Google’s Ad Product Innovations and Marriott’s New Media Network Prove What We’ve Been Saying—And Doing—All Along

I tell my team all the time that when you compete in an industry where rapid change and innovation are a certainty, it’s vitally important to keep a close eye on what’s happening to make sure that we’re staying several steps ahead for our clients and that we’re always on the right track. 

Paying attention involves thinking critically about the implications of the choices major marketing players are pursuing. It’s also about keeping up with the news, which I bring up because there were a couple industry announcements recently that stood out to me as a direct reflection (and validation) of our philosophy and approach at Rise:

• Google’s product releases at the 2022 Google Marketing Live conference and its continued emphasis on automation confirm that we are headed toward a new world where marketers have less control over how dollars are spent across the Google ecosystem. (More on this below.)
• Marriott’s move to launch its own media network signals that the retail media craze is not limited to traditional retailers. Fueled by a data set of 164 million very loyal rewards members, Marriott’s network will allow brands to target consumers on its app, in its hotel room TVs, and in its hotel lobbies, gyms and bars. 

None of this is surprising with big players like Snapchat and Alphabet missing initial forecasts while new players like TikTok steal consumer attention and market share as advertisers find new places to allocate their spend. Consumers are engaging with content across a wider variety of digital platforms than ever before, leaving brands with increasingly more options for where to put their digital marketing dollars. At Rise, we’re feeling confident about our cross-channel digital marketing strategy and capabilities when it comes to helping clients navigate the constantly changing digital landscape and supporting their decision-making. 

Getting back to Google: The company’s top-five takeaways from its Marketing Live conference all align with what we’ve been talking about and gearing up for at Rise for quite some time. In fact, I wrote about this last year in a blog about the future of the CMO and their necessary reliance on technologists to connect with customers and drive growth. I encourage you to read the full article when you have a chance, but here’s a breakdown of the alignment I’m talking about: 

Why we're feeling bullish

Among these that we’re feeling most bullish about is Google’s Performance Max, which automatically optimizes best-performing ads across its ecosystem—from Google search to Gmail, to YouTube as well as Google Display Ads, Google Shopping Ads and Google Map Ads. 

This is a cross-channel approach to media we’ve been building and preaching about for years, the difference being: We have the expertise and capability to do this on Google and across all other platforms. Google isn’t the only place where brands will need to reach their customers and marketers will need to spend. There’s also Meta. And Amazon. And TikTok. And the open web.  

While most marketing agencies rely on a spreadsheet to analyze and drive decision-making, our proprietary technology—Connex—enables brands to tap into all of their data. We built this technology to help automate spend decisions across any ad placement or channel. The fact that Google is doing this for Google shows that our strategy is the right one. But what Rise can offer that Google can’t is the capability to apply this strategy to any channel or platform and the value that brings to marketers. 

Every marketing platform has at its disposal an immense amount of targeting data to grow a business, and because of the enormity and complexity, it’s what brands struggle with most. How are you supposed to know how much to spend on one platform versus the other? How are you supposed to know which one is working better? This is how we can help.   

Essentially, Google wants you to give them your goals, your budget and your creative and then get out of the way. And for 85 percent of advertisers, that may be good enough. But the sophisticated brand and marketer will need and demand more. In offering more visual ad formats, for example, it’s clear Google realizes the importance of the customer’s experience of a product’s look and feel, and that brands will continue to embrace that control. It’s what we mean by “fueling the brand engine” and why we’re turning up the heat in this area—branding, creative messaging, landing pages, etc. 

The time is now

The marketing ecosystem is evolving quickly, and the future is not simply advertising on Google and Facebook, shaking your hands and being done with it. Customers are going to be in a lot of different places, and brands need to think about that from a technology standpoint and a content standpoint. If they’re not thinking this way, they’re going to be disadvantaged. 

If you can’t open a view of your data and see for a fact that most loyal customers are converting on Instagram versus Amazon, then you’re already behind. Knowing how a certain audience is performing on a certain channel is one of our big capabilities (and the topic of our next blog, already in development, which we’ll be posting soon.)

So please—continue to watch this space. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about the specific impact these changes may have on your business or marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us.