ad ran as purchased, or its digital equivalent screenshot. The receipts that media buyers clutch when things go wrong.
A visual representation showing where users click, scroll, and gaze on your website, revealing the harsh truth that nobody reads your carefully crafted copy. It's like a lie detector test for your web design assumptions.
Highly specific, low-competition search phrases that attract fewer visitors but convert better, like fishing in a small pond with hungry fish instead of the ocean with everyone else. The unsexy workhorses of SEO that collectively drive more traffic than flashy head terms.
A fictional representation of your ideal customer, complete with a name, photo, and backstory, created to help marketers remember they're selling to humans and not just demographic data. It's imaginary friends for adults with marketing budgets.
Advertising disguised as editorial content, marked with tiny disclaimers that readers routinely ignore while consuming what they think is journalism. It's the art of selling things to people who came for articles, not ads.
The percentage of your audience that actually interacts with your content, serving as a ruthless reality check on how much people care about your brand's musings. It's the difference between shouting into the void and having an actual conversation.
A schedule planning what content to publish and when, designed to bring order to the chaos of content marketing and typically abandoned by February. It's the New Year's resolution of marketing planning.
An advertising model where advertisers pay each time someone clicks their ad, rather than for impressions or placement. It's the 'you only pay for actual interest' model, assuming clicks indicate interest rather than accidental taps.
The practice of comparing two versions of marketing content by showing each to separate audience segments to determine which performs better. It's the scientific method applied to banner ads and subject lines.
The distinct benefit or feature that sets a product apart from competitors, ideally something compelling and defensible. It's your answer to 'why should I buy from you instead of the other guys,' assuming you have a good answer.
A conversion credited to an ad that someone saw but didn't click, measured by whether they later converted through another channel. It's how display advertising takes credit for sales it might not deserve.
Information that customers intentionally and proactively share with a brand, such as preferences, purchase intentions, or personal context. It's the data people actually give you, as opposed to the data you creepily collect.
Traditional mass media advertising channels like TV, radio, print, and outdoor that reach broad audiences with uniform messages. It's the old-school, expensive way to shout at everyone simultaneously regardless of interest.
The business equivalent of putting a new sticker over the old one—whether you're rebranding a product, reorganizing files, or giving a failed initiative a fresh name to try again. In tech, it's reassigning labels in databases or systems; in marketing, it's how last quarter's disaster becomes this quarter's 'learning opportunity.' Same thing, better branding.
Using GPS or RFID to create virtual geographic boundaries that trigger targeted marketing when someone enters the area. It's like having an invisible fence that alerts you to send ads to anyone who walks past your competitor's store.
Customer feedback and insights captured through surveys, reviews, support tickets, and other channels that reveal their needs and preferences. Abbreviated VOC, it's all the complaints and suggestions companies collect and then ignore.