The new campaign format Demand Gen is similar to those used in the social media advertising tools - but with Google AI.
What is Demand Gen?
Demand Gen is a brand new campaign format and a powerful upgrade to Discovery Ads that is set to launch in October 2023. Adfreak has been selected as a beta tester of this new format and I thought I'd try to share my thoughts in this post.
What do you do if your name is Google in a troubled economy and you see that interest in images and video has increased explosively? They respond with the new Demand Gen campaign format.
Many people forget that YouTube is the world's second most visited website after Google and not everyone knows that they are owned by the same company, Alphabet Inc and studies show that 87% of consumers say that YouTube helps them make a faster purchase decision. Through Demand Gen campaigns, you get direct access to YouTube short, Gmail and Discover, which is especially good for companies that actively work with social media and want to reach users with visually appealing images and videos through Google's own channels. If money is stagnant in society, measures need to be taken to open up the flow again and with Demand Gen the idea is to increase demand and help consumers make a faster purchase decision.
Le technique
Get ready for AI-based social media marketing à la Performance Max.
Using advanced machine learning technology, one can upload ad groups for different themes targeting selected audiences. Speaking of target groups - Google opens up the possibility of reaching lookalike audiences based on your first-party data. This after phasing out similar target audience segments at the beginning of May 2023. Another sign that they are taking special measures in the economic turmoil. In each ad group, you can create attractive ads with video, image and carousel formats.
For example, you can have an ad group with a complete ad set that targets lookalike target groups whose purpose is to find new potential customers in the mid-funnel part. Then perhaps you create an ad group that targets customer lists that will get existing customers to buy more often and another ad group that targets persuasive messages to website visitors, that is, mid to bottom funnel. Google's AI identifies key touchpoints in this funnel and then optimizes the content, bids and placements so that ads appear in the right place, at the right time and at the right time.
New features in Demand Gen vs Discovery Ads
- Lookalike audiences
Demand Gen allows you to reach audiences with similar online activity based on your customer lists (first party data)
- YouTube Shorts
You get direct access to YouTube Shorts, which have exploded in recent years.
- Video + image + A/B tests
Create multiple ad sets with different targeting and A/B test content.
- Bidding
Use Maximize Clicks as a strategy to gain visibility and drive traffic to your website.
- Bidding
Last but not least, we then have the technology similar to that of the Performance Max campaign. Letting Google AI take care of the customer journey from the mid-bottom funnel with data-driven attribution and and reporting of conversion paths.
Read more about Demand Gen here
