May 23, 2024 • 9 min read
Welcome to the definitive, always up-to-date glossary for mobile game and app marketing!
Whether you’re a seasoned developer or marketer, or just getting started, understanding the key terms and concepts in this dynamic field is crucial for success.
This glossary is designed to be your go-to resource, and we’ll keep updating it to ensure you stay ahead of the game!
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding): A digital audio compression standard that provides top sound quality at relatively low bitrates.
Above the Fold: The immediately visible part of a web page when it loads, crucial for placing key ads and content without requiring scrolling.
Addressability: The ability to target a specific message to a particular device, individual, or browser.
AdBlock: Software, often a browser extension, that prevents ads from appearing on websites, reducing the effectiveness of advertising.
Ad Exchanges: Digital marketplaces that allow publishers to buy and sell advertising space through an auction-like system.
Ad Inventory: The amount of available advertising space a publisher has for sale, usually measured in impressions.
Ad Network: Connects advertisers and publishers, matching the right ads with the right websites.
Ad Pods: Sequences multiple ads to play back-to-back in a single ad break.
Ad Server: Tools used by publishers and advertisers to serve ads and gain insights on their performance. There are publisher ad servers and third-party ad servers.
ADS.TXT: A text file that publishers use to declare who is authorized to sell their inventory.
Ad Waterfalling: A technique to sell remaining premium ad slots by sequentially moving through ad calls until the inventory is filled.
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: Optimizes video delivery quality based on the user’s available bandwidth to avoid buffering issues.
Advertainment: A blend of advertising and entertainment in the form of videos or short films, designed to promote a brand in a way that appeals to its target audience. The Old Spice campaign is a prime example of popular advertainment.
Advertisement: A form of paid marketing used to promote a product, service, or increase brand awareness.
Advertiser: A person, company, or brand that promotes a product, service, or event through advertising.
AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition): A format using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression, initially created for consumer HD camcorders, used in media players on computers, and can be burned onto DVDs.
AVOC (Audible and Viewable on Complete): The percentage of measurable impressions that were viewable and audible upon video completion.
AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand): A video monetization model generating revenue by placing ads on videos.
Autoplay Video: Videos that start playing automatically when they appear on-screen, engaging users instantly without requiring any action.
Bandwidth: The speed and amount of data that can be transferred over a period. Higher bitrates stream higher quality media, relying on CPU power and internet speed.
Behavioral Targeting: Targeting specific users with ads based on their browsing history.
Bitrate: The number of bits per second processed, affecting the quality of audio and video. New codecs like H.264 offer efficient compression at lower bitrates.
Blacklist: The ability to block certain advertisers’ ads from appearing on specific websites.
Bumper Ad: Short video ads, usually less than 10 seconds, inserted into online videos to quickly attract attention and briefly present a brand.
Call to Action (CTA): A prompt at the end of an ad or video enticing users to take action, such as “Download now” or “Sign up.”
CBR (Constant Bit Rate): In encoding, CBR means recording content at a constant bitrate, regardless of quality.
Closed Captioning: Displaying text or subtitles on a video to provide interpretive information for accessibility.
Click: The number of times users click on an ad.
Click-to-Play: Videos where users must click a button to begin playback.
Companion Ads: Display ads appearing next to instream or overlay video ads.
Contextual Targeting: Matching ad content with relevant page content.
Conversion: Users who take a desired action, like purchasing a product, after viewing an ad.
Conversion Rate (CVR): The number of conversions divided by the total number of clicks.
CPA (Cost Per Action): Paying an advertising fee based on users taking a specific action after viewing an ad.
CPC (Cost Per Click): Paying for advertising space based on the number of clicks an ad receives.
CPCV (Cost Per Completed View): Advertisers pay only for ads watched in their entirety.
CPE (Cost Per Engagement): A payment model where advertisers pay based on the engagement their ads receive.
CPI (Cost Per Install): Paying for advertising space only when a user installs the promoted application.
CPLPV (Cost Per Landing Page View): Advertisers pay only for clicks that result in reaching the target landing page.
CPM (Cost Per Mille): A payment model where advertisers pay for every 1,000 impressions their ads make.
CPU (Cost Per Unique): Paying for each unique impression an ad makes.
CPV (Cost Per View): Advertisers pay for each time their video is played.
Creative: The image or video used in an ad to convey the message.
Cross-Screen Measurement: Tracking video statistics across various devices, like TV, PC, and mobile.
Cue Point: An invisible marker set at a specific point in a video that often triggers mid-roll ads.
Data Management Platform (DMP): A system that collects user data for data-driven marketing.
Demographic: Data about users such as gender, age, language, and location.
Demand-Side Platform (DSP): An automated tool for advertisers to find publishers for their ads.
Digital Video Recorder (DVR): Caches a live stream, allowing users to pause, rewind, and rewatch the broadcast.
Engagement: User interaction with content by sharing, commenting, or reacting.
Engagement Rate: A metric used to measure user engagement, calculated differently across industries and platforms.
Explainer Video: Videos focused on educating and helping consumers by guiding them through a product or process.
Fill Rate: The ratio of ad requests successfully filled by your ad network.
First-Party Data: Information collected directly by you about your users and audience.
Full Screen: Videos or objects that cover the entire screen of a user’s device, enhancing the viewer’s experience by maximizing visibility.
Geographic Targeting (Geo-Targeting): Sending ads to an audience from specific geographical regions.
Header Bidding: An advanced technique allowing publishers to offer ad inventory to multiple exchanges simultaneously before sending requests to ad servers.
HLS (HTTP Live Streaming): An HTTP-based streaming protocol by Apple, adjusting video quality based on network conditions.
Hook: A compelling opener used in videos to lure users into engaging with ads.
