Katy Perry’s jumpsuit was not the only headturner at Google Marketing Live 2019. The power of Machine Learning, YouTube’s new creative editing tool and the increasingly complex customer journey were just some of the highlights that had attendees talking. We spoke with some of Northern Europe’s leading marketers to hear the key takeaways that they’d be bringing home.
Discovery Ads and YouTube’s Bumper Machine
“There were so many highlights during the event as well as lots of new product releases. One of them was Discovery Ads, where you can use material to inspire and engage with consumers across Google platforms; YouTube feed, Gmail promotion, social tabs and Discover feed.
The consumer journey has become progressively complex. According to Google, as many as 85% of all consumers positioned in the active phase of the journey will make a purchase within 24 hours. It’s more important than ever to stay relevant and consumer-centric. At Wavemaker we have a unique way of analysing our client's consumer journey to see which touchpoint to engage in each phase. We also have a distinct focus on helping our clients grow.
With this in mind, the ability to stand out and genuinely inspire your consumer is becoming increasingly important — and it will be interesting to see the results when using Discovery Ads.
My personal favourite takeaway was the announcement of the YouTube Bumper Machine, which will be released later this year. Through Machine Learning, the user can easily convert lengthy videos into brief six second Bumper Ads using the Bumper Machine. This will be a smooth and efficient way for clients wanting to test more compact formats on YouTube.”
The power of Machine Learning and Smart Shopping Campaigns
“The announcement of new features caught my attention, especially those tied to Smart Shopping Campaigns, but also some tips and pointers I picked up through the Project Managers. Also the new up-and-coming simplified features for governance and connectors for Google Analytics is a welcome addition.
It came as a huge surprise just how quickly Google has managed to incorporate and make Machine Learning readily available through their marketing products for customers.
We’ll be getting started with Smart Shopping Campaigns, and applying the cool tips on getting more insights out of SSD tracking. We’ll also further integrate and invest in the Google Marketing Platform, build and increase in-house competency, and hopefully get beta access to some of the new stuff such as Shopping campaigns with Partners.”
Katy’s complex customer journey
“My personal highlight was Katy Perry’s concert, obviously ;-). But in all seriousness, the new products and features — Discovery Ads, Gallery Ads, Google Analytics for Firebase, YouTube’s Bumper Machine, audio inventory in DV360, prediction and forecasting tools – were all exciting announcements.
At TUI Netherlands we’ll be evaluating all the products and features, but we will also be looking to improve intent across the customer journey in the travel industry. We should really know, acknowledge, and respond to the needs of our customers. We also want to continue with the internal dialogue on managing business outcomes by getting rid of siloed media buying and arbitrary measurement.”
The impact of tech on retail and improved ROAS
“I had two key takeaways. First of all, the keynote covered a huge list of new products and innovations that will help us as a grocery retailer improve our advertising effectiveness, to differentiate our campaigns on a local level and enable us to reach potential audiences easier and more precisely. Secondly, the Andreessen Horowitz talk by Benedict Evans. His pace was astonishing and really makes you realise the huge impact technology has on our business and business model.
I was inspired by the power of Machine Learning. From an advertising perspective I’m curious to see how the new smart bidding strategies will help us get a better return on ad spend. This is something we will test with. The audience expansion tool also sounds very promising and we will dive into that. As an omnichannel retailer we embrace the power of local, that’s why we’re very pleased with local campaigns and will start testing with it ASAP. And… we’re definitely going to test the Bumper Machine!”
Find out more
Choose your own highlights and takeaways by watching the on demand videos from Google Marketing Live 2019.
