TV Ads Blog

An update on Google TV Ads

2012-08-30T17:59:00.000-04:00

Our goal is to provide all our customers with the best digital marketing opportunities. In 2007, we launched Google TV Ads in AdWords to bring digital buying and measurement technologies to traditional TV advertising. Since then, lots of our clients have bought traditional TV advertising for the first time.

However, video is increasingly going digital and users are now watching across numerous devices. So we’ve made the hard decision to close our TV Ads product over the next few months and move the team to other areas at Google. We’ll be doubling down on video solutions for our clients (like YouTube, AdWords for Video, and ad serving tools for web video publishers). We also see opportunities to help users access web content on their TV screens, through products like Google TV.

Of course we'll continue to support our partners, and our clients’ campaigns, as we shut the product down.

Thanks to all our clients, partners and the team that has worked on Google TV Ads over the past few years. The future of video advertising is extremely bright and we’re excited to devote ourselves fully to it.

Posted by Shishir Mehrotra

Google TV Ads: New year, new partner and new technology

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Since launching in 2007, Google TV Ads has provided advertisers a smart, measurable way to run national TV campaigns, while at the same time helping our partners (including networks, cable and satellite operators) work towards maximizing revenue from their inventory. Over the past year, we’ve seen a 6-fold increase in the number of ads aired per day as our household reach across cable and satellite operators has tripled. Today we’re pleased to continue this momentum, to help both advertisers and partners get the most from TV advertising.

New partner - welcome Cox Media

Cox Media, the advertising division of Cox Communications, the third largest cable operator in the US with more than 6 million total customers, has entered into a strategic partnership with Google TV Ads, adding their inventory to our national TV buying network. Cox becomes the first major cable industry partner to deploy Google’s next-generation advertising management solution, a major update to the TV Ads platform.

As a result of this partnership, advertisers who use Google TV Ads will have access to inventory on over 75 networks across Cox's channel line up. Cox Media is available in many cities across the country.

Building upon previously announced inventory deals with DIRECTV, Verizon FiOS, and Viamedia, Google TV Ads has nearly tripled its operator household reach since the start of 2011, to a total of 42 million households nationwide.

For Cox Media, this partnership will deliver new national TV advertisers, particularly those focused on high levels of measurement and accountability in their TV advertising, similar to how they use Google's online advertising products.

Mike Zeigler, Cox Media’s Vice President of Operations and Field Management, told us: “The media industry is changing rapidly. Our new partnership with Google TV Ads allows us to reach new market segments through a highly automated and efficient distribution platform. We are pleased to be part of bringing new television opportunities to Google advertisers.”

New ad management solution

As the TV landscape has evolved from a few to hundreds of networks, audience attention has fragmented, making the process of reaching one large audience more challenging. At the same time, TV ad inventory is split between a number of players - national networks, regional affiliates, cable, and satellite operators. As a result, each has its own slices of inventory to sell - divided across many shows, in disparate regions, on lots of channels, at various times of the day. On its own, each slice may not have a large number of viewers, or enable a major advertiser to reach a nationwide audience. And it’s time consuming to buy and sell each slice individually.

To solve this problem, Google TV Ads is announcing an update to its service that enables operators to easily opt-in and contribute these narrow slices into the Google TV Ads national inventory pool. As thousands of these slices are aggregated, this pool represents a large national audience that marketers can then customize to their audience goals.

Cox is the first major cable operator to choose this new Google TV Ads ad management solution, and moving forward we will be integrating with new partners, including Suddenlink Communications, which reaches 1.2M households.

The new solution aims to deliver higher returns for our operators while integrating with existing industry technology, streamlining time-consuming inventory management tasks such as ordering, trafficking and reporting.

Bendbroadband, a Bend, Oregon-based cable company, was the first to trial this new platform, starting in May 2011. Tim Olson, General Manager of Ad Sales for Zolo Media, a division of Bendbroadband, told us: “Google TV Ads generates more revenue, uses our inventory more efficiently and is overall easier to work with...we’re generating 4-5 times the revenue we used to.”

While we’ve come far in 2011, going forward we’ll keep working to help our partners maximize their advertising revenues. Our advertisers will be happy to know we’ll also be adding more inventory to our system by expanding our relationship with Cox Media and establishing partnerships with additional operators beginning with Suddenlink Communications. At the same time, Google TV Ads will continue to provide the same level of precision, flexibility and measurability that our advertisers have come to rely on.

You can find out more about Google TV Ads at google.com/tvads.

Posted by Mark Piesanen, Director of Strategic Partner Development, Google TV Ads

You're Invited: Making CPG TV Buying Smarter

2011-11-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

Calling all CPG marketers:

Are you marketing a 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.

As the next webinar in our series, the Google TV Ads team would like to join us on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 to demonstrate how brand marketers are getting smarter about their TV buys. Highlighting real use-cases, 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!

What: CPG Webinar: Make Your TV Campaign Smarter
When: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 2:30pm EST/11:30am PST
Register here

For more information on Google TV Ads, visit us today at google.com/tvads

Posted by David Kagan, Product Marketing Manager, Google TV Ads

You're Invited: Making B2B TV Buying Smarter

2011-10-31T13:54:00.000-04:00

Over the past year, Google TV Ads has been investing in new features to help our advertisers make smarter decisions about their TV campaigns.

The Google TV Ads team would like to invite you to a webinar on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 to discuss the changing landscape of TV advertising for B2B marketers and how features that tie TV to online can help you better reach the B2B consumer on TV. Members of our B2B sales team will specifically cover:

The changing TV landscape - reaching the B2B consumer on TV today vs. in the ‘Three Network World’
How Google TV Ads is working to make your TV buy smarter, including:

Search Triggers: Harnessing the power of Google Search to influence your TV buy
Web Attribution: Linking TV ad exposure to website visitation

We hope you can join us!

What: Making B2B TV Buying Smarter Webinar
When: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 2:30-3:00pm EST/11:30-12:00pm PST
How: Register here

Not a B2B marketer? Don't worry! This is just the first in a series of upcoming webinars from Google TV Ads. Stay tuned for more announcements in the near future.

Posted by David Kagan, Product Marketing Manager, Google TV Ads

Online Search as a Driver of TV Buying

2011-10-19T12:11:00.001-04:00

When Searches take place online, business usually follows. Advertisers utilizing Google’s AdWords and Insights for Search data have watched this pattern emerge for years, and we’re excited to now bring similar capabilities to our TV advertisers. As of today, we are pleased to announce the launch of Search Triggers, a new tool offered by Google TV Ads that uses national search trend data to control when and how you deliver your TV ads.

Let’s take a look at how this works. Suppose you own a business that sells grills. The summertime is when you generally run television advertising. But what if it’s a rainy weekend? By tapping into the power of search data, Search Triggers watches for real-time changes in the demand for terms you specify, such as “grills” or “charcoal.” When query volume spikes or declines, the Search Triggers tool automatically adjusts your daily budget up or down accordingly each day so that you’re delivering the right message with appropriate frequency at the right time.

Using search data to optimize your TV campaigns is another way that Google TV Ads is working to make your TV buy smarter. For more information, or to get started with Google TV Ads, visit google.com/tvads.

Update: Read more about Search Triggers on Mashable

Posted by Jody Shapiro, Google TV Ads Product Manager

More DIRECTV Networks Now Available through Google TV Ads

2011-10-13T16:57:00.001-04:00

Since announcing our inventory partnership with DIRECTV in August 2010, Google TV Ads has offered advertisers the ability to place their TV spots on a broad selection of national inventory across 11 its networks. Today we are pleased to share that we have grown our DIRECTV reach to include five new networks. Now when you plan your TV campaign with Google TV Ads, you will have more inventory from the following networks with which to target your audience on:

FOX Soccer Channel: America's premier destination for the world's game, FOX Soccer Channel offers unprecedented coverage of live and premier world-class soccer, news and original shows throughout the year.
Gospel Music Channel: The only network with a truly non-controversial programming slate of movies, dramas, comedies and music, Gospel Music Channel is America's favorite channel for uplifting entertainment.
Logo: Appealing to a broad range of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender viewers and their friends and family, Logo features a vast library of major film titles, documentaries, and quality original shows and specials.
RFD-TV: Devoted to rural issues, concerns, and interests, much of the programming of RFD-TV is concerned with the culture of farming and agriculture.
TV Games: The leading horse racing television network in the U.S

Adding these networks expands our already strong reach on DIRECTV, which includes networks such as the TV Guide Network, Fox Business Network, Current TV, and more. Along with our previously announced operator partners including Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, and ViaMedia, Google TV Ads now offers the ability to reach up to 35M households across the US.

