Creatives and media agencies: get trained online with DoubleClick Rich Media

Since launching our DoubleClick Rich Media Education Program, we've seen developers become more productive with ad creation and media agencies more effectively manage rich media creatives for display campaigns. But with increased adoption of HTML5 and the success of dynamic creative ad formats, we've heard from you that we need to both streamline training across products and customize it for the right user, while also adding more training content for advanced topics.

So, we've made a few changes to consolidate all training resources for each user, by role.

Rich Media and Studio training for creative agencies and developers

We've updated DoubleClick Rich Media Fundamentals eLearning & Certification to better align with Studio Certification. Focused toward creative agencies and developers, Rich Media Fundamentals eLearning provides an overview of DoubleClick Rich Media and Studio, and helps you ramp up on rich media basics at your own pace.

In Rich Media Fundamentals, you’ll learn how to:

• Build Flash and HTML5 creatives
• Publish to QA
• Use the API
• Build dynamic creatives and create/edit rules 
• Resolve common live issues

Rich Media Fundamentals includes a certification exam at the end of the course. Pass the exam and you'll get a printable certificate of completion you can use to show your proficiency.

Rich Media Fundamentals can benefit creative developers through faster creative builds, more efficient QA, and reduced turnaround times, and is a great introduction for Studio users who want to take Studio Certification to demonstrate expertise in building rich media ads.

Rich Media training for media agencies and marketers

1. We've revised DFA Academy to include a Rich Media Checklist (previously Rich Media Academy). If you're a media planner or ad trafficker, use the checklist to learn rich media during basic DFA training and be better equipped to know how rich media works in the context of display campaigns. (DFA Sign-in required) 
2. We've updated DFA Fundamentals eLearning & Certification to include an optional DoubleClick Rich Media module. Ad traffickers at a media agency might only need a higher level of training compared to a creative developer designing an ad, so we’ve added a rich media overview to DFA Fundamentals (Enroll -- DFA sign-in required) 
3. We've added a rich media live issues section to the DFA Help Center to help media agencies who manage rich media creatives in DFA to troubleshoot common issues. (DFA sign-in required)

Ready to get started? Sign up through the links above, and note any sign-in requirements.

Don’t forget to sign up to receive the latest news, product updates, features, tips, and research information from DoubleClick!

Posted by Hemmy Edge, DoubleClick Rich Media Product Trainer

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Tutorial Tuesday: Add a new dimension to your work with the Google Web Designer CSS Panel

Welcome to week three of our Google Web Designer Tutorial Tuesday series. So far, we have given you an overview of the tool’s interface and have helped you get started with animation. This week, we’re going to teach you about Google Web Designer’s CSS panel, which brings design and dimension to your creative. 

The CSS panel shows the styling for any element that you select. The panel has: 

All the basic features you need...

• View and edit existing CSS values
• Create new styles for a single element or multiple elements
• Add properties, classes and rules

...plus a full 3D authoring environment...

• Rotate elements in 3D with the 3D Object Rotate Tool
• Change the position of an element in 3D with the 3D Translation Tool

You can learn more about designing in 3D in the Help Center, and you can learn more about the CSS panel in our latest YouTube video. 

….and cross browser publishing

We take cross-browser support very seriously and we want to be the default choice for users building HTML5 content. For this reason, we’ve worked to ensure that Google Web Designer allows you to publish your content across a number of different browsers. While GWD’s CSS rules only show webkit browser prefixes, the tool generates additional CSS rules that make your creative compatible with IE10, Firefox and Opera in addition to webkit based browsers. Both the components and Javascript generated work with all evergreen browsers.

See you in two Tuesdays

There will be no Tutorial Tuesday post next week, as we want to give you time to catch up on everything we’ve covered so far. We’ll be back with our last Tutorial Tuesday post on 10/29, where we’ll walk through how to create interstitial and expandable ads. We have three instructional videos to help you with each type of ad, and you can view them all on the our YouTube Channel.

Share your feedback

We hope this blog series has been helpful for you. Please don’t hesitate to share your feedback with us on our user forum or our Google+ page. We’re always working to improve Google Web Designer, and your feedback counts.

Posted by Jasmine Rogers, Program Manager, Google Web Designer

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Get ready to rock the holidays with instant conversion data in DoubleClick Search

Keeping up with your retail search campaigns is no easy task. On top of monitoring sales, profits, inventory levels, and the competition, you also want to seize every opportunity during short-lived periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

At DoubleClick Search, we've been focused on delivering the speed you need to maximize performance during the holiday season. So, today we wanted to shine a light on our investments in instant conversion data and the benefits it delivers.

Meredith Spitz, Sr. Analyst with Starcom, tells us why fresh and accurate campaign metrics are important:

“Knowing how we’re performing throughout the day has allowed us to take advantage of more opportunities, instead of relying on stale data. We’ve been able to hit our goals more accurately because of instant conversion data.”

