Google made a major update to how it displayed advertisements just in time for the half-century anniversary of the Super Bowl.
In late 2015, Google started beta testing their new Real-Time Ad product designed at serving advertisements in real-time. The goal was to give consumers advertisements as a response to major television moments, knocking Twitter and other social networks out of the top spot for real-time engagement from advertisers. (GENIUS!) For Super Bowl 50, Google expanded this beta test to allow more companies to test their real-time advertisements in relation to a major television event. Other events that advertisers could leverage include political debates and awards shows. How Google’s Real Time Ads Work The ads were displayed on both YouTube and Google’s display ad network, which displays ads on thousands of apps and millions of websites. With this new format, ads are dynamically inserted in real time.
Consumers who are not using ad blocking software are able to see the ads at just the right time in the place where they’re already browsing. Advertisers are able to use Adwords to pre-create ads in anticipation for certain events. When a moment starts people buzzing on social media, the advertiser is able to immediately insert their ad into the dynamic network so thousands or millions of people see it right away. Who’s Testing This? During Super Bowl 50, Wix.com was the lucky advertiser to get to test the Google Real-Time Ad product. Wix.com purchased traditional advertising from CBS for the big event. By tacking on this advertising model, the company is able to capture a larger audience and retarget the second screen users who just saw the advertisement on television. Comcast will also test the Real Time Ad product for another major event – the Oscars.
YouTube’s Role The Real-Time Ad network benefits Google too. YouTube is being used to serve up videos in real-time also. For example, Super Bowl 50 commercials were shown through YouTube AdBlitz. Last year, over 300,000 hours of advertisements were watched on YouTube. This year, the AdBlitz had a gallery of teaser videos for the big game’s advertisements. Post-game, consumers were able to have a voice by voting for their favorites. Real-Time Works Is your business excited by the potential of real-time advertising? You’re not alone. Keep an eye on this developing advertising product to see how it’s helping other brands and if it might be a fit for yours.