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Tag: Google TV Ads

  • Google Turns Off The TV Ads In Favor Of Other Ad Products

    Google is shutting down Google TV Ads. The company announced as much in a blog post Thursday night.

    “Our goal is to provide all our customers with the best digital marketing opportunities,” said Google’s Shishir Mehrotra. “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,” added Mehrotra. “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.

    And let’s not forget Google’s’ ambitious service provider project Google Fiber. Google still has ways of getting into your living room, for sure.

    Google will continue to support its TV Ads partners and clients’ campaigns as it shuts the product down.

    Perhaps the whole thing is a statement from Google that traditional TV is soon to be a thing of the past.

  • Google Secures Verizon FiOS TV As TV Ads Partner

    The last time we wrote about Google TV Ads, it was due to a defeat: NBC Universal had ended an advertising partnership.  But it looks like that wasn’t entirely indicative of things to come, as Google announced today that it’s managed to sign a partnership with Verizon FiOS TV.

    Google’s more than a little excited about this development, and it has good reason to be.  Mark Piesanen, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Google TV Ads, characterized Verizon FiOS TV as "one of the fastest growing television providers with the largest fiber-optic network in the US."

    In a post on the Google TV Ads Blog, Piesanen then continued, "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."

    Indeed, that means Google TV Ads should be able to offer advertisers a way of reaching around 35 million households by early next year, which is rather impressive.  And, since months have gone by since NBC Universal decided on another approach and no other partners have left, the word "should" doesn’t seem like a matter of wishful thinking.

    Perhaps Google will even be able to collect another partner or two before that time.  Its Google TV efforts are likely to introduce employees to new contacts, after all.

    The Google TV Ads team deserves a pat on the back for the Verizon FiOS TV partnership, regardless.

  • Google-NBC Universal TV Ad Partnership Dissolves

    Google-NBC Universal TV Ad Partnership Dissolves

    One of Google’s biggest victories in terms of television advertising partnerships has unraveled.  Google and NBC Universal have dissolved the pact they established two years ago, meaning would-be advertisers will lose access to a number of high-profile channels.

    Things got off to a promising start between Google and NBCU in late 2008.  The networks covered by the original deal included Chiller, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, Sleuth, and SyFy (then Sci Fi), which seemed to indicate a fair amount of confidence on NBCU’s part.

    But Steve McClellan reported today, "[S]ources said that NBCU had concluded that there was little value derived from having an Internet company sell its ads."

    Google TvNBCU’s national sales teams are supposed to take over the operation, instead.

    The good news for Google is that NBCU hasn’t cut all ties.  The company was able to say in a statement, "While we are no longer offering NBC Universal inventory through Google TV Ads, NBC Universal continues to be a great partner to Google. . . .  CNBC is an important partner in the launch of Google TV and we are working together on research studies."

    It’ll just be interesting to see whether any other organizations follow NBCU’s lead, or if Google is able to find more partners to participate in its TV Ads program.

  • Mad Men Returns with Ads By Google

    Popular TV show Mad Men returns to AMC tomorrow night, and Google is taking the opportunity to get advertisers interested in targeting viewers through Google TV Ads.

    "With season four debuting on Sunday, July 25th, Mad Men fans are buzzing with excitement," says Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads. "For advertisers, this is a great opportunity to reach an upscale and educated audience. Target Mad Men across DISH Network’s 14M homes and align your message with this high caliber show by creating a Google TV Ads campaign today."

    AMC also has a new series called Rubicon, which starts August 1st (a preview was shown after Breaking Bad’s season finale). "The show promises to ‘tap into our collective paranoia’ by chronicling an intelligence analyst who cracks codes for a living," says Mandal. "This show is a great chance to target adults 21+ who are interested in sci-fi and thrillers."

    Of course Google TV ads aren’t limited to AMC shows, but the channel is developing a reputation for high quality original programming, and Google clearly sees the upcoming premeires as a good chance to push them.

