Google has announced that it will now be accepting 3^rd party ad serving tags for its placement targeting network in the US and has plans to roll this out in the UK in the near future.  This is a big step for them and no doubt is linked to the double click acquisition in some way.  The Google Image ads network has long been a no go area for media planners due in no small part to the fact they didn’t accept 3^rd party tags.  This announcement could mean a big growth spurt for the network as it should attract more advertisers which in turn should attract more publishers and also publishers of a higher quality.  I would argue that Google needs to clean up their network a little in order to improve quality but you cant dispute the fact they have a large number of sites on board in a large number of verticals which could be tempting for the niche advertisers trying to build an effective media plan.  There’s no doubt the ability to select individual sites, the flexible pricing and now the acceptance of 3^rd party tags makes Google a viable option for future media plans and one good media planners should investigate.

Google this week announced the launch of a free adserving solution which is to be known as Google Ad Manager.  According to the release notes this will be a free service allowing the serving of ads across the Google network but also on third party sites.   This is an interesting development from Google and Im sure the fact the announcement was made a couple of days after the Double Click purchase was approved is no coincidence as the platform will undoubtedly harness some of the Double Click technology and.  But what does this mean to other adserving providers in the market?  Are they about to see customers leaving in their hoards to move towards this free platform? I doubt it.  If we take Google Analytics as a case in point then we can see what is more likely to be the result.   Google Analytics provides a stripped down version of many of the bigger tracking solutions which is great for smaller advertisers/website owners who want to know what an idea for what results are coming from their online activity without the complexity and in depth analysis capabilities of a full analytics package.  Many small to medium size companies use it because it is free and serves their needs.  I am expecting the same will be the case with Ad Manager.  I can’t see it holding all the sophisticated functionality of the top ad serving solutions but how many smaller advertisers actually fully utilise the capabilities of adserving? Not many I would argue.  Functionality such as retargeting, ad optimisation, message testing, are available within all the big suppliers, but are rarely used due to the necessary investment of time and resource.  So a stripped down version will appeal to these advertisers as it provides what they need for no cost.  For the advertiser/agency which fully utilises the functionality of their adserving tool, AdManager will not have the same appeal and so these people will stick with their current solution and be happy to pay a price for the increased functionality. Another reason people may stay away is the potential IP you are giving away to Google.  If you run and Adwords account, use Google Analytics, have a Google Site Map, a Google Product Feed, and then and Ad Manager solution, you are essentially telling Google everything you do to promote your website online.  Is this the sort of information you want to hand over about your company?  Another question to ask is how long is it going to be free for?  Google Analytics is going to be a chargeable service from next year and the same could be planned for Ad Manager.  It will be interesting to see how many people stick with Analytics when it is no longer free. So is Ad Manager going to change the face of adserving? I doubt it.  In fact the more interesting proposition is the suggestion by Google that it plans to make DoubleClick free in the future, but that’s a post for another day!

Brekaing news from nma.co.uk! 

Google has completed its acquisition of ad-serving company DoubleClick, following the green light from the EU.At a reported £1.6bn ($3.1bn), the cash deal is Google’s biggest acquisition to date.

Google are one step closer to the doubleclick buy out! as reported below on bbc news and here on Google’s own blog:

The current purchases in the market place make it an exciting time to be involved in online marketing. as the articel below states, the boundaries between display and search are blurring but in my opinion they are still pretty clear. the purchase of double click gives google access to millions of potential publishers, further expanding its reach within the market. It also gives them the facility to integrate the double click solution into their system, allowing advertisers to manage a fully integrated online campaign without the need for juggling different media providers.

As Google moves closer to the future of Universal Search could they be planning to integrate doubleclick display results int heir main search page? it would go against the tradition of SERPs but if they were targetted and relevant would they be welcome?

Google Couldn’t Wait To Spend $3.1 Billion For DoubleClick
by Laurie Petersen, Monday, Apr 16, 2007 6:00 AM ET
GOOGLE’S AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE THE leading online ad network DoubleClick for the astonishing price of $3.1 billion in cash was both a bold move to keep the capabilities away from competing bidder Microsoft and a recognition that Mountain View needed to get into the display advertising market sooner than later.
“Search and display on the Internet are converging. The evidence is everywhere,” said Jordan Rohan, Internet analyst and managing director at RBC Capital Markets. “The lines between search and display are faint today and will be gone tomorrow.”
In the conference call announcing the deal from Argentina, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the purchase accelerates the search giant’s entry into the display ad businesses by years, and the price reflects the future value if the synergies anticipated by integrating search and ad display platforms are achieved.
In addition to its technical prowess, DoubleClick brings deep publisher relationships that it would be difficult for Google to replicate quickly.
“With one acquisition they are buying their way into the one part of the marketplace where they have no presence,” said Charlene Li, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, covering Google, consumer portals and search.
“This deal is about creating a network of publishers and advertisers that would number in the millions,” Rohan added.
Increased online ad spending is one expected end result if big brand advertisers and their agencies are able to tap a more efficient way to place, manage and evaluate all online ad and search spending with a unified buying platform and metric.
“Hopefully, it means a more integrated decision-rich process for online advertising,” said Rohan.
Non-search Internet display advertising increased 17.3% in 2006 to $9.76 billion, as measured by TNS Media Intelligence. That spending now comes disproportionately from mid-size and smaller advertisers. DoubleClick commands anywhere from half to an estimated two-thirds of the ad-serving market.
“If you talk to agencies, one of the biggest challenges we have is to reach the audiences we need to reach because consumers are all over on the Internet,” said Bryan Wiener, CEO of agency 360i. “If anyone can provide tools to make a single buy and optimize it, that’s good for marketers. Still, the marketplace is going to want competitors to Google.”
Look for more acquisition activity as thwarted suitor Microsoft seeks an alternative. Yahoo, which is scheduled to release first-quarter earnings tomorrow, can also expect more pressure to integrate its search and display ad capabilities.
Weekend speculation was rampant that the so-called “DoubleGoo” deal now puts Yahoo in play, although the price, Rohan said, would approach $50 billion, including its stake in Yahoo Japan. Another talked-up target is Seattle-based aQuantive, which owns both No. 2 ad network Atlas, and Accipiter. Still, some 60% of its revenues come from agency Avenue ARazorfish.
“Google is all about performance and measurability,” Schmidt said, also emphasizing the shared yield management vision of Google’s auction-based media buying model and the announced auction system DoubleClick plans to launch mid-year.
Users, Schmidt said, will benefit by seeing more targeted and relevant ads; online publishers will get access to more advertisers to monetize inventory; and agencies and advertisers will get a new way to manage search and display ads in one place, with a common set of metrics.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the company will adhere carefully to its consumer privacy principles when asked if consumer search behavior will be used to display behaviorally targeted ads.
Both companies were equally reticent to describe future products that may result from the acquisition.
“DoubleClick is a very healthy company,” said Rohan. “So Google only has to not mess up in order for the deal to be a mild success. For it to be an industry transforming transaction” has to do with those future products.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and must go through antitrust review by U.S. regulators under the Hart-Scott Rodino process. But company officials are optimistic it will pass muster.
“We believe this is a combination that will generate significant efficiencies for the market,” said DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt.
True winners are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. DoubleClick was taken private in 2005 for $1.1 billion.
Google was one of the final four companies in due diligence during that process.