Hosting: Storing content on a server to speed up websites by reducing page size.
Impression: Counted when an ad successfully loads on a website, regardless of whether it is seen.
In-Banner Video: Video ads triggered within standard display banner ads.
Influencer: A person with a substantial social following paid to promote products.
Instream Ads: Video ads appearing within viewed content, such as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll positions.
Interactive Video: Video ads combining interactive elements allowing user interaction, like clicking buttons or playing mini-games.
Interstitial Ads: Video ads appearing during the transition between web pages, displayed before the desired content loads after a user clicks on a link.
Interaction Rate (IR): The rate at which users interact with an ad out of everyone who sees it.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI): Predetermined metrics used to measure campaign success.
Linear Ads: Video ads that appear before, after, or during an online video, also known as pre-roll, post-roll, and mid-roll ads.
Live Streaming: Broadcasting media simultaneously recorded in real-time.
Mid-Roll Ad: Video ads that play at specific points during an online video, triggered by cue points set beforehand.
MPEG-Dash (Motion Pictures Expert Group Dynamic Adaptive Streaming): An open-source streaming protocol enabling high-quality media streaming over the internet.
Open Marketplace: An online auction where both publishers and advertisers can participate in real-time bidding.
Opt-In Videos: Videos that users willingly watch, often to receive a reward, such as an extra life in a mobile game.
Opt-Out: The process by which users choose to stop receiving messages or ads from a particular company.
Outstream Ads: Video ads that autoplay in a large-format video player when users scroll to a specific location on a web page.
Overlay Ads: Semi-transparent ads appearing at the bottom of a video while it plays, providing additional information without fully interrupting the viewing experience.
Over-The-Top (OTT) Media Service: Streaming services providing access to various media content, usually for a subscription fee.
Post-Roll Ad: Video ads that play at the end of an online video, reinforcing the message after the main content.
Pre-Roll Ad: Video ads that play before an online video starts, grabbing the viewer’s attention right from the start.
Programmatic Bidding (Advertising): Automated process for buying and selling ad inventory, improving efficiency over manual buying.
Publisher: A site owner or company paid to host ads, giving advertisers access to ad inventory.
Promotional Video: Videos used by companies to promote products or services.
Reach: The total number of unique viewers who have the opportunity to see an ad during a specific time period.
Real-Time Bidding (RTB): An auction process for buying and selling ad placements in real-time, ensuring efficient ad delivery.
Real-Time Video Analytics: In-depth video analytics displaying data such as bandwidth, impressions, and plays, updated instantly.
Retargeting: Showing ads to users based on their previous online actions to encourage them to return and convert.
Rich Media: Ads that contain video, audio, or other advanced features, going beyond simple images to engage users more effectively.
Run of Network (RON): A type of ad buying where ads can appear on any site within an ad network, offering broad reach at a lower cost.
Second-Party Data: User data collected and shared by another trusted party.
Silent Video Ads: Video ads that play automatically without sound, aiming to improve user experience.
Small Web Format (SWF): An Adobe Flash file format used to deliver video, sound, and graphical content over the internet.
Streaming: A data transfer technique enabling users to watch videos in real-time without downloading the entire file first.
Sticky Player: A video player that follows the user and remains on-screen as they scroll down a web page.
Supply-Side Platform (SSP): A platform collaborating with publishers to maximize revenue from their ad impressions.
Synchronous Video: Video communication between two or more people happening in real time.
SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand): An OTT media service that users must pay for to use.
Tag: A short piece of HTML code used by browsers to fetch an ad from an ad server.
Testimonial Video: Videos showcasing customer experiences with a brand, product, or service.
Third-Party Data: Data sold by companies to those in the advertising industry.
Thumbnail: A custom image or video frame appearing as a preview before playback commences, crucial for gaining user attention and driving clicks.
Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD): A service allowing users to purchase specific video content for a set price.
Transcoding: Converting already-compressed content into a different format for use on various devices.
Unique Users: The number of unique visitors to a website who see an ad, counted only once to avoid duplicates.
User-Initiated: Ads that play only when clicked on by the user, ensuring intentional engagement.
VAST (Video Ad Serving Template): A standard for serving video ads across various players and platforms, allowing synchronization between ad servers and video players.
Video Analytics: Tools providing insights into video performance metrics.
Video Aspect Ratio: The ratio describing the proportions between the player’s width and height, such as 4:3 or 16:9.
Video Carousel: Combining multiple videos or images into a single ad format.
Video Completes: The number of times a video is watched in its entirety.
Video Encoding: The process of compressing a video file so that it plays as a running video rather than a series of individual images.
Video Player: Software or hardware used to play digital video content.
Video Plays: The number of times a video starts playing, either automatically or user-initiated.
Video Syndication: Reuploading videos to multiple platforms to increase visibility and reach.
Viewability: Measures whether an ad was actually seen by a user.
Viewable Impression: Counts every time an ad is displayed in a viewable area on-screen.
Video on Demand (VOD): A service allowing users to watch videos at any time rather than on a predetermined schedule.
Video Completion Rate (VCR): The average percentage of a video watched by users.
Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID): A standard ensuring compatibility between ad units and video players, enabling interactive video ads.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): A mobile-specific protocol allowing advertisers to distribute mobile ads to devices.
Whitelist: A list of approved publishers, sites, or domains where ads should be shown.
White Label: A product or service produced by one company and rebranded by another to appear as their own.
Staying up-to-date with the latest terminology and strategies in mobile game and app marketing is vital for success. Bookmark this glossary and check back regularly as we update it with new terms and insights.
At Flixr, we’re committed to helping you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of mobile marketing with innovative video ad solutions. Ready to elevate your mobile game and app marketing? Contact us today and let’s create some magic!
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