Adtech / Programmatic Marketing Data Glossary

Adtech / Programmatic Marketing Data Terminology – Explanations and Use Cases

 

Ad Exchange

Summary: Digital marketplace where publishers and SSPs make inventory available and buyers/DSPs bid in real time.

Use Cases:

• Access diverse display/video/CTV supply at scale

• Run unified auctions across multiple SSPs

 

Ad Server (Advertiser/Publisher)

Summary: Systems that store, target, serve, and measure ads; advertiser ad servers handle trafficking/measurement, publisher ad servers handle yield and delivery.

Use Cases:

• Flight and cap campaign creatives

• Sequence/rotate creatives and collect delivery logs

 

Addressability

Summary: Capability to target and measure audiences in privacy-safe ways across devices/channels (with or without third-party cookies).

Use Cases:

• Household-level CTV targeting

• Onsite personalization using first-party IDs

 

Attention Metrics

Summary: Measures beyond viewability (e.g., time-in-view, scroll depth, interactions, screen real estate).

Use Cases:

• Optimize placements to higher-attention inventory

• Use attention scores to predict outcomes/ROAS

 

Attribution & MMM

Summary: User- or cohort-level attribution and marketing mix modelling to quantify channel/partner contribution and incrementality.

Use Cases:

• Compare last-touch vs. data-driven models

• Run geo-holdouts/lift tests to prove incremental sales

 

Bid Shading

Summary: Algorithms that help buyers avoid overpaying in first-price auctions by estimating the lowest winning bid.

Use Cases:

• Reduce CPMs in first-price environments

• Balance win rate vs. cost at line-item level

 

Bidstream Data

Summary: Signals in ad requests (device, app/site, location, IP, etc.) with strict usage policies and contractual limits.

Use Cases:

• Real-time bidding decisions (allowed uses)

• Brand safety/context checks within auction constraints

 

Brand Safety/Suitability

Summary: Avoiding unsafe content (safety) vs. aligning to nuanced contexts that fit brand values (suitability).

Use Cases:

• Exclude misinformation/violence

• Target ‘food & recipes’ but avoid ‘extreme dieting’

 

CDP (Customer Data Platform)

Summary: Unifies first-party data into person/account profiles and activates audiences across channels.

Use Cases:

• Build segments for suppression/retargeting

• Sync audiences to DSPs/RMNs

 

Clean Room (Data Clean Room)

Summary: Privacy-safe environment to match and analyze datasets (e.g., brand with publisher/retailer) without exposing PII.

Use Cases:

• Closed-loop sales measurement with retailers

• Overlap analysis and audience planning

 

CMP (Consent Management Platform)

Summary: Collects, stores, and signals user consent under frameworks (e.g., TCF, GPP).

Use Cases:

• Show region-aware consent UIs

• Pass consent strings to ad/analytics partners

 

Contextual Targeting

Summary: Targets based on page/app content and semantics (not user IDs).

Use Cases:

• Cookie-less reach with topic/keyword targeting

• Brand suitability using semantic signals

 

Cross-Device / Identity Graph

Summary: Deterministic/probabilistic links among devices, MAIDs, cookies, and households to unify identity.

Use Cases:

• De-duplicate reach/frequency across CTV+mobile

• Sequential messaging across devices

 

Data Marketplace / Exchange

Summary: Platforms to buy/sell/license third-party and retailer audiences for activation/measurement.

Use Cases:

• Add in-market or B2B segments to campaigns

• Activate RMN audiences offsite via DSPs

 

DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization)

Summary: Assembles and personalizes creatives in real time based on data signals.

Use Cases:

• Tailor offers by location/weather

• Automate creative testing to lift CTR/CVR

 

Deal ID

Summary: Unique identifier for a private deal (PMP/PG) that encodes terms like price floor, buyer, inventory.

Use Cases:

• Secure premium CTV supply via fixed CPM

• Run A/B tests across different deals

 

DMP (Data Management Platform)

Summary: Legacy audience aggregation/activation tool; declining as CDPs and first-party strategies rise.

Use Cases:

• Centralize third-party segments

• Build lookbacks for suppression/retargeting

 

DSP (Demand-Side Platform)

Summary: Buyer platform for targeting, bidding, pacing, frequency, and reporting across exchanges/SSPs.

Use Cases:

• Manage omnichannel buys (display/video/CTV)

• Apply SPO and bid modifiers at scale

 

First-Party Data

Summary: Data collected directly by a brand/publisher (e.g., logins, purchases, site/app behavior).

Use Cases:

• Seed high-intent audiences

• Power first-party lookalikes and suppression

 

Floor Price (Price Floors)

Summary: Minimum price a publisher sets for an impression or deal.

Use Cases:

• Protect yield on premium video/CTV

• A/B soft vs. hard floors by geo/time

 

Frequency Capping

Summary: Limits exposures per user/household/time period to prevent waste and annoyance.

