Where every click is a journey and every impression counts.
A custom metric cobbled together from multiple data sources that may or may not be measuring anything meaningful. Born in a laboratory, questionable in real life.
Valuable content locked behind a form requiring users to surrender their contact information before access. The digital equivalent of 'you must be this tall and provide your email to ride.'
The expensive corporate ritual of slapping a new coat of paint on your company's image when the old one becomes toxic, outdated, or just boring to the marketing team. This typically involves burning millions on consultants to create a 'fresh' logo that looks suspiciously like the old one, followed by forcing everyone to pretend the company is fundamentally different now. It's basically witness protection for businesses, except everyone still remembers what you did.
A psychological marketing tactic where advertisers convince you that buying a product literally transforms you into a cooler, better version of yourself. It's why people name their cars and spend more on vehicle maintenance than their own healthcare. The dark art of making consumers believe they don't just own the product—they ARE the product.
An algorithmic process that identifies new prospects who share characteristics with your existing customers, based on the bold assumption that people who look similar on paper will buy similar things. Statistical stereotyping, but make it marketing.
The distinctive personality and emotional tone a brand uses in all communications, from tweets to customer service emails. It's what makes Wendy's roast people on Twitter while your bank sounds like a lawyer wrote everything—which they probably did.
Marketing activities focused on early-stage awareness and consideration rather than immediate conversion. Where brands spend money talking to people who definitely aren't ready to buy yet.
The art of making people feel feelings about your logo, transforming generic products into lifestyle choices through strategic manipulation of colors, fonts, and emotions. The marketing discipline that convinces consumers that one virtually identical product is worth three times more than another because of its 'story.' Involves millions of dollars to answer the question: 'But what's our vibe?'
A prospect who's shown enough interest to warrant sales attention but hasn't quite committed, occupying that precious limbo between 'downloaded a whitepaper' and 'actually wants to talk to someone.' The marketing team's way of saying 'we've done our part, now it's your turn' to sales.
Marketing channels you control directly, like your website, blog, or email list, as opposed to rented space on platforms that could change their algorithms tomorrow. It's the digital equivalent of owning versus renting, with similar arguments about long-term value.
A conversion credited to an ad that someone saw but didn't click, measured by whether they later converted through another channel. It's how display advertising takes credit for sales it might not deserve.
The number of new users each existing user generates through referrals, where anything above 1.0 means exponential growth. It's the mathematical expression of every marketer's fantasy: growth that doesn't require advertising.
An ad impression that actually appeared on a user's screen for a measurable duration, as opposed to loading in a tab they never opened. The advertising industry's reluctant admission that billing for invisible ads was perhaps unethical.
Click-Through Rate—the percentage of people who saw your ad and actually clicked it, revealing how compelling or desperate your call-to-action was. A low CTR means your ad is basically wallpaper.
Dividing audiences based on psychological attributes like values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles rather than just demographics. It's the difference between targeting '35-year-old males' and 'anxiety-ridden millennials seeking validation through consumer choices.'
A concentrated marketing blitz over a short period, flooding channels with messaging like a promotional tsunami. The opposite of always-on, favored by those with seasonal products or limited budgets.
Static or animated rectangular advertisements typically appearing at the top, side, or bottom of web pages. The original internet advertising format that nobody clicks but everyone still buys.
Information about what someone is searching for, researching, or actively trying to solve. It's basically reading minds but with cookies and browser history.
The art of convincing people they need things they didn't know existed, using a combination of psychology, data analytics, and attractive people in stock photos. It's where companies spend vast sums to create "brand awareness" while claiming every campaign was a massive success. The department that everyone else in the company thinks has the most fun while actually drowning in spreadsheets.
A completely obvious insight or recommendation that anyone could have identified without research or analysis. The marketing equivalent of saying water is wet.
Placing ads based on the content of the page rather than the user's browsing history, making a surprising comeback now that cookies are endangered. It's targeting ads like it's 1999, except now algorithms read the pages instead of humans.
Monitoring social media channels for mentions, conversations, and trends related to your brand, competitors, or industry. It's definitely not eavesdropping when it's for business purposes—it's 'market intelligence.'
A sequential content marketing approach where each piece builds on the previous, leading audiences from awareness to conversion. Like a choose-your-own-adventure book, but with more CTAs.
Fraudulent ad clicks generated by bots, click farms, or accidental touches that will never convert. Basically paying for robots to pretend they care about your products.