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Official Google CPG Blog 2013-03-14 13:01:00

Sarah Neels, CPG Marketing — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:01:00 +0000

Think Insights: Marketer data, information and inspiration just got a new address

Today marks the debut of the new Think Insights, Google’s hub for marketing insights and inspiration for advertisers and agencies. On google.com/think, you can learn about the latest research in digital marketing, be inspired by creative brand campaigns, and find useful products and tools. You’ll also find industry-leading case studies and Google’s latest research, strategic perspectives, interviews with innovators and experts and more—all to help you make the most of the web.

Every week, we’ll feature content that spans industries and interests. Here’s a snapshot of our top stories:

In Understanding the Full Value of Mobile, learn how sporting goods industry leader adidas worked with digital performance agency iProspect to understand how mobile drives value beyond mobile commerce, particularly in-store sales. The campaign proved the mobile brought a 680% incremental increase in ROI.

The Hyundai Elantra: Driveway Decision Maker campaign lets you watch your favorite Hyundai model drive right to your driveway, using a combination of Google Maps Street View, projection mapping and real-time 3D animation.
YouTube Ads Leaderboard shows which YouTube ads most moved audiences this month, through a winning combination of savvy promotion and smart creative strategy; a new list is featured each month.

For consumer marketers, come visit the Consumer Goods industry page, which has all of the latest research and insights coming out of the CPG industry, all in one place. Check out the headlining story, Young Males’ Digital Path to Purchase, which examines how the internet affects what guys buy. The conclusion? Guys 18-34 years old search twice as much as the rest of the population, and half discover new products in the process.

In our Perspectives section, we tap our own experts—as well as heads of industry, digital visionaries and Wharton professors—to lend their insights and analyses on the topics that matter most to marketers. The Product & Tools section contains information about our products and advertising platforms, as well as Planning Tools like the Brand Impressions tool and the popular Real-Time Insights finder.

For consumer marketers, come visit the Consumer Goods industry page, which has all of the latest research and insights coming out of the CPG industry, all in one place. Check out the headlining story, Young Males’ Digital Path to Purchase, which examines how the internet affects what guys buy. The conclusion? Guys 18-34 years old search twice as much as the rest of the population, and half discover new products in the process.

We built google.com/think to help you do it all—stay up-to-date on the latest in digital marketing, arm yourself with data to support your business cases and create inspiring campaigns. Explore the site now, and if you like what you discover, don't forget to subscribe to our Think Letter for a monthly round-up of our most popular content.

Authored by Lisa Gevelber, Head of Global Ads Marketing

Win moments that matter in 2013 with Learn with Google webinars

Erin Molnar — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:48:00 +0000

What was your business’ New Year’s resolution, and how do you plan to keep it? At Google, ours is to help make the web work for you. Our new series of Learn with Google webinars will teach you how to use digital to build brand awareness, and they’ll give you the tools you need to drive sales. By tapping into technology that works together across your business needs, you can resolve to win moments that matter in 2013.

Check out our upcoming live webinars:

Build Awareness

02/12 [Multiscreen] Brand Building in a Multiscreen World
02/20 [YouTube] How to Build your Business with YouTube Video Ads
03/05 [Social] How to Use Google+ and Make Social Work for You
03/12 [Mobile] Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives
03/27 [Wildfire by Google] The Call for Converged Media

Drive Sales

01/29 [Analytics] Google Tag Manager: Technical Implementation
02/07 [Search] Your Shelf Space on Google: Get Started with Google Shopping
02/26 [YouTube] From Awareness to Sales: Making the Most of Video Remarketing
02/27 [Search] What's New and Next in AdWords
03/06 [Display] Biggest Loser: Digital Ad Spend Edition
03/13 [Mobile] The Full Value of Mobile
03/20 [Display] Getting Started with Dynamic Remarketing

Visit our webinar site to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by adding our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to your own Google calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars.

During our last series of webinars, attendees had the chance to win a Nexus 7. Our lucky winner was Donella Cohen, who is happily enjoying her new tablet. Check out our upcoming webinars for another chance to win!

Learn with Google is a program to help businesses succeed through winning moments that matter, enabling better decisions and constantly innovating. We hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming session!

Posted by Erin Molnar, Marketing Coordinator, Learn with Google

Official Google CPG Blog 2013-01-11 13:19:00

Sarah Neels, CPG Marketing — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:19:00 +0000

Introducing Zavers by Google — helping retailers and manufacturers deliver relevant coupons to shoppers

Today we’re excited to introduce Zavers by Google—a digital coupon solution that enables retailers and manufacturers to reward loyal customers with coupons that are relevant to them -- increasing basket size and redemption rates. So dog owners don’t get cat food coupons and parents of teenagers don’t get diaper coupons.

Unlike traditional media, Zavers’ real-time data gives manufacturers new ways to measure coupon redemptions and analyze consumer preferences so they can manage distribution, tailor campaigns, and optimize budgets for maximum ROI. Zavers also offers access to an extensive network of manufacturer coupons, opening up new retail revenue streams.

With Zavers, shoppers find manufacturer discounts on their favorite retailer websites, and save the digital coupons to their accounts. Then they simply shop for those products and check out as usual. Redemption occurs in real time, with savings automatically deducted at checkout when shoppers provide their rewards cards or phone numbers—no scanning or sorting necessary. Manufacturers only pay when a product is moved off the shelf.

Zavers by Google is growing fast. This month we are thrilled to welcome New York’s Original Grocer, D’Agostino, as the latest partner in our retail network. In the coming months, we will be announcing partnerships with a number of other major retailers.

Retailers and manufacturers can see first-hand how Zavers works by visiting our demonstration booth at the annual NRF Convention & Expo, January 14-15 (booth #2281).

If you are a U.S.-based retailer or packaged goods manufacturer, let us show you how Zavers by Google can help. To get started, please contact our sales team at g.co/contact-zavers or visit our website at google.com/zavers.

Posted by Spencer Spinnell, Director, Emerging Platforms, Google Commerce

Official Google CPG Blog 2012-12-05 14:08:00

Sarah Neels, CPG Marketing — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Build Your Digital Brand with Google+ Webinar

The Google+ platform provides a fresh canvas for building and strengthening your digital brand, tying into all the marketing you already do with Google. From launching a new product using Google+ pages to engaging with your community of enthusiasts over Hangouts, join our Learn with Google webinar this Thursday for a look at ways your company can build its brand using social. Sign up on our webinar page to attend: Building a Digital Brand with Google+ (Thurs, Dec 6, 10am PT / 1pm ET)

After the Hangout, we’ll host a live Q&A with members of the Google+ team to answer questions about building a brand with Google+. RSVP on the Google+ Event page and add your questions as comments on that page.

With more than 100 monthly million active Google+ users, the time is right to focus on building your digital brand presence via the platform. Google+ has seen a wealth of brands engaging with users in creative, interactive ways. In fact, brands created more than 1 million Google+ pages in just a few months. For instance:

H&M -- The retail clothing company, with more than 2 million Google+ followers, uses tailored content, images and video to bring its fashions and lifestyle to life on the platform. They’ve also utilized Ripples to identify their trendsetters and saw a 22% clickthrough rate boost after implementing social extensions in AdWords.

Cadbury -- The chocolate maker has reached a following of nearly 3 million users with a combination of creative posts, Hangouts on Air and even the launch of their Dairy Milk Bubbly bar. They’ve also installed the Google+ badge on the company’s web homepage, making it easy as chocolate to follow the brand.

Like the ideas here? Log on Thursday to learn more about how to create, capture and sustain demand for your brand using Google+. And if you’re going to miss this while you’re at SMX Social in Las Vegas next week, check back at the webinars page later for a recording of the webinar.

Posted by Sarah Neels, Sales Development Manager, CPG

Take your social strategy to the next level with Learn with Google Hangouts and Webinars

Sarah Neels, CPG Marketing — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Take your social strategy to the next level with Learn with Google Hangouts and Webinars

Over the next few weeks, we’re offering four opportunities to learn more about Google+ for your business. We kick off with a Learn with Google Hangout on Air with bestselling author +Chris Brogan on November 5th at 10am PT / 1pm ET. Chris will cover tactics for successful social marketing and discuss his new book, “Google+ for Business: How Google's Social Network Changes Everything.” RSVP for the Hangout on the Google+ Event page.

Learn Chris’s recipes for how to grow and engage your Google+ community to build your brand and drive your business’s visibility and conversions. Hear about Chris’s own experiences helping companies succeed in their content marketing and social projects. Chris Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author, CEO of Human Business Works, and advises companies on marketing, business strategy, communications and more.

If you have a question for Chris, leave your question as a comment on the Google+ Event.

Boost your success with Google+

Want to learn more about using Google+ for your business? Sign up for our Learn with Google webinars. Here are some great upcoming webinars to help you get the most out of social for your business:

Social that Adds Up: Performance and Measurement (Thurs, Nov 8, 10am PT / 1pm ET)
Supercharge your Social Media Initiatives with Video (Wed, Nov 14, 10am PT / 1pm ET)
Building a Digital Brand with Google+ (Thurs, Dec 6, 10am PT / 1pm ET)

Posted by Lindsay Rumer, Google+ for Business

Win Moments that Matter with Learn with Google Webinars

Erin Molnar — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:28:00 +0000

As we’re nearing the end of 2012, we’ve all got business goals to meet. Some of you might even be prepping for your busiest season. Today, we’re announcing our next series of Learn with Google webinars, which will arm you with the tools you need to get the most out of your holiday ad dollars. We’ve got a special series on remarketing as well as a few holiday-specific strategies to help you navigate the season successfully. Over the next couple of months, 20 webinars will teach you tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out the full schedule of webinars below:

10/16 [Search] Drive Traffic to your Locations with your Online Campaigns
10/18 [Video] TrueView Video Advertising Strategies for the Holidays
10/23 [Mobile] Understanding your App Users with Google Analytics
10/24 [Research] Real-Time Insights with Google Consumer Surveys
10/25 [Display] Remarketing Series: Getting Started with Remarketing
10/30 [YouTube] TrueView Video Advertising for Agencies
10/31 [Social] Social Media Best Practices for a Successful Holiday Season
11/01 [Video] Optimizing TrueView Video Ad Campaigns
11/02 [Analytics] Attribution Modeling for Digital Success
11/06 [Video] YouTube Analytics for Advertisers
11/07 [Video] Remarketing Series: YouTube and Video Remarketing
11/08 [Social] Social that Adds Up: Performance and Measurement
11/13 [Analytics] Getting Started with Google Tag Manager
11/14 [Social] Supercharge your Social Media Initiatives with Video
11/15 [Display] Remarketing Series: Getting Started with the New Remarketing Tag
11/27 [Display] Remarketing Series: Getting Started with Similar Audiences
11/29 [Mobile] New Tablet Research: How to Win on the Third Screen
12/05 [Mobile] Capturing the Full Value of Mobile with Click-to-Call and Call Metrics
12/06 [Social] Building a Digital Brand with Google+
12/12 [Analytics] Remarketing Series: Remarketing with Google Analytics

All webinars are at 10 PT/ 1 ET.