For more information on how to get started with Google TV Ads, visit www.google.com/tvads today.

Posted by Sanjeev Das, Software Engineer, Google TV Ads

*Network descriptions sourced from the Cable Advertising Bureau

Viamedia Launches on Google TV Ads Platform

2011-07-27T09:46:00.002-04:00

Earlier this year we announced a strategic inventory agreement with Viamedia, a provider of advertising sales services to some of the fastest growing cable and telco operators in the US. Today we are pleased to announce that we have completed integration of Viamedia’s two million households into the Google TV Ads platform, making inventory available on 64 networks across their operator partners. With this integration, the household reach of Google TV Ads has now nearly tripled since the beginning of the year.

For those customers that already have Google TV Ads campaigns up and running, there’s nothing you need to do at this time. When eligible, your campaigns will automatically include Viamedia inventory, maximizing reach while staying within your desired budgets.

For more information or to learn more about advertising with Google TV Ads, visit www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by Kevin Buskirk, Technical Account Manager, Google TV Ads

Measuring the Online Impact of TV

2011-07-22T09:30:00.005-04:00

At Google we love data. We feel that the more of it you have, the better decisions you’re likely to make. It’s for this reason that we’re excited to introduce Web Attribution, Google TV Ads’ newest feature that, for the first time, allows you to measure the impact your TV ads have on driving traffic to your website.

So how’s it work? Web Attribution links historical website visitation trends from Google Analytics with your TV campaign data in AdWords. By establishing a baseline of typical web traffic patterns, we look for deviations from the norm. Matching these deviations with the exact times and places your TV Ads air on our system, we are able to attribute visits that resulted from exposure to your ads. Daily reporting of your Attributed Visits, as well as the Cost per Attributed Visit, will be available on a per-airing basis so you can see which networks, programs, and ad creatives are delivering the best results for your campaign.

This is just another way that Google TV Ads is working to make your TV buy smarter. We encourage you to find out how to get started with Web Attribution today. You can also always find more information about Google TV Ads at google.com/tvads.

Posted by Jody Shapiro, Product Manager, Google TV Ads

Verizon FiOS Launches on Google TV Ads Platform

2011-07-13T09:19:00.002-04:00

This past November we announced that we had struck a partnership agreement with Verizon FiOS, one of the fastest growing television providers in the nation. Today we are pleased to announce that we have completed integration of FiOS’ 4M households into Google TV Ads, opening up inventory across over 50 networks, including AMC, ESPN, Discovery, Fox News, MTV, and other popular channels. With the addition of this new inventory to our system, Google TV Ads has now extended its reach to more than 25% of all US television households.

To ensure a smooth transition, current advertisers’ campaigns will automatically extend to this new inventory when eligible, achieving maximum reach for their message.

For more information or to learn more about advertising with Google TV Ads, visit www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by Sanjeev Das, Software Engineer, Google TV Ads

Making TV Buys Smarter

2011-06-13T13:27:00.002-04:00

We’ve all heard the old adage about not knowing which 50% of your advertising is wasted. Well, TV advertisers often tell us this is absolutely true. And with the proliferation of online ad formats that are highly targeted and measurable, the impact of TV ads can feel even more abstract by comparison. It doesn't help that typical TV buys are often slow to provide data, and that data is often very limited.

The good news is that TV advertising technology has been advancing rapidly, helping advertisers better understand how TV helps them achieve their marketing objectives. Platforms like Google TV Ads are bringing targeting, measurement and speed to TV like never before. Unfortunately, too many advertisers don’t know these solutions exist.

