Glossary of Advertising Terms
Advertiser – Any company, organization, or institution that seeks to promote its products, services, or causes through advertising. Also known as the client.
Advertising Account – The overall advertising activities, budget, and strategy for a specific advertiser, usually managed by an ad agency.
Advertising Agency – A business made up of creative, strategic, and account service professionals that helps companies plan, create, place, and analyze their advertising. Most agencies earn commissions or fees based on the ad placements they broker.
Art – Any visual creative work used in advertising, including photographs, illustrations, logos, or graphic designs. Can be created digitally or traditionally.
Campaign – A coordinated series of ads across different media with a common objective, target audience, and theme. Campaigns typically run for a set time period.
Circulation – The number of viewers or readers exposed to a particular media channel or vehicle per issue. Also referred to as reach.
Copy – The written content or script used in an ad, including headlines, body text, captions, etc.
Digital Advertising – Paid advertising placements on websites, mobile apps, streaming audio, digital billboards, influencer content, e-mail newsletters, and other internet-enabled formats.
Influencer Marketing – Leveraging a person with extensive social media followers to promote a product. Often considered a form of paid media.
Layout – A visual mockup showing the arrangement of text, photos, graphics and other elements in a print or digital ad.
Medium (plural: Media) – Communication channels that carry advertising to audiences, such as TV networks, publications, websites, e-mail, and more.
Native Advertising – Paid ads on websites or apps that match the tone and formatting of the surrounding editorial content.
Post – Promotional social media content, either organic or paid.
Schedule – A detailed plan for when, where, and how often ads will run across various media throughout a campaign.