# Advertising Studio audiences and its retirement

*Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator Study Guide · Channel Management · Last updated October 16, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-engagement-administrator/channel-management/advertising-studio-audiences-and-its-retirement*

What Marketing Cloud Advertising (formerly Advertising Studio) did while licensed: Advertising Audiences use cases, networks, refresh, capacity, Administrator versus Channel Manager permissions, Journey Builder ads and Lead Capture, plus the retirement (no renewals from August 15, 2026), offboarding and Data Cloud Ad Audiences.

- Certification: Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator
- Exam section: Channel Management
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/marketing-cloud-engagement-administrator

**Official exam objective:**

> Given a scenario, describe the configuration of Advertising Studio.

## What the exam expects

- State what Marketing Cloud Advertising (formerly Advertising Studio) was for, and its retirement status and successor.
- Match a goal to the Advertising Audiences use case it used: reach, acquire with lookalikes, suppress, or re-engage.
- Describe how audiences were kept current and what to do when audience capacity ran out.
- Separate what the Administrator and Channel Manager roles could do in Advertising Audiences.
- Name the prerequisites for advertising activities in Journey Builder and what Lead Capture did.
- Key terms: **Advertising Audience** (CRM data matched to an ad network for targeting); **seed audience** (customers a lookalike audience is modelled on); **lookalike audience** (prospects on the ad network who resemble the seed); **suppression** (excluding current customers from an acquisition campaign); **Lead Capture** (an AgentExchange app that brings ad leads into Salesforce); **Data Cloud Ad Audiences** (the recommended successor).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal cut-off | Not renewable starting August 15, 2026 | [Retirement of Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005166882&language=en_US&type=1) |
| Existing customers | Can use their subscription through the current term | [Retirement of Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005166882&language=en_US&type=1) |
| Successor | Data Cloud Ad Audiences | [Retirement of Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005166882&language=en_US&type=1) |
| Lead Capture | Not affected; still installable from AgentExchange | [Retirement of Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005166882&language=en_US&type=1) |
| Networks | Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Pinterest, Snapchat | [Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Refresh | Audiences could refresh automatically | [Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Capacity reached | Delete an unneeded audience or buy more from the account executive | [Create an Audience](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_create_an_audience.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Channel Manager limits | No adding users or accounts, no deleting audiences | [Roles and Permissions for Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences_roles_and_permissions.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Journey Builder ads | Needs Marketing Cloud Advertising and Journey Builder enabled | [Marketing Cloud Advertising](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_studio.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Offboarding | Delete all audiences and authorized accounts | [Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why did a suppression audience, not a lookalike, keep customers out of acquisition ads?
- When could a Marketing Cloud Advertising subscription last be renewed?
- What did an admin do when Population Stats showed every audience in use?
- Why could a Channel Manager edit audiences but not remove them?
- Which two apps had to be enabled for ad activities in a journey?

## Sources

- [Retirement of Marketing Cloud Advertising Studio](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=005166882&language=en_US&type=1)
- [Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Marketing Cloud Advertising](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_studio.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Roles and Permissions for Advertising Audiences](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_advertising_audiences_roles_and_permissions.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Create an Audience in Marketing Cloud Advertising](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_create_an_audience.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Lead Capture in Marketing Cloud Advertising](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_ads_lead_capture.htm&language=en_US&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 13 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams