Media and Advertising Glossary
How to Use This Glossary
This glossary is designed to be a practical reference for marketing professionals and their teams. It explains common advertising and media buying terms in clear, plain language so everyone can work from the same understanding.
Use the alphabet navigation at the top of the page to jump directly to terms by letter, or scroll to browse definitions. Each term is written to reflect how it is actually used in media planning, buying, and reporting, not just textbook definitions.
This glossary works well for:
• Answering quick questions during planning or reporting discussions
• Onboarding new marketing team members
• Aligning internal stakeholders on media terminology
• Sharing a common reference with agency and media partners
If you need a version that is easy to share internally, download the full Media Glossary. The downloadable version is formatted for team use, training, and ongoing reference.
A
A/B TESTING
Testing two versions of an ad or landing page to determine which performs better.
AD BLOCKER
Software or browser extensions that prevent ads and tracking scripts from loading on websites, reducing or removing the ads a user would normally see.
ADDED VALUE
Advertising benefit above and beyond the original ad order. It may be in the form of discounts, additional placements, or premium placements.
AD EXCHANGE
A real-time digital marketplace where publishers auction their ad inventory and advertisers bid on it programmatically.
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.
ADVERTISING IDS
Ad-IDs are unique identifiers assigned to each ad or creative to track delivery and performance.
AD INVENTORY (AVAILS)
Advertising space a publisher or platform has for sale.
AD NETWORK
A company that aggregates ad inventory from multiple publishers and sells it in bundled packages to advertisers.
AD RECALL
A metric that measures how likely people are to remember seeing an ad after being exposed to it.
AD SERVER
Technology that stores creative assets, selects and delivers the right ad to the user based on rules or targeting, and measures performance such as impressions, clicks, and conversions.
AD VERIFICATION
Services that confirm ads are delivered as intended: on brand safe content, to the correct geography and placement, in a viewable environment, and free from fraud or invalid traffic.
ADDRESSABLE TV
A form of national cable television advertising that enables different ads to be shown to different households watching the same program, based on audience data
ADVERTISING TECHNOLOGY (ADTECH)
Tools and platforms used to deliver, target, optimize, and measure digital advertising.
ALGORITHM
A set of rules or calculations a platform uses to make decisions or perform tasks, such as bidding, targeting, or optimization.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
A technology that simulates human intelligence to complete tasks using data input and algorithms. AI is an all-encompassing term used for a variety of technologies with different capabilities and functions.
ATTENTION METRICS
Performance measurements that show how much active attention a viewer gives to an ad, often using signals like viewability, time in view, scroll behavior, or on screen attention.
ATTRIBUTION MODELING
Methods for assigning credit to different touchpoints that influence a conversion. Models can be single touch or multi touch, such as linear, time decay, first touch, last touch, or data driven.
ATTRIBUTION WINDOW
The period of time during which a conversion is credited to a specific ad interaction.
AUDIENCE
A specific group of people a campaign is intended to reach, defined by criteria such as demographics, behaviors, interests, or data segments.
AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION
The process of dividing a broader audience into smaller groups based on shared characteristics such as demographics, behaviors, interests, or location. These segments are used to build more relevant media strategies.
AUDIENCE SUPPRESSION
Excluding specific users or segments from seeing ads, often to avoid targeting existing customers, converters, or irrelevant audiences.
AUDIENCE TARGETING
Using demographic or data driven criteria to determine which audience segments will receive ads across different media channels.
B
BEACON TECHNOLOGY
A proximity-based technology that broadcasts a signal to be interpreted by an app. Bluetoothbased proximity signals allow apps to trigger location-specific notifications or actions when a mobile device is nearby.
BEHAVIORAL TARGETING
Using third party or platform data to reach people based on their past behaviors, interests, or actions, such as purchase activity, content consumption, or category engagement.
BLACKLISTING/WHITELISTING
Lists used to block (blacklist) or allow (whitelist) specific websites or domains for ad placements.
BOTTOM FUNNEL
The stage of the marketing funnel focused on driving actions such as leads, purchases, or conversions, typically reaching people who are close to making a decision.
BRAND ADVERTISING
Brand awareness advertising campaigns designed to build awareness, shape perception, and increase familiarity with a brand over time, rather than drive immediate actions.
BRAND AWARENESS
The stage at which consumers are familiar with a brand. That may include their name, logo, or products/services.
BRAND METRICS
Metrics that measure changes in awareness, perception, or consideration of a brand, supported by media quality indicators such as video completion rate or viewability.
