Glossary
Definitions written for performance marketers. Each page starts with a short, liftable definition (useful for AI answer engines), then explains how to use the concept in real campaigns.
UGC (User-Generated Content) ads
UGC ads are ads that look and feel like content made by a real customer or creator—shot casually, spoken naturally, and focused on experience over polish.
Hook
A hook is the first 1–3 seconds of an ad that earns attention and stops the scroll.
Creative testing
Creative testing is the process of running multiple ad variants to find which hooks, angles, offers, and formats drive better performance.
Ad fatigue
Ad fatigue happens when an audience sees the same creative too often and performance drops.
Thumbstop rate
Thumbstop rate is a measure of how well your first seconds stop a user from scrolling.
CTR (Click-through rate)
CTR is the percentage of people who clicked after seeing your ad.
CVR (Conversion rate)
CVR is the percentage of visitors who complete the desired action (purchase, signup, lead) after clicking.
ROAS (Return on ad spend)
ROAS is revenue generated divided by ad spend (e.g., 3.0x means $3 revenue per $1 spent).
CPM (Cost per 1,000 impressions)
CPM is how much you pay for 1,000 ad impressions. Lower CPM means cheaper reach; higher CPM means more expensive reach.
CAC (Customer acquisition cost)
CAC is the cost to acquire a customer (or lead), typically calculated as total acquisition spend ÷ number of customers acquired.
AOV (Average order value)
AOV is the average revenue per order, calculated as total revenue ÷ total orders.
Angle
An angle is the specific story or framing you use to sell the same product to the same audience (e.g., pain relief, speed, convenience, proof, identity).
Offer
An offer is the full value exchange: what you get, for what price, with what bonuses, guarantees, and constraints.
Objection
An objection is the reason someone hesitates to buy (price, trust, fit, effort, timing, skepticism).
Social proof
Social proof is evidence that other people like you got value from the product (reviews, testimonials, numbers, recognisable logos, results).
Direct response advertising
Direct response ads are designed to drive an immediate measurable action (purchase, signup, lead) rather than just awareness.
UGC brief
A UGC brief is a clear instruction set that tells a creator (or AI workflow) exactly what to say, show, and emphasize in a UGC-style ad.
Storyboard
A storyboard is a shot-by-shot plan of what happens in the video, aligned to the script timing and key moments.
B-roll
B-roll is supporting footage layered over the main narration to show the product, proof, or context.
Aspect ratio
Aspect ratio is the shape of the video frame (e.g., 9:16 vertical for TikTok, 1:1 square, 16:9 landscape).