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by adding our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to your own Google calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars.

Learn with Google is a program to help businesses succeed through winning moments that matter, enabling better decisions and constantly innovating. We hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to seeing you at an upcoming session!

Posted by Erin Molnar, Marketing Coordinator

So You Weren’t An Early Adopter: How to Kick Start Social with Google+

Mark Valkenburgh — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:26:00 +0000

Join social media power influencer +Lynette Young for a look at ways your business can kick start its presence on Google+ in a Learn with Google Hangout on August 23rd at 1pm EDT/10am PDT. RSVP for the Hangout on our Google+ Event page.

Companies big and small are using social media to interact with customers and build digital brands. Even if your business wasn’t an early adopter of social, Lynette will guide you through ways to kick start this channel with Google+. In this hangout, she’ll talk through examples of businesses using hangouts, pages and unique content to grow their audience. As a Learn with Google program, you’ll also hear lots of tips and strategies you can use to build a community from scratch on Google+.

Lynette Young is a digital media specialist helping entrepreneurs and businesses put social ideas into action. She is the founder of Women of Google+ and CEO of Purple Stripe Productions. Kari Clark of the Google+ Marketing team will moderate the conversation with Lynette and other social media specialists including:

We hope you can join us to begin using Google+ for your business. If you have a question for the panel, leave your questions as a comment on our Google+ Event.

To get yourself geared up for the hangout, check out the two newest Google+ business case studies. Toyota Global has been engaging its Google+ community with content of the latest car models and a hangout with a Toyota engineer. By incorporating Google+ badges on its website and YouTube channel, the car manufacturer has grown to over one million followers. In the education space, ES Corporation is teaching English lessons in hangouts. Using social extensions, the business also saw a 46% increase in click-through rate on search ads.

Posted by Lindsay Rumer, Google+ for Business

New Learn with Google Webinars Help Make the Web Work for You

Mark Valkenburgh — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:49:00 +0000

It’s almost back-to-school time, but students aren’t the only ones who are getting geared up to learn. Today, we’re announcing our next series of Learn with Google webinars, which will arm you with the tools you need to get the most out of Google’s advertising products and solutions. Over the next couple of months, 12 webinars will teach you tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out the full schedule below:

Aug 23 at 10am PDT How to Kick Start Social with Google+ (Hangout on Air)
Aug 28 at 10am PDT Optimizing your Video Ad Campaigns
Aug 29 at 10am PDT Google+: Enhancing Marketing and Making Social Accountable
Sept 5 at 10am PDT Go Bigger, Faster with AdWords Editor
Sept 6 at 10am PDT Making the Most of Recent AdWords Updates
Sept 12 at 10am PDT Driving Cost-Effective App Downloads with AdWords
Sept 13 at 10am PDT Go Bigger, Faster with AdWords Scripts
Sept 18 at 10am PDT Better Together: Combining Targeting Strategies in Display
Sept 19 at 10am PDT The Importance of Search Advertising
Sept 20 at 10am PDT Measuring the Impact of Online Advertising on Offline Sales
Sept 26 at 10am PDT GoMo: Mobilize your Site and Maximize your Advertising
Sept 27 at 10am PDT Optimizing Display Campaigns: Tips, Tricks, & Tools

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by adding our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to your own Google calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers in the moments that matter, make better decisions, or go bigger, faster, we hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you in class at an upcoming Learn with Google webinar!

Erin Green, Marketing Coordinator

Outdoor Life: When the temperature spikes, so do Google searches for grilling and margarita recipes

Mark Valkenburgh — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Summertime—when the mercury spikes, and with it, Google searches for grilling and pitcher-drink recipes. See full Adweek article here.

Google and GroupM Next Launch SPARK Education Series

Mark Valkenburgh — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Today we’re kicking off a partnership with GroupM Next, the innovation unit of GroupM, called Spark, a series of custom, co-programmed events focused on delivering unique education and innovation experiences for brands – specifically, clients of GroupM media agencies. We created this initiative together to cultivate education and dialogue for verticals that are under-represented in the broader digital media space in terms of data, research and opportunity. This partnership is the first of its kind for both Google and GroupM, in that it’s a series dedicated to client-focused education and is designed to address topics that directly impact brand opportunity and performance.

The first event, Spark: CPG, is taking place this afternoon in New York with nine leading CPG companies in attendance. In addition to discussions led by Google and GroupM Next execs, Kantar, Buzzfeed and Amazon are joining us as we, collectively as marketers, share insights, research and digital opportunities brands in the consumer packaged goods category can take advantage of.

A quick rundown of discussions on the docket at Spark: CPG in the context of marketing for CPG brands includes:

» Making the web work for CPG brands – our take on how the consumer, and world around us, has changed

» The digital enhanced path, exploring the ever-changing connection between consumers and brands and opportunities that exist through understanding new consumer behaviors and the role of technology

» Marketing and messaging innovation across multiple screens

» The power of video and building brands with the power of sight, sound and motion

» Developing ‘content gifts’ in the social world and capturing opportunities by engaging your brand’s super sharers

» How mobile commerce can connect shoppers to the places and CPG products they love

» Fostering fluid innovation across marketing and process to enable agencies and brands to meet the pace of change in consumer dynamics and technology

In most cases, Spark will provide brands with insights and education they wouldn’t have access to elsewhere. Additionally, through ongoing collaboration between our companies, GroupM agencies and clients, we’ll identify areas of interest and need for brands across digital media, and foster opportunities as they emerge.

Future of Advertising Event – DoubleClick Insights

Google CPG Marketing — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:52:00 +0000

(cross-posted on the DoubleClick Advertiser Blog)

There has been explosive growth in ad technology over the last 20 years. From each of our perspectives -- whether you are an agency, an advertiser, publisher or a technology provider -- we can all still see unprecedented opportunities as the digital world continues to grow and diversify.

We believe that as an industry, we’re on a common digital journey and that the next wave of innovation in ad tech will come from us all working better together.

However, like all great opportunities, there are challenges and questions, such as:

How do we unlock the next $50 billion of opportunity for digital advertising?
How do we deliver those immersive, interactive experiences to today’s empowered consumer demands?
What do we, as part of the ad tech ecosystem, need to build to create even more value for our clients and consumers?

On June 5th we’re hosting DoubleClick Insights to start exploring some answers to these questions. Senior leaders from top agencies, advertisers and publishers will help lead the conversation -- and you’re invited to join via the live stream! Register here.

The agenda will include topics such as:

Adapting to the Empowered Consumer:
Neal Mohan, Vice President, Display Advertising at Google will be joined by David Kenny, Chairman & CEO, The Weather Channel Companies, and James Pitaro, Co-President, Disney Interactive Media Group, to discuss how technology is being used to deliver new content and advertising experiences to consumers.

If We Build It, Will They (Consumers) Come?
Terry Kawaja, CEO and Co-Founder, Luma Partners (and creator of the now legendary LUMAscape chart) will lead a conversation about the ad tech ecosystem, and what it needs to do next to add value for agencies, publishers, marketers – and ultimately consumers. Terry will be joined onstage by:

Omar Tawokol, Chief Executive Officer, BlueKai
Greg Stuart, Global CEO of Mobile Marketing Association
Kurt Unkel, President, VivaKi
Shishir Mehrota, Vice President of Product Management, YouTube

Outside the Box: Technology = Creative Friend or Foe?
Technology is supposed to make the life of a marketer easier. For our final conversation, we’re going to focus on the question of: Is this technology exploring resulting in better marketing? Or, is it just resulting in mediocre creative and complexity for both consumers and marketers? Karim Temsamani, Vice President - New Products and Solutions, Google moderates the conversation with leaders from creative agencies, iconic brands and publishers including:

Brad Ruffkess, Global Connection, Coca-Cola
Mike Lowenstern, Managing Director of Digital Advertising, R/GA
Peter Minnium, Head of Digital Brand Initiatives, IAB
John Caldwell, Chief Digital Officer, National Geographic

The live stream will start on June 5, 2012, at 9:00 am PDT, and you’ll be able to watch from your computer, tablet, or mobile device. To learn more about our highlighted speakers go to theSpeakers page on our site.

Please register for this virtual event by visiting the DoubleClick Insights Live Stream page.

DoubleClick Insights
Tuesday, June 5th 2012
9:00am - 1:00pm PST
Set event reminder today

Following us on Google+ or Twitter (@DoubleClick and @DoubleClick_pub)? Use the #dclkinsights tag as you're watching the event to ask questions or share comments during the event.

