The great thing about the brave new world of online marketing is that there’s something new every day. The bad thing? New terms crop up that sow as much confusion as they shed light.
But the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is working on this. Its newly released “Data Segments & Techniques: A New Lexicon” update seeks to define terms everyone in the marketplace can agree on and employ for better results.
“The evolution of mobile online advertising has introduced new terminology that requires standardization” writes the IAB’s Patrick Dolan. “From entry-level ad operations, to executive leadership, and everywhere in between, the constant forces of change require a shared lexicon to conceptualize and communicate the core building blocks of our industry. Whether thinking high-level about programmatic ad purchasing, or diving into the nitty-gritty of geodata or cross-device segmentation, we need a common framework to keep pace with an industry in constant transformation.”
Indeed. When you’re talking about an industry that spurs more than $50 billion in annual economic activity, words become important.
Initially released in 2011, this comprehensive update offers a uniform language. In other words, it makes it clear what people are talking about when they use specific terms.
“First, we define the world of data generation systems: devices (from traditional desktops to tablets, wearables, and cars), delivery systems (ad servers, CMS, social networks), collection and storage systems (CRM, digital beacons, POS systems) and analysis systems (audience segmentation, inventory analysis, creative engagement analysis, etc),” notes Dolan.
Then there’s the trickier stuff, having to do with sources, collection, processes, and attributes.
For instance, the IAB explores and defines 1st Party, 2nd Party, and 3rd Party collection relationships between users and publishers, affiliates, data aggregators, and ad networks.
Perhaps most important of all, the IAB update fine-tunes terms related to modeled audience segments, including “Descriptive Segment (Offline to Online) – Demographics (Gender=Male, Age range= 18-25)” and “Predictive Segment (1st Party & Inferred) – Business Traveler.”
Take our word for it, you can get the whole lowdown here.
