Google unveils DV360 updates at NewFront 2024

Google's recent NewFront presentation highlighted updates to its programmatic advertising platform, Display & Video 360 (DV360). These updates focus on helping marketers and agencies navigate the evolving landscape of streaming television and leverage the power of Google AI for more effective advertising campaigns.

Consumers today seamlessly switch between traditional TV, streaming platforms, and online video content. To keep pace with these audience habits, DV360 is expanding its partnerships with major streaming providers. This includes deeper integrations with Disney's Real-time Ad Exchange (DRAX), Paramount Advertising, and Warner Bros. Discovery, allowing for programmatic access to premium inventory across these platforms.

Recognizing the need for more agility in securing ad inventory, DV360 introduces "instant deals." This feature empowers marketers to configure customized deals directly within the platform, eliminating complex negotiations with publishers. Initially available for high-impact YouTube placements, instant deals will soon expand to non-guaranteed buys and other major publishers like Disney.

Furthermore, the "commitment optimizer" tool simplifies managing annual commitments across various publishers and deal types. This AI-powered tool analyzes deal terms and campaign goals to optimize the mix of guaranteed and non-guaranteed inventory for both reach and flexibility. Agencies using commitment optimizer have reported expanding access to premium deals for a wider range of clients.

With the increasing focus on user privacy, DV360 promotes PAIR as a viable solution for audience targeting in the streaming space. PAIR allows advertisers and publishers to securely match first-party data, enabling the delivery of relevant ads to high-intent audiences while respecting user privacy. Early results indicate strong performance with PAIR audiences reaching 11% more potential customers compared to cookie-based targeting methods.

To ensure wider adoption, Google is collaborating with industry partners to establish PAIR as an open standard through the IAB Tech Lab. This will facilitate the development of privacy-focused audience solutions across the advertising ecosystem.

DV360 leverages Google AI to streamline workflows and enhance campaign performance. The "audience persona" feature assists marketers in building audience segments. By describing their ideal customer profile, the tool generates a combination of existing audience segments aligned with their goals. This not only simplifies audience selection but also helps identify potential high-value audiences for improved campaign outcomes.

Furthermore, custom bidding empowers advertisers to prioritize specific campaign objectives within DV360. Google AI utilizes these signals to focus on impressions most likely to drive desired results, such as brand awareness or increased ad engagement time. Additionally, support for CTV-specific signals like genre is planned for the near future.

To ensure transparency and control over AI-powered features, DV360 introduces the "experiment center." This tool allows marketers to test different campaign strategies and optimize their use of Google AI. The experiment center offers a clear dashboard with key metrics, enabling data-driven decisions based on performance across the entire marketing funnel, from reach and brand awareness to audience engagement. This empowers marketers to compare the effectiveness of AI-powered strategies with traditional methods and measure the advantages of consolidating streaming buys within a single platform.