When Searches take place online, business usually follows.  Advertisers utilizing Google’s AdWords and Insights for Search data have watched this pattern emerge for years, and we’re excited to now bring similar capabilities to our TV advertisers. As of today, we are pleased to announce the launch of Search Triggers, a new tool offered by Google TV Ads that uses national search trend data to control when and how you deliver your TV ads.

Let’s take a look at how this works. Suppose you own a business that sells grills.  The summertime is when you generally run television advertising.  But what if it’s a rainy weekend? By tapping into the power of search data, Search Triggers watches for real-time changes in the demand for terms you specify, such as “grills” or “charcoal.”  When query volume spikes or declines, the Search Triggers tool automatically adjusts your daily budget up or down accordingly each day so that you’re delivering the right message with appropriate frequency at the right time.

Using search data to optimize your TV campaigns is another way that Google TV Ads is working to make your TV buy smarter.  For more information, or to get started with Google TV Ads, visit google.com/tvads.

Update: Read more about Search Triggers on Mashable

Posted by Jody Shapiro, Google TV Ads Product Manager

2011 is proving to be a big year for video, both online and offline. In fact, TV viewing in the US has held steady at an average of 5 hours per day while online video usage surged by 45% this year to over 4 hours per month.* Video consumption is positioned to only continue growing as consumers crave more information and entertainment across numerous devices.

Naturally, this trend increases the importance of video for businesses, but we know that getting started with video advertising can be a formidable challenge. First and foremost, how do you create a compelling and effective video ad on a reasonable budget?

That’s why we’re excited to announce Google’s extended partnership with SpotMixer which allows Google AdWords and TV Ads customers to create custom ads absolutely free of charge. Your ads can be aired across TV and online video sites as many or as few times as you wish. This offer represents our increased commitment to advertisers who want to leverage video to increase brand awareness and ROI.

Integrated directly into Google AdWords, SpotMixer provides a simple and powerful ad creation tool that takes your existing AdWords campaigns and converts text ads into a tailored video or TV ad. From there, select from a variety of professional templates which set the pacing, transitions, effects and design of the ad. SpotMixer also provides a full gallery of stock images, videos and music in addition to allowing the use of your own photos, text, and logos.

Viola, you now have a custom ad for use across Google TV Ads and Google’s Display Network including YouTube.

Already have a TV or video ad? Upload it directly into SpotMixer to edit the entire ad or just select parts to improve aesthetics and effectiveness. Once you’re done, SpotMixer will provide the correctly timed formatted file to download onto your computer then upload directly into your Google TV Ads or AdWords ad library.

Imagine the power of this free tool which allows 100% of your budget to go straight to your media plan rather than ad creative.

Test different calls to action
•  Customize different ads for your various target segments (for example, customize one ad version for female consumers and another for male)
• Get specific in your tracking -- build ads with different phone numbers and tracking URLs to test effectiveness of different media placements
• Run seasonal ads throughout the year

Create integrated campaigns
• Create :15 and :30 versions of your ad to run on TV and online
• Try bookending with two :15 seconds ads

The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination and business goals. Find SpotMixer in your AdWords account in two ways:
Via Google TV Ads campaign page -- select ‘New Ad’ and click on the link to SpotMixer
Via Google AdWords -- select ‘New Ad’ and access SpotMixer via the Video and Audio section of Display Ad Builder.

2011 promises to be an exciting year for video advertising and along with our partners at SpotMixer, we hope these tools put you on the path to success.

*Nielsen Three Screens Report, Q1 2010 and Nielsen Overall Online Video Usage (U.S.), January 2011


Post by Neha Mandal, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

When you think about anime, you probably think of two things: Japanese cartoons of an adult nature, and kids shows like Pokémon.  That limited view of the medium is exactly the problem that FUNimation Entertainment, the largest distributor of anime in the US, was facing when it turned to Google TV Ads and In-Stream video to raise awareness and expand its audience.

FUNimation’s media manager, Catherine Kim, explains, “65 to 70% of our customers are males, ages 18-34, with an interest in gaming and comics.  Our challenge is growing our audience beyond that core demographic.  We have to break down a lot of misconceptions and build awareness.”  Realizing that its product could only truly shine with advertising that incorporated sight, sound and motion, FUNimation decided to expand its media mix to include television and online video.

Above: A screen shot from Afro Samurai: Resurrection, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson - one of hundreds of titles distributed by FUNimation.

“The results were immediately apparent,” says Catherine.  When compared to pre-campaign levels, FUNimation saw a 44% increase in new visitors to its website and a 35% increase in DVD sales for the promoted product line.

“Marketing is all about testing, and testing can be a challenge with a limited budget.  With Google TV Ads and In-Stream online videos, we can find out what works best for us and grow our market.  I know that makes me sound like a Google dork, but it’s just the truth,” remarks Catherine.  If you want to become a Google dork yourself, you can read the full case study or visit us at google.com/tvads.


Posted by David Mogensen, Product Marketing Manager for Google TV Ads

Advertisers can now automatically receive cost-per-call data through Google TV Ads for television campaigns that utilize Google supplied toll-free phone numbers. This free new feature is designed to give TV advertisers access to richer performance data which allows more effective optimization based on real-time call data.

The system tracks incoming calls and matches each call down to the network, daypart and even program level. Advertisers will find these metrics in their campaign 'Targets' tab which reports data like "Live Inquiries," "Drag Inquiries" (calls that come in a significant time after an ad has aired) and cost-per-inquiry. Our system takes into account the number of impressions, network, and time of day for each ad to help match calls as accurately as possible. In addition, the algorithm has been designed to predict call response with increasing accuracy as it learns from your data over time.

To get started right away, log into AdWords, create a TV campaign and sign-up for free 866 phone numbers in the 'phone numbers' tab of your campaign. Then, designate which ad creative corresponds to which telephone number in the 'Ads' tab of your campaign.

That's it! Within a few hours, advertisers will see data appearing in the cost-per-Inquiry columns in the 'Targets' tab of each campaign. This feature should allow advertisers to drive even better results with TV advertising.

Posted by Robert Murray and Bozhena Bidyuk for Google TV Ads