It’s time that changed. To that end, we’re excited to announce the launch of an advertising campaign to spread the word about Google TV Ads and its ability to make your TV buy smarter.

If you frequent sites like AdAge or MediaPost, you are likely to see our campaign over the next couple of months. You can also check out our new campaign website at google.com/smarterTVads.

Posted by Eric Meyerson, Head of TV and Video Ads Marketing

Building a Larger TV Ad Network

2011-05-17T17:40:00.003-04:00

We announced our partnership with DIRECTV this past summer, and this week we completed integration to extend the reach of Google TV Ads into 30M homes, soon to grow to 35M. Partnering with DIRECTV, the largest satellite provider and second largest TV distributor in the US, enables us to offer multi-distributor airings on Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network (West), Centric, Chiller, Current TV, Discovery Fit and Health, Fox Business, Fuel, Ovation, Sleuth and TV Guide across all dayparts, every day.

We're excited about what this enables for advertisers -- more reach, across more operators with no additional work. We'll automatically make sure your ads air across distributors including DIRECTV to maximize the reach on each of your targets while staying within your budgets. We're working quickly to integrate our Verizon FiOS and ViaMedia partnerships to elevate reach to 35M homes, or almost one-third of TV viewing homes in the US.

Extending Your Reach with Google TV Ads
Increasing the reach of your TV campaigns across this new inventory is a simple process: target any of the networks where we have DIRECTV inventory, and your campaign will be eligible for airings across all of our partners including DIRECTV. It has never been easier to buy airings across multiple operators while reaching a targeted and measurable national audience.

We’re thrilled to continually add reach for our advertisers and work with a growing number of committed partners. Stay tuned for future announcements and learn more about Google TV Ads at our website: www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by Trevor O'Brien, Product Manager for Google TV Ads

More Layers of Data Improve Your TV Targeting Abilities

2011-03-23T13:45:00.004-04:00

Google TV Ads’ audience targeting tool brings together numerous data sources to enable advanced targeting on TV. The merging of clustering models like Nielsen's PRIZM household segments with anonymized Equifax and set-top box data allows you to target multi-dimensional audiences like women ages 18-24 who love photography. Now we’re adding yet another data set to make that experience even richer -- P$YCLE segmentation.

P$YCLE is a market segmentation system from the Nielsen Company that marketers use to understand and target households by financial behavior and wealth. P$YCLE groups households into 58 unique segments based on income-generating assets, spending habits, investment behavior, and various financial and demographic characteristics.

Sample P$YCLE segments include:

Feathered Nests – There's money tucked away in Feathered Nests, a collection of middle-aged families with high incomes and above-average investable assets. A mix of college-educated Whites and Asians, these 35- to 54-year-olds typically hold management jobs and have begun filling their retirement accounts with mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and CDs. They're also a strong credit market, often carrying jumbo mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Insurance omnivores, they own annuities, term and whole life, disability coverage, and auto insurance for their multiple cars. And they enjoy good-life pursuits, like golfing and sailing, boutique shopping for children's toys and collectibles, and tuning their high-end TVs to ice hockey matches and public broadcasting programs. For investment tips, they read a variety of business magazines.

Online Living – No segment scores higher for using Internet banking than Online Living. This group of mostly 25- to 44-year-old singles, couples, and families ranks at the top for stock trading and bill paying, as well as buying at retail websites. Many of these web-surfers live in suburban sprawl areas, own their homes and have upscale incomes, but they have only modest levels of income-producing assets and are still paying off student and personal loans.

To get started, simply select a P$YCLE segment in the Google TV Ads interface. Google will create a custom list of cable networks, dayparts, and programs that are popular with your target audience.

Finding your target audience on TV has never been easier and we’re thrilled to continue to explore the powerful ways to connect technology, data, and television.

Posted by Jody Shapiro, Product Manager for Google TV Ads

The Next Generation of TV and Video Ad Creation -- For Free

2011-03-16T16:47:00.002-04:00

2011 is proving to be a big year for video, both online and offline. In fact, TV viewing in the US has held steady at an average of 5 hours per day while online video usage surged by 45% this year to over 4 hours per month.* Video consumption is positioned to only continue growing as consumers crave more information and entertainment across numerous devices.