Posted by Stephen Kliff and Scott Brown, DoubleClick Marketing

Announcing the next series of Learn with Google webinars

Mark Valkenburgh — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Earlier this year, we introduced the Learn with Google webinar program, and we were delighted to see thousands of you show up to learn about a variety of Google advertising products and solutions. Today, we’re happy to announce the continuation of our series with 10 new webinars over the next few months. During each webinar we’ll share tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out our upcoming live webinars below:

May 23 at 10am PDT: Getting Started with Google Analytics
May 24 at 9am PDT: Building Blocks of Digital Attribution
May 31 at 10am PDT: Introduction to TrueView for YouTube
June 5 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quick and Easy New Tools
June 6 at 10am PDT: Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers
June 7 at 10am PDT: Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords
June 12 at 10am PDT: Get Local with ZIP Code Targeting to Increase Sales/Leads
June 14 at 10am PDT: Search Optimization: Tips, Tricks, and Tools
June 19 at 10am PDT: Bringing the Power and Control of Search to Display
July 10 at 10am PDT: Account Management Tools for Large Advertisers and Agencies

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers in the moments that matter, make better decisions, or go bigger, faster, we hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you at an upcoming Learn with Google webinar!

Erin Green, Marketing Coordinator

Get Local with AdWords

Mark Valkenburgh — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:15:00 +0000

Get organized this spring with new location features in AdWords and share your stories

Over the past 30 years, California Closet Company has grown from the brainchild of a college student organizing his dorm room closet to a successful business with more than 77 franchise locations. To reach customers across the U.S. and internationally, the company centered their digital marketing strategy on creating locally relevant campaigns.

It’s no surprise that local campaigns are a focus for many businesses--from finding directions to looking up a phone number, more people are going online to find local information. In fact, more than 20% of searches on Google are related to location, and people often act quickly on local searches. Research shows that using smartphones, 88% of people who search for local information take action within a day.

To help you organize your local ad campaigns this spring, we’re introducing three new features in AdWords to help you create ads that are more relevant to local customers.

Target customers by zip code

If you customize your direct mail, outdoor ads, or newspaper ads at a postal code level, you now can easily do the same in AdWords in the US. We are introducing the ability to target more than 30,000 US ZIP Codes with your AdWords campaigns.

You will be able to add up to 1,000 postal codes at a time to your search ad campaigns with AdWords Location Targeting. Plus, you can get feedback on the performance of your local campaigns by viewing campaign performance statistics at the postal code level.

"Location targeting within AdWords helped us double lead volume and cut the cost to acquire new customers in half,” said Lois Erbay, Director of Marketing, California Closet Company. “We plan on building on that success by using ZIP Code targeting to create even more locally relevant campaigns for our customers.”

More locally relevant ads in less time

To help you easily create a custom ad title, text, display URL, and/or destination URL for all of your locations at scale, we’ve developed location insertion for location extensions. You’ll no longer need to create multiple ads for multiple locations--this new feature automatically inserts the city, phone number, or zip code of your local business into your ad text.

For example, if your ad text says: “Find a {lb.city:Local} Store or Shop Online,” a user viewing your ad in Chicago would see: “Find a Chicago Store or Shop Online.” This new feature cuts out all the work to building out ad text featuring local information for all your locations.

Ad with location insertion in the text and display URL

“We’ve had amazing success manually customizing our creative with local information for our top markets, which shows us that customers want locally-relevant results when it comes to a service like storage,” said Chris Laczi, Advertising Director, Uncle Bob's Self Storage. “That’s why we’re very excited about location insertion. It will simplify the task of creating locally customized ads for our 400+ locations, and we expect it will greatly enhance conversion rate of our ads.”

You must have location extensions set up and running in order to enable location insertion. Location insertion will work even if your location extensions don’t show because of other extensions. We detect location based on where your customer is physically located or by the geographic locations she may have shown interest in.

Find out more about location insertion and location extensions.

Better clarity and control

When we launched advanced location targeting in March 2011, we provided you with more control over how you geographically target your ads. Based on advertiser feedback, we’re implementing four additional enhancements that will make location targeting options clearer and more powerful. Read more about these enhancements in the Help Center and in this blog post.

There is significant opportunity for businesses to reach local customers online and win moments that matter by delivering the right ad in the right context. Stay tuned for more information on how ZIP Code targeting can help you grow your business.

We want to hear from you about your success in getting local with AdWords--share your story here and we might reach out to you to participate in our upcoming blog posts.

Posted by Richard Holden, Product Management Director

More clarity and control with location targeting improvements

Mark Valkenburgh — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Location targeting is now easier to understand.

First, we’ve reworded the options to help make them clearer. Here is what the options for advanced location targeting used to look like:

Here is what we’re unveiling today:

Show ads to people in a physical location, without exception.

Previously, if you had selected “Target using physical location,” your ad would show to people in your targeted location as long as they were not searching for something related to a different location. Now, when you select “People in my targeted location,” your ad shows to people in your targeted location, without exception.

Let’s say you are an airline using physical location targeting to reach customers in Atlanta, GA looking to fly to Hawaii. You have the keyword “flights to hawaii” in your ad group. Previously, your ad wouldn’t appear for any prospective customers in Atlanta that were searching for “flights to hawaii” because the search term indicated that they were interested in Hawaii. With the new setting “People in my targeted location,” the airline can now reach the customers in Atlanta searching for “flights to hawaii.”

This enhancement has been beneficial in increasing VEGAS.com’s ability to target offers to users based on where they are located at the time of the search. “As a leading destination travel site, our goal is to send the right message to a user as they plan their travel well ahead of time from their home market. Advanced Location Targeting has given us that ability,” said Dan Hippler, Vice-President of Marketing, Vegas.com.

Greater control over location targeting on the Display Network

Previously, the only location targeting signal applicable to ads on the Google Display Network was the likely physical location of the user. Now, both the location extracted from the content of the page and the likely physical location can be used, making advanced location targeting applicable for the Display Network for the first time. The default setting is to show to people “in” or “viewing pages about” your targeted location, but you can edit this option at any time.

Let’s say a customer in Atlanta is planning a trip to Hawaii and she’s looking at websites about fun things to do in Hawaii. A coffee plantation tour service from Hawaii would like to show ads about its offers to such a user. Similarly, an airline would like to advertise flight services to this user. The new targeting enhancements give the tour service and airline such capabilities, as both an ad targeted to Hawaii for a coffee plantation tour and an ad targeted to Atlanta for flights from Atlanta may now both show on the same page.

There are several situations in which we will not use location to target an ad. For example, a user reading about news in Hawaii may not be interested in “Hawaii tours”. For this reason, we currently only consider the location signal on a limited set of pages when we believe it may be useful. You can gain insight into the sites on which your ads are showing on the placement report, and into the locations on the geographic report.

Note that all campaigns targeting the Display Network will automatically be opted into the default option, which is to reach people in, searching for, or viewing pages about your targeted location. If you wish to exclude campaign traffic from people viewing pages about your location, you can choose “People in my targeted location” in advanced location options.

More easily avoid getting impressions for excluded areas

We have also changed the advanced location exclusion methods. Previously, the less restrictive option, “Exclude by physical location only,” was the default. Based on feedback from advertisers, we have re-worded the exclusion options and made the more restrictive option, “People in, searching for, or viewing pages about my excluded location,” the default. This way you avoid getting impressions for excluded areas regardless of whether your customers are located or interested in those areas.

What it looked like before:

What we’re launching today:

For example, now by default excluding Chicago means your ad won’t show for customers in Chicago or those outside Chicago who included “Chicago” in their searches.

This change will only impact newly created campaigns and will not affect existing campaigns.

Remember, advanced location targeting may limit the exposure of your ads, so it isn’t suited for all advertising goals.

To find out more about advanced location targeting or to change your settings, visit our help center. If you use AdWords Editor, details on how these changes will impact you can be found in the AdWords Editor help center.

Posted by Smita Hashim, Group Product Manager Local Ads

Google Ads – now on Google+

Mark Valkenburgh — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:55:00 +0000

When we launched Google+ Pages last November, we aimed to provide you with a way to post updates and news about your business, have engaging conversations with customers, and send tailored messages to specific groups of people.

We’re now excited to share that Google Ads will be joining Google+ Pages to provide you, our advertising partners, with the latest Google advertising product news, training, tips and Hangouts that can help make the web work for you. We hope it will become a useful resource for growing your business, reaching customers in the moments that matter, and making smarter decisions.

Click to view page

Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect from the Google Ads page on Google+:

Stay ahead of the curve with the latest launches and updates for Google's advertising solutions, including search, display, mobile, social, YouTube and Google Analytics
Receive how-to information, best practices, and recommendations
Learn about upcoming trainings and events
Attend Hangouts with product experts

Add Google Ads to your circles here. We look forward to connecting with you on Google+.

Posted by: Christina Park and Katie Miller, Ads Product Marketing

Learn with Google Webinar Program

Mark Valkenburgh — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:09:00 +0000

At Google, one of our goals is to help make the web work for your business. Today we’re introducing the Learn with Google webinar program that does just that, by sharing best practices and tips across a variety of products, including search ads, mobile ads, display ads, YouTube and Google Analytics.

We’re kicking off the program with eight live webinars in March:
March 13 at 10am PDT: 5 Tips to Start Marketing your Business with Video
March 14 at 10am PDT: Introduction to the Google Display Network
March 15 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site and Maximize your Advertising
March 20 at 10am PDT: Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives
March 21 at 10am PDT: Reaching Your Goals with Google Analytics
March 22 at 10am PDT: GoMo for Publishers
March 27 at 10am PDT: Manage Large AdWords Campaigns with Less Effort
March 28 at 10am PDT: 3 Tips to Get More out of your Video Advertising Campaigns
Check out our new webinar page to register for any of the sessions or to access on-demand webinars. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers at the right time, make better decisions faster, or get the most from your marketing dollars, we hope that you’ll use these tips and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you join us!

Erica Tsai, Product Marketing Manager

Google@SXSW: A taste of the Googleplex, in Austin

Mark Valkenburgh — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:41:00 +0000

Part of what makes Google such a fun place to work is that there’s always something going on: diverse talks, lunchtime concerts, impromptu game tournaments, you name it—all wrapped up with a collective passion for building a better web. So when we were thinking of what we should do for this year’s SXSW, it was pretty obvious: let’s package up a few of the things that we love about Google and bring them with us to Austin, Texas.

