Stephanie Stevenson’s Post

Important update from Google ahead of the holiday season: Google is making changes to how PMax and Standard Shopping campaigns compete. Performance Max will no longer automatically be prioritized over Standard Shopping campaigns. It seems Google noticed that fewer people were seeing the true impact of PMax, which led to a decline in ad spend. They also mentioned that PMax campaigns drove 17% higher ROAS than AI-powered social campaigns. But do we really still care about ROAS, Google? I’m curious and excited about this change! How will this impact your Q4 strategy for Google? ----- Disclaimer: This doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for Performance Max campaigns. It’s just not the one-size-fits-all solution for most brands.

𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 From September, Google has started providing Demand Gen campaigns with access to GVP (Google Video Partners), which is their video network version of the Search Partner Network. This setting is off by default, which is good to see. As with SPN, this needs to be treated with more caution than Google owned properties. For the right advertisers (most likely ecomm) this is an interesting expansion opportunity. All depends on the quality of the inventory (and creative!). Google help article: https://lnkd.in/eyycrV8k

'Google doesn't give rebates...' If you believe that, read this article please! It appears they do. At a MASSIVE and RUTHLESS scale. To such an extent that agencies prefer to work with them rather than with better performing alternatives. And their rebates fuel many dirty revenue streams: From principal media buying to 'sponsored agency walls' and even non-media investment deals. The rot runs much deeper than anyone can imagine. It is time for a new agency model which stays far away from this and focuses on delivering growth for its clients. https://lnkd.in/diDYt2Vp #postdigitalmedia

#InsightfulRead about Smarter ads, better results: The next era of digital advertising by Vidhya Srinivasan Digital advertising empowers businesses, publishers, and creators globally to expand their audiences and strengthen their brands. Learn more about the crucial role ads have played in forging these vital connections. #Google #Advertising #TargetMarket #DigitalAdvertising #WomenInTech

Some MAJORLY underreported consequences of this: 1. Disney just made themselves 15-20% cheaper by bypassing AdX and other SSPs. Huge advantage over NBC, Paramount, and others now. 2. Disney just cut 15-20% of fees from the supply chain, creating major pain for Google (AdX) and other SSPs. 3. Agency holding companies just lost a major revenue source - Post-Auction Bid Reduction (or Post Auction Discounts) whereby they receive rebates from SSPs *after* the auction so the discount isn't seen by the client. 4. If this is the start of an avalanche, this is the start of a dramatically different future for SSPs. The innovation will be outstanding!

Been saying this for a decade. Disney has made the intelligent decision to start cutting the middle person out of the supply side media chain, and put those fees they’re saving directly into their pockets. Now here’s the next part: Buyers start using independent DSPs and start cutting the exorbitant fees and data leakage to them out of the buy side and pocket that, or share it with the pubs by going direct to Disney and others. After that, ad serving is next. Drive tons of cost out of the entire chain, money that’s just going to the major adtech players. Disintermediate them, send more to the pubs, and spend less overall. Wins all the way around…except for the people scraping literally 60+ cents of every dollar spent online.

The degree to which Google shakes down advertisers would make Al Capone blush. With the announcement that video action campaigns are being rolled into demand gen, it's worth sharing a piece I wrote a year and a half ago on how Google robs advertisers. Demand gen has minimal adoption because it's a half-baked product with mediocre at best performance. Video action campaigns (YT performance) are great. We spend over $1mm/mo on them. As Google as done with PMax and hiding search queries, they are doing with YouTube ads and that is making them less effective for advertisers so that Google itself can make more money. It's another important reminder that Google does NOT have advertiser's best interests at heart and if you're working with an agency that trusts Google implicitly you're getting absolutely fleeced. https://lnkd.in/gWVuJfbE

You already know that Discovery Agency works on the cutting edge of digital marketing. Our official partnerships with Google, Amazon, and Bing are a testimony to our expertise 🏆 When it comes to Paid Media, we don’t just cast a wide digital net and hope for the best; we focus on hooking your ideal customers - those who are most likely to convert - exactly when they are most receptive, and through their preferred communication platforms. Follow us for more Discovery insights, as we’ll share the different types of Paid Media we excel at! But if you can’t wait, we’ll happily answer your questions – drop us a line at [email protected] and prepare for lift off! 🚀 #PaidMedia #PPC #PremierGooglePartner #DiscoveryAgency #DigitalMarketing

How many of you are paying attention to the DOJ's fight against Google? This legal battle is a reminder of what CMOs need to consider the implications of Google’s dominance in ad tech, especially if you’re heavily reliant on their tools for digital campaigns. With the DOJ scrutinising Google’s ad practices, CMOs must take a hard look at how this affects media investment strategies. The issue isn’t just about Google potentially tightening its grip, it’s about the lack of transparency in how our ads are delivered and reported. Google's "black box" approach makes it tough to know how to accurately benchmark value for media investment spends. It’s time advertisers diversify their media mix and explore alternatives through continued test and learn using alternative tech strategies and iterative creative testing. #AdTech #Marketing #Strategy

Want to scale your campaigns? Increasing your budget from X to Y won't instantly yield results. ❌🚫⛔ I've found success by adhering to a basic mantra: keeping things tight while scaling gradually. -Monitor search terms closely, even daily if necessary. -Allow the Google algorithm to learn alongside you. -Keep a close eye on non-performing audiences. -Consider location bidding strategies. -Incrementally increase budget weekly or biweekly for gradual scaling. What strategies do you employ to scale campaigns?