Google Data » Neha

Google TV Ads: Wired about Cable

Neha — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Google expands operator footprint in the start of 2011 with 18 cable providers, 68 networks, and 2M additional homes

We’re excited to start off 2011 with a strategic agreement that continues to grow the reach of Google TV Ads. Our newest inventory partner, Viamedia, is a provider of advertising sales services to partners including 18 of the top 30 cable operators in the US. By partnering with Viamedia, Google adds 2 million homes to the TV Ads system on 68 popular cable networks across 18 cable operators.

This continued growth of our platform means 37 million cable, satellite, and telco homes in the US are now integrated into Google TV Ads. Our platform now offers 1,200 GRPs and 1.5 billion available impressions each week for advertisers to target through one simple interface.

Both Viamedia and Google are forward-looking in our approach to television advertising, making this a natural collaboration. We are thrilled to to welcome our new partners and offer our advertisers greater reach across the television universe.

Posted by Mark Piesanen, Strategic Partner Development for Google TV Ads

Launched: Only Pay for Your Target Audience

Neha — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:44:00 +0000

We’re excited to announce the ability to only pay for the audience delivered on your Google TV Ads campaigns. Google TV Ads has always emphasized accountability - advertisers only pay for the households that are tuned into their ads. Now, there’s another accountable option for advertisers and agencies: buying based on the demographic audience that is tuned into your ad.

Google TV Ads offers a rich set of tools to help you find the networks and shows that best reach your desired audience. We’re now taking that advanced functionality to the next level by offering you a choice to bid on and only pay for the relevant audience you’re interested in; you don’t pay for the audience you’re not interested in reaching.

For example, if you are primarily interested in reaching males 18-49, you’d simply create a campaign, indicate that you want to reach males 18-49, and specify the most you’re willing to pay on a cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) basis for in-demo viewers.

Screenshot: Advertisers now have the choices to bid on households, or on a specific demographic audience.

After you’ve defined an audience, Google TV Ads’ tools will help find the spots that deliver that audience in the highest concentrations based on aggregate viewership data, and you choose which networks, dayparts and programs you wish to add to your campaign.

If you indicate that you wanted to bid on an audience, you will only pay for the viewers that fall into that audience and were tuned-in to your ad. To measure the number of in-demo viewers for a spot, Google TV Ads uses a combination of Nielsen viewership data, aggregate demographic data and anonymous set-top-box data. The audience buying option will be available on all cable TV networks and dayparts we carry that are also measured by Nielsen.

For some advertisers and agencies who regularly advertise on TV, this feature brings an audience buying option to Google TV Ads that you’re already familiar with. For other advertisers, this feature provides an improved and more efficient way to choose and buy your exact audience on national television.

To learn more about Google TV Ads, please check out our website.

Posted by Steve Stukenborg, Product Manager for Google TV Ads

New Year’s Resolution Webinar — What You Missed

Neha — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:54:00 +0000

If you missed our recent webinar on ways to reach New Year's "Resolutionaries" interested in diet, fitness, supplements, wellness, rehab and treatment products and services, don't worry. That doesn't mean you have to miss out on the content presented! Here's a quick snapshot:

While it makes sense that the New Year season sees lifts in business for health and fitness related industries, did you know that consumer consideration happens well before the New Year? Take a look at these snapshots of search volume trends going from December 2009 into January 2010.

Caption: Google Trends snapshot of search trends for diet and fitness keywords from December 2009 - January 2010

So, how do you make sure to stand out in a season when interest in these categories is growing? Shift budgets at anytime to increase visibility across media like television the week of December 26 to generate brand awareness and search momentum. Get really targeted by choosing networks and programs that appeal to your audience or are related in context to your products (e.g. choose a fitness-related show if you are selling gym equipment).

Thanks to the flexibility of Google TV Ads, you can dial budgets up or down, edit targets or add new creative at anytime. If you don't have a campaign yet but have a video ad, it takes minutes to set-up your TV ads campaign before you leave for the holidays.We even have targeting tools that do all the work in finding the right places for you ad. So simply set a campaign start date, budget and maximum CPM and our system will do the work while you enjoy your holiday weekend!

