General Advertising Glossary
General Advertising
4A’S
American Association of Advertising Agencies, often abbreviated as 4A’s, seeks to promote and advance the advertising and marketing industry. 4A’s provides community, advocacy and training to its 700-plus member agencies.
General Advertising
5G
5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. It will be designed to bring increased speed, decreased delays and greater ability to connect multiple devices at once. Early 5G launches (2019 and 2020) are likely to rely on “milimeter wave” technology, clusters of networks with short reaches that deliver extremely high speeds.
Digital Media & Advertising
A/B test
The method of building two different ad versions, running both of them, and then comparing the results to see which version performed better. The objective of these tests is to determine which variables positively affect user response and utilize those in our ads down the road. Also known as split testing, this important metric compares […]
Digital Media & Advertising
A/B Testing
Also known as split testing, this important metric compares two variations of an ad or a piece of content to see which version performs better on a given media platform.
Digital Media & Advertising
Above the fold
Term used to describe the area of an online page visible to users before they have scrolled down on a page. The size of “the fold” is not static and can vary depending on the device or resolution.
Media Platforms & Technology
Above the Fold
Web content visible without having to scroll down the page. Considered more premium because it is generally more viewable inventory.
General Advertising
Activation
An activation is a marketing event or campaign that is designed to get consumers to interact with a brand and thus build loyalty.
General Advertising
Ad Blocker
An ad blocker is software designed to filter or remove ads—pop-ups, for example—from online content. Users add such programs to their web browsers. Ad blockers work by recognizing ad server tags.
General Advertising
Ad Exchange
An ad exchange is a marketplace for automated buying and selling of ad inventory. Advertisers can connect to ad exchanges via demand-side platforms, target audiences and bid on space. Publishers tend to utilize supply-side platforms.
Media Platforms & Technology
Ad Exchanges
A marketplace platform that facilitates automated, auction-based buying and selling of ad inventory from the various ad networks. Ad exchanges operate in real time, and inventory is bought as needed.
General Advertising
Ad Fraud
Ad fraud is deceptive representation of traffic, impressions and other aspects of advertising to generate revenue. It is often carried out by bots and costs brands and publishers billions of dollars each year.
Media Platforms & Technology
Ad Fraud
Any deliberate activity that prevents the proper delivery of ads to the intended audience in the intended place. Occurs when perpetrators generate fake activity in order to generate ad revenue. Common fraud techniques include bot activity, cloaked URLs, and unviewable ads hiding behind other content.
General Advertising
Ad Impression
An ad impression, also called an ad view, is the point at which an ad on a website appears on a user’s display. Counting impressions is critical in online advertising, so the point at which an ad becomes countable is essential. A website may have spaces for multiple ad impressions, and an impression is counted […]
Media Platforms & Technology
Ad Impressions
The total number of times a digital advertisement is displayed on screen and counted. See viewability for additional measurement overlay.
General Advertising
Ad Inventory
Ad inventory is the amount of space or the number of advertisements a publisher has availble to sell to advertisers.
Media Platforms & Technology
Ad Network
A third-party company that connects websites that want to monetize their ad inventory with the appropriate advertisers. Ad networks aggregate publishers into content categories (travel, home and garden, sports) and then find the corresponding advertisers who want to buy that ad inventory at a high volume for a lower price, enabling advertisers to forego site-direct […]
Digital Media Buying
Ad network
These are companies that connect marketers with a multitude of websites that want to host their ads.
Media Platforms & Technology
Ad Server
A technology and service that determines instantaneously what ads show up on a website and then serves those ads. Ad servers are used by publishers, advertisers, and ad networks to push their advertisements to desired ad inventory and measure the success and progress of different campaigns.
General Advertising
Ad Serving
Ad serving is technology that automates the requests and serving of ads to a website; many programs also track the ads’ performance. When a user arrives at a website, an ad server concludes what ads are suitable for the request (criteria might include time of day, size of ad slot, etc.), and the ad is […]
General Advertising
Ad Targeting
Ad targeting is designing ads and their delivery to reach specific audiences through behaviors and locations, among other qualifiers. Advertisers often make use of data management platforms, or DMPs, for this purpose.
General Advertising
Ad Tech
Ad tech, short for advertising technology, encompasses all technologies and services employed for targeting and delivering online advertisements.