Changes aim to make spots more seamless, personalized and measurable

Reacting to the growth of over-the-top and streaming TV services, Google had developed new advanced TV products that combine the precision of digital with the scale and control of TV.

Connected TV has become the leading device in North America for Google Ad Manager users and the new products provide ways for programmers to share inventory with distributors, additional.templates for ad breaks, TV forecasting and pacing and real-time reporting.

“As TV converges with digital, we’ve been developing new advanced TV solutions that combine the flexibility and precision of digital with the scale and control of TV to help innovative media companies deliver seamless, personalized, and measurable ads,” Peentoo Patel, group product manager for video on Ad Manager at Google, said in a blog post.

Among the new developments:

Ad Manager has launched a new inventory sharing feature that allows programmers and distributors--especially virtual multichannel video programming distributors and OTT services--to configure flexible inventory sharing tools. Users will be to manage rules such as category exclusives, frequency caps or yield management, bringing the automation of digital to traditional inventory sharing agreements.

Ad Manager’s Smarter Ad Break Suite allows users to create customized ad experience with a drag-and-drop interface. Sponsorship ads and bumpers can be put into commercial break and programmatic ads can be placed into specific locations.

“Our Smarter Ad Breaks Suite is not only making it easier for partners to customize their commercial breaks, but also to increase revenue. Partners using Smarter Ad Breaks have seen over 50 percent revenue uplift compared to video ads served in a traditional manner,” Patel said.

Google has also added TV forecasting and real-time reporting to Ad Manager. The forecasting features lets buyers and seller pace their TV inventory in live events like sports based on historical data and custom curves.

“This means sports streaming companies can more precisely pace ads in their live college football games ahead of time, so that they're not over or under sold, and can earn the most money from every commercial break,” Patel said.

Ad Manager’s new real-time reporting allows programmer to validate that their campaigns are running as expected during an event, giving them an opportunity to fix delivery issues in live and on demand content.

“These features are only the beginning of a truly converged TV and digital future,” Patel said. “As we look ahead, we’ll continue to see our TV programming partners leverage more digital benefits, like the ability to use programmatic guaranteed to complement their TV sales and upfronts. And we’ll be focused on continuing to develop more digital-first ad features made for TV that empower our partners, today and in the future."