BRAND LIFT STUDY
A measurement test that evaluates how an ad campaign changes consumer perceptions such as awareness, recall, favorability, or intent by comparing exposed audiences to a control group. These studies are often conducted through survey partners like Cint.
BRAND SAFETY
Practices that ensure a brand’s ads do not appear next to harmful, sensitive, or inappropriate content.
BROADCAST TV
Television programming delivered over the by major national networks (such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) and received locally through affiliate stations.
BUSINESS OUTCOME METRICS
Campaign metrics tied to tangible business goals (e.g., store visits, sign-ups, revenue), not just media performance.
BUYER JOURNEY
An outline of the experiences a prospective customer has from problem identification through to purchase. Focusing on the pre-purchase experience.
C
CABLE TV
Television programming delivered through wired cable systems and satellite. Cable TV includes networks such as ESPN, HGTV, CNN, and TNT. Can be purchased nationally, regionally, or locally.
CABLE ZONE
A geographic subdivision within a cable provider’s service area that allows advertisers to buy TV inventory in a smaller region than nationally.
CCPA/CPRA
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was created to give consumers control over their personal information collected by businesses. The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) is the expansion of the CCPA.
CIRCULATION
The number of copies a newspaper or magazine distributes, either through subscriptions or newsstand sales.
CLICK-THROUGH CONVERSION
A conversion that occurs after a user clicks an ad and then completes the desired action within the attribution window.
CLICK THROUGH RATE (CTR)
The percentage of impressions that result in a click. Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions.
CONNECTED TV/STREAMING TV (CTV)
Premium content streamed over the internet and watched on a television screen using a smart TV or connected device like Roku or Fire TV.
CONSENT MANAGEMENT PLATFORM (CMP)
A tool that collects and manages user consent for data collection and advertising purposes, helping brands comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA.
CONTEXTUAL TARGETING
Serving ads based on the content of the page a user is viewing (e.g., showing mortgage ads on home buying articles).
CONVERSION LIFT ANALYSIS
A measurement method that compares a test group exposed to ads with a control group that is not, to determine how many additional conversions were caused by the advertising.
CONVERSION RATE (CR)
The percentage of users who complete a desired action.
COOKIES
Small text files stored in a browser that allow websites to remember information about the user.
COST PER ACQUISITION (CPA)
The average cost to generate a desired action, such as a lead, sign up, or purchase. Calculated as total spend divided by the number of conversions.
COST PER CLICK (CPC)
The average amount an advertiser pays for each click on their ad, calculated as total spend divided by total clicks.
COST PER IMPRESSION (CPM)
Cost per thousand impressions (views). Used to compare cost efficiency across multiple channels and geos, most often used to measure impressions.
COST PER POINT (CPP)
The cost to deliver one rating point in a TV or radio buy. Calculated as the cost ÷ rating points.
CROSS DEVICE TARGETING
Re-engaging users on one channel based on confirmed exposure to an ad on another channel.
CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COST (CAC)
Total sales and marketing expenses divided by number of new customers acquired.
CUSTOMER DATA PLATFORM (CDP)
A platform that unifies customer data and enables audience activation across channels while maintaining privacy compliance.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
The complete path a person follows in interacting with a brand, from first learning about it to becoming a customer and beyond.
CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE (CLV OR LTV)
An estimate of the total revenue a customer will generate for a business over the course of their relationship, used to inform marketing investment and retention strategies.
D
DATA CLEAN ROOMS
Secure spaces that let companies compare and analyze data without revealing personal or identifiable information.
DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM (DMP)
A platform that anonymizes and activates customer or partner data for use in audience targeting across digital channels in a privacy safe way.
DAYPART
Blocks of time in a broadcast schedule (such as morning drive or prime time) used to plan and purchase television and radio advertising.
DEMAND SIDE PLATFORM (DSP)
A platform that allows advertisers to buy digital ad inventory programmatically across multiple websites, apps, and exchanges through real time auctions.
DESIGNATED MARKET AREAS (DMAS)
A Nielsen-defined geographic area where households receive the same local TV stations.
DEVICE IDS
Unique identifiers used to recognize a device for advertising, targeting, and measurement.
DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV)
Television advertising designed to generate an immediate consumer action, such as calling a phone number, visiting a website, or responding to a promotional offer, using trackable, responsedriven creative.
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Online advertising that combines text, images, and links to a website or apps.
DYNAMIC CREATIVE OPTIMIZATION (DCO)
Technology that creates personalized ad creative based on viewer data.