Naturally, this trend increases the importance of video for businesses, but we know that getting started with video advertising can be a formidable challenge. First and foremost, how do you create a compelling and effective video ad on a reasonable budget?

That’s why we’re excited to announce Google’s extended partnership with SpotMixer which allows Google AdWords and TV Ads customers to create custom ads absolutely free of charge. Your ads can be aired across TV and online video sites as many or as few times as you wish. This offer represents our increased commitment to advertisers who want to leverage video to increase brand awareness and ROI.

Integrated directly into Google AdWords, SpotMixer provides a simple and powerful ad creation tool that takes your existing AdWords campaigns and converts text ads into a tailored video or TV ad. From there, select from a variety of professional templates which set the pacing, transitions, effects and design of the ad. SpotMixer also provides a full gallery of stock images, videos and music in addition to allowing the use of your own photos, text, and logos.

Viola, you now have a custom ad for use across Google TV Ads and Google’s Display Network including YouTube.

Already have a TV or video ad? Upload it directly into SpotMixer to edit the entire ad or just select parts to improve aesthetics and effectiveness. Once you’re done, SpotMixer will provide the correctly timed formatted file to download onto your computer then upload directly into your Google TV Ads or AdWords ad library.

Imagine the power of this free tool which allows 100% of your budget to go straight to your media plan rather than ad creative.

Test different calls to action
• Customize different ads for your various target segments (for example, customize one ad version for female consumers and another for male)
• Get specific in your tracking -- build ads with different phone numbers and tracking URLs to test effectiveness of different media placements
• Run seasonal ads throughout the year

Create integrated campaigns
• Create :15 and :30 versions of your ad to run on TV and online
• Try bookending with two :15 seconds ads

The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination and business goals. Find SpotMixer in your AdWords account in two ways:
Via Google TV Ads campaign page -- select ‘New Ad’ and click on the link to SpotMixer
Via Google AdWords -- select ‘New Ad’ and access SpotMixer via the Video and Audio section of Display Ad Builder.

2011 promises to be an exciting year for video advertising and along with our partners at SpotMixer, we hope these tools put you on the path to success.

*Nielsen Three Screens Report, Q1 2010 and Nielsen Overall Online Video Usage (U.S.), January 2011

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

SelectQuote Uses Google Technology to Decrease Cost-per-Lead

2011-02-22T18:15:00.001-05:00

Founded in 1985, SelectQuote.com pioneered an impartial, pressure-free way to shop for term life insurance from competing insurance companies. The company has long since utilized television to drive awareness and inbound queries but in 2008, it added Google TV Ads to its media mix to enhance those efforts.

“Right out of the gate, we saw positive results -- lots of incremental calls and efficient media costs,” says Kim Terrill, director of broadcast media for SelectQuote.com. However, Kim admits that tracking had become challenging with over 25 unique phone numbers mapping to various ads. SelectQuote decided to simplify and use just one phone number even though that meant not being able to track which networks were bringing in which calls.

Around this time, Google TV Ads began experimenting with its call attribution feature which automates the analysis and attribution of incoming customer calls and produces reports detailing call metrics for each spot aired. Using Google technology, the feature analyzes and understands which ad drove which calls, even if multiple ads drive viewers to the same phone number. After SelectQuote's call logs were uploaded into the system, Google matched incoming calls with aired spots based on date, time, historical call volumes and a host of other factors. "We started to see trends and were able to identify the targets that brought in the highest and lowest cost-per-lead (CPL) on a consistent basis, Kim notes. "I could adjust my budgets and bids at anytime based on this data to easily manage to a desirable CPL.”

SelectQuote's CPL decreased by 35% after four weeks of optimizing campaigns using Google TV Ads’ call attribution feature compared to the four week period prior. As Kim puts it, “what is truly astonishing is that we are using Google’s smart technologies to directly and easily improve what we’re doing.”

Learn more about SelectQuote's success by reading the entire case study here. If your business could benefit from powerful call attribution metrics, create a Google TV Ads campaign to access this and other features cost-free.

