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Digital Media Glossary

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1st Party Data
Information compiled about visitors’ relationships with a particular site, which can be shared explicitly (i.e., signing up for an email list, filling out a form or survey, etc.) or implicitly (i.e., information about past web surfing habits, site visits, etc.).

2nd Party Data
Provided by advertisers or digital media companies, 2nd party data refers to the information previously aggregated (either by permission or anonymously) from both online and offline sources.  This data is then segmented into targetable audience groups based on certain characteristics.

3rd Party Data
Highly descriptive data that can be collected by an outside vendor to create broad sets of segments. Ultimately, 1st party data can be enriched by 2nd party data from advertisers, which in turn can be even more enriched by data aggregators or data management platforms.

Activation
Activation Is the execution of the marketing mix as part of the marketing process. The activation phase typically comes after the planning phase during which managers plan their marketing activities and is followed by a feedback phase in which results are evaluated with marketing analytics.

Ad Effectiveness
Advertising effectiveness pertains to how well a company’s advertising accomplishes the intended. Small companies use many different statistics or metrics to measure their advertising effectiveness. A company’s advertising effectiveness usually increases over time with many messages or exposures. But certain advertising objectives can be realized almost immediately using measuring techniques such as reach, sales and profits, brand awareness, and testing advertising effectiveness.

Ad Exchange
An intermediary in the process of digital media trading that connects buyers and sellers of ad inventory in an auction-based setting. The Ad Exchange provides a technology platform that functions in real-time – as the user loads the webpage, the publishers’ unsold inventory becomes available for purchase to advertisers on a single impression basis. The highest bidder wins the impression, at which point the advertiser’s creative is displayed on the webpage to the user.

Ad Network
An intermediary in the process of digital media trading that sells publisher inventory to advertisers on a pre-sale basis. On behalf of multiple independent websites, the Ad Network relies on 3rd party data to package the websites’ inventory based on certain characteristics. The packaged inventory, which is typically remnant rather than premium, is then sold to advertisers at a price determined by the network and/or negotiated between the buyer and seller.

Ad Operations
Ad ops is short for ad operations and usually refers to the many technical tasks needed for running online advertising campaigns. Ad ops ensure smooth delivery for insertion orders and good inventory management.

Ad Server
The technology and service that places advertisements on websites. Ad serving technology companies provide software to web sites and advertisers to serve ads, count them, choose the ads that will make the website or advertiser most money, and monitor the progress of different advertising campaigns.

Agencies
A media agency is a company or entity that applies its expertise and technology to help marketers buy advertising spots media sellers and marketplaces such as publishers, ad exchanges, ad networks, sales house etc.

Algorithm
Systematic trading strategy that can be expressed by a set of rules or a computation procedure to derive results from data.

Audience Extension
Audience extension is an application of behavioral targeting. Audience extension allows advertisers to target a premium site audience, which is often sold out, across other sites that belong to the same ad network. The ad buy is then made at a lower CPM than running ads on the premium site alone. Audience extension is used for premium site audiences which are especially sought after.

Principles of audience extension are sometimes used by publishers to synthetically mimic the same or like audiences beyond owned and operated webs sites. That valuable audience is then partially “recovered” on other, sometimes less sought after channels on the same or other publishers’ websites.  Audience extension requires cookies or other audience identifiers as triggers for behavioral targeting techniques.

Automated Guaranteed Digital Media Inventory
Automated Guaranteed Digital Media Inventory is a type of inventory that is reserved, has fixed pricing and incorporates a one seller-to-one buyer type of participation. Other terms used in the market to describe Automated Guaranteed Digital Media Inventory are: Programmatic Guaranteed, Programmatic Premium, Programmatic Direct and Programmatic Reserved.  Prioritization in the ad server, the Deal ID, Data usage, Transparency to buyer and pricing floors are other things to consider as an impact to Automated Guaranteed Digital Media Inventory.

Bid Management
The component of the buying algorithm that faces the auction and places bids on impressions.

Brand Safety
From an online advertising perspective, brand safety refers to a set of practices and tools that ensures the advertiser’s brand is not damaged as a result of the improper or inappropriate placement of ads.

Campaign Dashboard
Charts and graphs that provide a snapshot of campaign performance at a point in time so executives can spot problems, or identify marketplace opportunities, and shift gears, if a better course of action is required.

