Advertising + Copywriting Terminology Fa'26

Ad Copy

can be the headline of a display ad, the subject line of a marketing email, the call to action (CTA) of a Facebook ad, or the script of a video or TV spot.

Content

Designed to help readers discover a solution, understand it, learn about the author, read success stories, see how other companies solved their issues, and more. It may be in the form of articles, blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos, slide shows, and more. Sometimes referred to as "Help not Hype"

Copyright

he symbol ©, which means an individual or company owns the rights to certain material and can protect that material against illegal use from unauthorized agents. The purpose is to prevent illegal use of someone's work.

Content Marketing

A strategy businesses use to attract, engage, and retain customers by creating and sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other media. This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it's time to buy what you sell.

Social Media

Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

Culture Jamming

a strategy to disrupt efforts by the corporate world to dominate our cultural landscape

Plain English

writing in a style that readers can easily understand

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

Direct Marketing

Promotions are created to target a specific audience selected after a careful study of buying patterns and demographic and psychographic traits.

Guerilla Marketing

marketing of a product using unconventional means

Marketing Channels

a set of interdependent organizations that ease the transfer of ownership as products move from producer to business user or consumer

Features + Benefits

Define what a product is and why the customer should care.

Advertorial

Advertising and editorial content combined. If you think of a traditional printed magazine or newspaper, the line between ads and editorial articles is distinct—and often literal. An advertorial brings the 2 formats together to educate readers about a product through an editorial-esque storytelling experience.

Plagiarism

The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Call-to-Action

The point in which a promotion pushes (encourages) a prospect to act on an offer (e.g., make a call, place an order, sign up for mailing, click a link). Also referred to as CTA.

B2B

Business-to-business, referring to transactions or marketing strategies between companies rather than individuals.

B2C

Business-to-consumer, referring to transactions or marketing efforts directed at individual consumers rather than other businesses.

Target Audience

The specific group of consumers a business aims to reach with its marketing efforts, based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.

Pull Quote

A statement extracted from a larger piece of content, often highlighted to draw attention and emphasize a key point.

Emotional Advertising

A marketing strategy that persuades consumers by appealing to their emotions, often using storytelling, imagery, or personal experiences to create a connection.

Gladvertising

A form of advertising that combines elements of games and entertainment, designed to engage consumers while promoting a product or brand.

Romance Copy

A type of copywriting that aims to evoke feelings of love and affection, often used in marketing for products related to relationships, beauty, or special occasions.

Mandatory Copy

A type of copy that must be included in advertisements or promotions as required by law or regulation, often providing essential information such as disclaimers or terms and conditions.

Technical Writing

Technical writing is a specialized, fact-driven form of communication that translates complex information into clear, actionable, and user-friendly documentation.

Approach

The overall strategy or angle you take to reach and persuade an audience — for example, a problem-solution approach, a direct vs. indirect approach, or a soft-sell vs. hard-sell approach. It's the plan before you pick specific tactics.

campaign

A coordinated set of marketing activities with a common goal, audience, message, and timeframe, measured as one effort.

Collateral

Digital or print materials that accompany a primary advertising campaign. Before the internet, "collateral" was practically synonymous with brochures that supported TV commercials; today it can be any printed or digital piece that supports and extends a campaign, like websites, landing pages, and banner ads.

Reach

Reach is the total number of people exposed to your message — if you mail to 10,000 addresses, your reach is 10,000.

Frequency

the number of times those people are exposed to it — mailing that same list three times is a frequency of three. In short: impressions = reach × frequency.

Self-Promotion

Marketing yourself, your skills, or your business to others — for a copywriter/freelancer, that means your portfolio, website, LinkedIn, newsletter, and pitches, used to reach new audiences and win clients.

Sales Promotion

Short-term incentives to encourage a faster or larger purchase — coupons, discounts, rebates, contests, buy-one-get-one offers, samples. It's one of the four types in the promotional mix, alongside advertising, personal selling, and publicity.

Search Engine Marketing

Paid advertising on a search engine results page (SERP), also called paid search. Keywords in a search query trigger SEM ads, which usually appear at the top of results; most SEM is pay-per-click, so you're only charged if someone clicks.