2nd Edition

THE PROGRAMMATICJARGON BUSTER

Now with new Supply and Mobile terms!

The Programmatic Jargon Buster is a tool to help digital marketers cut through the noise of our industry’s tough-to-decipher acronyms and expressions, so they can discover the true value behind the buzzwords.

* Please note that all definitions are specific to how these terms are used in the digital marketing industry.

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1st Party Data Information collected directly by an advertiser about its audience or customers based on a direct relationship. This type of data is often collected using browser cookies to measure on-website behaviors, but it can also be combined with other types of online and offline data such as website analytics, CRM profiles, business analytics, loyalty program data, yield or revenue management data and more.

2nd Party Data Data that is collected by an advertiser (which makes it that entity’s first-party) and is then traded with other non-competitive advertisers. Depending on how you view it, this data, when in the hands of a second advertiser that did not collect it via a direct relationship, could also just be considered third-party data.

3rd Party Data Information that is collected by an entity that does not have a direct relationship with the users about which the information is collected. Third-party data is typically used when advertisers pay a data vendor to help them reach users with specific characteristics.

Ad Fraud Any type of illegal activity of online advertising including non-human traffic, malware that redirects users to third party websites or multiple ads placed on top of each other so that advertisers are charged for ad placements that are never even visible to website visitors. Ad fraud is a growing problem in the online advertising industry and organizations like the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) are working hard to reduce the amount of ad fraud in the industry.

Ad Exchange Digital marketplace that enables advertisers and publishers to buy and sell advertising space, often through real-time auctions.

Action A measurable digital interaction, such as when the user clicks on an ad, interacts with a landing page or web form or completes a purchase. The measurability of actions in digital has given rise to a wide range of performance marketing channels. In the full-funnel marketing model, it is the fourth stage in the customer journey, after Desire and before Loyalty.

Acquisition Act of getting new customers

Ad Network Ad networks aggregate supply (inventory) and demand (ads) and in most cases add their own third-party data as well as targeting and optimization technologies. Ad networks often monetize by arbitraging through re-selling.

Ad Server A server that stores advertisements for online marketing and delivers them to website visitors.

Ad Impression When an ad is displayed on a page, regardless of whether the ad has been clicked on or not.

Advocacy The sixth and final stage of the full-funnel marketing model, following Loyalty, in which a customer becomes brand advocate and convinces others to purchase product.

Ad Space Area of a website set aside for online advertisements.

Agency Trading Desk A centralized, service-based organization that serves as a managed service layer, typically on top of a licensed demand-side platform (DSP) and other audience buying technologies; manages programmatic, bid-based media and audience buying. Works as an agency’s internal tool for programmatic media buying. Often abbreviated ATD.

Awareness First stage of full-funnel marketing model, before Interest, when a potential customer becomes aware of the existence of a brand, product or service.

App Re-engagement Two out of three mobile apps are downloaded and never opened. A re-engagement campaign is run with the intent of driving in-app actions from app users who have already have downloaded a mobile app.

Banner Ad Form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an image-based advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser.

Bid Request When a user loads a web page and an ad server calls the ad exchange for a given impression, it submits a bid request to all eligible buyers. Buyers then assess the value of the impression and submit bids in real-time (in a matter of milliseconds) to compete for the ad placement on this page.

Bid With regards to real-time bidding (RTB), the bid is the price offer put forward by an advertiser via a demand-side platform for an ad impression that is put into the real-time auction. In most RTB models, the winning bidder pays one cent more than the second-highest bid placed.

Cross-Device Recognition Identifying a single user across multiple devices such as desktops, tablets, mobile devices, even wearables. There are two main methods of cross-device recognition: probabilistic (approximating a matched identification) and deterministic (guaranteeing a matched identification).

AdSpace. the area of a website or Web page dedicated to online advertisements.

Advocacy. the sixth (last) stage of full funnel marketing model when a customer becomes brand advocate and convinces other to purchase product.

Aquisition. the act of getting new customers.

Bid. a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser.

Click-Through-Rate (CTR) A measure of the share of ad impressions that leads to a click.

