NEW YORK — Millennials, programmatic, transparency and storytelling are among the industry’s favorite buzzwords. This Advertising Week, several more have been added to the lexicon. From Pope Francis to #NoFilter, here is our guide to the latest industry buzzwords.
Always-on (adjective) — Half of a famous Elvis lyric and now a way to describe marketing assets that consumers can engage with 24/7. (Think apps and YouTube channels). Mobile technology means marketers can reach consumers 24/7, even when they probably shouldn’t.
"Engaging always on consumer w/ tailored messages isn't creepy; it's key to success in digital." -@tony_bailey #AWXII pic.twitter.com/FpVTbZDQqC
— DigitasLBi U.S. (@Digitas) October 1, 2015
Content funnel (noun) — A system for marketers to gain customers from content. At the top of the funnel are videos and articles designed to be consumed on social media. These should drive people back to a website, where they travel down the funnel to the useable, must-have info that keeps them coming back for more. Consumers are said to enjoy the journey.
Converge (verb) — To merge media, technology and marketing. Convergence means Google is poaching agency creatives, PR agencies rub up against media agencies to ‘own’ social media, and Deloitte and Accenture are popping up on pitch lists. Convergence makes everybody’s jobs a whole lot harder, or the more optimistic way of putting it: "complex."
The convergence of content distribution and data is a hot topic today, especially in the #programmatic world. #AWXII pic.twitter.com/JMAzKwMF1A
— RhythmOne (@RhythmOneUS) September 29, 2015
Customer lifetime value (noun) — A metric used to determine how much money can be made from a lifetime relationship with a customer rather than a one-off purchase. Another KPI to add to the long list of muddled attempts to measure marketing efforts.
Marketers must now get used to the new retail KPIs, such as "customer lifetime value." -@retailgeek #PGAlwaysOn #AWXII
— Razorfish (@Razorfish) October 1, 2015
Creator (noun) — Anyone who feeds the world’s insatiable hunger for content. The new breed includes GIF, Vine and Tumblr artists. Brands are clamoring to collaborate with them to ensure their messaging reaches people across every shiny new platform.
"As a creator and artist, the fact that you don’t have the psychological pressure [in LA] is interesting for the creative process." — Laurent Janneau, director, global brand creative, Netflix
Disruptive (adjective) — Previously referred to that jerk in meetings who forgot to put his cellphone on silent. Now agencies tell their clients they need to be disruptive in the market, while [through clenched teeth] try to figure out how to do the same.
"It is possible to disrupt yourself out of business" - Andrea Mignolo @SimpleReach #AWXII pic.twitter.com/qH37Fdzi5e
— Nasdaq (@NASDAQ) October 1, 2015
Donald Trump (person) — Billionaire businessman and outlandish GOP candidate. Subject of many Advertising Week discussions for his shocking rise from outsider to leader in the polls.
"Donald Trump is a brand marketer like we’ve never seen before. Harvard will write a case study on this." — Ross Levinsohn, CEO, Guggenheim Digital Media
Emojis (noun) — A popular visual language that is increasingly being incorporated in marketing campaigns in order to reach the coveted younger generations and help brands appear hip.
"Emojis are the language of Generation Z." — Lucie Greene, worldwide director at The Innovation Group
Generation Z (collective noun) — Refers to the group of people who were born in the mid-90s to early ‘00s. Marketers are strategizing how to reach this audience as their Millennial obsession starts to fade.
"There’s no room for masquerade [in Gen-Z]. They can see through things easily." — Lucie Greene, worldwide director, The Innovation Group
There will be no distinction between desktop and mobile for generation z @AnnaFieler #mobilefirst #mobileonly #AWXII
— Pearl Tam (@pearl_tam) October 1, 2015
#NoFilter (adjective) — A hashtag that originated on Instagram and now adopted as marketing speak to refer to an unfiltered and real representation of the world [replacing the industry’s favorite buzzword, "authentic."
"It’s appealing to see someone who’s not that filtered." — Megyn Kelly, Fox News anchor
Partner (noun) — Once an innocent noun but now hijacked to refer to vendors and newcomers with whom agencies must cheerfully collaborate, even as they siphon off their business.
"We made our agency more integrated and collaborative, both internally and externally with partners like Facebook." —Kasha Cacy, US president, UM
Pope Francis (person) — The bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church; fan of selfies. Has replaced Kim Kardashian as the ad industry’s reference point on how to expertly build a personal brand. Marketers love a Holy Grail and now they can talk about a holy man.
"A touchdown for me would be getting someone holding up a [presidential] candidate’s placard while taking a selfie with the Pope." — Republican strategist Evan Siegfried
This article first appeared on campaignlive.co.uk.