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

Google TV Ads: Wired about Cable

2011-01-31T11:00:00.007-05:00

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

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

This continued growth of our platform means 35 million cable, satellite, and telco homes in the US are now integrated into Google TV Ads. Our platform now offers 1,200 GRPs and 1.5 billion available impressions each week for advertisers to target through one simple interface.

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

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

Launched: Only Pay for Your Target Audience

2010-12-17T14:44:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

After you’ve defined an audience, Google TV Ads’ tools will help find the spots that deliver that audience in the highest concentrations based on aggregate viewership data, and you choose which networks, dayparts and programs you wish to add to your campaign.
If you indicate that you wanted to bid on an audience, you will only pay for the viewers that fall into that audience and were tuned-in to your ad. To measure the number of in-demo viewers for a spot, Google TV Ads uses a combination of Nielsen viewership data, aggregate demographic data and anonymous set-top-box data. The audience buying option will be available on all cable TV networks and dayparts we carry that are also measured by Nielsen.

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

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

Posted by Steve Stukenborg, Product Manager for Google TV Ads

New Year's Resolution Webinar -- What You Missed

2010-12-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Andrew Stinger for Google TV Ads

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

2010-12-06T15:27:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Andrew Stinger for Google TV Ads

This is big. This is FiOS + Google TV Ads

2010-11-18T09:01:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

And the Winners Are...

2010-11-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

"TV and video advertising is only for big businesses."
"Creating a good video ad is too expensive."

These are just some of the myths we wanted to dispel by launching the TV for All contest this September. As the contest comes to a close, it's clear that small and medium sized businesses are energized about new media platforms and that they are creating inspired ads using innovative solutions such as SpotMixer without breaking the bank.

We were thrilled to receive hundreds of entries and plenty of excitement from businesses around the country. Our panel of judges including creative and agency experts had the tough task of narrowing the pool down to a handful of finalists who best exemplified creativity and clear messaging. In the end, the YouTube community come together to crown three winners. Congraulations to our winners - Proust, OraBrush and FreeTaxUSA.com who will each receive $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 in TV and video advertising with Google TV Ads. Each of these ads embraced an innovative concept and put forth a clear and compelling message to win over thousands of voters.

On behalf of the Google TV Ads and SpotMixer teams, thank you to everyone who entered. And remember, even if you didn't win the contest, you now have a compelling ad creative that can be put to good use!

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

FUNimation Entertainment Increases Sales by 35%

2010-11-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010-10-28T16:16:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

2010-10-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

Reach Your Customers This Holiday Season With Google TV Ads

2010-10-04T19:17:00.000-04:00

Even though summer is just ending, the holiday shopping season is already in full swing. According to a recent Google/OTX State of Shopping study, nearly half of the country has already started shopping for the holidays. Electronics, toys and home appliances are anticipated to be some of the top spending categories this year (see below). Using the advanced targeting and measurement tools of Google TV Ads, you can pinpoint audiences interested in these and many other products and services this holiday season.

Suppose you are an electronics retailer looking to use Google TV Ads to reach your customers. According to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), spending on electronics is up for both men and women, with men spending $969 in the past 12 months and women spending $631. Knowing that your audience skews more heavily toward men, you can use the Google TV Ads targeting tool to instantly get recommendations on networks and programs that make sense for your audience (in the example below, we have entered males aged 18-49 as a target).

In this case, the system recommends networks such as the NFL Network, the only channel dedicated entirely to the National Football League and ESPN, the top network for men over the age of 18 that earn at least $75K. It also provides a "Relevance" measure, which is an indicator of how closely the audience of that network matches your target audience (the higher the number, the more relevant the programming).

The holidays are an unpredictable time of year. You may find that you have run out of DVD players, but haven't sold a single 3D television. With the flexibility of Google TV Ads, you can change your programming with the click of a mouse, decreasing budgets for campaigns focused on DVD players, and increasing budgets for those focused on 3D TVs. Because the programming is never bundled, you can pick just the shows that make sense for your audience.

Find out more about advertising with Google TV Ads at Google.com/TVAds. Happy holidays!

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

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

2010-09-23T10:57:00.001-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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