---
title: "Targeting"
slug: "targeting"
updated: 2025-04-10T18:03:10Z
published: 2025-04-10T18:03:10Z
canonical: "help.tritondigital.com/targeting"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.tritondigital.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Targeting

> [!NOTE]
> Also see:
> 
> - [Creating Flight Targeting Rules](/user/docs/creating-flight-targeting-rules)
> - [Understanding Flight Targeting Rules](/user/docs/targeting#understanding-flight-targeting-rules)
> - [Content Targeting and Content Access](/user/docs/content-targeting-and-content-access)
> - [Managing Targeting Rules](/user/docs/managing-targeting-rules)
> - [Using Targeting Templates](/user/docs/using-targeting-templates)[Using Targeting Templates](/user/docs/settings-targeting-templates)
> - [Audience Segments Targeting](/user/docs/audience-segments-targeting)
> - [Contextual Targeting](/user/docs/contextual-targeting)
> - [Targeting Rules Usage Notes](/user/docs/targeting-rules-usage-notes)
> - [Custom TTag Targeting](/user/docs/custom-ttag-targeting)
> - [Ad Quality Rules](/user/docs/ad-quality-rules)
> - [Exclusivity Rules](/user/docs/exclusivity-rules)

Targeting is one of the most useful and powerful aspects of TAP. It allows you to target the listeners for you ads very broadly or very narrowly. Generally speaking, broadly targeted ads have more delivery opportunities but typically at a lower rate, and narrowly targeted ads have fewer delivery opportunities but are more valuable when they do deliver.

Tutorial: Targeting in tap (Duration: 16:27)

[Embedded content](https://player.vimeo.com/video/545150255)

This video shows an earlier version of TAP. The general principles discussed remain the same, but some features and interface elements have since changed.

In TAP, targeting is managed at both the **flight** level and the **creative** level.

- **Flight targeting** is the primary way to apply targeting rules. You can create simple or sophisticated targeting rules for targeting by **content**, **listener**, or **time**.
- **Creative targeting** lets you apply targeting rules to specific ad units, and should only be used when the targeting is designed to delivery different ad units depending on the targeting rule.

> [!NOTE]
> Targeting is normally done at the flight level
> 
> Use creative-level targeting only when your media assets change according to the targeting criteria for time, listener, or content.

## Understanding Flight Targeting Rules

There are three **types** of flight targeting rules (**content**, **listener**, and **time**), and each is divided into different **categories**, which in turn are split into **selections**. The abbreviated list below demonstrates this essential breakdown:

- **(Type) Content**
  - (**Category**) Stations/podcasts
    - (*Selection*) Station 1
    - (*Selection*) Station 2
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
  - (**Category**) Station/podcast genre
    - (*Selection*) Adult contemporary
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
  - (**Category**) Episodes
    - (*Selection*) Episode 1
    - (*Selection*) Episode 2
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
- **(Type) Listener**
  - (**Category**) Player user agent
    - (*Selection*) Apple TV
    - (*Selection*) Google Home
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
  - (**Category**) Demography gender
    - (*Selection*) Male
    - (*Selection*) Female.
  - (**Category**) Geography Location
    - (*Selection*) Canada
    - (*Selection*) Spain
    - (*Selection*) United States
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
- **(Type) Time**
  - (**Category**) Day of week
    - (*Selection*) Monday
    - (*Selection*) Tuesday
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.
  - (**Category**) Hour of day
    - (*Selection*) 1:00PM
    - (*Selection*) *etc*.

### Include and Exclude (Match/Not Match)

When you **include** (*match*) one or more selections, all other items at that selection level are **excluded** (*not matched*) by default. For example, in the illustration below (**Listener targeting > User agent OS**), "Android" and "Apple iOS" are selected to be included/matched. It is not necessary to *explicitly exclude* the others, because they are *implicitly* excluded/not matched,

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684254929211.png)

> [!NOTE]
> You cannot combine **includes** (match) and **excludes** (not match) items into the same rule. You can, however, create separate rules for match and not-match, such as combining a Listener targeting rule that matches **User agent platform: Mobile App** with a listener targeting rule that does not match **Gender: Male**. This essentially targets female and "other" gender listeners who are using mobile apps. (For details see "[AND" Rules vs. "OR" Rules](/v1/docs/targeting#and-rules-vs-or-rules).)
> 
> ![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684255030293.png)

Typically, you use **exclude** when you want most of the items in that category included but with only a few exceptions. For example, if you had an ad promoting Google Home devices, you might **exclude** "Google Home" (**Listener targeting > User agent device > Google Home)** meaning it would play on **all other** devices *except* Google Home (on the assumption that the ad is targeting users of other devices in order to entice them to switch to Google Home).

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684255090543.png)

To create an **exclude** (*not match*) rule, simply select the items you wish to exclude from targeting and click **Not match**. The list item icons change from a check mark to an "X" to indicate you are in **Not match** mode, and the selected items at the bottom appear with a red "X" to indicate this is a **not match** rule.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684255169324.png)

For more information about include (match) and exclude (not match), see [Targeting Rules Usage Notes](/v1/docs/targeting-rules-usage-notes).

### "AND" Rules vs. "OR" Rules

**AND** rules and **OR** rule sets are created separately. When you create a rule, such as **listener gender "include females,"** you can add additional **AND** rules to it, such as **listener location "Include Canada."** The result is a rule that targets **females listening from Canada** (Females AND Canada).

To add another AND rule, click **Add AND targeting rule**. To add an **OR** rule, click **Create OR set**:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684255275134.png)

Once you add an OR set, it appears in the targeting rules section, separated from the AND rules with an "OR" indicator:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/image-1684255299531.png)

1. AND indicator. AND sets are grouped together.
2. OR indicator. OR sets are separated from AND sets.

**AND/OR logic examples:**

- Include Canada **AND**include females:
  - Listener must be in Canada **and** be female.
- Include Canada **OR**include females:
  - Listener can be of any gender as long as they are in Canada, and listener can be at any location as long as they are female.
  - *This is a poorly constructed rule, as it is difficult to predict how it will deliver*.
- Include stations of classic rock Shoutcast format **AND**include age 50-65:
  - Ad will deliver on classic rock stations to listeners between the ages of 50-65.
- Include stations of classic rock Shoutcast format **AND**exclude age 50-65:
  - Ad will deliver on classic rock stations to all listeners except those known to be between the ages of 50-65.

#### "All of" vs. "Any of"

Some of the targeting options that include lists, or series of selections, include a switch to choose between "all of" the selected items and "any of" the selected items.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/Targeting-any-all.png)

**All of selected:**

- The rule is only applied when **all** of the selected items are matched. In the image above of a TTag rule (on the left), targeting is applied only when **all of auto:ford**, **auto:4wd**, and **auto:suv** are matched,

**Any of selected:**

- The rule is applied when **any** of the selected items is matched. In the image above of a TTag rule (on the right), targeting is applied when **any of auto:ford**, **auto:4wd**, or **auto:suv** is matched,