Education
January 24, 2024

Google’s Demand Gen: What You Need to Know

There’s a new player in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing: Demand Gen. This AI-powered campaign replaces Discover ads and is designed to transform how advertisers engage with audiences on social platforms. But what exactly is Demand Gen, and how does it differ from the traditional Discovery campaigns? Let’s take a look.

What Is Demand Gen?

Launched in June 2023, Demand Gen is an innovative campaign type that uses artificial intelligence to drive demand and connect with consumers more effectively. It answers the modern advertiser’s dilemma: how to capture attention and spur action in a world overloaded with content.

Key Features of Demand Gen

  • AI-Powered Creatives: Designed to multiply creativity, Demand Gen campaigns use AI to produce immersive, relevant, and visually appealing ads.
  • Targeted Platforms: These campaigns are focused on entertainment touchpoints like YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, and Gmail, leveraging their massive user base.
  • Conversion-Driven: With a clear emphasis on driving conversions, site visits, and actions like sign-ups and add-to-carts, Demand Gen is all about results.

The Transition From Discovery to Demand Gen

By March 2024, existing Discovery campaigns will automatically convert to Demand Gen. This transition marks a significant shift in strategy, particularly for those targeting younger demographics.

Why Demand Gen Appeals to Young Consumers

  • Social Nature of Ads: Demand Gen ads are more socially inclined, resonating well with the younger audience who spend considerable time on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
  • Ease of Shopping: The integration with product feeds makes the shopping experience seamless, mirroring the convenience found on social media platforms.

Unique Features of Demand Gen

Demand Gen isn’t just a rebranding; it introduces several unique features:

  • Expanded Reach on YouTube: Demand Gen boosts your campaign’s visibility by combining the reach of Google Discovery Ads with YouTube In-Stream and YouTube Shorts. This blend of short-form and long-form video content significantly broadens your campaign’s reach across YouTube’s diverse audience.
  • Diverse Ad Formats: Cater to a variety of audience preferences with ad formats ranging from short-form videos to carousels, portraits, and square images.
  • New Ad Creative Experiments and Tools: Demand Gen introduces a specialized ad preview tool. This feature lets you see how text, image, and video assets look across different platforms, ensuring that your creatives are optimized for Google’s most visual and immersive content.
  • Additional Bidding Options: While retaining the smart-bidding options of Discovery ads, Demand Gen also introduces “maximize clicks” as a bid strategy. This is ideal for campaigns with longer conversion paths, those aiming to drive offline sales, or simply to increase website traffic.
  • Lookalike Segments: Leverage first-party data combined with Google’s intent signals to find new customers like your current audience.
  • Goal-Oriented Performance: Customize your campaign to focus on conversions, clicks, or attracting high-value customers, aligning with your business objectives.

Discovery Ads vs. Demand Gen: A Comparison

Boost the effectiveness of your Google ads campaigns with the innovative power of Demand Gen. By partnering with LIGHTSTREAM, you tap into a wealth of digital marketing expertise proven to enhance impressions, click-through, and conversion rates. Our team ensures you extract maximum value from your marketing budget, leveraging Demand Gen’s advanced AI-driven strategies. Ready to transform your search engine marketing campaigns? Reach out to discover how we can help you achieve more.