Interactive talks
Our participation kicks off on Friday, March 9, in a fireside chat where senior vice president Vic Gundotra will discuss the future of the Google+ project with Guy Kawasaki. We also have Googlers speaking on more than 25 panels, covering topics as varied as the design of Google and YouTube, changing the world through hacking and WebGL’s impact on the web.

Google Village
On March 10-11 we’ll open up the Google Village. We’re taking over Rainey Street (just a few steps away from the Austin Convention Center), setting up shop in four houses and packing them full of demos, drinks, talks and, of course, live music. Here’s what you can expect at each of the houses:

Android House: We’re showcasing the latest and greatest from Android, including phones and tablets running Android 4.0, live music on the backyard stage, and a look at cool entertainment for your device.
Google Maps House: Interested in enhancing Google Maps with biking directions or updating the business information in your local neighborhood? We'll show you how, plus many other ways you can add more map data to the places you know and love.
Developer House: Participate in code labs and spend a day with the team building LEGO race bots controlled by Android, leading up to the ultimate rumble Sunday evening. Learn more on the Developers Blog.
Discovery House: Find out more about our latest creative and advertising products, and see how Google can help you expand your business—or maybe start one.

Live from the Lot
There’s no place like Austin for live music, and on March 15-16 Google Musicand YouTube Presents will host Live from the Lot, two days of concerts atop a downtown parking garage. We’ll have performances by The Shins, Gossip, The Ting Tings and Heartless Bastards, to name a few. If you can't make it in person, tune in online for a full live stream of both days’ shows atyoutube.com/presents.

Plus, artists officially showcasing at SXSW can also stop by our artist lounge atLive from the Lot to relax and recharge with food, laundry machines, massages and more.

Get more details about our plans for SXSW on our website. The trucks just finished packing up the last Android statue, and we’re all ready to go. It’s Austin or bust—hope to see you there!

Posted by Marc Vanlerberghe, Marketing Director for Android

"Cold, Cold Heart"

Mark Valkenburgh — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:40:00 +0000

In case you missed it, here's a light-hearted Valentine's Day clip that's worth watching. Enjoy!

Playbook for tackling the Super Bowl with Google

Mark Valkenburgh — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:47:00 +0000

(from the official Google blog)

While thousands of lucky fans will brave the crowds at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. to fill the coveted seats at this Sunday’s Super Bowl, many more in the U.S. will enjoy the game from home—in front of the TV, with mobile phones and tablets at the ready.

As the New York Giants and New England Patriots prepare for kickoff, here are several ways to make the most of the big game with Google—wherever you’re watching. You can explore the full list in our Game Day with Google playbook, a new page on Inside Search that we’ve filled with tips on how to use Google to enjoy the game.

Get the inside scoop
Visit the Giants and Patriots Google+ pages for behind-the-scenes coverage and details on a chance for you to join the Giants pre-game hangout on Thursday for a face-to-face chat with the players. Be sure to leave a comment on their post for a chance to participate.

On Monday, Feb 6 at noon ET, stop by the NBC Sports Google+ page for a Hangout On Air with CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell. He’ll chat about the previous day’s game and review the best commercials with fans that drop in. Leave a comment on this NBC Sports post to throw your name in the hat to be one of the lucky participants who will chat with Rovell On Air.

Plan your party
Super Bowl party rivalry is already in full swing with Indiana leading the pack in Google searches for [super bowl party], ahead of both New York and Massachusetts. Despite New York being the home state of the buffalo wing, searches for [chicken wings] are nearly 50 percent higher in Massachusetts.

If you’re looking for a dip recipes, [hummus] reigns supreme, followed by guacamole, queso and bean dip. Use Google Recipe search to find a recipe with the ingredients to make everyone happy. Or, swing by ChefHangout on Google+ to join a cooking class on favorite Super Bowl party foods.

Talking babies or barking dogs? You decide.
It wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without the commercials. We’ve already seen a flurry of pre-game teasers pop up on YouTube and Google+, but which commercial will reign supreme? Our fifth annual YouTube Ad Blitz in partnership with NBC Sports enables you to replay and vote on your favorite commercials online from a laptop, mobile phone or tablet. Tune in to theYouTube Ad Blitz channel or NBCSports.com to watch and rate the commercials.

Watch the Madonna premiere on YouTube
If the halftime show interests you more than counting yards gained and lost, get an early taste of the show with Madonna’s music video premiere for “Give Me All Your Luvin” featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A on her official youtube.com/Madonna channel this Friday and on the YouTube Ad Blitz channel pre-game on Sunday. You can pre-order her deluxe album right there in the video description. And make sure to tune in to Madonna’s Google+ profile all week long for her latest news.

May the best team win!

Posted by Mark Valkenburgh from the Google CPG Team

What We Learned from CES 2011

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:53:00 +0000

(Cross-posted on Google Retail Blog)

Well, it’s been just over a week since we wrapped up another exciting CES with some very innovative new product displays. From the world’s thinnest tablet (and a concept tablet...and a waterproof tablet!), to a range of smart tvs, to a surge in ultrabook designs, and of course who could leave out the sleek new smartphones, this year’s show had many talked about products.

But what will have consumers buzzing the remainder of the year, as many of these products gear up for their official releases? While it’s tough to predict that, we did want to take a quick look at what happened after CES last year, to glean insights into some trends we can look for this year.

Insight #1: CES week search volume could be a good indicator of launch week popularity

Insight #2: CES 2012’s Top 5 Products had 50% more Google Searches than CES 2011’s Top 5
ASUS Transformer Prime looks like a potential big winner based on Google search volume, and its volume was even greater than two of last year’s hottest products, the HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Atrix.

Insight #3: Samsung made a much bigger splash this year with 3 of top 5 mobile searches, while in 2011, HTC had 2 of the top 5 products. Top products are determined based on query volume.

Insight #4: Among top launches, the Nokia Lumia was the most frequent 2012 product searched in a single session on Google.com and heavily searched on YouTube. The ASUS Eee Pad and Transformer Prime were cross-researched on Google.com most often with the Lumia. User activity on Youtube showed top term Nokia Lumia with 1.3 million video views for the Nokia LumiaTV ad.The ASUS Eee Pad had ~400K video views for review and there were about ~540K views for “Ipads2 vs ASUS”.Consumers are searching primarily for products and product reviews on Google.com & YouTube to learn more about new launches during CES.

Nina Thatcher and Amy Liu, The Google Tech Team

2012 Predictions For Marketing To Moms

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Great article out this week on by Holly Pavlika at mediapost emphasizing the importance of video and mobile in marketing to moms in 2012. You can read the whole thing here.

Here are the video and mobile highlights:

1. More mom video content on the web.

Moms love to view other moms in action. They trust what another mom has to say more so than they do celebrities. And they consume a lot of video on a weekly basis. So it’s only natural that video content will continue to rise. YouTube is commissioning new channels and Deca has launched “Kin,” a mom/women’s channel. And, don’t forget “The Mom’s View” from Maker Studios. Moms are also finding that their personal channels on YouTube can turn them into web celebs, lead to book deals and make them money with the right content. Brands need to jump on the video bandwagon if they want to stay engaged with mom.

2. Mobile will continue to influence mom’s path to purchase.

Moms armed with smartphones are putting them to good use. Brands that don’t yet have a mobile strategy are way behind the curve. Moms see mobile as their command center and remote control for managing life. According to BabyCenter, 53% of moms purchased a smartphone because they had become a mom. And, it’s influencing her path to purchase. With smartphone and apps in hand, she can comparison shop, check out potential purchases with friends, download coupons, manage the budget and more. Her phone is connecting her to all the information and references she needs to make a purchase decision.

Congrats to King Arthur Flour

Aaron Lichtig — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:57:00 +0000

Congrats to CPG Company King Arthur Flour of Vermont for being featured in Ads @
Google's 2011 at a glance "on the map" feature!

Think fast in the first Think Quarterly of 2012

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:35:00 +0000

[Cross-posted with the official Google blog]

In the amount of time it takes you to read this blog post, roughly 382 Android phones will be activated, 250,000+ words will be written on Blogger and 48 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube. The world is moving faster than ever before, bringing us instant access and split-second connections to people and information.

Speed is important in technology, but equally essential in business. Consumer expectations are rising as we learn to take speed for granted; today’s email is tomorrow’s snail mail. In our hyper-real-time world, nanoseconds matter—which means we need to question old assumptions. How will we respond to consumer expectations as the demand for instant access to everything intensifies? How will we keep pace in a world that moves at web speed?

The new Speed issue of Think Quarterly explores these questions and more. Our SVP of Engineering Urs Hölzle shares our efforts to speed up the Internet, while Astro Teller, Director of New Products, dreams about the amazing inventions these improvements will unleash. Paul Gunning, CEO of Tribal DDB, talks about the rise of real-time marketing. And journalist Jeff Jarvis wonders if we’re really that fast after all.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Let us know what you think on +Think With Google. And if you’re at CES this week, drop by our Room to Think in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and tell us your thoughts live. We’ll also host a Google+ Hangout there with Astro Teller, author of Speed of Dreams, on Thursday at 2pm PST.

Posted by Allison Mooney, Think Quarterly Editor

Google – Where We’ve Been and What’s Next

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Here's the story of Google from its inception to present day. From our humble beginnings, we've always tried to put the user first and we will continue to do so in 2012.

A new agency council for a new kind of shopper: introducing The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Guest post by Stephanie Redish Hofmann, Head of Agency IPG, Google

As festive shoppers deck the halls earlier each year, putting their bargain detective hats on in search of products that provide the best value for each dollar spent, marketers have had to change the way they think about reaching these savvy shoppers. Because while a shopper's first interaction with a product, the First Moment of Truth (FMOT), used to occur when that person saw a product on the store shelf for the first time, the advent of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) -- the online moment at which a person first develops an opinion about a brand, prior to encountering it in the physical world -- is changing the way marketers think about the digital path-to-purchase.

In turn, the Shopper Marketing Agencies (SMAs) that work closely with marketers to capture mind and market share during each holiday shopping season and beyond have been working hard -- using rich data and deep understanding and insights -- to help companies evolve their digital marketing strategies to 'win' this newly defined and important moment in time. They are a vital part of a vital marketing transformation, which has changed the game for modern marketers.

We've always valued our relationship with these SMAs -- but it occurred to us, as this uber-busy season approached, that it would benefit consumers, advertisers and SMAs alike to work even more closely together, delving deeply into understanding the ZMOT model as applied to shopper marketing and digital brand activation along the path to purchase.

To do this, we formed The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council. This group is comprised of leading SMAs, including Arc WW, DraftFCB, Integer, Mars, Momentum, RPM Connect, Saatchi & Saatchi X, Shopper Sciences, ShopWork, The Marketing Arm, Triad Media, TracyLocke, and Upshot -- and its goal is to advance understanding of how online and offline behavior drives purchase consideration and decision-making, and to overcome the challenges related to communicating this transformation.

We're looking for this group of marketing innovators to help guide the way Google engages and partners with SMAs and the industry in general, and are sure it will help us better support SMAs in search of the best way to help their clients' brands win the ZMOT. Stay tuned for news and updates!

ZMOT – Top 10 Book!

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Congratulations to Jim Lecinski and the ZMOT book team for being honored as one of Ad Age's top 10 marketing books of 2011. You can read the full article here.

The Tablet Generation

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Just think about it...in just a few years these kids are going to be your consumers. If you don't have a tablet search and display strategy, you're not just missing today's shoppers, you're also missing tomorrow's.

2011’s Best CPG Marketing on YouTube

Aaron Lichtig — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:42:00 +0000

As we approach the end of the year, we've taken some time to reflect on all of the great brand marketing that we've been fortunate to be a part of in 2011. The video below highlights what we think are some of the best examples of CPG marketing done on YouTube this year. We'd love to hear your thoughts about your favorites.

Happy viewing!

YouTube and TV Ads: Your Media Plan Needs Both

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:29:00 +0000

Pre-roll video ads are playing an increasingly important role in online media plans, and many advertisers wonder how these newer formats compare with traditional TV ads. YouTube partnered with Ipsos on a study across 2,400 people split into groups exposed to :15s & :30s video ads. We tested to see how these units compared and complemented each other and found:

· Among those exposed to the 15 second spot on both YouTube and TV combined, we found 2x better recall than TV alone, 1.5x better for those exposed to the 30 second spot

· 5 out of 6 advertisers saw ad recognition lift on the :15 spot for YouTube + TV over TV Alone, and 4 out of 6 advertisers saw lift on the :30 spot

· YouTube generally has the same impact on aided brand attribution as TV for both :15 and :30 ads

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Final Episode – Google’s Kevin Kells

Aaron Lichtig — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:28:00 +0000

The final episode of our CPG Thought Leader series features Kevin Kells, the Industry Director for the Home & Personal Care vertical at Google. Over the past 5 years he has helped hundreds of brands enhance their digital marketing plans. Kevin also has rich experience as a brand marketer at companies like Revlon, Unilever, and Diageo.

In the video below, Kevin talks about the importance of making Google a part of brands' new product and campaign launch plans. He sees Google as a powerful marketing engine that can help drive rapid awareness and trial of new products. According to Kevin, brands can spark awareness through YouTube and Display advertising, capture intent through desktop and mobile search, and drive purchase through mobile ads and coupons. Don't hesitate to reach out to Kevin with questions or comments.

Consumers on tablet devices: having fun, shopping and engaging with ads

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:07:00 +0000

(cross-posted on the Google Mobile Ads Blog)

Tablets have quickly emerged as a distinct third digital screen in consumers lives that fill the gap between desktops and smartphones. But there are still many open questions about exactly how consumers are using them. We explored tablet search trends earlier this year, but wanted to dig deeper and answer key questions such as: What are the contrasts between tablet use, laptop use, and smartphone use and how are consumers engaging across these devices? What are the most common activities (playing games, searching, reading, etc.) that tablets are used for? What ads are most relevant and useful based on how people are using the devices?

Tablets are for fun, entertainment, relaxation, while laptops are for work
One of our studies, a diary study that had people record every occasion that they used their tablet over a two-week period, found that most consumers use their tablets for fun, entertainment and relaxation while they use their desktop computer or laptop for work. Tablet devices are personal - 91% of the time that people spend on their tablet devices is for personal rather than work related activities. When a consumer gets a tablet, we’ve found that they quickly migrate many of their entertainment activities from laptops and smartphones to this new device.

Tablet owners are building the device into their daily routine. Our research found that the most frequent tablet activities are checking email, playing games and social networking. We also found that people are doing more activities in shorter bursts on weekdays (e.g. social networking, email) while engaging in longer usage sessions on weekends (e.g. watching videos/TV/movies).

Tablets are multi-tasking devices with at least 42% of activities occurring while doing another task or engaging with another entertainment medium. Of all the activities that people do on tablets, checking email, playing games, social networking and searching are the ones most frequently done in front of the TV. Many consumers also used their tablets to check email while eating, and listen to music while cooking.

The activities shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Tablets primarily stay home, few travel
But unlike smartphones that go everywhere and laptops that travel between work and home, few consumers take their tablets with them when they leave the house. However, consumers do take their tablets on vacation or work trips where they use them as a laptop replacement and a small number take them on their commute. Interestingly, our recent research found that tablets are for the most part a one-person device, although there are consumers who share their tablet with other family or household members.

Tablets are, however, mobile within the home, with the highest usage taking place on the couch, from the bed and in the kitchen.

The activities and locations shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Consumers are shopping on tablets
Many consumers do a lot of window shopping on their tablet and our data shows that they are making more and more purchases on their tablet devices. Indeed, tablets figure to be a significant new way for people to be shopping this holiday season. While shopping they are engaging with familiar brands through social media sites, deals discounts, and navigating directly to trusted shopping sites.

We also found that people are using their tablets for activities that they are also doing in the real world, such as searching for something in their local area, shopping (browsing and purchasing), and managing finances.

For many people, websites and apps designed for smartphones just don’t cut it on tablets. Instead consumers are taking advantage of the bigger screen and prefer using fully featured apps and the full desktop sites on their tablet.

We found that some of those activities also extend to additional devices (e.g. smartphone, laptop, etc.). These activities included shopping (both browsing and purchasing), searching for information, managing finances, checking the calendar and checking email.

Consumers don’t view ads differently on tablets, but they do expect more interactivity
Consumers are engaging with useful, relevant and rich ads that take advantage of the touchscreen interface on tablets. Some consumers expect more interactivity from ads on tablets than they do from ads on their desktop computer.

We believe that tablet ownership will continue to rapidly grow in 2012 and that tablet usage may change over time, particularly as smaller devices come on the market. We plan on continuing to conduct research to understand consumers’ uses of their tablet devices and are excited to share these research insights with you.

Posted by: Jenny Gove and John Webb, User Experience Research, Mobile Ads

Official Google CPG Blog 2011-11-29 10:59:00

Aaron Lichtig — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Here's a great new video on the evolution of Google search. Enjoy!

Holiday Insights and Tips from Google

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:15:00 +0000

Think it’s too late for holiday marketing initiatives? Think again!

Today the Think with Google team is launching December Adventure, where every weekday between now and December 23, they’ll share useful, surprising and delightful insights and opportunities for sparking your online holiday sales via search ads, mobile and more. It’s prime time for online shopping, so follow Think with Google on Google+ for daily tips! You can also add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Our December Adventure is just beginning - so bundle up, log on, and get ready to grow your holiday business day by day.Click here to visit Think with Google on Google+. To share the glow of these holiday insights, use #decemberadventure.

Five Truths of the Digital African American Consumer

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:54:00 +0000

If African American consumers aren't a part of your brand's digital strategy, they should be. African Americans are one of the most engaged, influential, and responsive online audience segments.

Last month, Google and GlobalHue teamed up with OTX to understand what role search and other digital advertising technologies play in African Americans' purchasing decisions. The team, which included Google CPG's own Jason Crain, uncovered five key truths that every CPG marketer needs to consider:

African Americans are early adopters, and are more likely to watch video online and to access online content via smartphones and other alternative platforms.
Digital technologies provide an important “microphone” to African American consumers, who are significantly more likely to use Twitter and to recommend online brands and products to acquaintances.
They are avid searchers, more likely to use search daily, and to click through on search ads.
This audience is nearly 50% more likely than others to begin their “path to purchase” with search.
African American consumers are substantially more responsive than the general population to digital video ads and smartphone ads.

Here's a cool infographic with even more study findings:

In addition to the graphic, the team also put together a 43-slide deck that you can steal from with pride for use in your own presentations.

For more thoughts on the research, check out the excellent coverage in AdWeek.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 6 – Ford’s Matt Van Dyke

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Today's video features Ford's Director of Marketing Communications Matt Van Dyke. He spoke to our 200+ attendees at Think Branding NYC about Ford's social media strategy, with a focus on Ford's use of Google+. In this episode, Matt discusses the importance of listening to consumers when planning social media strategies.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 5 – Mindshare’s Ritu Trivedi

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:17:00 +0000

Over the past four days, we've featured a consultant, two Googlers, and an entrepreneur in our CPG Thought Leader Video Series. Today's thoughts come from a leader in the agency world, Ritu Trivedi, Managing Partner at Mindshare. She discusses today's demanding consumers and how they are interacting with brands.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 4 – Consmr’s Ryan Charles

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:27:00 +0000

In today's video, we hear from Ryan Charles, the founder and CEO of Consmr. Consmr is a ratings and reviews site for products in the food, home, and personal care spaces. The site's mission is to ensure that consumers make informed decisions about everyday products.

Ryan's a huge believer in the concept of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). In this video, he shares his thoughts on how the consumer's path to purchase is evolving and how online research is shaping purchase decisions, even in categories formerly seen as "low consideration."