If you'd like more information on how to get started broadcasting 100+ networks to drive momentum into the New Year, contact adwords-support@google.com.

Posted by Andrew Stinger for Google TV Ads

Gear Up for the New Year with Google TV Ads’ Healthcare-Focused Webinar

Neha — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Free Google hosted webinar on December 9, 2010 at 1:30pm EST/10:30am PST – RSVP Today!

Americans spend billions each year on diet and health programs, fitness, and wellness – especially when the New Year rolls around. Resolution themed search queries steadily increase this time of year, indicating heightened consumer attentiveness to health and fitness related products and services. We want to be sure you're equipped to take advantage of this seasonal phenomenon by fine-tuning your TV campaigns to maximize reach with the right audiences.

Businesses in the health and fitness vertical are welcome to join us on December 9th to learn how the Google TV Ads platform can help you make the most of your TV dollars during this critical time of year. We will cover a number of topics including:

Live Demo of the Google TV Ads platform
Tips & Tricks to unlock hidden opportunities with Google TV Ads
Synchronizing TV campaigns with your online marketing activities
Tactical recommendations for campaign structure and timing

Spots are limited and registration is required to attend, so please register today.

Posted by Andrew Stinger for Google TV Ads

This is big. This is FiOS + Google TV Ads

Neha — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 14:01:00 +0000

Reach, precision, utility and measurement. These are the qualities we strive to deliver to customers, and we're getting better at it everyday. Today we've strengthened the reach of the Google TV Ads platform even further by signing a partnership with Verizon FiOS TV, one of the fastest growing television providers with the largest fiber-optic network in the US. By adding over 50 networks on Verizon FiOS TV across 3.3 million homes, we can offer you growing access to the audiences you want to reach on television.

By early 2011, advertisers will be able to reach 35 million households, or almost one-third of all US cable and satellite homes through Google TV Ads. Combine this reach with our digital buying platform, and you have one powerful solution that can deliver results.

Like Google, Verizon cares deeply about the evolution and future of TV advertising. Together we're thrilled to establish this partnership to offer great inventory and access to your audience via the Google TV Ads platform.

Posted by Mark Piesanen, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Google TV Ads

Last Days to Vote on Your Favorite Ads!

Neha — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:32:00 +0000

We're excited by the momentum of the TV for All contest this year which brought in hundreds of video submissions and tons of energy from businesses across the nation. Now, seven finalists (announced last month) are counting on your votes to crown the top three winners. Visit the contest brand channel, and click on the 'vote' tab to view entries and cast your votes.

Voting will close on Tuesday, November 9th before the clock strikes midnight. So speak up today and tell us which businesses you think deserve $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 in TV and video advertising through Google AdWords to kick start their media campaigns.

If you didn't have a chance to enter your business this year, you can still learn about Google TV Ads and how it makes launching national TV campaigns easy and affordable. Stuck in the ad creation process? No problem, check out Google's Ad Creation Marketplace or SpotMixer's simple ad creation tools which make ad creation easy on you and your budget.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

FUNimation Entertainment Increases Sales by 35%

Neha — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:46:00 +0000

When you think about anime, you probably think of two things: Japanese cartoons of an adult nature, and kids shows like Pokémon. That limited view of the medium is exactly the problem that FUNimation Entertainment, the largest distributor of anime in the US, was facing when it turned to Google TV Ads and In-Stream video to raise awareness and expand its audience.

FUNimation’s media manager, Catherine Kim, explains, “65 to 70% of our customers are males, ages 18-34, with an interest in gaming and comics. Our challenge is growing our audience beyond that core demographic. We have to break down a lot of misconceptions and build awareness.” Realizing that its product could only truly shine with advertising that incorporated sight, sound and motion, FUNimation decided to expand its media mix to include television and online video.

Above: A screen shot from Afro Samurai: Resurrection, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson - one of hundreds of titles distributed by FUNimation.

FUNimation’s TV campaign consisted of 35 television networks, including ESPN, MTV and USA. Online, the company ran commercial on YouTube and Google Display Network partner sites including Marvel.com, Sonybmg.com and WWE.com. By using Google’s advanced measurement tools and with the flexibility of the system, FUNimation was able to optimize its buy to maximize results.

“The results were immediately apparent,” says Catherine. When compared to pre-campaign levels, FUNimation saw a 44% increase in new visitors to its website and a 35% increase in DVD sales for the promoted product line.

“Marketing is all about testing, and testing can be a challenge with a limited budget. With Google TV Ads and In-Stream online videos, we can find out what works best for us and grow our market. I know that makes me sound like a Google dork, but it’s just the truth,” remarks Catherine. If you want to become a Google dork yourself, you can read the full case study or visit us at google.com/tvads.

Posted by David Mogensen, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

It’s Voting Season: Choose Your Favorite TV for All Entries

Neha — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:16:00 +0000

Voting season is heating up around the country and even here at Google -- it's time to cast your votes for the TV for All contest! We asked businesses to get creative, produce a video ad and enter for a chance to win up to $25,000 in TV and video advertising through Google AdWords. We had an incredible response from hundreds of businesses of all types and sizes. Last week, our panel of judges narrowed down the entrants seven finalists.

Now, it's your turn to help crown the ultimate three winners of the contest. Visit www.youtube.com/tvforall to view each finalist and cast your votes through November 9th. With your participation, you can help three deserving businesses win $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 in TV and video advertising media to kick start their aspirations of broadcasting their businesses. Don't forget to vote by November 9th!

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

It’s Voting Season: Choose Your Favorite TV for All Entries

Neha — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:16:00 +0000

Kantar Media Partners with Google TV Ads to Provide Enhanced Audience Data

Neha — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Advertisers will soon receive even more accurate ad performance and viewership data for Google TV Ads campaigns aired on DIRECTV. We’ve signed an agreement with Kantar Media, a leading audience measurement and research firm, to incorporate set-top-box data collected from 100,000 DIRECTV subscribers as part of Kantar Media’s DIRECTView™ service.

Earlier this year, we announced a partnership with DIRECTV which will bring advertising inventory across a broad selection of its networks to our system in 2011. By integrating Kantar’s DIRECTV viewership data into our system, we’ll be able to provide much more robust performance data for spots aired on DIRECTV. For advertisers, this means more accurate impression counts and viewership metrics leading to increased efficiency of your TV campaigns.

We hope to integrate this new data into our system in early 2011. To learn more about how Google TV Ads can help you achieve your marketing goals, please visit our website.

Post by Vinay Bhargava, Strategic Partnership Development for Google TV Ads

Kantar Media Partners with Google TV Ads to Provide Enhanced Audience Data

Neha — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Post by Vinay Bhargava, Strategic Partnership Development for Google TV Ads

Last Call for Submissions for the TV for All Contest

Neha — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:12:00 +0000

The TV For All contest is going strong with fantastic submissions and a growing number of channel views everyday. On October 12th, the submission period will be closed -- so if you haven't entered yet, there are four more days to do so! Remember, after October 12th, a panel of expert judges will view all submissions and choose the top 10. The YouTube community will then pick the top three winners who will receive up to $25,000 in TV and video advertising with Google. This is a lucrative opportunity to not only win major media dollars, but to get invaluable exposure for your business on YouTube. Good luck!

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Calling all businesses for a chance to win $25k in Google TV and video advertising

Neha — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:57:00 +0000

We're thrilled to announce the second annual TV for All contest, where businesses have the opportunity to win $25,000 in national advertising on Google TV Ads, and online video partner sites including YouTube.

We originally launched this contest last year and received nearly 250 submissions. Three winners, including Owners.com, won free TV media through Google and successfully extended their brands across the nation.

"It's always exciting to see what other marketers think of your work," says George Karavaras of Owners.com on why the company entered TV for All in 2009. The best part, he says, is that "it doesn't take a lot of time or money to create a high impact TV ad through Google's creative network."

Now it's your turn! Entering is easy: simply create a video ad for your business, upload it to YouTube and submit it to our TV for All Channel between September 15th and October 12th. If you don't have a video ad or the tools to create one, professional tools by SpotMixer will be available for free to help entrants make polished ads in just minutes.

Three winners whose ads best exemplify creativity and a compelling message will receive $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 in national TV and online video advertising using Google AdWords.

If you're never promoted your business using TV and video, then the TV for All contest is your chance to get started. Check back for more details as our contest progresses and visit www.youtube.com/tvforall for more details and to enter today.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Calling all businesses for a chance to win $25k in Google TV and video advertising

Neha — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:57:00 +0000

Hot Summer TV Premieres

Neha — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Summer is in full swing, and so is the summer TV season. There are some great new shows and old favorites returning this season which bring prime opportunity for advertisers to reach their audiences. Google TV Ads offers inventory across more than 98 networks and enables anyone to create and air TV ads nationally. Here just some of the highlights from this summer's TV season.

With season four debuting on Sunday, July 25th, Mad Men fans are buzzing with excitement. For advertisers, this is a great opportunity to reach an upscale and educated audience. Target Mad Men across DISH Network's 14M homes and align your message with this high caliber show by creating a Google TV Ads campaign today. The series which won three consecutive Golden Globes and two Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series, airs on AMC Sunday nights at 10pm.

On August 1st, AMC will also debut its original series Rubicon with two back-to-back 60m episodes at 8pm. The show promises to 'tap into our collective paranoia' by chronicling an intelligence analyst who cracks codes for a living. This show is a great chance to target adults 21+ who are interested in sci-fi and thrillers.

Also this summer, the Real Housewives franchise is expanding again -- this time to Washington DC. Bravo will debut The Real Housewives of DC at 10pm beginning on Thursday, August 5th. Early August also sees the return of The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. Season three opens August 3rd at 11pm and during the new season, viewers will catch appearances of Zoe's high-profile clients including Gwen Stefani and Demi Moore. Both shows can be targeted across 14M homes through our platform which enables you to target these specific programs without having to buy any bundled inventory.

Finally, don't forget the exciting tournaments coming up in the world of tennis. Through our partnership with Tennis Channel, advertisers can get in on the action during the US Open and reach the network's entire audience of 28M tennis and sports lovers. The US Open tournament runs from August 30th through September 12th and will feature over 30 matches amongst the best in the game.

There are so many more prime opportunities on TV this summer, be sure to take advantage of the great media that's easily accessible through Google TV Ads.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Hot Summer TV Premieres

Neha — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:55:00 +0000

TV Ads Enable Vat19.com to Grow Sales and Web Traffic

Neha — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:18:00 +0000

Today we're thrilled to turn the reins over to our guest blogger, Jamie Salvatori of Vat19.com. We hope to continue inviting our partners and advertisers to contribute on occasion so that you can get the scoop on their stories and experiences. We kick off this series with guest blogger Jamie Salvatori, owner of Vat19.com, a purveyor of "curiously awesome products." In other words, they make it easy to find and buy really cool and interesting stuff. Vat19.com has been using Google TV Ads for nearly two years with impressive results and was recently profiled by Practical Ecommerce, a publication focused on online merchants. Read on to hear Jamie discuss his company's success with television advertising.

In December of 2008, we ran our first test using Google TV Ads. Although the holidays are our busiest time of year, I wasn't expecting to make much money. I simply wanted to test the system. And I was instantly blown away.

Traditional TV advertising, in my experience, required negotiating separate deals with individual networks or cable and satellite providers. This proved time-consuming and cumbersome and I never knew if I was getting as good a deal as the business down the street. Not to mention that I had to plan far in advance, pay up front, wait weeks to find out when and if my spots ran, and I couldn't make changes to my campaign without tons of work and extreme patience. I had given up on TV advertising after three expensive campaigns that provided only mediocre results.

So, when I stumbled across Google TV Ads, I was obviously intrigued. It seemed like this system would give me the opportunity to dip my toe back into the water of TV advertising without wasting a ton of time or committing to an obscene spend.

I setup a campaign in a few hours, uploaded three spots, and was on TV in about 48 hours total. By using a simple "how did you hear about us?" question during our online checkout process, I determined that I broke even on the three week campaign. This was amazing! Because our spots lie somewhere between direct response and brand building, it typically takes longer to build the frequency required to achieve that kind of result.

My small test in 2008 convinced me to run campaigns throughout all of 2009. I used the extensive reporting features within Google TV Ads to refine my campaigns periodically throughout the year. My TV advertising throughout 2009 produced revenue of approximately three times the advertising spend. Naturally, I see no end in sight to my TV advertising via the Google TV Ads platform.

I believe that advertising on Google TV Ads has greatly increased brand awareness for our store, Vat19.com. The amount of direct traffic to our website has more than doubled in the last year.

My company is small and I love the fact that I am able to administer my entire TV advertising program myself. My sales have increased three-fold in the past three years and undoubtedly, Google TV Ads has been an integral part of that success.

Posted by guest blogger Jamie Salvatori, Owner, Vat19.com

TV Ads Enable Vat19.com to Grow Sales and Web Traffic

Neha — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:18:00 +0000

I believe that advertising on Google TV Ads has greatly increased brand awareness for our store, Vat19.com. The amount of direct traffic to our website has more than doubled in the last year.

Posted by guest blogger Jamie Salvatori, Owner, Vat19.com

In Conversation with Tennis Channel

Neha — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:46:00 +0000

With the French Open coming to an exciting close and Wimbledon just around the corner, it's certainly a busy time for our newest partners, Tennis Channel who are in the center of the action. We were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Gary Herman, Senior Vice President of Ad Sales for Tennis Channel who gave us the scoop on Tennis Channel's programming, core audience, and why partnering with Google has been a good move.

Q: Why is a partnership with Google TV Ads strategic for Tennis Channel?

Gary: Google's TV ads platform creates a marketplace for online advertisers who might not have considered buying television before. No other online company has the breadth of advertisers, resources and credibility that Google brings to the table. Google's auction-based platform is a new way of buying media and we like the idea of staying ahead of the curve.

Q: What are some of the most exciting programs and content that advertisers can look forward to targeting on Tennis Channel?

Gary: Tennis Channel produces and airs more live, world class tennis tournaments than any other cable or broadcast channel in the US. Advertisers buying through Google TV Ads will have plenty of access to all this great content including the opportunity to buy ads during each of the tennis Grand Slams: The Australian Open (January), French Open, (May/June), Wimbledon prime time (June/July) and the US Open (September).

Q: Can you give us an overview of Tennis Channel's core audience?

Gary: Tennis Channel viewers represent the sweet spot of affluent customers. Our audience is balanced between men (57%) and women (43%), young people (two-thirds are under 50 and active) and of course tennis lovers (76% play tennis regularly).

According to the most recent Mendelsohn 2009 Affluent Survey, our average viewers' household income is $233k, the highest of any network featured in the study, and average home values are over $549k -- second only to Bloomberg Television. Our viewers love to travel, dine out, shop at high-end retailers, make online purchases and are early technology adopters.

Q: Given that your audience is amongst the higher end in television, what kinds of advertisers would Tennis Channel appeal to most?

Gary: Our network is ideal for advertisers targeting affluent men and women consumers in a programming environment that is family friendly with minimal commercial skipping and limited commercial clutter. Advertisers find value in knowing that their brand messages are seen by consumers with the disposable income to make purchases even in today's challenging economic times. Some of our key advertisers represent categories such as luxury cars, financial services, insurance, travel, credit cards, technology, pharmaceuticals, and health and beauty.

Q: Are you seeing a change in the way the TV industry is thinking about content, distribution and advertising? How has Tennis Channel innovated in these areas?

Gary: We like being in the sports programming business with television as the main screen; tennis looks great on a 42" high definition screen. The challenge for programmers and advertisers from our point of view, is staying relevant with audiences in a world where the average person receives over 5,000 branded messages per day and can get content on so many devices with different screen sized at any time of day. We know that tennis is an important part of our viewers' lives, and providing them with 24/7 tennis programming by default makes Tennis Channel extremely relevant to them. The clear benefit to our advertisers is that our viewers are more likely to be receptive to ad messages when those messages are aired during their favorite sports programming.

Q: What is something that people might find surprising about Tennis Channel, its content and/or its audience?

Gary: Many people are surprised to hear that there are as many tennis players today as golfers -- tennis is back in a big way and it's catching on with fans of all ages. As for our channel, eyebrows raise when fans realize that Tennis Channel not only airs match play, but we actually produce hundreds and hundreds of hours of live tennis from all over the world including ESPN2's coverage of the US Open Summer Series. There is never a dull moment in tennis, and we're there to catch it all.

Posted by Hana Chang, Strategic Partner Development Manager for Google TV Ads

Google TV Brings Innovation Into the Living Room

Neha — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:49:00 +0000

As you may have heard last week, Google announced the release of Google TV, an open source platform that will enable viewers to search and access all video content on their TVs. Content across live TV listings, DVR recordings, web-based video sites and the entire internet will be accessible through the television set.

While Google TV is completely separate from Google TV Ads, we see this new platform as an exciting innovation in television, solidifying Google's commitment to this space. We’re excited about the new possibilities this opens up for the TV world and hope as a company to continue pushing innovation across media.

To learn more about Google TV, please visit www.google.com/tv. There is a short video posted on this site which provides a high level overview of the platform.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Welcoming our Newest Teammates: Tennis Channel

Neha — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:28:00 +0000

We're happy to announce Tennis Channel as Google TV Ads' newest partner. The network is the premiere destination on TV for all things tennis, bringing a lot of value to advertisers, as it attracts a highly affluent audience across 28M homes and carries all major tournaments and grand slams, sometimes exclusively.

Advertisers can log into Google TV Ads today to target dayparts and programs on Tennis Channel, including premiere spots during major tournaments such as the upcoming French and US Opens. During tournaments, Tennis Channel opens up network access to millions of homes, reaching up to 50M homes during these times!

We hope our advertisers are as excited as we are to access even more targeted audience reach through our growing platform.

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

DISH and Google TV Ads Strengthen Partnership

Neha — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:34:00 +0000

For the past three years, DISH Network has been one of Google's strongest partners in the TV advertising space. Back in 2007, DISH embraced our emerging TV ads platform by signing on as our first partner and has since been an innovative thought leader with Google throughout the growth of this business.

We're happy to announce that we've renewed and strengthened our partnership with DISH Network and will continue to offer great inventory across over 95 networks on DISH. Through Google's TV Ads platform, advertisers can continue targeting audiences across networks like Animal Planet, CNN, MSNBC, NFL Network, TBS, USA and over 90 others. Stay on the lookout for more new features and targeting options coming soon to our platform!

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Introducing the TV Ads Strategy guide

Neha — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:34:00 +0000

For many businesses, TV advertising is an entirely new medium that is both intriguing and seemingly intimidating. The most common questions we get from advertisers who are newer to TV revolve around how to strategically budget, target and measure TV campaigns.

In response to advertisers' feedback and questions, I'd like to introduce the TV Ads Strategy Guide, a comprehensive resource that aids advertisers in planning, creating and managing successful TV campaigns. Through simple examples and instruction, the guide walks through strategies advertisers might consider when building ads and campaigns. After reading through the guide, you'll have more information to answer questions like: How much do I need to spend? Is this the right medium for my business? What makes a good TV ad?

We hope this guide will be a helpful resource as you plan and launch successful TV campaigns that drive results!

Posted by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Google TV Ads: A Year in Review

Neha — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:22:00 +0000

2009 has been a break through year for our advertisers, inventory partners, and the TV Ads platform. We have worked with thousands of advertisers to target TV campaigns more effectively, and our network has grown to include 17 inventory partners. Google TV Ads exceeded 100 billion served impressions in 2009, as we continue to engineer solutions for better targeted and more relevant ads. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on an exciting year and thank our partners and advertisers who have enabled each success.

In the last year we established key partnerships with industry leaders to bring more inventory and technology driven measurement and targeting capabilities to TV and video advertisers. Here are some highlights:

In 2009, our list of inventory partners grew to a total of 17 with the addition of GSN, CBS College Sports, Outdoor Channel, Sky Angel, MGM HD, and AETN's History International. With the addition of these partners, advertisers can now target nearly 100 national cable networks right from their computers.
Uncovering the right media to reach a targeted audience is now easier for advertisers thanks to the integration of Nielsen's PRIZM segmentation data. Advertisers can choose from 66 PRIZM segments as well as demographic and interest data to find the right audience profile and generate a list of targeted shows and dayparts that most effectively reach that audience.
Our users asked for a simpler way to build targeted and effective campaigns and in response, we unveiled the Campaign Builder tool. Simply select desired audience attributes to generate customizable campaigns in minutes, complete with efficient and effective bid suggestions.
Data, data, data: advertisers and agencies want more robust data sources to optimize their TV buys. To deliver on this need, we partnered with TiVo to license their anonymized set-top-box data and in 2010, we're working with TiVo to provide our customers with even more second-by-second set-top-box data to measure campaigns more effectively.
We were especially excited to unveil Google TV Ads Online in April 2009 as an extension of our TV platform, allowing advertisers to deploy their ads across YouTube and 100+ partner video sites. Advertisers can now truly bridge the gap between online and offline screens and place a seamless video buy across platforms.

And finally, amongst the thousands of advertisers who have run more accountable ads with Google TV Ads are Coldwell Banker and chickdowntown.com who shared their success stories with us in 2009. Coldwell Banker needed a measurable way to target real estate lovers across all of cable without placing hundreds of separate media buys. They were able to achieve this through the Google TV Ads platform, effectively driving 150M real estate aficionados to their YouTube brand channel.

Chickdowntown.com, an online retail boutique, had tried TV before but found it to be cumbersome, insufficiently targeted, and expensive. They tried TV again this time with Google TV Ads and ran contextually targeted campaigns that fit within their budgets and brought a 25% increase in website traffic within just the first month!

It is less than three years since our beta launch. Thanks to the advertisers and inventory partners who have joined with us to make TV advertising better, our platform is now executing millions of more accountable advertising transactions. This is still only the beginning of our commitment to our partners to deliver better TV and video advertising, and we could not be more excited for 2010.

Posted by Mike Steib, Director of Google TV Ads and Emerging Platforms

Introducing our newest inventory partner: A&E Television Networks

Neha — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:56:00 +0000

We're happy to welcome A&E Television Networks (AETN), one of the largest cable programmers in the US, as our newest inventory partner. Through our partnership with AETN, advertisers will be able to target History International through the Google TV Ads system and reach over 55M homes nationwide.

Hailed as one of the fastest growing cable networks, History International brings cutting edge content focused on historical events through shows such as Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire, Battle360, History's Turning Points, and Lost Worlds -- to name just a few. Advertisers can target exciting shows that bring a core audience of educated and affluent males aged 25-64 who are interested in historical events and global affairs.

A&E Television Networks joins our growing partner list including DISH Network, NBC Universal, Hallmark Channel and nearly a dozen others, enabling advertisers to target 98+ networks through Google TV Ads. To learn more, please visit us at www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by: John Saroff, Strategic Partner Development, Google TV Ads

Targeting the right audience is easy with Google TV Ads and Nielsen PRIZM

Neha — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:50:00 +0000

At Google TV Ads, we're constantly working to improve our platform to help advertisers find and target the right audiences. To this end, we're proud to announce a partnership with Nielsen's PRIZM lifestyle segmentation product, yet another feature which allows advertisers to hone in on the right audiences with Google TV Ads.

This partnership brings more layers of audience data to our existing targeting tools. In addition to demographic and interest dimensions from Nielsen and Equifax already available in our targeting tools, advertisers will now be able to layer on PRIZM segments to find their audience on TV through Google TV Ads. PRIZM categorizes US households into 66 unique segments, using attributes such as lifestage, income, social group, home ownership, employment, and education.

Sample PRIZM segments include:

New Empty Nests – with their grown-up children recently out of the house, New Empty Nests is composed of upscale older Americans who pursue active–and activist–lifestyles. This is the top-ranked segment for all-inclusive travel packages;
New Homesteaders – young, middle-class families with comfortable, child-centered lifestyles; and
Young Digerati – the nation's tech-savvy singles and couples living in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe.

