Inventory, investment, performance, activation, programmatic, addressable, earned, impression, attribution, incrementality, pacing, lift study…
In the advertising and media industry, these words have different meanings than you might expect.
Every industry has its own lingo and that's not unusual. But here's the twist: in media, the clients are fluent in this language too.
Coming into media from the tech industry, I've always found that odd. In tech, we grew up on a different philosophy: “I don't know anything about these computers — please explain it to me like I'm five.” And so we did. We simplified. We shielded clients from the complexity behind the scenes.
But media? It's built differently. The jargon is part of the game.
Here's where I think AI changes everything. AI will push professional service companies to create digital twins of themselves — streamlined, automated versions of their processes. When that happens, they'll realise they can serve smaller clients. Smaller clients who don't speak the lingo. Smaller clients who currently only know about “boosting posts” on Instagram.
And suddenly, the game shifts. Whoever simplifies their offering and creates a better user experience — in this case, a simpler language — wins.
So, if you'll indulge my Friday prophecy, I believe AI will be the catalyst that finally forces the media industry to drop the jargon.
First posted on LinkedIn, Fri 14 February 2025. · All Friday Thoughts