Conversion When someone clicks an ad and then completes a pre-defined action, such as completion of a lead form or online transaction.

Conversion Rate (CR) A measure of the percentage of ad clicks that resulted in conversions. It is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of clicks and multiplying by 100.

AdSpace. the area of a website or Web page dedicated to online advertisements.

Advocacy. the sixth (last) stage of full funnel marketing model when a customer becomes brand advocate and convinces other to purchase product.

Aquisition. the act of getting new customers.

Bid. a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser.

Cookie Small piece of data sent from a website that is stored in a user's web browser while the user is browsing that website.

Cost Per Action (CPA) A pricing model for online advertising in which the advertiser pays only for the completion of a specified action, such as the completion of a lead form (contact request, newsletter sign up, registration etc.), double opt-in or purchase. Even when the pricing model for a campaign is not CPA, a CPA target may can set to measure performance.

AdSpace. the area of a website or Web page dedicated to online advertisements.

Advocacy. the sixth (last) stage of full funnel marketing model when a customer becomes brand advocate and convinces other to purchase product.

Aquisition. the act of getting new customers.

Bid. a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser.

Cost Per Mille (CPM) A pricing model for online advertising in which the advertiser pays a given price for each 1000 ad impressions. This was the standard pricing model used in traditional print advertising and is one of the oldest pricing models used in online today.

Cost Per Order (CPO) Also sometimes CPP (cost per purchase), this is a measure of the cost spent to generate an online order or purchase.

Cost Per Click (CPC) A pricing model for online advertising in which the advertiser pays only when a user clicks the advertisement.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Prediction of the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer. The prediction model can have varying levels of sophistication and accuracy, ranging from a crude heuristic to the use of complex predictive analytics techniques.

Cross-selling Action or practice of selling an additional product or service to an existing customer, especially based on previous purchases.

Data Management Platform (DMP) DMPs enable companies to collect, store and sort large amounts of complex first- or third- party data, often in real-time. For publishers, DMPs are often used to store, analyze and package audience data; marketers might work with DMPs to help with using data for digital advertising according to different CRM-related taxonomies.

Desire Third stage of full-funnel marketing model, after Interest and before Action, when a potential customer has intent to buy.

Demand-side Platform (DSP) A technology platform that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through one interface. The key functionality is the ability to purchase display advertising programmatically via real-time bidding (RTB), using data to determine the value of individual ad impressions in real-time.

Display Graphical advertising on the World Wide Web that appears next to content on web pages, IM applications, email, etc. These ads, often referred to as banners, come in standardized ad sizes, and can include text, logos, pictures, or more recently, rich media and video.

Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) The use of programmatic technologies to automatically optimize the elements that appear in a digital display banner. Examples of elements that can be optimized on a per-user basis include products and offers, call-to-action, promotions and discounts, the colors or placement of button or other layers of the banner, ad copy and more.

Effective CPA (eCPA) A measure of the actual costs spent to generate a pre-defined action. Whereas the CPA is usually a target given before the start of a campaign, the eCPA is the measure of the actual results of that campaign. A comparison of the two can be a measure of campaign success.

Full Funnel A marketing strategy or tool which allows the marketer to address potential buyers throughout the different stages of the purchase funnel, from Awareness, to Interest, to Desire to Action, which is placed at the bottom of the funnel. (The funnel shape is meant to refer to the number of users in each category, which narrows with each stage.) In some more recent models, the “funnel” is swapped for an hourglass shape, and beyond the “action” point there is Loyalty and Advocacy.

Facebook Exchange (FBX) Real-time bidding marketplace which allows third-party websites to use real-time bidding to purchase ads on the right-hand column and newsfeed ad spaces on Facebook.

Flash Multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can be viewed, played and executed in Adobe Flash Player. In order for Flash files to play, even in online ads, Adobe’s plugin must first be installed on the target browser.

Frequency Capping Restricting the number of times a specific user is shown advertising. A “universal frequency cap” refers to the ability of a DSP to offer a comprehensive frequency cap number for its entire range of inventory, rather than on a per-publisher or per-network basis.