How does it work? Advertisers simply select a PRIZM cluster in the Google TV Ads interface, and receive recommendations on which TV networks, dayparts, and programs are popular with that cluster. Advertisers can then add the media they'd like to target and air ads within 24 hours of building a campaign.

(Click on the image for a full-size version)

This extended relationship between Nielsen and Google complements and builds on our existing audience targeting tools and offers advertisers better targeting capabilities. We hope that all of these tools and data sources will help advertisers target their TV Ads more effectively, while allowing inventory owners to increase the value of their content.

Do you know where to find your target audience on TV? Use Nielsen PRIZM through Google TV Ads to find out today!

Posted by Bob Meese, Business Development Manager for Google TV Ads

Google TV Ads Welcomes Ovation TV and Sky Angel As Newest Partners

Neha — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:28:00 +0000

We're thrilled to announce our newest inventory partners: Ovation TV and Sky Angel. Both of these partnerships expand the reach of the Google TV Ads platform, allowing advertisers to access more targeted audiences through our system.

Ovation TV reaches over 33M homes across the US with programming that highlights art, theatre, music, and performance arts. Ovation TV broadcasts classic and original content covering all genres of art such as: American Revolutionaries, Discovering Masterpieces, Everything is Art, La Boheme and Battle of the Nutcrackers. Advertisers can now target Ovation TV's sophisticated and affluent audience through our platform.

Through our partnership with Sky Angel, advertisers can target two new networks - Angel One and Angel Two. Both networks bring faith based and lifestyle programming to an audience of 14M homes nationwide. Programming on Angel One includes today's top ministries and other faith bases shows. Angel Two offers a wide array of content ranging from concerts, cooking and travel shows, to sports and news.

Advertisers can target this new inventory today along with the 98+ cable networks also offered through our platform. To learn more about advertising with Google TV Ads, visit www.google.com/tvads. Inventory owners who are interested in becoming a Google TV Ads inventory partner can find more information at www.google.com/adsense/tv.

Posted by Kristin Higaki, Technical Account Manager and Neha Mandal, Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

ooVoo and Gotham Direct Prove that TV Drives Online Activity

Neha — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:19:00 +0000

These days, people are consuming more media than ever before. Consumers continue to spend hundreds of hours per month watching TV, but are increasingly surfing the internet at the same time. Marketers are wondering: does television impact online activity? Recently, we worked with video conference provider ooVoo and its agency Gotham Direct to answer that exact question. To find out the extent to which television advertising drives online activity, ooVoo launched its first TV campaign through Google TV Ads from October 2008 - January 2009 while closely monitoring website traffic, downloads and ooVoo-related search queries.

Read our in-depth case study and watch our video to learn more. We've also included a summary of our findings below.

Impact on Web Traffic
ooVoo and Gotham Direct utilized Google Analytics to track unique visitors to ooVoo's main site and download page during the time their campaigns were running. From the figures below, we found a steady increase in direct hits (those who typed the URL directly into the browser) as the number of TV impressions increased. We measured nearly a 500% increase in web traffic compared to the pre-campaign traffic.

The chart above shows the number of unique hits to ooVoo.com (blue dots), overlaid with our predictive model of cumulative TV impressions (solid red line) along with 95% confidence bands (gray). Our holiday-adjusted model shows a strong relationship betweenooVoo's TV campaign and increase in website traffic.

Branded Search Query Growth
We also used search query data (Google searches containing “ooVoo” related keywords) to measure the effect ooVoo's TV ads had on search behavior. In the figures below, we observed an immediate tripling in query volume after the TV campaign started in early October.

This chart shows daily TV impressions overlaid with the volume of ooVoo-related Google searches. Search queries were relatively flat prior to the TV Campaign beginning, and increased steadily during the TV campaign.

ooVoo and Gotham Direct were able to use data to prove that television is incredibly effective in driving viewers online to learn more about what they saw on TV. “Substantiating the theory that TV does drive people online brings a new dimension to the power of television,” says Shattuck Groome, managing partner at Gotham Direct. “This is what it means to bring clients accountability and value for every marketing dollar spent.”

To learn more about these results and how others are finding success with Google TV Ads, visit our website at www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by Sundar Dorai-Raj, Senior Quantitative Analyst for Google TV Ads