Dive Brief:

• Google announced in a company blog post that it is rebranding and combining several of its advertising products in an effort to simplify its offerings and focus more on mobile.
• Google AdWords will now be called Google Ads, and offer a new type of campaign management for small businesses that aims to help them get better results, stand out among their competitors and target consumers, according to a separate blog post. Google is also combining DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange into a new platform called Google Ad Manager.
• The company is additionally combining its DoubleClick advertiser products and the Google Analytics 360 Suite under the Google Marketing Platform brand, which the company says will help marketers plan, buy, measure and optimize digital media and customer experience in a single spot. Under the platform will be Display & Video 360, which joins features from DoubleClick Bid Manager, Campaign Manager, Studio and Audience Center to allow for collaboration among media, creative and agency teams.  

Dive Insight:

Google is the largest digital advertising platform in the world, but has faced criticisms for how unwieldy it can be to navigate or even differentiate products like AdWords and DoubleClick. In the posts, Google said simplifying its ad products will ultimately help marketers better connect with consumers across channels and through different formats and more easily collaborate with partners on developing and deploying campaigns.

Mobile is unsurprisingly one of the big factors spurring the change. Since Google AdWords launched 18 years ago, mobile has become an increasingly key area for marketers striving to reach on-the-go consumers at various points throughout their day. Mobile is one of the largest drivers of investments in digital advertising. In 2017, mobile grabbed 57% of total digital ad revenues, according to data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Mobile spending also jumped 36% year-over-year to $49.9 billion last year, the trade group found.  

Google additionally positioned the rebranding and streamlining of its ad products as furthering its commitment to transparency in the digital ad space. The technology giant has put a greater focus on transparency as poor campaign reporting, brand safety, data privacy and ad fraud have continued to frustrate marketers and users alike. Earlier this month, Google unveiled new tools across its platforms to help consumers better understand and control how ads are targeted to them.