In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, leveraging Google’s display network can be a game-changer for brand awareness. We’ve gathered insights from industry experts including Chief Marketing Officers and CEOs to share their strategies. From interactive ad campaign features to a hyper-targeted luxury campaign, discover eight specific tactics that have driven high engagement for their brands.

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Contents

1 Interactive Ad Campaign Features
2 Target Look-Alike Audiences
3 Capture Attention with Real-Life Imagery
4 Engage with Rich-Media Ads
5 No Call to Action, High Engagement
6 Strategic Imagery and Targeting
7 Remarketing with Compelling Offers
8 Hyper-Targeted Luxury Campaign

Interactive Ad Campaign Features

I once assisted a nearby bakery in presenting a newly-created range of artisan breads. Using the Google Display Network, we displayed delicious photographs of their inventive dishes on food-related blogs and recipe websites.

To encourage involvement, we introduced interactive features. Users could click to “build their loaf” online, select ingredients, and get a customized recipe. This significantly increased brand awareness and website visits by directing prospective buyers to the bakery’s homepage and making their stay memorable and fun.

Faizan Khan, Public Relations and Content Marketing Specialist, Ubuy Australia

Target Look-Alike Audiences

A specific tactic that significantly boosted our brand awareness on Google’s Display Network involved targeting look-alike audiences. We created ads tailored to segments similar to our best existing customers, focusing on their interests and behaviors.

This strategy ensured our ads were more relevant and engaging to those who saw them, leading to higher click-through rates and interactions. By precisely targeting our audience, we were able to increase our visibility and engagement efficiently.

Marco Genaro Palma, Chief Marketing Officer, PRLab

Capture Attention with Real-Life Imagery

Leveraging Google’s Display Network (GDN) has been instrumental in enhancing brand awareness and engagement for our clients in the SaaS and e-commerce sectors. Our strategic approaches are tailored to capture the attention of potential customers and leave a lasting impression. Here is one specific tactic we’ve successfully implemented:

For an e-commerce client specializing in outdoor gear, we utilized Google’s Display Network to target audiences based on their recent search history related to outdoor activities and gear. We designed visually striking ads that featured real-life images of people using the products in various outdoor settings.

These ads were strategically placed on related content sites within GDN, such as outdoor adventure blogs and weather forecasting websites, where potential customers were likely to visit. The campaign’s success was measured by a significant increase in brand searches and a higher click-through rate, indicating strong engagement and increased brand recall.

Marc Bishop, Director, Wytlabs

Engage with Rich-Media Ads

Using rich-media ad formats has proven to be one strategy that works exceptionally well. Those eye-catching advertisements with animations, movies, or interactive features have been really useful. They’ve been drawing attention as if it’s no business!

By utilizing these forms, we’ve been able to produce advertisements that are memorable and have a significant impact. Increasing brand recognition and generating conversation about our clients has proven to be a wonderful use of interactive and visually engaging content, which draws people in.

Additionally, by utilizing the display network’s extensive targeting tools, we can ensure that our ads are seen by the appropriate audience at the appropriate moment, which is crucial for increasing engagement.

Kartik Ahuja, Digital Marketer, kartikahuja.com

No Call to Action, High Engagement

Contrary to common convention, I’ve seen brand-specific campaigns on the Google Display Network, purposely lacking a call to action, perform highly in engagement metrics with a low overall cost. The idea with these campaigns is for people to view the ad itself but not click through.

I feel most people want to add a call to action to drive a particular outcome, but in some instances, it can work against you.

David Pagotto, Founder and Managing Director, SIXGUN

Strategic Imagery and Targeting

In order to gain brand awareness through the Google Display Network, I concentrated on placing my message in front of the right people using interest-based targeting.

I realized that the Display Network is highly visual; therefore, I put a lot of work into quality imagery and short animations. I was hoping to cut through the visual clutter with ease and, maybe, just maybe, arouse a sense of curiosity around my brand. I also selected the websites and apps most likely visited by my target market very carefully; thus, the ads are best noticed there.

The campaign has been an achievement, winning more impressions, clicks, and visits to the website than previous campaigns. It felt like the combination of specific targeting and compelling visuals really paid off.

It taught me the importance of being strategic about who sees your ads and making a significant investment in creative assets that catch attention on the Display Network. Tracking has also given me the opportunity to see the value of these campaigns and further tweak my approach in the future.

Hamzah Khadim, President and CEO, Logik Digital

Remarketing with Compelling Offers

One tactic that worked well for building brand awareness with Google’s Display Network was to use remarketing combined with compelling display ads. We targeted users who had visited our site previously but did not make a purchase, and re-engaged them with visually appealing ads featuring special offers and strong calls to action.

We grouped our visitors by their level of engagement on the site and created targeted ads for them. If you’d once left a shopping basket full of goods, for example, our ad mentioned the tempting goods you’d left behind and offered a time-limited discount.

It produced an incremental lift in engagement, as well as return visits. Remarketing allowed us to keep our products top-of-mind for customers who had already demonstrated intent to purchase, which improved brand recall and helped to convert visits into sales. By meeting audience members at the point of interest with contextual, relevant, and tempting ads, we ensured that our display advertising on the Google Network was as impactful as possible.

David Schwartz, Founder and CEO, Orion Entertainment

Hyper-Targeted Luxury Campaign

We are a global digital marketing agency renowned for our strategic use of search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and other online marketing tactics. Leveraging Google’s Display Network has been instrumental in enhancing our clients’ brand awareness and engagement. Here is one specific tactic we’ve employed with great success:

One innovative approach we used was for a luxury travel client looking to boost bookings during the off-peak season. We implemented a hyper-targeted display campaign featuring rich media ads that included stunning visuals of lesser-known destinations. These ads were specifically targeted to audiences based on their previous interactions with destination-related content across Google’s extensive content network.

The use of dynamic creative optimization allowed us to adjust messaging in real-time based on user behavior and preferences, significantly boosting engagement and conversion rates. This campaign not only heightened brand awareness but also positioned our client as a go-to source for exclusive travel experiences.