Dive Brief:

• Google has introduced a new Conversions API for DoubleClick, which is available to all advertisers so they can connect third-party offline actions like in-store purchases and phone bookings to their displays ads, the company said in blog post. 
• Advertisers will also be able to use the insights to refine their audience lists. DoubleClick advertisers can exclude existing customers from a new acquisition program; re-market to consumers who have called a call center but didn’t purchase; and cross-sell new products to frequent store visitors.
• Advertisers can integrate through approved partners — including Marchez, Oracle Data Cloud, Neustar and LiveRamp — and get access to data tied to CRM onboarding, call tracking and foot traffic attribution.

Dive Insight:

Connecting the dots between digital ads and offline actions is something of a Holy Grail for marketers, as consumers increasingly research products and services from a connected device and then complete a purchase in another channel. For example, consumers in the market for a new car might start by watching video reviews to narrow down their options, then search for local dealers and make calls to schedule test drives. In the end, they typically make a purchase directly from a dealer.         

But without the ability to understand how and ad contributed to an offline action or where consumers are along the path to purchase, marketers cannot accurately measure return-on-investment or effectively target consumers.

Google's new Conversions API aims to bridge that gap. The DoubleClick news follows Facebook’s announcement last month of its own set of data integrations tied to deepening insights for advertisers. 

While connecting offline conversions with online ads has been a challenge for a variety of reasons, the fact that Google and Facebook are both making headway here underscores the advancements being made in cross-channel attribution — and that such capabilities are increasingly becoming table stakes.

While digital ad spending continues only to grow, Google and Facebook both recognize that competition for those dollars has never been stiffer. Enhancing data insights is one way for each company to shore up its leadership position and ensure the ongoing health of its main revenue-generating operation.

Another goal of these efforts is to make ads more relevant for consumers so that they perform better and provide a better experience to users.