Skip to main content
Industry Trends

Google TV Ads Now Available To All US Advertisers

By May 7, 2008September 29th, 20232 Comments

Google has been running a test program to air ads on TV since June 2007. They have now officially launched this service across the United States. Products and services can now be advertised on television directly through AdWords accounts.

According to market research, 37% of people who conduct online searches, do so after seeing a new product being advertised on the TV. Pinny Cohen reports that television has a 98% reach across the U.S.A. and is watched by 112 million households across the country.

TV advertising services on Google AdWords will provide a higher level of accountability than most television advertisers are used to, but not as good as the level of accountability and ROI tracking that online advertisers using Google AdWords expect. The service will include tools to provide data and functionality such as:

  1. Reports on the number of times an ad was aired
  2. Setting CPM rates to out-bid others for a slot
  3. Running national, local and demographically based TV ad campaigns
  4. Selecting the time day and network to run the ad on
  5. Estimates of the number of people who see the ad
  6. Approximations of the average length of time for which the ad is seen, and
  7. Determining at what point viewers lost interest in an ad.

To avail of this facility, though, advertisers will first need to create an ad for television. This in itself could automatically exclude a large number of small and medium businesses. Google has, however, set up an ‘Ad Creation Marketplace’, which offers professional help in various departments such as, script writing, editing, voice-overs and filming at reasonable rates. Advertisers can ask for quotations from the various specialists registered on the marketplace and then decide whom to work with. As a special incentive to promote this service, Google will subsidise costs, upto $2,000 per ad, for the creation of ads through the Ad Creation Marketplace initially.

Google Ad Creation Marketplace

Once the ad is ready the advertiser can choose the networks and timing for display of the ads. TV ads will offer information about audience demographics in order to help advertisers maximise the impact and reach their target audience. A free customised campaign will also be available on request. Advertisers will also be able choose to run the ads during broadcasts that are related to their products or services.

Advertisers who promote their products and services using Google TV ads will be able to decide the maximum cost-per-thousand impressions that they are willing to pay, and pay only when the ads are aired. Google will hold online seminars, featuring experts from TV advertising and AdWords speaking, to help advertisers to convert viewers into clients. Advertisers who have already worked successfully with Google TV Ads will also give tips on how to maximise advertiser earning potential.