A Google spokesperson provided a few more details about Gadget Ads, the widgety rich media ad platform the search advertising company recently debuted.
Our source asked for an anonymous attribution for the answers provided, which gave us pause. From what we’ve seen so far of Gadget Ads, it looks like a compelling product. Why hide from a product that looks really good when it shows up in an ad unit?
Sometimes the ways of Google are unfathomable.
The Gadget Ads bring interactivity to the ad unit. It’s a website within a website, as Google demonstrated in its collection of success stories. The Gadget Ads created for the Angelina Jolie film, “A Mighty Heart,” and the Honda Civic Tour featuring videos from Fall Out Boy, stand out.
Viewers can embed these gadgets to their iGoogle homepages. The expansion of Gadget Ads will see them populate ad units on the AdSense content network, “and on any other ad network that uses Doubleclick’s DART solution,” according to the product’s FAQ.
Though our source could not comment on DoubleClick at all, an odd position considering that note about placement appears as an AdWords answer, we did learn that the focus of these technically demanding ad units will be the Fortune 1000. It’s a sensible idea, as the richness of the Gadget Ads medium requires more effort and resources than other units.
Successful brand names probably have the best opportunities to pull off a compelling Gadget Ad. Very few are going to sponsor music tours or get Angelina to sign on to a project, not that those are necessary to create such an ad.
Our contact said Google will work to expand the program, currently in beta, to all advertisers as soon as possible. We asked about how Google plans to measure the success of Gadget Ads, a question which our source deflected.
“Gadget ads are a natural step in the ongoing evolution of online advertising,” said our source. “As users engage with these new interactive ads, advertisers are not able to reach target audiences but connect with users in a engaging way. We measure success by how users respond to these Gadget Ads.”
Advertisers will certainly have the ability to measure success. A list of interactions with a Gadget Ad gives the advertiser the opportunity to quantify actions taken with the ads by viewers.
Developers can use whatever tools they prefer to construct a Gadget Ad, as they are in many cases creating a micro-site for the format. Such ads can incorporate HTML, but developers should want to take advantage of the interactivity available by using Flash or JavaScript elements as well.
Marketers will have the option to set targeting and pricing options, as they do with other ad choices. That will let them balance their budgets with the desired reach of a Gadget Ad campaign.
Gadgets have been one of Google’s many bright spots, our source said, with over 14,000 gadgets available as part of a growing trend toward adopting them. If used effectively, Gadget Ads should help Google achieve its stated aim of providing useful and relevant advertising to its viewers.
