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User-Generated Content (UGC)
Content created by users, such as reviews, testimonials, or social media posts.
Weather-wise Marketing
The idea that real-time weather data can give marketers a deeper understanding of their audience and support contextual messaging — as weather can impact a person's routine, experiences and even mood.
Cookie Deprecation
This year, Google Chrome is phasing out third-party cookies — resulting in marketers scrambling to identify alternative data solutions. The solution rising to the top of discussions? Old-school IP addresses.
Copywriting
If done right, it’s unforgettable. A goal-driven way of using smart + persuasive text to sell products. Using a carefully thought-out voice + tone, good copywriting can compel readers to take a specific action to drive conversion.
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.
YTD Spend
A measure of how much money you’ve spent this year, from the very first day of your calendar year through today’s date.
Upfront
A pivotal event where television networks unveil upcoming programming and media buyers purchase ad space. Typically occurring in the spring, this week media giants like Warner Bros, Disney, Discovery, Netflix and YouTube have been pitching advertisers.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Promotion driven by satisfied customers sharing recommendations with others.
X
The new Twitter? Looks like it! Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to “X”, removing the iconic blue bird logo. This news was met with dissatisfaction from many, and confusion from others — we’ll be keeping an eye on how this rebrand affects the platform.
Transactional Email
Automated emails triggered by user actions, such as order confirmations or password resets.
White Label
A product / service created by a company or producer that is subsequently rebranded to appear as if it is made by another company.
Virtual Events
The new kids on the block. Events held in a virtual environment vs. a physical location. They can be live-streamed or recorded and are a great workaround to physical barriers such as distance, weather + health. 99.9% of the time, they are a lot of fun.
Viewability
A metric focused on ads being physically seen by users.
Videography
At the heart of every social media channel or website is great video. Created in-house or retrieved from a stock site, videography is strategically used to helps ensure a brand or product is defined (and memorable).
Variance Analysis
The analysis between planned and actual numbers — highly recommended when analyzing KPIs.
Variable Costs
The other side of the coin, as it were: costs that vary depending on how much you produce or sell. These might change according to all kinds of variables and inputs.
User Journey
The steps and interactions a user takes with a brand, from first awareness to conversion.
Network Marketing
A business model where salespeople earn commissions for selling products and recruiting others.
eCommerce
eCommerce is buying and selling products and services on the internet, with exchange of payment and data to complete the transactions.
Community
Can’t have a brand without it. The goal of building community not only fosters brand loyalty, but gives you the opportunity to tap into the perspective of the people that matter most — your customers! P.S. We LOVE our Breef community!
Brandformance
Merging the words “branding” and “performance”, brandformance is the idea that campaigns can (and should) be designed with the focus of establishing brand identity AND exceeding performance targets — i.e. building campaigns that work smarter across the funnel.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
A specific feature or benefit that makes a product stand out from competitors.
UI / UX
User interface design (UI) focuses on the aesthetic elements of a product, whereas user experience design (UX) is more concerned with the user journey. Both design concepts play a vital role in the success of a business.
Trending
Topics or content gaining significant attention and popularity over a short period.
Traffic
The number of visitors to a website, measured in total visits, unique users, or sessions.
Thumb-Stopping
Refers to digital content that catches a user's attention in a way that makes them stop scrolling and engage.
Target Market
A defined group of consumers that a business aims to reach with its products or services.
Target Audience
A specific group of consumers identified as the intended recipients of a marketing message.
Tags
Keywords or labels used to categorize or organize content on a website.
Supply-Side Platforms
Commonly known as SSPs, supply-side platforms are adtech platforms used to manage the distribution of ad inventory. Also referred to as sell-side platforms.
Subscription Economy
An ever-evolving business landscape where brands are leaning into subscription-based models — i.e. business models where customers are paying a reoccurring fee for access to products and / or services.
Sticky Content
Content that a user remembers after the fact — i.e. intentionally memorable content.
Soft Launch
The initial release of a product or service to a limited audience before a wider public launch.
SOW
Statement of Work. This is the final agreement outlining project goals and deliverables, keeping you and your client on the same page regarding deadlines, scope of work and expectations.
Sonic Logo
A sonic branding tool that is a short, identifiable auditory signature. An example? The familiar 'ta-dum' that plays when you open the Netflix app on your TV.