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 3 – Google’s Karen Sauder

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:40:00 +0000

In today's episode of the CPG Thought Leader Video Series, Karen Sauder, Industry Director, Food, Beverage and Restaurants at Google, discusses the excitement of brand marketing today and the new brand storytelling opportunities that digital offers.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 2 – Google’s Karim Temsamani

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:23:00 +0000

In episode 2 of the CPG Thought Leader Video Series, Karim Temsamani, VP of Global Mobile at Google, talks about the growth of the mobile industry overall and consumers' pattern of shifting access from desktop to the cloud.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 1 – McKinsey’s David Edelman

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Today we're launching a new video series on the Google CPG Blog. Every day for the next week, we'll post a video of an industry thought leader sharing advice with CPG companies about how to improve their digital marketing. All of the speakers featured in this series spoke at Google's Think Branding event in New York in October.

Our first video features David Edelman, Partner and Co-leader of the Global Digital Practice at McKinsey & Co, sharing his thoughts on online content development strategy. He talks about how businesses are finally realizing that a big part of what consumers are doing online is looking at content and recognizing the need to develop the type of content with which consumers want to engage.

If you're interested in speaking with David, you can reach out to him at David_edelman(at)mckinsey.com. You can also read his thoughts on Google's Think Branding event here.

Webinar Tomorrow: Make Your TV Campaign Smarter

Aaron Lichtig — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:56:00 +0000

Are you marketing a CPG brand next year? Will TV be part of your strategy...or at least, do you hope it will be?

Let’s make 2012 the year we learn more from our TV campaigns.

The Google TV Ads team would like to invite you to a webinar on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 to demonstrate how CPG brand marketers are getting smarter about their TV buys. Highlighting use-cases from your industry, members of the Google TV Ads sales team will show how Google TV Ads can support each stage of the product life cycle, including:

Enabling macro and micro level targeting at launch
Segmenting your audience on TV to drive growth
Analyzing post-campaign attribution and improved ROI metrics

We hope you can join us!

- The Google TV Ads sales team


What Webinar: Make Your TV Campaign Smarter		When November 16, 2011 2:30pm EST/11:30am PST		Register Click here to register

This Week: Google+ Webinar and Help Desk Hangouts

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:14:00 +0000

As you may already know, last Monday we announced Google+ Pages for businesses, a collection of tools and products to help clients get closer to customers. We’re offering two awesome opportunities for you to learn more about getting your business on Google+:

Wednesday: Learn with Google Webinar: Getting Your Business on Google+
Wednesday November 16, 2pm ET. Register here.
Join our live webinar hosted by Google+ experts to learn more about how you can bring your company and customers closer together using Google+. Key topics that'll be covered include:

Setting up a Google+ Page for your business
Best practices and early use cases for using Google+
Promoting your Google+ Page
Improving the performance of your ads with +1 annotations

Thursday: Help Desk Hangouts
Thursday November 17, 12pm - 3pm ET. Visit our Google+ Your Business page.
Still have questions? Talk face-to-face with a Google+ expert using our group video chat product, Hangouts. Learn technical tips, content strategies, and potential use cases for your business.

Check out how Zen Bikes uses Google Plus in this awesome video!

Ten Mobile Site Best Practices

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Keep it Quick
Simplify Navigation
Be Thumb Friendly
Design for Visibility
Make it Accessible

Make it Easy to Convert
Make it Local
Make it Seamless
Use Mobile Site Redirects
Learn, Listen & Iterate

Think Insights with Google is out of beta and packing a data punch

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:12:00 +0000

Quick pop quiz:

Based on search history, consumer demand for pretzels peaks in what month of the year?
How much (in $) does search add to the world’s GDP?
In 2011, what percent of people dreamed and brainstormed about their next vacation?
What percent of the daily queries on Google.com have never been seen before?

These are just a few questions that can be answered* on the new Think Insights with Google, our information and resource hub for marketers. The site is fresh out of beta and sporting a playful new look, helpful tools, more studies, the latest trends and exciting videos. We invite you to visit the site, take a look around and see what’s new.

If you only have a few minutes to spare, try playing with our new Real Time Insights Finder tool. With just a few clicks you can spot emerging trends and gain valuable consumer insights, all in real time. For example, the most popular video in common among males 25-34 in Italy and the U.S. is the Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game trailer.

Although we’ve made a lot of enhancements to Think Insights based on initial user feedback, we’re always trying to iterate and improve. So please don’t be shy! Join the conversation by adding the Think with Google page on Google+ to one of your circles, or stay tuned for updates by subscribing to our newsletter.

Think Insights is forward-thinking and rooted in data. We hope you’ll use it as a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research.

*Answers to pop quiz (they can all be found on Think Insights in less than 60 seconds):

December, Real Time Insights Finder Tool
$540 billion directly to global GDP, The Impact of Internet Technologies: Search Study, Jul 2011
50%, 5 Stages of Travel Interactive Infographic
16%, Search Fact & Stat

Re-thinking Mobile Marketing & Analytics webinar recording featuring Avinash Kaushik

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Missed the Think Mobile webinar on Nov. 2nd? The recording is now available on the Google Business Channel on YouTube:

In this video, Avinash Kaushik shares some best practices mobile marketing strategies, and points out some strategies that you should beware of. He also shares a framework for bringing fast, innovative measurement to your mobile data (including a special downloadable report).

For more visit: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash

Reminder: Google’s Think Mobile Webinar featuring Avinash Kaushik – November 2nd

Aaron Lichtig — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:48:00 +0000

Not sure how to most effectively leverage and measure your mobile marketing campaigns? Well, you’re not alone. While mobile is an incredible new way to distribute content and reach customers on the go, it also presents a unique challenge when it comes to measuring the impact of our mobile efforts (like applications, advertisements or mobile-optimized websites).

We just wanted to remind you to tune in this week to Google’s Think Mobile webinar, Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message - Finally!, led by Avinash Kaushik, Digital Marketing Evangelist. Avinash will share tips and best practices for mobile marketing campaigns, new metrics unique to mobile, and how best to measure mobile ads and websites.

When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 9-10:30am PST/ 12-1:30pm EST
How: Register here

Webinar: Holiday 2011 – Consumer Shopping Intentions

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Have you marked your calendar with key shopping dates for 2011? Do you know how consumers plan to shop this holidays? Join us for our Think Holiday webinar and you’ll find out the answers to these questions and much more. Register here for the Nov 3 session.

comScore and dunnhumbyUSA Research Shows Online Advertising Lifts In-Store CPG Brand Sales By an Average of 21%

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:26:00 +0000

ComScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, and dunnhumbyUSA, a global leader in building brand value for consumer goods and retail companies, today released results of multiple studies measuring the offline sales impact of online display advertising for consumer packaged goods (CPG) advertisers. Retail sales were measured by analytically linking the permission-based comScore panel of one million U.S. Internet users to their anonymous loyalty card in-store purchase data provided by dunnhumbyUSA; no identifiable personal data was disclosed. By comparing the in-store brand buying of households exposed to online advertising with that of households not exposed, it was possible to determine the impact of online advertising campaigns. The results of the studies indicate that exposure to online display ads can lead to improved in-store sales for CPG brands.

“Effective advertising has always been about increasing awareness, favorability and purchase intent in order to increase in-store conversion,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. “After several years of conducting advertising effectiveness research for CPG brands, we are learning how digital campaigns can lift sales in retail stores. It’s now clear that online ad campaigns should be an integral part of any CPG marketer’s integrated communications strategy.”

“The comScore dunnhumbyUSA research highlights the potential impact of an integrated, customer-driven approach across channels,” added Matthew Keylock, Senior Vice President, New Business Development & Partnerships at dunnhumbyUSA. “With these results we are one step closer to a more comprehensive understanding of what motivates shoppers to buy and how online advertising can play a significant role along the path to purchase.”

CPG Campaigns Show Median Offline Sales Lift of 21 Percent

An analysis of multiple CPG online ad campaigns that involved comparing the offline buying of households exposed to advertising with the buying behavior of households who were not exposed revealed a median in-store sales lift of 21 percent among the exposed households, with five out of every six campaigns generating a positive sales lift. Approximately 70 percent of campaigns generated a double-digit sales lift, and more than 40 percent generated lifts of at least 30 percent.

U.S. Offline Sales Lift for CPG Brands Among Households Exposed to Online Advertising Compared to Households Not Exposed Studies Conducted 2008 – 2010 Source: comScore AdEffx and dunnhumbyUSA
Offline Sales Lift	Percent of Studies
0%	17%
1-10%	14%
11-20%	19%
21-30%	10%
31-40%	17%
41-50%	10%
50%+	14%

Lorraine Twohill – Brand Genius

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Congrats to AdWeek's newest brand genius Lorraine Twohill.

From the article:

Let other marketing executives worry about how consumers perceive their brands. For Google’s Lorraine Twohill, it’s about inviting users to help create hers.

“We’re the only company on the planet that lets others play with our brand,” says Twohill, who was named Google’s vp of global marketing in 2009. “We stand for something that’s very unique and personal with users. There’s a trust there. The users feel like they own our brand.”

Using Google Insights for Search to Analyze Ethnic Restaurant Trends

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Last week at my birthday dinner at an excellent Chicago Korean restaurant (San Goo Gab San), a friend mentioned that ethnic food, especially the cuisines of Asia and Africa, has become increasingly accessible and popular in the Chicago area since he first moved there in the 1980s. This isn’t a revelation. There are clearly more ethnic places in the Windy City than there were when we were young. According to one account, in 1970 there was just one Indian restaurant in all of Chicago and now there’s a buffet on every corner.

It was the discussion that followed the comment that got me thinking. The dinner attendees started speculating about which cuisines have grown the most in popularity, and whether Korean food has become more widely available, or grown more in popularity than Indian food. Some enterprising guests even started speculating about which cuisines were “poised to pop” – which ethnic foods would become as popular 30 years from now as Chinese food is today. Everyone had an opinion, but no one had any data.