Campaign Optimization
Campaign optimization saves time and money while helping marketers achieve and improve upon business objectives. Efficiently collect the necessary data to analyze marketing campaigns and make informed data-driven business decisions. Campaign analysis not only helps marketers to reduce waste by making short term fixes to marketing campaign mix but can also provide the marketer with insight into maximizing the lifetime value of a customer over time.

The campaign analysis and optimization process can be divided into two major categories: a) Harvesting Low Hanging Fruit: areas in need of improvement that are relatively easy to identify and provide quick and effective results; and, b) Long Term Optimization: the process of continual optimization over time and includes improving the customer’s overall lifetime value.

Channel Partner
A channel partner is a third-party organization or individual that markets and sells products, services or technologies for a manufacturer or service provider via a partnering relationship.

Client Focus
The orientation of an organization toward serving its clients’ needs. Having a customer focus is usually a strong contributor to the overall success of a business and involves ensuring that all aspects of the company put its customers’ satisfaction first. Also, having a customer focus usually includes maintaining an effective customer relations and service program.

Contextual
Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for ads on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers. The advertisements themselves are selected and served by automated systems based on the content displayed to the user. This is usually based on broad target markets.

Conversion
When a user performs an action as measured by an advertiser. (making a purchase)

Cookie
A small text file on the user’s PC that identifies the user’s browser so that they are recognized when they re-visit a site.

Cost per Thousand (CPM)
In online advertising, CPM is an estimate of the cost per 1,000 views of an ad.  It is a useful measure for calculating the relative cost of an advertising campaign or for comparing different marketing channels for the campaign.

Cost Plus
Cost plus is an industry standard business model and pricing methodology which adds aggregated transaction fees to the original price a publisher sells its ad inventory. Where there is often a complex and long supply chain involving many intermediaries the cost plus model can making procuring media expensive and can even lead to a situation where the transaction cost is larger than the actual price charged for the ad inventory bought. It is estimated that in many cases the transaction costs for programmatic media buying are around 60%. There is significant room for improvement particularly as high transaction costs are a barrier to some marketers committing more advertising spend to programmatic media buying even despite the advantage of reduced waste and better targeting.

Data
Data are values of qualitative or quantitative variables, belonging to a set of items.

Data Management Platform (DMP)
A data management platform (DMP) provides a marketer, agency, or trading desk with a single integrated view of all  campaign and audience data, helping with overall management and analysis of data. This enables the marketer or agency to best target their advertising in order to hit the right people at the right time with the right message.

Data Provider
Data providers source various types of data including market intelligence, audience intention, and publisher performance data. This data is then collated and packaged to sell to companies such as demand-side platforms and trading desks. Brought together in a DMP, the 3rd party data compliments the 1st party data, which is owned and generated by the marketer, agency, or trading desk. This allows for smarter bidding in ad auctions and for improved digital targeting of audience for smarter and less wasteful audience composition.

Data Science
Data science incorporates varying elements and builds on techniques and theories from many fields, including math, statistics, data engineering, pattern recognition and learning, advanced computing, visualization, uncertainty modeling, data warehousing, and high performance computing with the goal of extracting meaning from data and creating data products.

Display
Usually any advertisement other than a classified or video advertisement. Display ads are generally several columns wide and often contain color, graphics, and pictures. They are assembled or typeset by the advertiser and supplied to the printer or publisher.

Demand-Side Platform (DSP)
A demand-side platform (DSP) enables a marketer to utilize a single interface to perform programmatic and Real-Time Bidding media buying. A DSP allows the marketer to manage bidding on and buying ad inventory and data across multiple ad exchanges, ad market-places, and data provider accounts.

Frequency
Using specific media, how many times, on average, the individuals in your target audience should be exposed to your advertising message. It takes an average of three or more exposures to an advertising message before consumers take action.

Independent Media Trader (IMT)
Arms-length buyer and seller of advertising inventory offering execution services on behalf of publishers, marketers and/or agencies, and networks. The IMT may or may not offer additional services to buyers and sellers. The media trader may trade on its own behalf and may or may not bear risk as principal.  Less common, the independent media trader may also trade continuously in specific market segments as a Market Maker.  In its role as Market Maker, the IMT may or may not have special privileges and/or responsibilities granted to it by the publisher, ad exchange, and/or audience or contextual data supplier.