Social-First Content
What every brand needs a lot of! This strategy prioritizes campaign goals + assets based on your audience's behavior on social media. Social discovery is the primary goal. Breef Tip: Between video, photos, UGC…it’s a lot. An agency can help.
Snackable Content
Refers to content that is short, to the point and easy to understand. Most often used when referencing content that will be viewed through a mobile experience.
Social Listening
The process of monitoring and analyzing the conversation and sentiment that is occurring online about your brand in order to learn more about your audience — and potential future audiences.
SMS Marketing
Simply put, text messaging. An opt-in marketing channel used to communicate with leads + customers to keep brands top of mind and drive repeat sales / interactions. Very successful with core, repeat customers. How will SMS save the day? Conversion + revenue.
Sitemap
A file or page listing all the URLs on a website to help search engines index it effectively.
Short-Attention Economy
The short-attention economy is the lack of human capacity to engage in focus for long periods. Attention spans are getting shorter, and consumers are looking for results ASAP.
Shoppable TV
A shopping experience that allows consumers to make purchases on their TV — often through QR codes or features that have been added to streaming platforms. For example, Peacock's AI integration that allows users to shop for products that they see in a shows.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user's query.
SEO
It’s complex, and stands for "search engine optimization.” SEO is the art + science of improving a site's visibility to help it rank higher on a search engine's unpaid results page through use of strategic content, key words, meta descriptions and links.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A financial metric evaluating the profitability of an investment.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
A measure of revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
Revenue Forecasting
Like the weather, but better. The process of estimating future revenue. Usually takes into account past revenue trends, market conditions and other factors to predict how much money a company is likely to earn in the future.
Return on Investment
Is it worth the money? Find out with this classic metric, which is calculated by dividing an investment’s return (total value minus cost) by its cost. If this percentage is positive and high, your investment is likely pulling its weight.
Responsive Web Design
Designing websites to ensure they automatically adjust and optimize across various devices.
Retargeting
Retargeting, also called personalization, is aimed at directing an internet user back to a website they left via tracking browsing behavior to deliver customized advertising. Cookies, for example, can be used to deliver ads to users after they leave a website.
Responsive Emails
Emails designed to be visually appealing and functional across all devices, especially mobile.
Remarketing
A marketing strategy that targets ads at users who have previously interacted with your website.
Reputation Management
The practice of shaping public perception of a business or individual by monitoring and managing feedback.
Referral
When an existing customer recommends a product or service to others, often incentivized by rewards.
Rawthentic
A buzzy portmanteau that you've likely heard only recently — the idea of 'rawthentic' marketing emphasizes the cultural shift to raw, authentic and unfiltered content winning with consumers (over highly produced, polished content).
Purpose Marketing
A marketing strategy where efforts are focused on promoting a brand's core values, mission and social responsibility — aligning with causes or principles that resonate deeply with their audience.
Public Relations
Making sure your brand is seen, heard and validated. Getting the word out about a business or an individual to shape public image + reputation. Breef Tip: PR is a long game. You’ll need a strategy, strong message and relationships.
Project Scope
A high-level overview of a client’s needs inclusive of goals, timing + key considerations.
Programmatic Advertising
Automated media buying — i.e. purchasing ads using automated tech and algorithms. The benefits? Low-cost, large-scale reach and real-time data.
Production
Overseeing a campaign, event or photoshoot from A-Z. Those in production work closely with creative directors to execute designs and marketers to make sure their strategy comes to life. They help with everything from casting to location scouting and run-of-show.
Product Marketing
The process of promoting and selling a specific product, focusing on positioning and messaging.
Privacy Sandbox
Google's post-cookie advertising platform. Though the timeline of cookie deprecation continues to change due to the intricacies involved in the data shift, the current expected rollout is mid-2025.
Podcast Advertising
An audio-first channel that can reach niche audiences and increase brand awareness. As modern "talk radio," podcasts serve content about specific topics + subjects to high-intent listeners.
Priming
A subconscious reaction to something (an ad, social post, email, etc.) that influences or triggers conscious behaviors (i.e. making a purchase, engaging on social, etc.). Crucial in the customer journey to ultimately making a purchasing decision.
