Marketing Acronyms: Friend or Foe?
Ahhh, acronyms. Everyone knows your standard JKs, OMGs, BFFs…the list goes on. As Geico demonstrates in their LOL-worthy commercial, we can have full-blown acronym conversations these days. The marketing industry is certainly no stranger to them; in fact, it could have its own separate acronym dictionary. Below is just a small sample of the many acronyms used by marketing professionals on a daily basis (and these are limited to those starting with the letter C!):
CTR = Click Through Rate
CPM = Cost Per Thousand Impressions
CRM = Customer Relationship Management
CPA = Cost Per Acquisition or Action
CPV = Cost Per View
CLV = Customer Lifetime Value
CTV = Connected TV
When I started my first media job out of college, I was completely overwhelmed by all of the acronyms. How would I learn them all? Should I make flashcards? How was I supposed to know what anyone was saying? My first week on the job, I got an email from my boss’s boss that read:
Subject: NBB Request
Hey Lindsay,
I know Lauren had you working on the QOD and wanted to see where you were at. I think the client was hoping to have by SSP, also remember they’re on TMNT.
LMK if you have any questions.
I panicked. WHAT DID ANY OF THIS MEAN?! I asked my other two coworkers who were also fresh out of college and we tried putting words together but nothing made sense. I sent the screenshot to my mentor begging for help. She was just as confused and asked her colleagues and no one could come up with any answers.
Eventually, he came clean and was just playing a joke on an innocent new employee (the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle acronym probably should have given that away), but it really wasn’t too far off of what our typical emails looked like. As someone new to the corporate workforce, I already felt like I had no idea what was going on, and not understanding any of the abbreviations made me feel even more clueless. But alas, I LOL’d and moved on.
My coworker and I decided to keep a running list of media acronyms and their definitions to help us keep track and train other new employees. That only lasted about a week or so until we ran out of notebook paper and eventually became fluent in the language.
After almost 10 years in the industry, I finally thought I was in the “know” when it came to marketing jargon & acronyms, but boy was I wrong. I started at Indie about a month and a half ago, and our internal Unilever team started throwing out new ones that I had never heard of before. F&R, BPC, 7OA, TAB, CCBT…I was so lost. That same clueless feeling I got from the email 10 years ago came rushing back. I had no idea what they were talking about. Was I missing something? Did I change industries? The difference now was, instead of panicking and trying to figure it out on my own, I’ve learned to stop the person mid-conversation and ask what they mean. When you use the same acronyms regularly, it’s easy to forget that not everyone in the conversation knows what they stand for. I try to have empathy and keep that in mind when speaking to clients or new employees, especially ones newer to digital advertising. Nobody likes feeling lost.
So that begs the question: are acronyms really all that useful? Sure, they come in handy when typing or writing up reports, but I have a hard time believing they save THAT much time when talking; especially when the person you’re speaking to has to spend time researching their meaning after the fact.
I once had a client use “ELI5” in a conversation. This was a first. I had to stop whatever I was doing to Google and find out that it meant ‘Explain Like I’m 5.’ How ironic. Would a 5 year old know what ELI5 means? So why not just explain the acronym to me like I’m 5 and write it out instead of making me feel foolish and have to take time to Google it? Unless everyone in the conversation is aware of each acronyms’ meaning, it’s likely not very efficient, and can sometimes come off a bit rude to assume that they should know what you’re talking about.
The Marketing industry is already saturated with jargon, and acronyms can make it even harder for outsiders to be able to understand. Richard Branson wrote a LinkedIn article where he says, “It's far better to use a simple term and commonplace words that everyone will understand, rather than showing off and annoying your audience.” Words are there for a reason, and in a world where we already have extremely short attention spans, why rush them? Let’s slow things down and spell it out when we can.
TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read - for those of you who may not know…which is totally okay!): Acronyms are used daily, especially in Marketing. They can be alienating to those who don’t know the definition. Use them wisely, ask when you don’t know, and slow things down where you can.