DYNAMIC IDS
A type of advertising ID used by telcos in a dynamic form to be unique one-offs for ad requests.
E
ENGAGEMENT RATE
Total number of engagements divided by total number of impressions.
F
FIRST-PARTY DATA
Information that a business directly collects through its owned channels.
FIRST-PARTY IDS
Advertising ids created for specific platforms like Facebook’s or Amazon’s.
FLIGHTING
Scheduling pattern for media placements.
FREQUENCY
How many times on average a viewer sees a specific ad over a given period.
FREQUENCY CAPPING
Ensuring an individual doesn’t see the same ad too often.
FRONT FORWARD
Ad placement in the first 50% of pages in a print publication, as far forward as possible.
FULL-FUNNEL
A media strategy that targets audiences at all stages of the customer journey, from awareness through to conversion and loyalty.
FUNNEL
A model representing the stages a consumer goes through on the path to purchase, typically broken into awareness, consideration, and conversion.
G
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)
A European Union regulation that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information of individuals within the EU.
GEOTARGETING
Showing content based on users’ locations.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 (GA4)
The latest version of Google’s analytics platform, designed for event-based tracking and cross-platform measurement.
GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE (GSC)
A free tool from Google that helps website owners monitor and troubleshoot their site’s appearance in search results.
GOOGLE TAG MANAGER (GTM)
A tool that allows users to manage and deploy marketing tags (snippets of code) on their website or app without modifying the codebase.
GROSS RATE
The full price of a broadcast ad placement, including the 15 percent agency commission.
GROSS RATING POINT (GRP)
Total of all rating points, the measure of the size of a campaign.
GUARANTEED BUYING
A media buying arrangement where advertisers are assured of specific ad placements, impressions, or audience segments at a fixed price, typically secured in advance. This approach eliminates bidding and provides predictability in campaign delivery.
H
HASHING
An irreversible process of converting personal data into unique codes to securely target and measure.
HIPAA
A U.S. law that governs the privacy and security of individuals’ health information and applies to healthcare-related data usage in advertising.
HOLDING COMPANY
A parent corporation that owns multiple smaller agencies or businesses, often used in reference to large advertising conglomerates.
I
ID5
A type of encrypted first-party data advertising ID that helps publishers identify users.
IMPRESSIONS
The total number of times an ad is delivered and has the opportunity to be seen or heard.
IN-BANNER VIDEO
Video creatives that play within a display banner ad on a webpage.
INCREMENTALITY
A measure of the lift or additional value generated by an ad campaign that wouldn’t have occurred without it.
INSERTION ORDER
A formal document that outlines the details of an advertising agreement, including deliverables, timelines, and pricing.
INVENTORY
The total amount of ad space available on a publisher’s platform or network.
INVENTORY QUALITY
The value and performance of available ad space, considering fraud risk, viewability, content quality, and engagement.
IP ADDRESS
A unique string of numbers assigned to each device connected to the internet, used to identify location or device type.
K
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)
Specific metrics used to evaluate a plan or campaign’s success.
L
LINEAR TV
Traditional broadcast or cable television delivered on a fixed schedule through terrestrial, cable, or satellite systems (not through streaming platforms).
LOOKALIKE LISTS (AUDIENCES)
A new audience modeled after your current customers or converters’ data points.
M
MANAGED SERVICES
A service model where the media agency handles campaign execution, optimization, and reporting on behalf of the client.
MEDIA ARBITRAGE
The method of buying ad space or traffic at a low cost and then redirecting that traffic to websites where they can monetize the engagement at a higher rate for a profit.
MEDIA BRIEF
A document outlining campaign goals, KPIs, audiences, deliverables, and budgets, to support a partner’s effort to manage services.
MEDIA BUYING
The process of purchasing advertising space and time across various platforms to reach a target audience efficiently.
MEDIA MIX
The combination of advertising channels used to meet campaign goals.
MEDIA MIX MODELING
How advertising time and resources are distributed across multiple platforms or channels: print, radio, digital, and TV using a statistical analysis technique to measure the impact of each media channel on sales.
MEDIA PLAN
A strategic document outlining where, when, and how ads will run.
MEDIA PLANNING
The process of strategizing when, where, and how to deliver advertising to maximize impact and achieve marketing goals.
METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (MSA)
A federally defined metropolitan region used in radio buying to represent a unified local market.
MID-FUNNEL
The middle stage in the customer journey where prospects are evaluating options but not yet ready to convert.