Geotargeting Method of determining the approximate geolocation of a user and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, zip code, organization, IP address, ISP or other criteria.

HTML5 Core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. Unlike Flash, which requires the installation of Adobe’s proprietary browser plugin, HTML5 is the one open, industry-standard, universal format for building dynamic online creative.

In-App Advertising Any advertising that is seen inside of a mobile application (“app”) as opposed to a mobile web browser.

Interest Second stage of the full-funnel marketing model, after Awareness and before Desire, when a potential customer has become more interested in a brand.

JavaScript An object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. In digital advertising it is often used to create and implement tracking codes for websites.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Metric used to quantify objectives that reflect the strategic performance of online marketing campaigns. Marketers use a range of use KPIs to evaluate their success at reaching targets. Examples are Click-Through-Rate, Conversion Rate, Return on (Marketing) Investment, Time on Site and Bounce Rate.

Loyalty Fifth stage of full funnel marketing model, after Action and before Advocacy, in which a converted customer (someone who has already made a purchase) returns to the brand to buy again.

Lead When a user completes a sign-up or contact form or otherwise indicates interest in an advertiser’s offer by offering contact details or other personal information.

M-commerce An abbreviation that stands for “mobile commerce” and refers to electronic commerce (e-commerce) conducted on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.

Negative Retargeting In a retargeting campaign, this is the practice of moving a user into a new segment after conversion so that s/he will either not be targeted any longer, not be targeted for a given period, or be targeted with ads that do not display the same items or services already purchased.

Native Advertising For brand advertisers, native refers to creative that matches the look and feel of a publisher’s content, in order to create advertising that is less disruptive to the overall content experience. The most prominent digital example is Facebook’s Newsfeed advertising.

Omnichannel A multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide the customer with a seamless shopping experience, whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone, in a bricks and mortar store or by any other means.

Opt-in A user’s indication that they are willing to participate in a given exchange. According to the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory framework provided by the EDAA (European Digital Advertising Alliance), an opt-in is required in order to use any personally identifiable data (PII) for online targeting or creative optimization.

Opt-out A user’s indication that they would not like to participate, for example when a user opts out of receiving emails or receiving personalized advertising from an entity. According to the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory framework provided by the EDAA (European Digital Advertising Alliance), advertisers and their partners must provide an option for consumers to be able to opt-out of behaviorally targeted advertising.

Open Exchange Also known as open auction, an open exchange is a public ad inventory auction place in which publishers can sell individual ad impressions to all programmatic buyers within a given supply-side platform or ad exchange through real-time bidding.

Open RTB A real-time bidding protocol created by a group of technology companies in the programmatic industry that sets a list of standards for real-time bidding. The development of this protocol is overseen by the IAB. http://www.iab.net/guidelines/rtbproject

Programmatic Direct Deal A deal between a publisher and one or more select programmatic buyers in which inventory is sold based on a pre-agreed floor price, usually in absence of any guaranteed spends associated with it.

Page View Number of times a web page is requested from a server and displayed.

Programmatic Digital advertising that is automatically triggered by any type of event and deployed according to a set of rules applied by software and algorithms. Human skills are still needed in programmatic campaigns as the campaigns and rules are planned beforehand and established by marketers. Machine learning is very often used in programmatic marketing to provide automated optimization to pre-defined KPIs. Includes but is not limited to advertising purchased via real-time bidding.

Pre-Roll Online video commercial that appears prior to an online video, similar to a commercial break on TV. By purchased pre-roll slots programmatically via RTB, marketers can target individual users.

Preferred Deal Google AdX defines a “preferred deal” as a buying arrangement between one publisher and one programmatic buyer with a fixed floor price. In order to buy impressions, the buyer simply has to submit a bid higher than the floor price, in which case the inventory is always sold at the floor price. Usually, preferred deals receive the highest priority within a supply-side platform ad server chain.

Private Marketplace (PMP) A closed/controlled real-time bidding market place that allows publishers to control which demand partners, advertisers, agencies, and brands buy specific parts of their inventory.