Immediate insights, 32% conversion lift in volatile search landscapes with near real-time data

Real-time data can power performance in two key ways. First, as real-time data flows into DoubleClick Search reports, your talented search team has the information they need to make campaign optimizations on the fly, and drive performance.  Up-to-the-minute insights make the difference between success and failure, while also saving time.

And when it comes to automated bid optimization, DoubleClick Search uses the same real-time data to update bids frequently - up to four times per day - using fresher data to more closely track to your goals.  

At iProspect, they’re already seeing the benefits of faster bid optimization, as shared by Account Supervisor Jessica Dearien,

“We’ve been able to test DoubleClick Search bid optimization with real-time data and we’ve already seen fantastic results. That’s even more critical moving into the high-volume shopping days of the holiday season.”

The below graphic illustrates how updating bids four times a day helps track closer to a $5 CPA goal than updating bids only once per day. Please note the $5 CPA is for example purposes only - your goal CPA will vary based on the characteristics of your business.

Our team conducted an internal study to understand just how helpful, in aggregate, changing bids more often could be.  We found that in volatile search landscapes, 4x daily bid changes improved conversion volume an average of 32% over 1x daily bid changes, while also keeping CPA slightly lower for a given CPA goal.*

*(Google internal study data)

In addition to bidding more frequently, DoubleClick Search’s bid optimization technology keeps your campaigns in top shape with capabilities like:

• Near-real-time trend detection: We use both past and current data to predict future trends.  Our bid optimization takes into account seasonality, holiday periods, and sudden spikes in demand due to offline events like weather, accounting for fluctuations in traffic around external events.

• Performance-based spend allocation: DoubleClick Search intelligently allocates budgets dynamically to various keywords, based on their performance.  It considers the opportunity cost of each keyword and allocates spend accordingly.

• Portfolio bidding for low-volume keywords: These keywords are often overlooked by manual or simple bid optimization methods, as they provide little or no data to use. However, ignoring long-tail terms can add up across the board—leaving opportunity on the table. DoubleClick Search groups similar keywords together and bids on them as a whole.

To get the most out of your search campaigns this holiday season, rely on instant conversions from DoubleClick Search for the real-time insights and optimizations that will help your team succeed.  For more information, check out our instant conversions video and bid optimization white paper.

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Attend an upcoming DoubleClick Bid Manager training webinar

If you're interested in boosting your DoubleClick Bid Manager expertise this fall, be sure to join one of our upcoming webinars. We offer both basic training for new Bid Manager users as well as advanced webinars for seasoned users already familiar with the platform.  If you've recently upgraded to Bid Manager, are new to the system, or are planning to upgrade soon, these webinars are a great place to start.

Take a look at the schedule below and enroll through the Training page in the Bid Manager Help Center  (sign-in required).

Bid Manager Overview for new users - 10/31 and 11/13

This webinar provides an introduction to Bid Manager – including the basic benefits and features of demand-side platforms and how ad exchanges work. It will then walk through the steps to setting up a new campaign in Bid Manager. We'll also cover core Bid Manager functionality and how it works with DFA, as well as how to analyze performance and optimize campaigns.

We also offer online eLearning and Certification.

DoubleClick Bid Manager: Launch your campaign - 10/17

Now that you know the basics, it's time to launch a campaign. During this webinar, attendees will walk through turning a media plan into an actual live campaign in Bid Manager. We'll also discuss different strategies for gaining reach and increasing ROI, as well as setting up remarketing recency.

This webinar is intended for users who have completed Bid Manager Fundamentals training and are ready to set their strategies. If you’re not familiar with Bid Manager, complete the Fundamentals eLearning or attend the Overview for new users webinar first.

DoubleClick Bid Manager Video - 10/22

You can now programmatically buy and report on your video campaigns with Bid Manager. Join this webinar session to take a deep dive on best practices for setting up video campaigns.

This webinar is intended for Bid Manager users who have completed Fundamentals training. If you’re not familiar with Bid Manager, complete the Fundamentals eLearning or attend the Overview for new users webinar first.

DoubleClick Bid Manager Mobile - 10/29

Run your multi-faceted mobile campaigns through Bid Manager. This webinar will walk through the process of setting up your mobile campaign, with descriptions of all available targeting. Additionally, we'll discuss a few best practices and take your live questions.

This webinar is intended for Bid Manager users who have completed Fundamentals training. If you’re not familiar with Bid Manager, complete the Fundamentals eLearning or attend the Overview for new users webinar first.

DoubleClick Bid Manager Reporting - 11/7

Join our webinar on generating reports and reading inline statistics in Bid Manager. We'll cover how these reports can help you optimize prospecting, audience, and remarketing campaigns. If you run reports, review data, or make optimizations, this session is for you.

Pre-recorded webinar: Keyword contextual targeting

This webinar will walk through how keyword contextual targeting works with Bid Manager, and best practices for setting up a keyword targeted line items.

• Watch

More pre-recorded webinars available

We also offer pre-recorded webinars in our Help Center, covering topics like Private deals, Creative approvals, and upgrades. While you’re there, be sure to read about our latest product releases.