MULTI-TOUCH ATTRIBUTION
An approach to assigning credit to multiple interactions that a consumer has with a brand before converting.
MULTIVARIATE TESTING
An advanced form of testing that examines multiple variables in an ad or webpage at once to determine the best combination.
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N
NATIVE ADVERTISING
Ads that match the look and feel of the platform they appear on. Also, it may show as sponsored advertising.
NET RATE
The price of an ad placement after removing the agency commission or built-in media discount. In traditional media such as TV, radio, print, and some OOH, this reflects the 15 percent agency commission structure. In digital, net rate simply represents the cost after any platform or technology fees.
NETWORK/NATIONAL TV
Broadcast or cable network advertising that can be bought nationally or in regional clusters of markets, providing broad reach across many DMAs through one buy rather than market-bymarket placements.
O
OMNICHANNEL
An approach that integrates and coordinates advertising across multiple channels to provide a seamless brand experience.
ONLINE VIDEO (OLV)
Video advertising running before, during, and after video content seen on streaming platforms and websites. Includes Pre-roll ads.
ON-PREMISE MARKETING
Advertising or promotional activity that takes place at a physical business location, such as instore displays or signage.
OPEN INTERNET
The parts of the internet outside of closed ecosystems like social media platforms typically include websites and apps accessible via open web browsers.
OUT-OF-HOME (OOH)
Advertising outside your home, such as billboards, bus shelters, and other signage. May be traditionally printed or in a digital format.
OVERLAY ADS
Ads that appear as a semi-transparent overlay on top of video content or webpages, usually clickable.
OVER THE TOP (OTT)
Streaming video delivered over the internet through apps or connected devices, outside of traditional cable or broadcast.
P
PAID SEARCH
Paid advertising displayed on search engine results pages. Also known as SEM or PPC.
PAID SOCIAL
Advertising on platforms considered to be social media like Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.
PANEL-BASED MEASUREMENT
Audience measurement based on a representative sample of users (common in linear TV and radio).
PERFORMANCE METRICS
Metrics that measure how effectively a campaign drives actions, such as leads, sign ups, purchases, ROAS, or other lower funnel conversions.
PERSONA
A fictional profile that represents a specific type of prospect or customer, built using demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and motivations to guide marketing strategy.
PERSONALIZATION
Customizing messages or creatives based on audience behavior or data.
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
Any data available to identify, locate or contact an individual.
PIXEL
A small piece of code placed on a website to track user behavior and attribute conversions to specific campaigns.
PLACEMENT
The specific location or position where an ad appears, such as a website, app, or social feed.
POST-CLICK ENGAGEMENT
User behavior after clicking an ad, such as time on site, pages viewed, or bounce rate.
PRE-ROLL ADS
Video ads that play before video content.
PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS
Using historical data or AI to forecast future behavior.
PREFERRED OR PREMIUM INVENTORY
Top-tier ad placements from reputable publishers that offer high-quality environments purchased through direct deals, private marketplace, and curated programmatic products.
PRINT ADVERTISING
Advertising bought through print publishers, including their physical publications and digital extensions.
PRIVACY COMPLIANCE
Adhering to regulations like GDPR, CCPA, or HIPAA in how user data is handled.
PRIVATE MARKETPLACE (PMP)
A programmatic deal where selected advertisers get prioritized or exclusive access to a publisher’s inventory through a private, invitation-only auction.
PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING
The automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory through real time auctions that occur between demand side platforms (DSPs) and supply side platforms (SSPs), using data to decide which impressions to purchase across many publishers.
PROGRAMMATIC DIGITAL OOH (pDOOH)
Digital out-of-home advertising purchased through programmatic platforms, allowing ads to be delivered in real time using data signals such as location, audience, or time of day.
PROGRAMMATIC GUARANTEED
A programmatic deal where the advertiser and publisher lock in a fixed price and a guaranteed amount of impressions or spend. The delivery is automated through a DSP, but the terms are guaranteed like a traditional direct buy.
PROOF OF PERFORMANCE
Documentation from a media vendor confirming that your ads ran as ordered, including details such as dates, times, placements, and impressions.
R
RADIO (TERRESTRIAL) ADVERTISING
Traditional broadcast radio like AM/FM channels.
RATE CARD
Documented standard pricing list for ad space or services.
RATINGS
Ratings measure a TV or Radio program’s audience. They indicate households or other specified groups, out of the whole audience, that watch or listen to a show.
REAL-TIME BIDDING (RTB)
The automated auction system where individual ad impressions are bought and sold in milliseconds based on the bids submitted by platforms.
