If key players aren’t talking about data and the benefits it brings, they’re raving about a range of data technologies - referring to each existing system by its media acronym. 

Over the years, the abbreviations in our space have quickly piled up, creating more than a little bit of confusion.

Top 20 Media Acronyms You Need to Know

As an employee working in the media landscape, it’s become so easy to fall into the trap of getting one media acronym mixed up with another (especially as they all sound so similar). 

To avoid miscommunications, it’s imperative that your team does their research to memorise all the relevant media acronyms. This could aid your business significantly and boost your performance long into the future. 

1. Data Technology - Media Acronyms

In the first category of media acronyms fall the range of different data technology in our market, which include (but is not limited to):

1. CDP = Customer Data Platforms, a piece of software that consolidates vast amounts of data into actionable insights, primarily 1st party data.
2. DMP = Data Management Platforms, a digital application that organises data from different sources - historically using 3rd party cookies.
3. DWH = Data Warehouses, a singular and sophisticated repository that is used to analyse decision-making data.
4. KVD = Key-Value Databases, a storage system that retrieves, manages, and structures organisational data.
5. DCR = Data Clean Rooms, a privacy-friendly data technology that anonymises insights to provide shareable information.
6. DL = Data Lakes, a centralized and comprehensive repository that enables the storage of structured and unstructured data.

Each of these media acronyms has started to be used by media companies daily, making them more and more likely to crop up in regular conversation.

2. Data Privacy - Media Acronyms

Next up on the list is one of the most important sets of media acronyms. It’s a group that revolves entirely around consumer privacy, like:

7. CMP = Consent Management Platforms, a technology that is used to gather approval from users to legally process their data.
8. GDPR = General Data Protection Regulation, a set of strict legislations that enforce the importance of cybersecurity.
9. PII = Personally Identifiable Information, a piece of data that can be used to identify a specific individual from a crowd.

In a world where regulation has been getting increasingly stricter, the use of these abbreviations is going to become more and more frequent. Make sure they’re on your list.

3. Media Marketplaces - Media Acronyms

Following this, we have a group of media acronyms that refer to the advertising platforms that buyers and sellers in our industry use to interact with each other, such as:

10. OMP = Open Market Places, an auction where media owners offer advertising inventory to multiple interested buyers.
11. PMP = Private Market Places, an auction where media owners offer advertising inventory to a limited audience of buyers.
12. SSP = Supply Side Platforms, an advertising technology that allows publishers to sell adverts and build revenue in an automated way
13. DSP = Demand Side Platforms, an advertising technology that allows buyers to search advertising inventories and purchase spots.
14. UID = Universal ID, an identifier that recognises the user in the digital marketing ecosystem. This ID, and the information associated with it, can be passed through to the supply chain and approved partners within it. 
15. PPID = Publisher-Provided Identifiers, are IDs used by a publisher and assigned to users who are logged in on their website. They are encrypted and alphanumeric. 
16. SDA = Seller-Defined Audiences, a technical specification that allows audience monetization without revealing user identities.
17. DD = Direct Deal, a method of media buying where the bid is determined by a pre-negotiated amount.

With media’s digital ecosystem continuing to grow year after year, the opportunities these different servers present are well worth keeping an eye on.

4. Sales and Marketing - Media Acronyms

Then comes a bunch of media acronyms that are based less on technology and more on the space we work in: 

18. DCO = Dynamic Creative Optimisation, a technology that allows advertisers to maximise the performance of their creatives including dynamic messaging 
19. CRM = Customer Relationship Management, a system where businesses can store records of customers and transactions in a consolidated way.
20. PPC = Pay Per Click, a type of advert where buyers pay for every user interaction (regardless of outcome).

Most frequently used by marketing and advertising employees, understanding these media acronyms will help you navigate the world around you. 

Beyond this, 1P Data, 2P Data, and 3P Data are terms that you could also come across - referring to first, second, and third-party data respectively.

How to Learn Media Acronyms

Even if you’ve been part of this industry for years, the number of media acronyms used on a day-to-day basis is overwhelming.

Even when you’ve finally become familiar with the current list, it seems like more get added as the technology available to our industry continues to grow.  

Thankfully, with the assistance of mediarithmics, you’ll soon find yourself comfortably informed and up-to-date with the latest abbreviations.