Advertising
Cross-channel advertising fundamentals — the concepts that apply across all media.
Subcategories
Metrics
CPM, CPC, CPA, ROAS, and other advertising performance metrics.
Audience
Reach, frequency, impressions, GRPs, and audience measurement.
Creative
Ad formats, copywriting principles, A/B testing, and creative best practices.
Planning
Media plans, campaign briefs, schedules, and planning methodologies.
Buying
Remnant, upfront, scatter, negotiations, and media buying tactics.
Terms in Advertising
Ad Fatigue
CreativeAd fatigue occurs when audiences become desensitised to repeated ad creative, leading to declining engagement, click-through rates, and campaign effectiveness o
Ad Server
BuyingTechnology platform that stores, manages and delivers digital advertisements to websites and apps in real-time, tracking performance across campaigns.
Affinity Audience
AudienceAn audience segment of users who demonstrate interest in specific topics, brands or categories based on their online behaviour, without necessarily having purch
Assisted Conversion
MetricsA conversion where a touchpoint influenced the customer journey but wasn't the final interaction. Tracks the full path to purchase across multiple channels.
Banner Blindness
CreativeThe tendency for users to ignore or overlook banner advertisements on web pages, treating them as visual clutter rather than content worth engaging with.
Behavioural Targeting
AudienceTargeting ads to users based on their online behaviour, interests, and browsing history rather than demographic data alone.
Bid Request / Bid Response
BuyingThe real-time exchange of ad purchase requests and pricing offers between ad exchanges and buyers, forming the core mechanism of programmatic advertising.
Bid Shading
BuyingA bidding strategy where advertisers reduce their maximum bid below their true value to improve profit margins on programmatic ad purchases.
CPM
MetricsCPM is the cost you pay for every 1,000 ad impressions displayed to users, commonly used to price display and video advertising.
Click-Through Rate
MetricsCTR measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
Contextual Targeting
AudienceDisplaying ads based on page content, keywords and context rather than user behaviour. Reaches audiences without relying on personal data tracking.
Contextual vs Behavioural
AudienceContextual targeting reaches audiences based on page content, whilst behavioural targeting uses browsing history and user actions. Each approach offers distinct
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
MetricsThe cost incurred for each customer action completed, such as a purchase or sign-up. CPA is a performance-based metric that ties spending directly to measurable
Cost Per Action
MetricsCPA is an advertising pricing model where you pay only when a user completes a specific action, such as a purchase, sign-up, or download.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
MetricsCost Per Click (CPC) is the amount you pay each time a user clicks on your paid advertisement, commonly used in search and display campaigns.
Cost Per Click
MetricsCPC is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your online ad. It's a key metric for measuring the cost-efficiency of your advertising …
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
MetricsCost Per Lead (CPL) is the average amount spent on advertising to acquire one qualified lead. It's a key performance metric for demand generation campaigns.
Custom Audience
AudienceA targeted audience segment created from your own customer data, enabling precise ad delivery to people who've already engaged with your brand.
Deal ID
BuyingA unique identifier assigned to a media buying agreement between an advertiser and publisher, streamlining trafficking and performance tracking.
Demand-Side Platform (DSP)
BuyingA software platform that enables advertisers to programmatically purchase digital ad inventory across multiple exchanges and publishers in real-time.
Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO)
CreativeAutomated technology that personalises ad creative in real-time based on user data, showing different versions to different audiences without manual interventio
Fill Rate
MetricsThe percentage of available ad inventory that was successfully sold and displayed. A key metric indicating how effectively publisher inventory is monetised.
First-Price vs Second-Price Auction
BuyingTwo auction models determining ad prices: first-price means winning bidders pay their full bid, while second-price means they pay the next highest bid.
Frequency Capping
AudienceA technique that limits how many times an ad is shown to the same user within a set timeframe, preventing ad fatigue and wasted spend.
Header Bidding
BuyingA programmatic advertising technique where publishers offer ad inventory to multiple demand sources simultaneously before making server-side decisions, increasi
Impression Share
MetricsThe percentage of available ad impressions your ads received compared to the total impressions available in your target audience.
In-Market Audience
AudienceConsumers actively researching or comparing products in a specific category, ready to make a purchase decision in the near term.
Lookalike Audience
AudienceAn audience segment created by ad platforms to target people similar to your existing customers, based on shared characteristics and behaviours.
MRAID
BuyingMRAID is a standardised framework enabling rich, interactive ad experiences within mobile apps. It allows ads to expand, play video, and access device features
Preferred Deal
BuyingA private marketplace deal where publishers offer premium inventory to selected buyers at negotiated rates before opening to broader auction.
Private Marketplace (PMP)
BuyingA private marketplace (PMP) is an exclusive, invitation-only auction where publishers offer premium ad inventory to selected advertisers at negotiated prices.
Programmatic Guaranteed
BuyingA direct media buying agreement where an advertiser reserves guaranteed ad inventory at a fixed price, combining programmatic efficiency with traditional guaran
Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
BuyingAn automated auction system where advertisers bid in real-time for individual ad impressions, with winning bids displayed instantly to users.
Retargeting
AudienceRetargeting shows ads to users who've previously visited your website or engaged with your brand, keeping you top-of-mind as they browse elsewhere online.
ROAS
MetricsROAS measures how much revenue you generate for every pound spent on advertising.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
MetricsReturn on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising. It's a key performance indicator for evaluating campaign profitabilit
Rich Media Ad
BuyingInteractive digital advertisements with embedded video, animation, or user engagement features that go beyond static display ads to capture attention and drive
Search Impression Share
MetricsThe percentage of eligible impressions your ads received out of the total available in the market. A key metric for understanding search campaign reach and …
Supply Path Optimisation (SPO)
BuyingA programmatic strategy that identifies and prioritises the most efficient digital advertising paths to reach target audiences, reducing waste and improving ROI
Supply-Side Platform (SSP)
BuyingA technology platform that helps publishers and content owners sell their advertising inventory automatically to buyers, maximising revenue through real-time bi
VAST Tag
BuyingVAST Tag is an XML-based code snippet that enables programmatic video ad serving, allowing advertisers to dynamically insert ads into video inventory across mul
VPAID Tag
BuyingA JavaScript tag that enables interactive video ads to communicate with ad servers, allowing real-time tracking and dynamic creative control during playback.
View-Through Conversion
MetricsA conversion that occurs after a user views a display ad but doesn't click it, then later completes a desired action like a purchase or …
Viewability
MetricsThe percentage of ad impressions that are actually visible to users on screen. A key metric for measuring campaign effectiveness and ensuring media spend delive
Win Rate
MetricsWin rate measures the percentage of pitches, bids or campaigns your agency successfully wins against competitors.
eCPM
MetricseCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) measures the revenue generated per 1,000 ad impressions, helping publishers and advertisers optimise campaign pro