Invitation-Only Auction Digital Media Inventory
Invitation-Only Auction Digital Media Inventory is a type of inventory that is unreserved, has auction based pricing and incorporates a one seller-to-few buyers type of participation. Other terms used in the market to describe Invitation-Only Auction Digital Media Inventory are: Private Marketplace, Private Auction, Closed Auction and Private Access. Prioritization in the ad server, the Deal ID, Data usage, Transparency to buyer and pricing floors are other things to consider as an impact to Invitation-Only Auction Digital Media Inventory.

Just-in-time
Just-in-time is a production strategy that strives to improve a business return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs.

Liquidity
Advertising assets are liquid when they can be bought and sold easily.

Market Maker
A market maker is a company that accepts principal risk or matches a client order seeking to profit by continuously bidding to buy on “cross” tradable digital media at a lower price than the price at which he expects to sell it, or by selling  the media at a higher price than he expects he can buy it back. Market makers can make money in both rising or falling markets, by taking advantage of the difference between “bid” and “offer” prices or spread.

Media Market Maker (a/k/a the Independent Media Trader)
This is a new form of independent media agency/media trading desk that may or may not use its client’s money to buy media and audience data and charges a transparent cost-plus fee. A media market maker may use its own capital to buy media at its own risk seeking to resell this media to a buyer for a profit.  With sufficient volume of transactions, a media market maker can be successful on thinner profit margins than most other market participants. The effect of this risk-bearing role is to significantly narrow the spread between what the advertiser pays for a given result and what publishers receive for delivering the ad opportunity.  Moreover, the market making role of a media market maker ensures the likelihood of higher fill rates and eCPMs for publishers.

Media Savvy
Able to understand how the media works and is able to use and manipulate the media to their own advantage.

Media Trading Desk
A media trading desk is typically a service-based organization that provides a managed service layer overlaying or interfacing to one or a number of demand-side platforms (DSP) or trading platforms. Through the trading desk, the marketer or its representative media agency can programmatically obtain audience-based, bid-based, and guaranteed ad inventory.

Mobile
Media that is consumed outside of stationary traditional channels including tablets, celluar devices and laptops.

Modeling
Data modeling is a process used to define and analyze data requirements needed to support the business processes within the scope of corresponding information systems in organizations. Therefore, the process of data modeling involves professional data modelers working closely with business stakeholders, as well as potential users of the information system.

Monetization
Monetization is the process of converting existing traffic being sent to a particular website into revenue. Some ways of monetizing a website are by implementing Pay per click (PPC) and Cost per impression (CPI/CPM) advertising. Or by driving conversions.

Open Auction Digital Media Inventory
Open Auction Digital Media Inventory is a type of inventory that is unreserved, has auction based pricing and incorporates a one seller-to-all buyers type of participation. Other terms used in the market to describe Open Auction Digital Media Inventory are: Real-time Bidding (RTB), Open Exchange and Open Marketplace. Prioritization in the ad server, the Deal ID, Data usage, Transparency to buyer and pricing floors are other things to consider as an impact to Invitation-Only Auction Digital Media Inventory.

Performance Marketing
Performance marketing refers to marketing techniques and campaigns by which the advertiser pays only for results. Performance marketing is an important part of digital marketing due to the tracking capabilities of the Internet.
This can be measured by:
– Cost per action or CPA ( any action agreed by publisher and advertiser)
– Cost per sale or CPS (flat fee or sales commission)
– Cost per lead (often based on filled webforms)
– Cost per click

Premium
A type of inventory found on well-known and well-respected publisher sites. This type of inventory is media inventory that achieves ROI and is considered of high value to an advertiser.

Private Ad Exchange
A private ad exchange is an ad exchange through which a publisher can directly auction and sell its ad inventory retaining more control over bid selection, setting dynamic reserves, and limiting potential buyers including by invitation only auctions. A private ad exchange is an auction marketplace that a publisher can exclusively sell some or its entire ad inventory combined with its own proprietary data sets to obtain better bids and therefore improve revenues and yield using programmatic media channels.

