Search engine giant Google is attempting to move beyond its core search business and beyond the web in general have put a post on their adwords blog publicizing their latest Pay Per Click (PPC) innovation.
Google on Thursday announced that it is introducing “Google TV Ads” to all U.S. AdWords advertisers, an all-digital system that allows you to put your ads into TV program through the AdWords interface.
“A Google TV ad is a digital television based system available in the US and working on the CPM model.”
According to Google, the program has been available as a trial mode to a limited number of beta testers since last June, makes managing a TV ad campaign more accountable and measurable and is now open to the public.Through its AdWords program, Google has been one of the premier companies to find success in online advertising, but television ads (which are valued at around $55 billion) remain the vast heart of the industry.
The blog states: “We would like to introduce Google TV Ads, a flexible, all-digital system for easily and efficiently buying more accountable and measurable TV advertising. The program, which has been an invitation-only beta test since June 2007, is now available to all US-based advertisers.”
“Television is a great way to reach new customers who might not be familiar with your product or service,” said Google’s Christian Yee in a blog post. “Research shows that 37% of online search users were prompted to perform a search as a result of exposure to television advertising. Now, you can launch a national television ad campaign right from your existing AdWords account.”
Using TV Ads is virtually as easy as using Google AdWords: As with the present AdWords service, prospective advertisers state the amount they are willing to pay and can use an online tool to see estimated costs of a proposed campaign.
So for placing TV Ads, first, you select your target audience; then, you pick the networks, dayparts, and specific programs you want your ad to run on. The program will also suggest where and when to place ads. Finally, Google TV Ads functions through an auction model, where you select the cost-per-thousand impressions you are willing to pay; and you actually pay after your ad airs on TV.
Naturally, to put an ad on TV; your first requirement is to have a TV ad; however, creating ads for television is more difficult than crafting a few lines of text to appear alongside Google Search keywords. Thus, Google’s Ad Creation Marketplace provides you with the tools to connect with pros that will provide scripting, copywriting, editing, production and voiceovers for your ad.
Once advertisers produce their 30-second ads and categorize their target audience demographic, AdWords will make recommendations about where and when their commercials should run. Advertisers can also buy ads to run during specific TV shows.
Google says to expect to pay somewhere from $100 to $1,000 to make a TV ad, which seems somewhat inexpensive given that a nationally broadcast 30-second commercial often costs from several hundred thousand dollars to millions of dollars to produce.
There is an eye-catching sweet deal thrown into the mix, too; for a limited time, Google will cover the cost of creating your TV ad through the marketplace up to $2000.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Promotional credit is valid only for Google TV Ads customers with active AdWords accounts who have created and successfully run a Google TV Ads campaign through the Google Ad Creation Marketplace and must air their ads by June 30, 2008. Ad must air on TV through Google TV Ads by June 30, 2008. Advertisers will be charged for TV advertising and receive the promotional credit for the amount of the cost of creative — up to $2,000 — after the campaign has been active for at least 4 weeks with a minimum average budget of $2,000 per week.”
There is a pretty big catch, however: “The Dish satellite TV network appears to be the only company that will allow Google to install its tracking service, which means that Google’s TV ads are limited to Dish’s 14 million subscribers for now.”
“It is simply a matter of selecting which TV networks will broadcast the ad and when the ad will run.”