Use Cases:

• Cross-device weekly cap in CTV+mobile

• Flight-level cap for awareness bursts

 

Header Bidding

Summary: Parallel auctions that let multiple demand sources bid before the ad server decision to boost yield.

Use Cases:

• Increase competition vs. waterfall

• Add new demand via Prebid adapters

 

IAB Tech Lab Standards

Summary: Specs that improve trust and interoperability (ads.txt, app-ads.txt, sellers.json, schain, GPP, OpenRTB, VAST, OMID).

Use Cases:

• Validate authorized sellers

• Pass privacy/consent signals consistently

 

IDFA/GAID (Mobile Advertising IDs)

Summary: Device-level IDs for ad targeting/measurement subject to consent/ATT.

Use Cases:

• Optimize app UA when consented

• Build MAID-based suppression lists

 

Lookalike Modeling

Summary: Finds new users similar to a seed audience (e.g., converters, subscribers).

Use Cases:

• Scale prospecting while holding CPA

• Expand B2B ABM lists by firmographic twins

 

MMP (Mobile Measurement Partner)

Summary: Mobile attribution/analytics providers for app marketers.

Use Cases:

• Attribute installs to channels/networks

• Monitor SKAN vs. non-SKAN performance

 

Open Measurement (OM SDK/OMID)

Summary: Standardized SDK/APIs to verify viewability/IVT/brand safety consistently across environments.

Use Cases:

• Enable third-party verification in apps

• Harmonize measurement across vendors

 

OpenRTB

Summary: Protocol that standardizes programmatic bid requests/responses and ad decisioning.

Use Cases:

• Transact across exchanges with one spec

• Carry structured supply chain and privacy fields

 

Pixels & Server-Side Tagging

Summary: Client-side tags or server-side event forwarding (e.g., CAPI) for measurement and activation.

Use Cases:

• Improve signal quality with server-side

• Reduce page weight and ad-blocker loss

 

PMP / PG (Private Marketplace / Programmatic Guaranteed)

Summary: Curated/private access to inventory; PG locks volume/price.

Use Cases:

• Guarantee sports tent-pole CTV supply

• Run brand-safe PMPs with deal-level targeting

 

Prebid (Project Prebid)

Summary: Open-source header bidding framework for web, in-app, and CTV.

Use Cases:

• Add/optimize adapters and modules

• Run analytics to tune timeout and win rate

 

Privacy Sandbox (Chrome)

Summary: Privacy-preserving APIs (e.g., Protected Audience, Topics, Attribution Reporting) replacing third-party cookies for ads.

Use Cases:

• Retarget without third-party cookies

• Measure conversions with aggregate reports

 

Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Summary: Millisecond auctions where each impression is evaluated and priced dynamically.

Use Cases:

• Bid higher for high-value users

• Apply context signals in-auction

 

Retail Media Networks (RMN)

Summary: Retailers’ onsite/offsite ad businesses using shopper data and clean rooms.

Use Cases:

• Closed-loop sales attribution

• Brand campaigns on retailer sites/apps

 

SKAdNetwork (SKAN)

Summary: Apple’s privacy-preserving iOS app install attribution framework.

Use Cases:

• Optimize UA with postbacks

• Calibrate models vs. consented MMP data

 

SPO (Supply Path Optimization)

Summary: Buyer strategies to choose efficient, transparent supply routes.

Use Cases:

• Consolidate to high-quality SSPs

• Cut duplicative resellers to lower fees

 

SSP (Supply-Side Platform)

Summary: Publisher platform to package, price, and sell inventory programmatically.

Use Cases:

• Manage floor prices and deals

• Enable header bidding and demand diversity

 

Universal IDs

Summary: Interoperable identifiers (often hashed emails/login-based) for targeting and measurement without third-party cookies.

Use Cases:

• Match brand and publisher audiences

• Stabilize frequency capping across partners

 

VAST / VMAP / VPAID

Summary: Video ad delivery/playlist specs (VAST for delivery, VMAP for breaks; VPAID largely deprecated); often paired with OMID.

Use Cases:

• Standardize CTV/OTT ad playback

• Insert mid-rolls with VMAP rules

 

Verification (3rd-party)

Summary: Independent measurement of viewability, brand safety/suitability, and IVT/fraud.

Use Cases:

• Enforce pre-bid brand safety

• Post-bid block/credit make-goods for IVT

 

Viewability vs. IVT

Summary: In-view opportunity vs. invalid/fraudulent traffic (bots, spoofing, mislabeling).

Use Cases:

• Optimize to viewable impressions

• Exclude IVT using pre- and post-bid filters

 

Waterfall

Summary: Legacy sequential demand calling where one partner gets first look before the next.

Use Cases:

• Backfill remnant inventory

• Compare yield vs. header bidding