Being an analytical chap, I decided to see if Google’s enormous query database could help us answer these burning (or should I say spicy?) questions. The tool that I used, Google Insights for Search, is a publically accessible tool that allows you to compare indexed search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames. You can find it at: http://www.google.com/insights/search/.

I used query volume for “Chinese Restaurant, Indian Restaurant,” etc. as a proxy for a cuisine’s popularity. While this is not a perfect way of measuring the popularity of ethnic food, it’s a whole lot easier than hand counting every ethnic restaurant in the US, which would take a rather fun and tasty 100 years.

My research attempted to answer three questions: 1) Which ethnic cuisines are the most popular in the US, and how have these trends changed over time? 2) Which “emerging” or “frontier” cuisines are likely to become more accessible and beloved in the future? And 3) is the growth of ethnic food in America geographically broad-based, or limited to large, diverse cities? This analysis yielded some obvious conclusions and some that were more, shall we say, delectable.

Which ethnic cuisines are the most popular in the US?

Three cuisines, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican dominate America’s ethnic food landscape. From 2004-2008 (and likely before that as well), Italian food held a slim lead over the other two big players. In mid-2009, just as the world economy emerged from the depths of the financial crisis, Italian food lost its (probably) century-old lead to Chinese food. Shortly after, in mid-2010, Mexican food also jumped ahead of Italian food and, according to forecasts, will likely stay there.

If current trends hold, Italian food will have great difficulty regaining the title of America’s ethnic food king. As in so many other fields of contemporary human endeavor, the Chinese seem to have won out over the Western Europeans in the American food game.

Surprise, surprise – Kung Pao Chicken has stolen the crown from hapless Veal Parm.

Trailing behind the big three are Indian and Thai cuisine, which is easily available in most large cities and small towns all over the US. The demand for Indian and Thai food has remained steady for most of the decade, with the exception of a small bump of ~5% this year. I suspect that Indian and Thai food will be flat to up in the coming years unless their prices drop.

Two other well-established ethnic cuisines, Japanese and French, are worth noting. Unlike Chinese, Italian and Mexican ones, Japanese and French restaurants are usually more upscale. As you might expect, interest in this pricier fare has been flat for the past 8 years, and declined slightly during the recession. If things keep moving in their current direction, Indian and Thai cuisines may overtake Japanese food in popularity over the next decade, even with relatively flat growth.

Which” emerging” or “frontier” cuisines are candidates to become everyone’s favorites five years from now based on growth rate?

If I had to bet, I’d put my money on Korean and Vietnamese. Searches for Korean food have delivered an almost 40% increase since 2008 as bulgolgi tacos and kalbi enter the mainstream and Americans realize that Korean food really isn’t all that foreign to American palettes. Brazilian food, on the other hand, has taken a tumble, with interest dropping nearly 20% since the mid-2000s.

Vietnamese food, which is my personal favorite, has surged 20% in 3 years. It is now ahead of Brazilian food and has separated itself from Ethiopian and Cuban food to take firm command of second place among “frontier” cuisines. Vietnamese food is healthy, flavorful, and contains meats and noodles familiar to average Joe’s. As Vietnam’s economy continues to grow and more Americans visit Southeast Asia for vacation, the popularity of Pho and Bun is likely to grow. In fact, in this month’s issue of Fortune magazine, the founder and CEO of Chipotle announced that he is working on an idea for a fast casual Southeast Asian restaurant, which will launch sometime in the next 5 years. I think he’s on to something.

Brazil’s economy may be surging, but its cuisine isn’t.

Are ethnic restaurants growing in small towns (or just big cities)?

I was born in State College, Pennsylvania, a tiny Big Ten college town nestled in the mountains in the center of the state. When I was born in 1980, State College was home to few ethnic restaurants – we had a couple of Chinese places, a Mexican place called La Bamba, and not much else. Over the years, however, State College has become something of an ethnic food mecca. It’s now home to Indonesian, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and many other world cuisines.

Is State College the exception or the rule? Have smaller towns and more remote states experienced an influx of new cuisines, or is the growth in ethnic foods’ popularity limited to large, diverse, immigrant-heavy cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago?

The answer is a resounding “no.” From Ohio to Nebraska to Idaho, ethnic food queries are growing. Try it for yourself!

You, too can use Google Insights for Search to find data that confirms or refutes your random hypotheses about everyday life - or even better, your business. Give it a shot: http://www.google.com/insights/search/.

Guest Post by Aaron Lichtig

Google’s Think Mobile Webinar featuring Avinash Kaushik – November 2nd

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:26:00 +0000

Not sure how to most effectively leverage and measure your mobile marketing campaigns? Well, you’re not alone. While mobile is an incredible new way to distribute content and reach customers on the go, it also presents a unique challenge when it comes to measuring the impact of our mobile efforts (like applications, advertisements or mobile-optimized websites).

Tune in on November 2nd for Google’s Think Mobile webinar, Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message - Finally!, led by Avinash Kaushik, Digital Marketing Evangelist. Avinash will share tips and best practices for mobile marketing campaigns, new metrics unique to mobile, and how best to measure mobile ads and websites.

When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 9-10:30am PST/ 12-1:30pm EST
How: Register here

Better together: new insights on display ad effectiveness across screens & multi-screen case study

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Rich Media Display Ads Across Screens = Better Together
We partnered with Nielsen to measure the incremental impact of multi-screen advertising. In a study conducted at CBS’s Television City media lab run by Nielsen, study participants were asked to view related content across TV, PCs, smartphones and tablets. A 15-second video ad promoting Volvo's S60 sedan was shown to different groups of participants, with some people seeing no ads, and others seeing the ad on a different combinations of screens controlling for frequency.

The results clearly demonstrated the impact that multi-screen advertising has on branding. In the group that was exposed to TV ads alone, 50% of people correctly attributed the ad to Volvo. For groups that saw the ad across all screens -- TV, PC, smartphone and tablet -- the brand recall jumps dramatically to 74%.

Similarly, only 22% of the group that was exposed to just the TV ad correctly recalled that the ad was for a 4-door sedan versus 39% of the group that saw the ad across all screens.

We share this ad effectiveness research on the heels of our recently released internal data on multi-screen usage patterns revealing how users select the type of screen they are interacting with at different points in their day (New! Search data reveal that when the sun goes down, the tablets come out). The multi-screen opportunity is looming for advertisers so we wanted to share these new insights and showcase examples of successful integrated digital display campaigns.

Smart advertisers are already running integrated digital campaigns.
We’ve worked with hundreds of advertisers who have translated their desktop search and display goals to mobile and now to tablets. One example we’ve shared previously is the Animal Planet case study, and today we want to share a new example: adidas. adidas, in partnership with Carat, worked with Google to extend their video brand message to digital. With Google’s unique cross-channel capabilities, adidas was able to extend its video creative across all digital platforms, adapting them for engagement across PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Guest post by: Johanna Werther & Ben Chung, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

New Webinar: Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message – Finally!

Aaron Lichtig — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Do you ever feel like you don’t know how to most effectively leverage your mobile marketing campaigns? While mobile is an incredible new way to distribute content and reach customers, it also presents a unique challenge when it comes to measuring the impact of our mobile efforts (like applications, advertisements or mobile friendly websites).

We’d like to invite you to join us for a webinar discussing mobile marketing metrics, led by Avinash Kaushik, Digital Marketing Evangelist. In this exciting webinar Avinash will share his tips and best practices for new metrics unique to mobile, as well as how best to measure mobile ads and websites.

We hope you can join us!

What: Mobile Advertising Webinar: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message - Finally!

When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 9-10:30am PST/ 12-1:30pm EST

How: Register here

How online display ads build brands for marketers today

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Last week, we shared examples of how direct response marketers are driving strong results with display advertising. But you’ve heard it before -- beyond driving immediate clicks and conversions, display builds brands. And as digital budgets accelerate, for an increasingly growing number of brands, display advertising has become an important part of their strategy. In fact, in the recently conducted Advertiser Intelligence Reports study, by Advertiser Perceptions, advertisers are planning on spending more digital display dollars in the next 12 months for brand goals than direct response.1

So this week, we’re turning our attention to pioneering brands who used display advertising as a critical component in their overall marketing mix to connect with their audience, engage them emotionally, and as a result, drive meaningful results. Let’s take a closer look.

Animal Planet attracted 1.6MM viewers for the season premiere of River Monsters, putting it in the #1 spot among its target audience, by running an integrated video and rich media campaign across YouTube, AdMob, and the Google Display Network. (read case study)

Volvo drove an 88% lift in purchase intent for its new S60 sedan by leveraging the YouTube homepage and masthead unit, interactive video ads on AdMob, and standard IAB ads on the Google Display Network. (read case study)

Sealy reinvented its Posturepedic brand using YouTube promoted video ads and in-stream video ads, which drove 46% of its website traffic during the first week of the campaign. (read case study)

At OMMA Global this week, we shared a simple framework for brand building that we developed after analyzing the campaigns of our most successful brand advertisers. These “better practices” focus on three key areas: connecting with the right consumer at the right moment, delivering an engaging message, and measuring the metrics that matter.

Connecting with the right consumer at the right moment. As consumers continue to access the internet more frequently throughout the day, from a multitude of devices, it’s increasingly important for brand marketers to create device-inclusive, rather than device-specific, campaigns. And by targeting a combination of audience and contextual signals, it’s now easier than ever to reach the right person, at the right time, on the right device through the Google Display Network or DoubleClick AdExchange.

Engaging them emotionally. The best display ads don’t just leverage sight, sound, and motion, but also harness display’s interactive capabilities that drive deep engagement with a brand. Our research shows that rich media ads drive significantly better brand performance than standard Flash ads--1.7X for brand awareness, 2.7X in purchase intent, and 5X increase in brand favorability.2 We also see that newer ad formats, like mobile display and in-stream video, are even more effective at moving consumers down the brand funnel. Lastly, we’ve seen masthead ads on the YouTube homepage garner an 11% interaction rate and drive a 4X lift in engagement compared to standard ads.3

Measuring more robustly. Looking beyond simple clicks and conversions, brand marketers use Campaign Insights to measure increased awareness and interest through the lift in search queries and website visits. Paired with Google Analytics and Multi-Channel Funnels, advertisers can see a complete picture of the chain of online and offline media that drives brand engagement. And to close the loop, many of our brands match geo-targeted display campaigns to offline sales to measure the true impact of a display ad campaign.

