Redefining Social Advertising with AI-Powered Solutions

• Google

"Advertising will never be the same again. With AI-powered solutions, we are stepping into a new era of personalized and effective social advertising."

The digital landscape has seen a significant shift in recent years. From watching NFL highlights on YouTube to staying connected to interests via Google's Discover feature, today's consumers expect to engage with their favorite content creators in various formats. According to recent surveys, 90% of users have consumed content from a specific creator across different formats within the past year.

The Transforming Landscape of Social Advertising

Platforms where users can engage with trusted creators, like YouTube, have become increasingly popular. YouTube is over twice as likely to be used for catching up on content from creators compared to traditional social platforms. The ways consumers discover products have also changed. Decisions are made throughout the sales funnel. For instance, online users are 61% more likely to use YouTube or Google to research products or brands and 67% more likely to purchase a product after seeing its ad on YouTube.

The Emergence of AI-Powered Solutions: Demand Gen Campaigns

Social advertisers need to adapt their strategies to keep up with this evolving media landscape. In June, Google introduced Demand Gen campaigns, designed to capture the interest of billions of users as they spend time on YouTube and Google's visually immersive touchpoints. The appeal of these campaigns lies in their ability to spur action while simultaneously nurturing interest with potential customers.

After receiving positive feedback and observing strong beta results from thousands of advertisers, Google announced that Demand Gen would be available worldwide to all Google Ads customers starting from October 10, 2023.

What Makes Demand Gen Stand Out?

Demand Gen, the successor to Discovery campaigns, retains its predecessor's key features while introducing new features, inventory, and insights. It also improves the ad creation flow. Demand Gen enables brands to craft their stories using a variety of formats – from short-form videos to carousels.

By combining videos with images and text from catalogs, retailers can create more tailored experiences, showing shoppers items based on their interests and intent. Additionally, the reporting UI has been enhanced to drive better engagement and offer more creative insights.

The Impact of Demand Gen

The impact of Demand Gen is already being felt in the industry. Argentine fintech company Naranja X reported a 3X higher click-through rate and a 61% lower cost per action (CPA) than paid social campaigns. Likewise, using Maximize Clicks bidding in Demand Gen, Samsung Germany reported a 400% uplift in click-through rates compared to their benchmarks.

Agencies like PHD Media are also seeing significant success with Demand Gen, enabling them to scale their performance beyond social media platforms.

As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, AI-powered solutions like Demand Gen will no doubt play a crucial role in shaping the future of social advertising.