retarget

verb

re·​tar·​get (ˌ)rē-ˈtär-gət 

retargeted; retargeting; retargets

transitive verb

1

: to direct (something) toward a different target

an advertising campaign that has been retargeted toward younger women

2

: to target (someone or something) again

In addition to deploying decoys, the Iraqis are painting craters onto repaired airfields so allied bombers won't retarget them.

—Time [online]

often, specifically : to advertise something to (someone, such as a past visitor to one's website) again and usually through a different medium

… Customers will rarely make a purchase the first time they engage with your brand. Because of this, your ability to successfully retarget customers through your social media campaigns can serve as a powerful reminding tool …

—Carol Sankar

… Slate … began offering advertisers the ability to retarget Slate's podcast audience with ads on Slate's website.

—Max Willens

… emails that retarget and remind customers what they've browsed on the site …

—Natasha D. Smith

the use of retargeting ads

a retargeting email

Did you know?

The verb retarget first appeared in 20th-century English with the basic meaning "to direct toward a different target." In digital advertising, retargeting has to do with directing people who have left your website back to the site by displaying ads that remind them of your site on other sites they subsequently visit. The base word target is from the early French noun targe, which was used for a light shield carried especially by footmen and archers. French targette, a diminutive form of targe, was taken into English as target in the early 15th century with its French sense. In the 18th century, the word acquired the extended sense of "a shieldlike object to shoot at for practice." In the following century, the figurative senses referring to a thing or person that is marked for attack (especially of ridicule or criticism) begin to develop. The sense of "a goal to be achieved" originated in the 20th century, often in connection with a quantity or date (as in "production targets" or "target dates").

Examples of retarget in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But instead of ringing the alarm bells, organizations can retarget their financial education programs to address the most significant issues and make a meaningful, measurable impact. —Shyam Pradheep, Forbes, 17 July 2023

Clogger would depend on access to vast amounts of personal data in order to target individuals, craft messages tailored to persuade or manipulate them, and track and retarget them over the course of a campaign. —Archon Fung, Fortune, 2 June 2023

This is the perfect way to retarget leads while continuing to care for your existing customers. —Lydia Vargo, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021

Then, retarget those video interactions with direct response content that includes an incentive. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023

If the customer is 90% likely to return on their own, should the marketing team spend their marketing dollars to retarget them or divert the funds to a different program or campaign? —Zohar Bronfman, Forbes, 1 July 2022

Industry professionals alike will likely see changes in home construction projects, so transitioning businesses focused on roofing, kitchen remodeling and landscaping to retarget what might be a new customer will be important. —Joseph Edgar, Forbes, 12 Aug. 2022

Collect pixel data and emails to retarget and remarket to people across the web, email and SMS. —Chris Gutierrez, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023

In three of the five cases, the companies' policies did not have clear language about third-party tools that might be used to retarget or reidentify users across the web for marketing. —Lily Hay Newman, Wired, 6 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!