More and more studies show that brand marketers who focus on these three levers see the the greatest return on their display ad investment. With display’s ability to connect more precisely with your target consumer, engage more emotionally with interactive messages, and measure robust metrics along all parts of the purchase funnel, it’s no wonder that display builds brands.

Watch this space.
google.com/watchthisspace

(1) Advertiser Intelligence Reports (AIR) study, Advertiser Perceptions, August 2011
(2) The Brand Value of Video and Rich Media Ads, DoubleClick, September 2011
(3) YouTube Homepage Impact Study, Compete, December 2010

Posted by Brian Zeug, National Sales Director, Display and Video

Non-Brand Terms Drive More New Visitors to Your Site

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:59:00 +0000

A great guest piece from Dan Schock, Google Retail Team Director

Search as a means of driving sales has evolved in the past few years. As recently as three years ago, most retailers and brands still viewed their “Internet” plan as a means of driving e-commerce. The Internet was a distribution and sales channel measured by its ability to drive online revenues.

Then, as the Internet evolved into a broader media platform where consumers researched, watched videos and compared products/prices, and then often made their purchases in a physical store, many advanced companies began to include offline sales as an additional factor in measuring their overall Search ROI.

In 2011, the most forward-thinking retailers and brands have started looking at a new measurement to calculate the success of their online campaigns: new customer acquisition and the lifetime value of those new customers.

Think about your own search strategy: most likely you bid on as many of your brand terms as possible. And you should: here are customers that know you, who are raising their hands (via “queries”) and asking for information, then converting at a high ROI.

But what about “non-brand” terms: queries higher up the purchase funnel like “makeup”, “detergent” or "paper towels”? These shoppers are still browsing and researching but they’re not converting at the same rate as those searching for your brand terms, so you may either not be buying non-brand terms them or buying very few. Why? – Most likely because you’re hooked on those brand ROIs. Why pay a higher CPC for a lower conversion rate?

I’ll tell you why: because those non-brand terms drive a higher percentage of new customers to your site – and when you consider the lifetime value of those customers they will pay off! Here are people looking for products and services you offer, but did not think to type your brand into the search box. You are not (yet) part of their top consideration set. And look at the advertisers who are on that search results page: it’s your competition! You are not even putting yourself in the game.

So what do we recommend? Only you know your relative new customer acquisition costs and lifetime customer value payouts. Every retailer has different metrics, but here’s the general thinking: your brand terms ($.50 CPC) payout at an ROI of 10:1 while your non-brand terms ($1.00 CPC) payout at 5:1. But your non-brand terms bring in more new customers who will eventually payout. In year 2, they buy enough to amortize that initial ROI up to 8:1. Then in year 3 they’re loyal customers who are paying out at 10:1 (or higher). So that initial $1.00 CPC is now paying out – and that new customer you bought three years ago is now a lifetime customer (and you didn’t let the competition get them either).

So don’t relegate those non-brand terms to the “too low ROI” bin. Give them a chance. There is value in there beyond immediate ROI. All it takes is a little forward-thinking strategic discussion, some help from your quant team and the ability to see value beyond today’s sales report. Think about turning new customers into lifetime customers.

Highlights from this week’s Google CPG Industry Newsletter – 8/19 Edition

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:14:00 +0000

WHAT’S HOT

1. Patrick Pichette (Google CFO) in McKinsey Quarterly: Check out McKinsey’s wonderful interview with our laid-back Canadian CFO.

2. Google to acquire Motorola Mobility: Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide—with over 550,000 devices now lit up every day—through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola.

3. Games now in Google+: My family has a games closet. Inside you’ll find a few decks of cards, two decades’ worth of board games and a Twister mat for those times when we’re feeling limber. Playing games is a great way for us to spend quality time with each other (and a little healthy competition never hurt anyone either). Today we’re adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.

______________________________________________________________________________

GOOGLE NEWS

Google+ Ads Would Perform Well
An eye-tracking study conducted by EyeTrackShop suggests that if Google+ offered brands an option to place ads on the social network, site visitors would spend at least as much time gazing at them as they would with ads on Facebook.

YouTube Starts to Look Like a TV Network

Lollapalooza livestream just the latest step (AdWeek)

New Webinar: Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message – Finally!

Aaron Lichtig — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:01:00 +0000

We’d like to invite you to join us for a webinar discussing mobile marketing metrics, led by Avinash Kaushik, Google's Digital Marketing Evangelist. In this exciting webinar Avinash will share his tips and best practices for new metrics unique to mobile, as well as how best to measure mobile ads and applications.

We hope you can join us!

What: Mobile Advertising Webinar: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message - Finally!
When: Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 9-10:30am PST/ 12-1:30pm EST
How: Register HERE

Two Things Every CPG Marketer Should Do to Win in Mobile

Aaron Lichtig — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Your customers are on mobile; as a marketer, you need to be on mobile, too.

So, you may be asking, what are the two things that a CPG marketer should do to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the growth of mobile? Here are our recommendations:

1) Create a mobile-optimized site. Consumers become extremely frustrated when they go to a mobile website that's tough to use. Harris Interactive, in a March 2011 mobile interactive experience study commissioned by Tealeaf, found that:

23% of shoppers had cursed, 11% had screamed, and 4% had gone as far as to throw their phones when mobile sites did not display or function properly. Screaming and cursing are not key drivers of purchase intent!
63% of all online adults would be less likely to buy from the same company via other purchase channels if they experienced a problem conducting a mobile transaction.

There's even a website, http://mobilemarketingfail.com, which writes snarky blog entries about poorly designed corporate mobile sites. Don't be their next entry! Talk to your media agency or Google team representative today about how to get started.

2) Separate mobile search campaigns from desktop and optimize, optimize, optimize: Mobile campaigns perform better when they're created separately from desktop campaigns. Consumers use different search keywords when they're on their mobile phones than they do when they are on their computers. Work with your search agency or media team to ensure that you have a separate mobile campaign. Then, track your performance and optimize.

Studies Show Search Ads Drive 88% Incremental Traffic for CPG Brands

Aaron Lichtig — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Today's post is a guest post by Lizzy Van Alstine, Research Evangelist on Google's Quant Management Team

Advertisers often wonder whether search ads cannibalize their organic traffic. If search ads were paused, would clicks on organic results increase, and make up for the loss in paid traffic? Google statisticians recently ran over 400 studies on paused accounts to answer this question.

In what we call “Search Ads Pause Studies”, our group of researchers observed organic click volume in the absence of search ads. Then they built a statistical model to predict click volume for given levels of ad spend. This model generates estimates for the incremental clicks attributable to search ads (IAC), or in other words, the percentage of paid clicks that are not made up for by organic clicks when search ads are paused.

On average, the incremental ad clicks percentage across verticals is 89%. This means that a full 89% of the traffic generated by search ads is not replaced by organic clicks when ads are paused. This number was consistently high across verticals. For the CPG vertical, the mean incremental ad clicks percentage was 88%. Check out the video below for an overview of the study's findings.

The full study can be found on research.google.com

Highlights from this week’s Google CPG Industry Newsletter

Aaron Lichtig — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:13:00 +0000

Here are the top highlights from this week's Google CPG industry newsletter. Happy Reading!

WHAT’S HOT

1. Think Quarterly: At Google, we aim to help people and organizations navigate a world gone digital. That's why we created Think Quarterly. We don’t want to review what’s happened; we want to prepare you for what happens next. For each issue, we tap our homegrown visionaries, plus heads of industry, innovators and experts, to lend their insights and outlooks on the digital future. We hope it gives a view into what drives us as a company and inspires those of you who lead the way. We hope you find the content engaging and insightful. Included are insights from Dennis Woodside on his vision for our industry, as well as SVP of Advertising, Susan Wojcicki’s Eight Principles for Innovation. Think Quarterly is very much an experiment, and like any other Google product we aim to iterate, so please let me know what you think. And if you like it, +1 it!

2. What Do You Love? Would you like to find out everything you can about the things you love in one place? Now you can. Check out What Do You Love? Type in something you love: monkeys, photography, or Merlot, whatever comes to mind. Enjoy.

3. New Tablet Targeting Options Now Available: You can find the new "Tablets with full browsers" targeting option under the Networks and devices section of the Settings tab within your AdWords account. Read more on the Inside AdWords blog here.

4. Google+ Project Update - Sparks: Remember when your Grandpa used to cut articles out of the paper and send them to you? That was nice. That’s kind of what Sparks does: looks for videos and articles it thinks you’ll like, so when you’re free, there’s always something to watch, read, and share.

GOOGLE NEWS

How brands can get started on Google+
Marketers shouldn't wait around to get started with Google+, writes Heidi Cohen. Even if Google won't let your brand carve out a page of its own, it's important for individual marketers to climb aboard, so they can start figuring out the site's features and check out how the potential audience is using the network. "As a marketer, it's critical to get onto Google+ and start kicking the social media tires," Cohen writes.

"Android is Top Mobile Operating System in the U.S., Says Nielsen" (ReadWriteWeb, July 28):

"Today Nielsen is reporting that Google's mobile operating system Android now has the largest smart phone operating system (OS) market share here in the U.S. The top three mobile OS's, according to this new data, are Android (39%), Apple's iOS (28%) and RIM (20%)."

MOBILE UPDATE

Brand marketers see a future in mobile
About half of brand marketers have mobile strategies but their spending remains minimal, with a majority planning to lay out less than $50,000 this year and only 7% budgeting more than $300,000, according to an IAB-sponsored survey of 300 top brand marketing executives. But 72% of those surveyed said they planned to boost mobile spending over the next two years, with branded mobile sites and display ads cited as two of the leading strategic components.