There are numerous abbreviations the ad-world uses in day to day chit chatter. But what do they actually stand for again…? From ACD to Zip. We’ve got you covered! Part 2
M | MR
Mixed Reality
A hybrid of both AR (See A for AR) and VR (See V for VR), Mixed Reality combines the use of several types of technologies including sensors, optics and computing power. MR enables its users to overlay augmented holographic digital content into real-time space – think Yoda’s hologram in Star Wars or Tupac at Coachella. Mind = Blown.
N | NSFW
Not Safe For Work
NSFW is an internet slang term used to warn people that the content they’re about to read or watch is not suitable for a work environment. You guessed it, it’s usually inappropriate content.
O | OOH
Out Of Home
Billboards at Bus Stops, Train Stations etc. (basically everything outside)
OOO
Out of The Office
A message you receive when someone is out of the office e.g. on holiday.
P | .PDF
Portable Document Format
A file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone else. Most used for presentations or scans.
PM
Project Manager
A PM is responsible to deliver projects on time and in budget. They plan and organise resources (props for a shoot etc.) and people.
PPT
Power Point Presentation
Presentations mostly clients and AM (See A for AM) send. They usually slow down your computers massively.
PR
Public Relations
Establishment or maintenance of a favourable public image by a company, organization or a famous person, often through PR stunts.
PSD
Photoshop Document
A PSD is an art director’s or designer’s choice of file format.
PSA
Public Service Announcement
PSA is a message in the public interest spread to the public with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards specific social issues or events.
PTO
Paid Time Off
PTO is a time-off policy some companies have that give employees flexibility in how they use their allotted vacation and sick days.
Q | Q1/2/3/4
Quarter 1/2/3/4
The year divided in 4 quarters.
QR Code
Quick Response Barcode
Formal Description: Scannable barcodes used by marketers to bridge offline and online marketing. When people spot them, they will need to take out their phones and scan the QR code using a QR barcode scanning app. The information encoded by QR codes can include text, a URL, or other data.
Informal Description:
R | RAR
Roshal Archive
RAR is a proprietary archive file format that supports data compression, error recovery and file spanning. It was developed by a Russian software engineer, Eugene Roshal (the name RAR stands for Roshal Archive) and the RAR software is licensed by win.rar GmbH.
ROI
Return On Investment
A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency and profitability of an investment. The formula for ROI is: Gain from Investment minus Cost of Investment, divided by Cost of Investment. The result is expressed as a percentage or ratio.
RT
Retweet
A RT is a repost of another Twitter user’s tweet on your own profile.
S | SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Certain techniques to ensure websites rank higher in search results, making them more visible to viewers who are looking for a specific brand, product, or service.
SFX or SPFX
Special Effects
SFX are visual illusions/tricks used in the film and other visual media to simulate or enhance an imagined object or event in a storyline.
Sr AD/CW
Senior AD/CW
See A for AD and C for CW, but with a lot more experience under their belt.
SWOT
Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat
SWOT is a planning method that analyses those four elements of a campaign, project or business – often used in pitches.
T | TBC/TBD/TBA
To be continued / To be discussed / To be announced
A wonderful phrase account and project managers love to use when they or the client are not sure about a certain detail, especially when it comes to deadlines and budgets
TVC
Television commercial
Generally a 15/30/60sec film, which will be broadcasted on television.
T&C
Terms and Conditions
We’ve all read them.
TOV
Tone Of Voice
TOV is how a company comes expresses itself in words, both written and spoken. This can be classy or snarky etc.
U | UGC
User Generated Content
Any content which is created by unpaid contributors/fans for a campaign. The content can vary from images to videos or tweets.
UI
User Interface
A type of interface that allows users to control a software application or hardware device. It might include but is not limited to a menu bar, toolbar, windows, and buttons.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
Also known as a web address, a URL is a specific character string that refers to a resource.
UV
Unique Visitor
A person who visits a website more than once within a defined period of time. Different to overall site visits which track the amount of traffic on a website.
UX
User Experience
The experience a user has with a brand. A user experience begins at the discovery of the brand and continues onto a user’s interaction, purchase, use, and potential endorsement.
V | VR
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is an immersive, interactive experience. A computer generates a three-dimensional 360-degree environment in which the viewer can move around by rotating the head.
W | WIP
Work in Progress
This. List. Is. A. WIP.
Something unfinished. In general, never put a “Final“ in a files name, trust us.
WOM
Word-of-Mouth
Passing of information from person to person. The term originally refers to orally communicating a message. Nowadays it refers also to online communication. WOM marketing is inexpensive, but it takes a lot of work and more than often luck to get the word out.
X | .xls
Excel format Legacy Excel worksheets; officially designated “Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Worksheet”. Account managers and project managers love this file format.
Y | YCC
Young Creative Council
That’s us!
Z | ZIP
A compression of files. The name “zip” suggests the meaning “speed”. Inventor Katz wanted to imply that the product would be faster than ARC and other compression formats of the time.
# | 360
360 campaign
A campaign which incorporates both offline and online medias (or BTL and ATL campaigns). It’s a holistic campaign that covers all the bases.
1:1
One To One
A CRM (see C for CRM) strategy stressing personalised interactions with the customers to foster their loyalty and improve ROI (see R for ROI).
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