Working with an advertising agency often means measurable results, friendly customer service, and creative ideas that drive brand awareness. But it also can mean confusing jargon. Here are some common marketing terms you may come across, such as A/B Testing, while working on your next campaign.

A/B Testing

An A/B test helps determine which concept will yield better results. Two different versions (version A and version B) of an advertising vehicle, such as a digital ad, direct mail piece, or commercial, are presented to different audiences and the results are measured by a certain metric (clicks on a digital ad, visits to a webpage, etc.).

When one version outperforms another, all of the marketing budget is reallocated to the winner. This makes sure that you don’t waste your money on a concept that doesn’t yield results.

Audience

Much like the audience in a theater, your audience is who you’re talking to. This can vary slightly from “target audience,” which is specifically who you’re TRYING to talk to.

You may have an audience of mainly baby boomers, meaning they’re the demographic that frequently uses your service or shops in your stores. If you then try to break out and attract millennials, the millennial audience becomes your target audience.

Placements of any form of advertising are chosen strategically based on demographic and psychographic research of your target audience. This saves you money by not paying to place an ad in front of a disinterested group of people.

Awareness

Marketing efforts are not always trying to reach the same goal. Big, well-known companies, like Macy’s or Coca Cola, may choose to run an advertising campaign because they have a promotion coming up that will increase sales.

The ads will focus on the promotion without having to explain to the audience who or what the company is. Smaller companies that are just starting out usually advertise with the goal of garnering brand awareness.

Building awareness means that you’re familiarizing your audience with your brand. Other examples of awareness campaigns are PSAs.

Non-profit organizations may use marketing to build public awareness to issues like second-hand smoke, climate change, or domestic violence. Here are some great examples of campaigns meant to build public awareness.