Complex concepts need to be described in unambiguous terms. This is true of language as a whole, and is particularly important in digital media. As technology evolves, we need to keep up with new trends, words, and ideas—especially when they mean different things in different contexts to different people. The lexicon has to continually grow and adapt to keep up with new developments in the marketplace. Anyone in the industry who has heard the phrase “the partner asked for tags” has felt this issue first hand. “Do they mean VAST tags? Creative tags? Content Tags? Tracking Pixels?” Three emails and a kick off call later, and you—hopefully—have your answer and know what you need to do. Ambiguity is inefficient, and inefficiency can undermine your company’s ability to succeed in the complex world of digital advertising.
Words—the right words—really do matter. That’s why the IAB Digital Video Glossary is here to help. This year many member companies actively collaborated to help clarify and update definitions, and introduce 13 new terms. These updated terms serve as a guide to help foster communication between clients and partners, and to better align thoughts and ideas with specific words and meaning. The Digital Video Glossary working group has now defined 53 terms as of October 2016. As our language and technology continues to evolve, definitions will change. And as definitions change, we’ll continue to collaborate as necessary to make sure the Digital Video Glossary evolves with it.
As always, we encourage all IAB members to participate in updating this digital reference.