    Google also mentions Real Housewives of DC and the Rachel Zoe Proejct on Bravo, as well as the US Open as potential ad targeting opportunities.

  • Google and DISH Network Renew Advertising Partnership

    Last week at Google I/O, we witnessed the unveiling of Google TV. One of Google’s launch partners is DISH Network, who will offer the service to its customers beginning in the fall, via its HD DVR receivers.

    Google’s relationship with DISH Network goes back much further than this announcement, however. Since 2007, the two companies have had a partnership around Google’s TV Ads, the television advertising arm of its AdWords service. Google has now announced that this relationship is expanding.

    "For the past three years, DISH Network has been one of Google’s strongest partners in the TV advertising space," says Google TV Ads product marketing manager Neha Mandal. "Back in 2007, DISH embraced our emerging TV ads platform by signing on as our first partner and has since been an innovative thought leader with Google throughout the growth of this business."

    "We’re happy to announce that we’ve renewed and strengthened our partnership with DISH Network and will continue to offer great inventory across over 95 networks on DISH," adds Mandal. "Through Google’s TV Ads platform, advertisers can continue targeting audiences across networks like Animal Planet, CNN, MSNBC, NFL Network, TBS, USA and over 90 others."

    Google says to be on the look out for more new features and targeting options coming soon to the Google TV Ads platform, which is just one of many ways you can expect Google to continue its penetration into television advertising, if Google TV becomes as big as many are expecting.

    In a recent article, we looked at how Google might accomplish this. The company seems to view moving into the TV format similar to what it has already accomplished with mobile via Android. Google says it will likely develop new ad formats for Google TV in the future, but at first they’re just concentrating on delivering a good product.

  • Is the Future of TV Advertising Dependent on Search?

    The Wall Street Journal has the Blogosphere abuzz with rumors of Google testing a new set-top box with Dish Network, which would allow people to search television and online video content like YouTube. Google has given the usual "we don’t comment on rumor or speculation" statement on the subject.

    According to the WSJ, only a small number of Google employees and their families are testing the box, which runs on Google software (Android is implied), and lets users create personalized lineups of shows. The testing has reportedly been going on since last year. Aside from these things, the details are sketchy at best, which can only mean one thing: let the wild speculation commence.

    Assuming that this service ever comes to fruition, it could open up a lot of new opportunities for Google to dominate or at least heavily compete in areas in which it isn’t dominating already. Rather than doing too much speculation myself, allow me to just list some questions and open this up for discussion:

    – What if Google gets exclusive deals with Dish Network as well as other major satellite and cable providers? Google TV Ads already has deals in place to provide ads on close to a hundred cable networks.

    – What if Google makes more deals to boost its movie rental selection on YouTube? How big of a player would that make YouTube in the movie rental space? This will be something to keep an eye on with or without this box as Internet-ready TVs permeate the mainstream.

    – Will Yahoo and Bing be looking at opportunities like the Google/Dish Network box? Are they already?

    – What would widespread integration of web search and television mean for TV advertising?

    In the not-too-distant future, we may start to really see TV advertising getting more targeted, which has long been the medium’s biggest downfall. People often record shows simply so they don’t have to watch the commercials. What if the ads were targeted at the individuals watching the TV? What if they were relevant? Search advertising paved the way for this kind of relevancy, and may just be a key to the future of TV advertising in a world where viewers want their programming on demand.

    Google TV Ads

    There I go off on that speculation. This all sounds good in theory, but a lot of puzzle pieces have to fall in place, and a lot of stars have to align for this to become a reality. Deals must be made, and money must be spent. That’s not to say the concept is far-fetched.

    Consider that advertisers are finding online to be a better option than even the super bowl in some cases. This past Super Bowl, Pepsi skipped a TV spot for the first time in 23 years. TV is going to have to adapt.

    Tell us what you think.