(Cross posted from the AdWords Agency Blog)

Google’s Dan Taylor presents at Digiday Agency event Dec. 12, 2011

It’s that time of year again, the time to reflect on 2011 and think about resolutions for the new year. We may not be able to help you lose those extra 5 lbs., but we can inform some New Year’s resolutions for your business.

Last week, Google’s Dan Taylor presented at the Digiday Agency event on the 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Display Advertisers. See video and summary below.

Resolution # 1: I will be strategic in how I use remarketing

Remarketing is like plugging a leaky bucket, where the leak is website visitors leaving your site, and the plug is display ads that bring past visitors back to your site.

There are many ways to ‘plug’ the leak, but we offer up the follow strategies to be the most effective in doing so.

• Target based on audience: Layering demographic targeting on top of remarketing campaigns can help you tailor the message even more. For example, have one message for men, and a different one for women.
  
• Target based on intent: You can send a general message to homepage visitors and product-oriented reminders to visitors that browsed product pages but didn’t make a purchase. Using a creative with dynamically related products is a great way to do this.
  
• Expand your list sources: Some of our most effective remarketing customers use several sources to get their lists, such as YouTube mastheads and channels, their main website and campaign landing pages. Expanding the lists enables you to reach more potential customers.

Resolution # 2: I will use video to its full potential

Video is a great way to reach customers, yet it is often underutilized. Here are the best ways to use video to its fullest potential.

• With the latest changes to the YouTube homepage, we’ve pivoted the YouTube site experience to focus on channels and a socially-driven feed, the contents of which are controlled by the left hand sidebar. This gives marketers a powerful opportunity to enhance their brand exposure.
  
• Through the new AdWords for video front end, we’ve drastically reduced the time it takes to create a video. Easily run click-to-play or TrueView in-display formats across Google Display Network.
  
• We’ve also found that rich media, in tandem with video, is more effective than simple Flash. When you’re running rich media campaigns, think about including video to increase purchase intent.

Resolution # 3: I will fuse social media with display

Making display ads social increases the conversation with your customers. Here are some ways that this can be accomplished:

• Make social media a primary destination: Try linking Trueview ads back to a similarly branded channel for a great social experience.
  
• Social interactions within the banner: Actually having users interact with the banner (by playing a game, watching videos, etc.) and then having them share their experiences through social media continues the conversation.
  
• Bring social media endorsements in the banner: This is becoming more popular, and is a great way for friends to share recommendations.

Resolution # 4: I will go mobile with my display campaigns

Just as users are now moving more and more to a multi-screen experience via desktop, mobile, and display, so must marketers think about a display strategy that isn’t siloed.

• Tablet targeting: Users expect more from tablet ads and are increasingly using these for online shopping. We support tablet targeting including zeroing in on tablet audiences by device, location, time of day and contextually.
  
• Get smarter with smartphone targeting: Finding what’s right for your business is key here. With so many format options to choose from that are specific to mobile devices (click to video, click to map, click to call) it’s worth it to think what could be the most effective for your business.

Resolution #5: There’s a perfect ad for everyone.

It’s really the biggest resolution we’re focused on at Google that encompasses all the other ones and it’s adopting the philosophy that 'There’s a perfect ad for everyone.'

Our recipe for the perfect ad for everyone is driven by simplicity and also by the technology that’s enabling us to customize the advertising experience for everyone at scale.

There’s a simple recipe to the perfect ad: The right person + the right message + the right time + the right context = the perfect ad.

What are your new year’s resolutions for your business? Let us know by tweeting @GoogleDisplay.

Mary Shirley, Product Marketing

Last month we introduced the ability to add a +1 button to ads trafficked in DFA. Now we’ve added a couple of features to the +1 creative template in DFA to make it even more effective as a recommendation engine for your brand.

Viewers of your ad can now see the faces of friends who have +1’d the ad. Putting a face to the name makes for more powerful impact as it makes the ad more personal and relevant. The result, we believe, are that people who see your ad will be more likely to click and respond to your call to action. In fact, 71% of shoppers say that recommendations from friends and family impact their purchasing decisions (Harris Interactive, June 2010).

Also, you now have full control over the placement of a +1 button in your display ad. For instance, you can set the size and annotation style of the button so aligns well with your creative concept.

Please note that if your account had previously been enabled for the +1 creative template functionality, you will now have access to the updated version. For more information on the +1 button and on the incorporating the +1 button in DFA reference this article in the Help Center (DFA sign-in required).

Posted by Gabe Stein, DFA Technical Specialist

(Originally posted on 11/29/11, updated 12/5/11)

It’s no secret that the mobile web is exploding. According to IDC, more people in the US are projected to access the web via a mobile device than on a computer by 2015. This makes mobile a very attractive opportunity for advertisers, and is creating a wave of new revenue opportunities for publishers.

In order to bring more mobile inventory to buyers on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, we’ve launched two important initiatives for the mobile-specific 320x50 ad size.

First, buyers will be able to access AdMob in-app mobile inventory from AdMob publishers and application developers. Last week, we opened access to this inventory to a preselected set of Ad Exchange buyers. Second, as of today, we are beginning to test the ability for Ad Exchange publishers to opt in their 320x50 size mobile web inventory into the Ad Exchange. This will open up new mobile web inventory for Ad Exchange buyers. As publisher participation in these initiatives grows, we expect the inventory pool for in-app and mobile web inventory that’s specific to the 320x50 ad size to expand as well.

With the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, this new mobile inventory can be purchased via RTB or the UI. Ad Exchange buyers who are interested in the new 320x50 ad size should be sure to share their interest with their account manager.

Posted by Atul Bhandari, Product Manager, DoubleClick Ad Exchange

As a follow up to the September launch of Report Builder in DoubleClick for Advertisers, we’re pleased to announce several new features that will make the tool even more useful.

Incorporating Reach and Media Cost
New reach reports in Report Builder show an estimate of how many unique users have interacted with your ads. With the flexibility of Report Builder, you can choose specific advertisers, campaigns, ads, and placements, and gain insight into how many people they reached during a selected timeframe.

Media cost is now an available metric in Report Builder and you can add it to your reports as you would any metric. Media cost represents the cost of all impressions, clicks and activities during the specified date range, based on the schedule and pricing information you input into DFA for each placement.

Saved and Deferred Reports
A major benefit of Report Builder is the ability to create detailed reports with exactly the dimensions and metrics you need. Now you can save report reports, which act as templates so you can quickly re-run or reconfigure frequently-run reports.

You also now have the option to defer report generation, which saves the file so you can come back and download it later. This is especially helpful when running a big report, because you can keep working without having to wait for the report to finish generating.

To learn more about these latest features available in Report Builder reference this article in the Help Center (DFA sign-in required).

Posted by Pamela Eng, Product Marketing Manager