Google may have started with text search, but it’s safe to say that the landscape has changed significantly since the company first launched nearly 25 years ago. Today, Google supports a range of sight, sound and motion ad experiences that perfectly lend themselves to social creative that drives better engagement and performance.

We know that consumers worldwide now split their time between an average of seven social platforms a day, per Meltwater research as reported by DataReportal. We also know from the evolution of social creative that text and visuals can complement one another to tell a more complete and compelling brand story.

Where to focus

Google’s reach is massive, Statista research shows, with 274.49 million unique visitors in February 2023 and a great versatility of formats across its ad platform. Google Ads offers a huge opportunity for marketers, but it can be daunting to scale across the platform’s catalog of campaigns.

Each of the three campaign types span a number of placements across Gmail, YouTube, Search, Display, Maps, and Play, pushing marketers to consider a wide variety of creative formats. This can lead to some difficult resourcing decisions, but with the right tools to support social creative, it doesn’t have to.

Why now?

Google's continued investment in AI in ads, a key tool helping marketers to make better decisions and enhance creative, presents a valuable opportunity for marketers to engage in testing and learning, capitalizing on early access before these offerings become widely adopted. Google's strong commitment to this approach was evident at its Google Marketing Live 2023 event, where the company placed a considerable emphasis on AI development.

With Google emphasizing formats that leverage multiple creative elements, it’s clear that now is the right time to scale and streamline marketing efforts by leveraging automation tools like Smartly.io.

How one luxury retailer simplified for success

Even one of the world’s largest luxury brands has experienced some of the growing pains that come with trying to customize at scale. As the official outfitter of tennis’s Wimbledon Championship, the brand needed a way to launch automated creative to coincide with the weather, ensuring its campaigns would feel as tailored fit as its clothing.

The apparel company understood the potential business impact of being an early adopter of Google’s AI-powered ad solutions, but also needed creative control. Leveraging the Smartly.io platform, the brand was able to produce 800 creative works across 20 markets in less than a week. This allowed the company to accelerate its business while simultaneously streamlining processes.

Seventy percent of campaign success relies on creative quality, relevance, and personalization, according to the Google Media Lab, making clear that consumers are seeking out a premium creative experience that speaks to them. With the proliferation of formats and platforms for marketers to reach audiences and stand out, brands need a simple way to scale creative campaigns backed by the power of AI. To succeed in the next era of digital advertising, simple, scaled, AI-powered campaigns are key.

Learn more about unlocking growth and driving performance on Google Ads with Smartly.io.