On Tuesday, Google announced that the AdWords and DoubleClick brands will soon cease to exist. Starting in mid-July, there will be three main pillars in the new Google Ad Lineup.
AdWords, which started in 2000 with just 350 advertisers, will be renamed Google Ads as the Vice President of Google has said it will serve as “the front door for advertisers to buy on all Google surfaces”. Products of DoubleClick, which Google bought in 2008, are becoming parts of other product groups called Google Ad Manager and Google Marketing Platform. However, whilst the names are changing, the products themselves are largely staying the same as advertisers can still create, plan and buy their ads in the same way.
The reason behind the rebranding
Google executives have said that the rebranding has been years in the making and is driven by the advertiser demand for a more seamless and less confusing platform. Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google’s Senior Vice President of ads and commerce, wrote in a blog post when announcing the changes: “these new brands reflect all of the ways that we help advertisers connect with consumers and make it easier for advertisers and publishers to choose which products are right for their business”. Additionally, Dan Taylor, Google’s Managing Director of Global Display, has said that “brands will get a full picture of their customers by combining the ads, data and measurement in the new marketing platform”.
More about DoubleClick
Google Marketing Platform includes a new Integrations Center where marketers can view different ways that they can connect their Google tools. Jonathan Bellack, the director of product management for publisher platforms, has said that there has already been a three-year journey of merging DoubleClick Ad Exchange and DoubleClick for Publishers. Explaining further, he said that “these categories have just been breaking down for a while – all of our publishers already log into one user interface” and that the only thing that is really changing here is the logo.
More about Google Ads
Google Ads allows you to buy ads across all of Google’s properties, as well as partner websites and apps (including both Search and YouTube, Google Play and Google Maps). The update will also have new features, especially for small businesses. Kim Spalding, General Manager and Product Lead for small business ads, said that 51% of small businesses don’t even have a website. A new feature with Google Ads is called Smart Campaigns and they will help small businesses to optimise their website with images and other information, as well as buy ads. Additionally, Google says that automatic optimisation of websites will start later this year.
The rebrand is expected to begin rolling out in July, and Sridhar Ramaswamy and Dan Taylor have both emphasized that no product migration or training will be required with the updates. Taylor said, “the look and feel are going to change a little bit, but the core functionality is not changing”.
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