Price Floor The lowest CPM price publishers are willing to sell impressions to programmatic buyers in an auction.

Private Auction In programmatic buying, a private auction works in much the same way as open real-time bidding auction, except that only select programmatic buyers are permitted to bid against a pre-agreed minimum floor price.

Real-time Bidding (RTB) Refers to the means by which ad inventory is bought and sold on a per-impression basis, via a programmatic instantaneous auction, similar to financial markets. With real-time bidding, advertising buyers bid on an impression and, if the bid is won, the buyer’s ad is instantly displayed on the publisher’s site.

Reach In advertising, refers to the total number of different people or households exposed, at least once, to a medium during a given period. It can also be used as an adjective to describe campaigns that are meant to increase awareness of a brand rather than drive performance.

Retargeting Form of online targeted advertising in which online advertising is targeted to consumers based on their previous Internet actions, in situations where these actions did not result in a sale or conversion on an advertiser’s website.

Return on Investment (ROI) A measure of the ratio of profits generated relative to advertising costs spent. (Profit / Cost) x 100

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) A measure of the ratio of revenues generated as a result of a particular marketing campaign relative to advertising costs spent. (Revenue / Ad Spend) x 100

Rich Media Type of online advertising that involves some kind of user interaction. The initial load of a Rich Media ad is 40K or more. While text ads sell with words, and display ads sell with pictures, Rich Media ads offer more ways to involve an audience with an ad. The ad can expand, float, peel down, etc. Sometimes video advertising online is also treated as rich media.

Software Development Kit A set of tools that developers need to create applications. The type of SDK varies depending on the software, for example an iOS SDK is necessary for iOS apps, a java SDK is required for Android apps, and so forth. In the case of online advertising, an SDK can enable additional app functionality such as in-app event tracking.

SSL Certificate A data file that is installed on a web server in order to create a secure connection to send data and personal information over the web. Most often used for sensitive information like log-in and credit card information.

Supply Side Platform (SSP) Technology platform that enables online publishers to manage their advertising impression inventory and maximize revenue from digital media.

Streaming CRM A dynamic display advertising technology that allows advertisers to combine real-time user data streamed from their websites combined with historical user data from CRM systems, to drive personalized online advertising with programmatic buying and messaging solutions.

Targeting Reaching specific consumer segments with advertising based on various traits such as demographics, psychographics, interests, behavioral variables (such as product purchase history or website activity), etc., or the use of other indicators that serve as a proxy of these desired traits.

Upselling Action or practice of selling more expensive or higher-margin items, upgrades or other add-ons to an existing customer to increase revenues or profits.

Unique User (UU) Also known as Unique Visitor, this essentially refers to the cookie or other identifier used to identify a particular browser, and serves as the key measure of website traffic for websites. A single person may use more computers/browsers or delete their cookies and thus be identified as multiple “Unique Users.”

Viewability A metric that refers to whether ad impressions are actually “in view” of the user. According to IAB standards, at least 50% of the ad has to be displayed on the screen for at least one second for it to be considered viewed.

Vv

World Wide Web (WWW) Information system of interlinked hypertext documents that are accessed via the Internet. It has also commonly become known simply as the Web.

XML A data delivery language that is often used to deliver product feeds for online shops.

Yield The income return on an investment. Real-time bidding was introduced as a way for both publishers and advertisers to better manage yield associated with online advertising.

Zero Win Rate In real-time bidding, zero win rate refers to the situation that no winning bids are coming through from a particular buying partner, which usually indicates an error.

About Sociomantic Labs

Sociomantic Labs, a dunnhumby company, provides programmatic solutions for online, mobile web and in-app display advertising. The company’s proprietary technologies enable the world’s leading advertisers to harness the value of CRM and other first-party data assets to deliver individually personalized, dynamic ads for the full customer journey. This results in broader reach, more new customers and increased loyalty of existing customers.

Sociomantic has been profitable since its founding in Berlin in 2009 and has grown organically to more than 250 employees serving over 70 countries across six continents today.