It was only a matter of time before the Google team found a way to get in on the rapidly growing trend of interactive advertising. They recently announced the launch of Google Gadget Ads and I’m betting this is going to be big. Running on the Google content network, the ads will utilize the cost-per-click (CPC) and the cost-per-impression (CPM) pricing models.
This launches a whole new set of options for Adwords advertisers! These new ad types will incorporate data feeds, maps, images, audio, video, Flash, HTML or JavaScript in a single creative. Basically, the possibilities are endless. Before you run out and buy a book on Flash, know this is a limited release so you might not be able to try it out just yet.
Check out the gallery of examples. I’ll admit, I spent the last 10 minutes playing the Intel MobileTasker game - and I bet I’m not the only one today saying that. This shows you the power of this medium. Yes, we’ve talked on this site about banner blindness and ignoring video ads, but there are always going to be exceptions. For those advertisers that find those exceptions, the sky is the limit.
Here are some features describing the new service from the Google Gadget Ad site that I liked:
- Target by site, category, demographic, geographic location, and much more.
- Extend your campaign on iGoogle with free inclusion of your gadget in the directory
- Serve your gadget ad on thousands of sites with absolutely no serving or hosting fees.
- Dedicated engineering and customer support are available to answer your questions free of charge on our Google Group.
- Detailed reporting of interactions are available in the Reports Center.
Creativity and quality will really be the key with this medium. Poorly developed and poorly planned out campaigns will get ignored easily. But, a well-done, quality development could mean very high CPC and ROI.
I’d keep an eye on this. Your thoughts?
Tags: CPC, CPM, Google Adwords, Google Gadget Ads
Hey Pat,
I knew Adwords would break with this sometime this month. They were pretty tight lipped about the project two weeks ago when I met up with them and talked about it. Granted, it’s been a long time in the works as the Beta went live early this year, but I think it could be a very powerful advertising medium - if done right.
Garry
Garry,
I agree - I think this could be a chance for some viral success that isn’t possible on other mediums.
Pat
There is a lot of potential for success here, but it’s hard to say how it will actually work once these sorts of ads are placed on websites that aren’t just galleries designed to showcase the ads.
I admit that I also played the Intel game. It’s great branding and marketing. But, would I have played it if it were on the sidebar of a blog, or stuck in an article on the NYTimes? I’m not so sure. I think I’d probably be just as ad-blind as I usually am, in those cases, and may not even have realized that it was a game, instead assuming that it was just another banner ad.
Still, if done right, there could definitely be a lot of success with this, and I agree with you that there is some potential for viral success if the gadget ad is especially creative.
Have seen through so many advertising mediums and i am glad that Google is hitting into it. Like what the guys mentioned, if properly done, it would definitely be of success.
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I must have missed this news when it came out, but some of those exampes are really creative. This will be great for travel/job search style advertisers.