Definition

The ancient art of convincing people they desperately need things they didn't know existed five minutes ago, now evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry of targeted psychological manipulation. It's the reason you see ads for camping gear right after mentioning hiking once, and why your carefully curated brand voice sounds suspiciously like every other brand's carefully curated voice. The profession that transformed 'Buy this!' into 'Live your best life with...'

Example Usage

Our advertising team insists this campaign will 'disrupt the space' and 'create meaningful engagement,' which I think means they made another Instagram carousel.

Source: Common marketing and business terminology

Related Terms

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bidding

In digital advertising, the competitive auction process where advertisers throw money at platforms like Google and Facebook for the privilege of showing their ads to eyeballs. It's capitalism at its most caffeinated, with algorithms determining in milliseconds who pays what for each ad impression. The highest bidder usually wins, unless the platform's complex quality score decides otherwise—because even ad auctions need participation trophies.

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omnichannel marketing

Providing a seamless customer experience across all channels and touchpoints, whether online, in-store, mobile, or social. It's the marketing equivalent of being everywhere at once, executed by companies that can barely manage email.

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ownable

A brand attribute, message, or positioning unique enough that competitors can't easily copy it. The marketing equivalent of a defensible moat, but made of adjectives.

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affiliate marketing

A performance-based model where third parties earn commissions for driving sales, creating an army of motivated salespeople who work for free until they succeed. It's outsourcing your sales force to anyone with a website and no shame.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
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Thought Leadership

The practice of positioning yourself as an expert by posting obvious observations on LinkedIn with the confidence of someone discovering fire. It's how CEOs turn shower thoughts into 47-slide decks and speaking engagements.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Beginner

cart abandonment rate

The percentage of shoppers who add items to their online cart then flee before completing purchase, usually hovering around a soul-crushing 70%. It's the digital equivalent of people filling their shopping basket then just walking out of the store.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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