Programmatic Marketing
Programmatic marketing is a fully formed idea that programmatic media buying best practices and technology originally developed for computerized buying of online display advertising can be applied beyond display advertising or even beyond paid media to embrace all digital marketing activities. Programmatic marketing is about data and algorithmically driven targeting and campaign management being applied in an integrated fashion across all paid, earned, and owned digital and screen based marketing activity.

Programmatic Media Buying
Fully automated buying and selling of digital media using disparate data and typically algorithmically driven trading systems with direct access to publisher ad servers, ad exchanges, supply side platforms, demand side platforms, trading desks and other auction based electronic marketplaces, sellers and buyers. Programmatic trading can be real-time or forward sold.

Publishers
Publishers are organizations that deliver content or a service to users. In many cases publishers depend on selling advertising mixed in with their content in order to fund the development and delivery of the content or services. In some other cases, advertising is a source of additional revenue.  Publishers have traditionally directly sold their best quality advertising spots or space, whereas those that can’t be sold directly are often sold through third party resellers such as ad networks. More recently they are sold through supply-side platforms that place the publishers advertising in electronic marketplaces on their behalf. As marketers move more and more toward automated or programmatic media buying, so are publishers as they are adapting and learning how to effectively list their ad inventory in programmatic channels.

Real Time Bidding (RTB)
Real-Time Bidding is a technology that uses highly specific data, algorithms and automation to enable marketers to bid on ad inventory in microsecond auctions. During the time in which a user’s web page loads—in anywhere from 100 to 160 milliseconds—the marketer places a bid on a particular ad impression, which is then served to the user once the page is loaded. Using data related to the user’s cookie in addition to other sources, the marketer is able to track the user and match them with available ad impressions. This allows for the delivery of the marketer’s message directly to the consumer in a live setting.

Remnant Ad Inventory
Remnant ad inventory is advertising media (spots or space) that a publisher has failed to sell using its direct sales force or has decided not to use its direct sales force to sell this particular ad inventory or class of ad inventory. The publishers’ remnant ad inventory is then redirected to third parties to sell on their behalf. In many cases the publisher requires the identity of the publisher or title for the ad inventory not to be disclosed so the marketer has to buy the ad inventory blind. This is done by publishers to avoid gaming by marketers that could adversely impact the pricing of direct sold ad inventory. However, some publishers are some experimenting with direct selling remnant ad inventory themselves through their own branded often by invitation only private ad exchanges. In a private ad exchange the publisher has more control over what ad inventory gets sold to whom and to decide which bids to accept. In addition, publishers are finding private ad exchanges are valuable sources of market intelligence allowing them to track and evaluate media buyers bidding behavior and ad inventory needs.

ROI
A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. To calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio. In the above formula “gains from investment”, refers to the proceeds obtained from selling the investment of interest. Return on investment is a very popular metric because of its versatility and simplicity. That is, if an investment does not have a positive ROI, or if there are other opportunities with a higher ROI, then the investment should be not be undertaken.

Social
Primarily internet or cellular phone based applications and tools to share information among people. Social media includes popular networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter; as well as bookmarking sites like Digg or Reddit. It involves blogging and forums and any aspect of an interactive presence which allows individuals ability to engage in conversations with one another, often as a discussion over a particular blog post, news article, or event.

Spot
What is the prevailing market price for a given ad impression.

Supply-Side Platform (SSP)
A supply-side platform (SSP) provides publishers with a technology platform that enables them to better manage their ad impression inventory and to maximize revenue.

Synthetic Product
In the financial industry, a synthetic product is one created artificially by combining the features of a collection of other assets to create a “simulated” product.

Unreserved Fixed Rate Digital Media Inventory
Unreserved Fixed Rate Digital Media Inventory is a type of inventory that is unreserved, has fixed pricing and incorporates a one seller-to-one buyer type of participation. Other terms used in the market to describe Unreserved Fixed Rate Digital Media Inventory are: Preferred Deals, Private Access and First Right of Refusal. Prioritization in the ad server, the Deal ID, Data usage, Transparency to buyer and pricing floors are other things to consider as an impact to Unreserved Fixed Rate Digital Media Inventory.

Verification
Verification is the act of reviewing, inspecting or testing, in order to establish and document that a product, service or system meets regulatory or technical standards.

Yield
The percentage of clicks vs. impressions on an ad within a specific page.

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