addressable advertising

Definition

The ability to serve different ads to different households or individuals consuming the same content, typically through connected TV or digital platforms. Mass media meets individual targeting, like a billboard that changes based on who's looking at it.

Example Usage

With addressable advertising, my neighbor sees beer commercials during the game while I get diaper ads—the algorithm knows too much about both of us.

Origin

Term emerged in the mid-2010s as smart TVs and streaming platforms enabled household-level targeting

Fun Fact

Addressable TV advertising is expected to reach $3.6 billion in the US by 2024, as linear TV desperately attempts to compete with digital's targeting capabilities.

Source: Television and streaming advertising industry

Related Terms

Beginner

keyword stuffing

The now-penalized practice of cramming as many keywords as possible into content to manipulate search rankings, reflecting the quaint era when search engines were dumber than a bag of hammers. A relic of SEO's wild west days that occasionally still appears in content written by people who stopped learning in 2006.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

demand generation

Marketing activities designed to create interest in a product or service where none previously existed, rather than just capturing existing demand. Building the haystack before finding the needle.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

media buy

The actual purchase of advertising space or time, where agencies negotiate with publishers to secure placements. It's like buying real estate, except the property disappears after 30 seconds and costs are measured in CPM instead of square footage.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

below the line

Direct, targeted promotional activities like direct mail, point-of-sale, sponsorships, and digital marketing that engage specific audiences rather than mass markets. It's precision marketing as opposed to shouting into the void.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

blue ocean

An untapped market space with little to no competition, as opposed to 'red ocean' markets soaked in competitor blood. The mythical promised land every marketer claims they've discovered.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

return on ad spend

Revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising, the metric that determines whether your marketing team gets champagne or cardboard boxes. When ROAS exceeds 1, you're making money; below 1, you're funding a very expensive hobby.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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