Drive Explosive Growth: Unlocking the Latest Demand Gen Features
To stay relevant in a fast-paced digital ecosystem, brands must connect with consumers where they actively seek inspiration. YouTube is a primary driver of these deep connections, with Gen Z viewers ranking the platform #1 for time well spent. In fact, a massive 61% of Gen Z individuals feel a stronger connection to YouTube creators than influencers on any other platform.
This deep engagement translates directly into revenue. Recent analyses show that YouTube generates a 2.3x higher long-term Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) than standard paid social media platforms. Recognizing this, Google launched Demand Gen campaigns to help businesses capture and convert demand across YouTube and Google’s most immersive surfaces—even before a consumer actively searches for a product.
Now, a wave of new features is rolling out to elevate your Demand Gen strategy. From granular cross-channel controls to powerful AI creative tools and a seamless path to upgrade your existing Video Action Campaigns, here is everything you need to know.
The Bottom Line: Google is upgrading Demand Gen with precise channel controls, AI-driven video enhancement tools for scaling short-form content, and seamless omnichannel bidding for retailers.
Key Takeaways
Command Your Reach with Channel Controls
AI-powered campaign optimization requires flexible oversight. Advertisers need to dictate exactly where their budgets are being spent. Responding to this demand, Google is expanding channel controls to all available ad surfaces globally.
Rolling out as a beta, this feature grants you granular authority to choose where your ads appear across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Crucially, this includes the ability to strictly tailor your Demand Gen campaigns to serve exclusively on YouTube Shorts.
Furthermore, Google Display inventory is being added directly into Demand Gen. This massive expansion helps you stay top-of-mind by reaching over 90% of the global internet population across more than 3 million active websites and applications.
Multiply Your Creative Output
Successful campaigns rely heavily on compelling, varied creative assets that match specific inventory specifications. To help advertisers craft stronger narratives without inflating production budgets, new creative enhancement tools are being introduced.
- Immersive Shorts: Starting in late February, advertisers can run immersive 9:16 vertical image ads directly on YouTube Shorts, creating a seamless, full-screen brand experience.
- AI Video Trimming: Building upon the ability to intelligently flip video orientations, a new feature will soon allow you to automatically generate shorter, optimized versions of your videos at scale.
The ad creation flow has also been streamlined. You can now select exactly which AI video enhancements you want to apply, or opt out to manually edit your assets. Plus, a new sharing feature lets you send ad previews to external stakeholders, speeding up the approval process significantly.
Streamlining the Purchase Journey
For retail brands, moving a customer smoothly from discovery to purchase is critical. Soon, advertisers utilizing Google Merchant Center will gain access to an updated Demand Gen experience featuring deep product feeds. This allows customers to view full product details directly within the ad format.
Furthermore, you can bridge the gap between online clicks and physical foot traffic. The new local offers feature allows you to display real-time local product availability, driving online shoppers directly to nearby storefronts. Coupled with omnichannel bidding, you can mathematically optimize your campaigns to push both online conversions and in-store visits simultaneously.
Mandatory Upgrade: Video Action Campaigns
Demand Gen is officially replacing Video Action Campaigns. The data supports the transition: on average, Demand Gen delivers a 58% higher ROAS than traditional Video Action Campaigns.
Here is the timeline you must prepare for:
- Starting in April: You will no longer be able to create new Video Action Campaigns inside Google Ads or Display & Video 360. A dedicated upgrade tool will become available in March, allowing you to port over your historical settings and learnings seamlessly.
- Starting in July: Google will initiate an automatic upgrade for any remaining Video Action Campaigns. While historical learnings and inventory settings will be preserved during this auto-upgrade, manually transitioning beforehand is highly recommended to retain full campaign control.