PMax
I.e. Performance Max campaigns, PMax is an automated campaign type within Google Ads, that uses AI to drive conversion across channels — including Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Maps.
Photography
Smile! Created in-house or retrieved from a stock site, photography is strategically used to curate a specific look and feel that helps ensure branding is defined + distinct.
Personalization
Personalization, also called retargeting, tracks a user's internet-browsing behavior to deliver customized advertising. Cookies, for example, collect user information on websites which can be used to deliver ads to users after they leave a company's website.
Persona
A fictional character that represents the characteristics of your larger target demographic — incredibly helpful in identifying your audience's wants and needs.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
A digital advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.
Paid Social
Show me the money, honey!’ A form of digital advertising that relies on social platforms and advanced targeting to reach custom audiences, expanding the reach of a brand and its core offering.
Paid Search + Display
Pay to play’ with Google? Kinda. But really, it’s intent-driven digital marketing strategies that allow advertisers to pay to place a targeted ad at the top of a specific search results page.
Paid Media
Advertising that businesses pay for to promote their content or products.
Packaging Design
The best packaging makes us swoon. The design of the physical container that holds a brand's product and helps enhance the customer experience. Ideally, the product's appearance matches the brand's positioning.
Owned Media
Marketing channels fully controlled by a business, such as blogs, websites, or social media pages.
Organic Search
Traffic that comes to a website from unpaid search engine results.
Organic Social
OG social media. Any "free" content posted on social media to drive brand awareness + engagement with current followers. More time and effort is invested to achieve longer-lasting results.
Organic Reach
The number of people who see your content naturally without paid promotion.
OOH
The acronym for "out-of-home advertising" — refers to any type of advertising that users experience outside of their home. Examples include billboards, signage and public activations.
Omnichannel Marketing
A seamless and integrated customer experience across all marketing and sales channels.
Omnibuyers
A consumer who shops when they want, how they want and where they want. Today's shoppers value quick and effortless experiences across channels — marketers who are rethinking their strategies to meet the needs of these shoppers are driving big results.
Narrowcasting
Broadcasting tailored content to a specific segment of the audience.
Meta Description
A brief HTML tag that describes a web page's content, displayed in search engine results.
Media Planning
The process of selecting media platforms to reach the target audience effectively.
Marketing Strategy
Basically, your guide/map/roadmap. It’s a business' overall marketing game plan for reaching + retaining customers. Strategies can be innovative, or they can be previously tried + tested. Make sure your strategy covers the ‘w’s’ - who, what, when, where and why.
Marketing Tech Stack
A group of technologies that marketers leverage to optimize marketing activities.
MarTech
The technology and software tools used to execute, manage, and measure marketing strategies.
Marketing Mix
The combination of product, price, place, and promotion strategies used to market a product.
Marketing Funnel
The stages a customer goes through from awareness to purchase.
Marketing Campaign
A hero moment. A blast around your brand / product. Basically, a strategic + organized effort to promote a business through multiple mediums. Most brands plan a few campaigns per year and bring in agencies to help.
Market Research
The process of gathering information about target markets or customers.
Makegood
Makegood is rerunning an ad or providing additional ad inventory when the original slot underperformed versus provided ratings. A related term is audience deficiency unit: ad inventory provided to the advertiser to fulfill the original rate guarantee.
Loyalty Programs
A strategy used to encourage customers to become (or continue to be) repeat customers. Common loyalty programs include rewards, points, discounts and insider perks.
Lions Creators
This year Cannes Lions is introducing Lions Creators — an event happening alongside the main festival, dedicated to providing learning and networking opportunities all about creators and the creator economy.
Geotargeting
Delivering targeted content to consumers based on their geolocation — critical to ensuring you're reaching your target audience.
Leads
Potential customers who have expressed interest in a product or service.
Lead Magnet
An incentive offered to prospects in exchange for their contact details.
Landing Page
A standalone web page created for marketing purposes, often to capture leads.
Channel Mix
The combination of channels a brand or company uses to communicate their messaging to their audience.
KPI
A fancy way of saying goals. Short for "key performance indicators," KPIs are used to track a business' performance over time against its strategic goals.
Keyword Density
The ratio of a keyword’s frequency to total content words.
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