REACH
The total number of different people or households exposed, at least once, to an ad during a given period.
RETAIL MEDIA NETWORKS
A group of retail organizations’ advertising platforms made accessible to advertisers to leverage their first-party data.
RETARGETING
Serving ads to users who have previously interacted with your website or brand.
RETURN ON AD SPEND (ROAS)
Revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. Calculated as revenue ÷ ad spend. Often reported as a ratio (ex: 5:1).
RIGHT PAGE READ
A preferred position of an ad on the right side of a print publication.
RUN OF SITE (DIGITAL), RUN OF STATION (BROADCAST), RUN OF PRESS (PRINT), RUN OF SHOW (OUT-OF-HOME/OOH)
A placement where ads can run anywhere within a publisher’s or vendor’s available inventory; across websites, stations, publications, or OOH units, without selecting specific positions, locations, or time slots.
S
SALES LIFT
The increase in sales directly or indirectly attributed to an advertising campaign.
SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
A digital marketing strategy that promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results through paid advertising.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
The process of improving website content and structure to increase visibility in organic search engine results.
SECOND SCREENS
Devices such as smartphones or tablets that are used while watching TV, often targeted with complementary advertising.
SEQUENTIAL MESSAGING
Serving a planned series of ads to the same user to guide them through a funnel or narrative.
SHARE OF VOICE (SOV)
The percentage of ad impressions your brand receives compared to competitors within a channel or campaign.
SPECIFICATIONS (SPECS)
The detailed requirements for advertising that cover size, format, color, resolution, file size, and limits.
SPOT TV
Local TV advertising bought at the DMA level on local broadcast stations and zoned cable systems.
STREAMING AUDIO
Audio streamed over a network rather than from a physical location.
STREAMING TV
Television content that is delivered over the internet via streaming services rather than traditional cable or satellite.
SUPPLY-SIDE PLATFORM (SSP)
Programmatic technology used by publishers to manage the sale of advertising impressions.
T
TAGGING
Adding code to digital properties to track user behavior, ad performance, or event triggers. Ad tags are code placed on a website to track all visitors from ads, while conversion tags are specific event codes to measure post-click actions. Separately client-side tags run code in the user’s browser, sending data to vendors, while server-side tags route data through a server first, filtering data before it reaches third parties.
TECH STACK
The collection of technologies and tools used to manage, serve, and analyze advertising campaigns.
THIRD-PARTY COOKIES
Tracking codes placed on a user’s browser by a website other than the one they are currently visiting, used for cross-site tracking.
THIRD-PARTY DATA
The acquisition of information of a group of people from an outside source.
THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION
Independent validation of metrics like viewability, fraud detection, or brand safety (e.g., From Ias, Doubleverify, Moat).
TIME SPENT LISTENING (TSL)
A radio or audio metric indicating how long users engage with a station or stream.
TOP OF FUNNEL
The awareness stage in the customer journey, where potential customers are just beginning to learn about a brand (AKA - Upper Funnel).
TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING
Advertising through non-digital channels such as TV, radio, print, and outdoor signage.
TRAFFICKING
The technical process of moving, managing, and placing ads across platforms.
U
UNIVERSAL IDS
A user identifier that allows AdTech companies to anonymously recognize individuals across different platforms.
URCHIN TRACKING MODULES (UTMS):
Tag parameters added to the end of a URL to identify where traffic comes from, such as the campaign, source, medium, or ad. They allow analytics platforms to track the performance of specific marketing efforts but only track click through activity.
USER ID GRAPH
A unified view of users across devices, browsers, and platforms by linking various identifiers.
V
VANITY METRIC
A metric that may look impressive but doesn’t necessarily correlate with meaningful business outcomes, such as likes or impressions.
VIDEO COMPLETION RATE (VCR)
The percentage of video impressions that were watched to the end. Calculated as completed views ÷ total video impressions.
VIEWABILITY
A measure of whether an ad had the opportunity to be seen, based on how much of it appeared on screen and for how long.
VIEW THROUGH CONVERSION
A conversion that occurs after a user views an ad but does not click it, and later completes a desired action such as a form fill, purchase, or appointment request. It measures the impact of ad exposure beyond direct clicks.
W
WALLED GARDENS
Closed advertising ecosystems where platforms like Google, Meta, or Amazon tightly control data, inventory access, and measurement.
WEAROUT
A decline in performance that happens when an audience is exposed to the same ad too frequently, causing reduced attention or effectiveness.