After about 20 years, the DoubleClick and AdWords brands will cease to exist. This is the announcement made by Google a few days ago. In a move that supports efforts to streamline its offerings, the company’s core advertising products are given new names and reorganized in order to better reflect their current capabilities and identify exactly areas for growth. Along with this rebranding move, Google is introducing new solutions to simplify advertising on their platforms.
In this way, there will now be three major brands:
- Google Ads, which replaces Google AdWords.
- Google Marketing Platform that combines the services offered by DoubleClick and Google Analytics 360 Suite;
- Google Ad Manager that integrates the DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange brands into a unified platform.
Sridhar Ramaswamy, the vice president who leads the company’s advertising efforts, said in a press conference that this change comes as a result of constant feedback received in recent years regarding the high number of products and brands. It can create confusion among marketers and advertisers, and for this reason it has been decided to simplify it.
Even if, as Ramaswamy stated, this decision is largely just a name change, Google is also introducing a new platform, through which it aims to help small businesses in advertising. We continue to analyze the consequences of Google’s decision, following the changes made at the level of each service.
Google Ads
In its 18-year history, Google AdWords has evolved into a platform that supports a variety of ad formats (text, video, display, shopping), where huge amounts of money are spent annually. Of course, these features will be preserved with the introduction of Google Ads which, as Sridhar Ramaswamy states, is a much more direct representation of what advertising through Google can offer. “The goal is that simplicity and alignment of the basic message, from the first second when the name is spoken,” said the vice president of Google’s ads department.
Moreover, the company states that, in the case of this platform, the rebranding action is not just a change of name. In order to encourage simplicity and support small businesses, which do not have the time and resources to manage complex digital advertising campaigns, Google introduces Smart Campaigns.
In other words, Smart Campaigns is dedicated to local or small businesses, which do not have a dedicated marketing staff and which may not own websites either. It extends to all Google properties, so users don’t have the ability to close specific channels. Audience optimization is automatic and is achieved through machine learning algorithms, which aim to target the right people using behavioral data, locations and types of devices.
Google’s Small Business Ads Manager, Kim Spalding, says that early studies show that Smart Campaigns are three times more effective at reaching audiences than AdWords Express campaigns.
Moreover, they are designed to work with Google My Business, both in the process of creating ads and landing pages. Google also supports companies that do not have websites, generating and hosting auto-generated and optimized landing pages . The services will be available to all Google Accounts until the end of the year.
Google Marketing Platform
With a long history, DoubleClick and Analytics 360 products will be integrated under the new Google Marketing Platform brand. This move is made with the aim of giving customers the ability to plan, measure and optimize digital media campaigns in a single platform. Responding to marketers’ growing need to work in multiple teams at once is an organizational and technological challenge for Google.
The idea of merging DoubleClick and Analytics 360 started with advertisers who were already using platform integration systems and getting better results from this venture. It allows marketers to analyze results, create audiences , and activate them without having to use two or more tools.
DoubleClick Search, Google’s search management platform, becomes Search 360. Google Data Studio, Optimize 360, Surveys 360, and Tag Manager 360 are also part of the Google Marketing Platform.
Responding to criticism that it would excessively favor its own products, Google said that the new platform is designed to provide choice, with more than 100 integrations, external computing solutions and other tools.
Google Ad Manager
The last element to enjoy the rebranding, Google Ad Manager, unifies DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) and DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX), following a process of over 3 years. It comes in response to the increase in the buying power of scheduled ads.
In 2007, Google won the auction to acquire DoubleClick, ahead of competitors such as Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo. Two years later, the company launched DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and now it aims to remove traditional constraints on ad servers and SSPs (supply-side platforms).
This move aims to build new programmatic solutions directly in Ad Manager. The new transaction framework and tools, such as Optimized Competition, will help users maximize the return on bookings and open auctions. Google Ad Manager will allow users to monetize all areas of engagement, such as live streams, mobile games, and other apps.
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