Some sessions mention prerequisites where we recommend background knowledge. Please take note of these to ensure you get the most out of each session. Lastly, be aware of any regional time differences before enrolling in any of the live sessions.

Posted by Molly Larrison, DoubleClick Bid Manager Product Trainer

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DoubleClick Rich Media: Lessons from our Customers -- A Hangouts Mini-Series

At DoubleClick, we’re inspired every day by the experiences that our customers create using our platform. So we thought we would host a hangouts mini-series to present some of the great creatives we’ve seen from our customers and walk through the things we’ve learned from these campaigns.

On Tuesday, 10/15 @ 1:30pm ET, Jeff Sundheim, Creative Account Executive for DoubleClick Rich Media, will host a conversation with Daniel Weisinger and Brick Rucker from Unfold Agency to discuss their recent creative for Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell. Daniel and Brick will walk through some of the thoughts underlying their ad unit, what tactics they used to add depth to the experience, and what technologies they are most excited about.

Next Friday, 10/18 @ 1:30pm ET, Dana Summers and Katie Erbs, DoubleClick’s dynamic creative experts, will go behind-the-scenes of some of our customers' recent dynamic campaigns. They’ll uncover key techniques that each of these campaigns used and provide recommendations for how you can build your own dynamic campaigns for success. 

Recap:

“DoubleClick Rich Media: Lessons from our Customers -- Featuring Unfold Agency”

Tuesday, Oct. 15th @ 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET

RSVP here. Please add any questions for the panelists on the Event page. 

“DoubleClick Rich Media: Lessons from our Customers -- Dynamic Creative Techniques”

Friday, Oct. 18th @ 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET

RSVP here. Please add any questions for the panelists on the Event page.

We hope you’ll be able to join us!

Posted by Becky Chappell, Product Marketing, DoubleClick

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Dialing up better measurement: Announcing integration with top call tracking services in DoubleClick Search

Today, we’re happy to announce new integrations that make it even easier for DoubleClick Search customers to track and report on conversions that happen via phone after interactions with search ads. Recent research shows that over half of smartphone users are taking advantage of click-to-call ad features from Google and others. In addition, around 7% of all mobile searches result in a phone call to a business, so understanding the impact of call data is important to analyzing and optimizing campaign ROI.

Ever since DoubleClick Search introduced the Conversions API, advertisers have been able to upload and report on the offline activities and conversions that make sense for their business, and take advantage of those insights in near real-time. Now we’re happy to announce official integrations with many of the major call tracking service providers in the US, EMEA and Australian/SEA markets.

Americas: CallCap, Century Interactive, Infinity Tracking, Marchex, Mongoose Metrics, ResponseTap  

UK/Europe: Infinity Tracking, ResponseTap

Australia/SEA: AVANSER

We’re continuing to evaluate other providers for integration on an ongoing basis.

How advertisers and agencies benefit

Cramer Krasselt, an ad agency based out of Chicago, had historically used a number of tactics to measure offline conversions that resulted from their online campaigns. “We knew a lot of conversions were happening where the primary conversion occurs offline,” mentions Rocky Yost, Senior Analyst at Cramer Krasselt, “but we didn’t have an easy way of connecting it to our online campaigns.”

Yost continues, “Because of call tracking integration into DoubleClick Search technology, we now have one place to get reporting. And because it’s automatically uploaded into DoubleClick Search, conversions from customer calls are now also a part of DoubleClick Search bidding models. This integration has improved ROI by decreasing cost per click, giving us better positioning in search results, and in general, the bid management system is able to make a better choice because it has a more complete picture of completed transactions.”

Moreover, advertisers are able to see these conversions in near real-time, and can use the insights gained in both reporting and automated bid optimization immediately, instead of waiting 24 hours or more. As always, all reporting is aggregated and anonymous, and these conversions are not used to target advertising.

Continuing to invest for the future

We’re currently planning the next extensions of the Conversions API and offline conversion tracking. Stay tuned to the blog and our Google+ page for more.

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Google Web Designer: Thoughts from the Field

Last week, we announced the public beta of Google Web Designer, a pro-grade HTML5 authoring tool that helps you create HTML5 ads with ease. We caught up with two creative professionals who participated in the private beta of Google Web Designer -- Francois Girardot, Creative Director and Co-founder of Biborg, and Marius Veltman, Rich Media Expert at Artis Universalis -- to get their thoughts on the new product.

How would you describe the importance of HTML5 to creative development?

Francois: By 2015 there will be more tablet sales than desktop computer sales. As a result of this shift, advertisers need ads that work across all screens. Flash can’t do that, but HTML5 can. We’re focused on responsive advertising and we believe HTML5 is the key to effective multi-screen ad campaigns.

Marius: Since Flash isn’t supported on mobile devices, HTML5 is filling the gap. HTML5 is great because it allows you to develop quickly and add complexity to your designs with each iteration.

How was your transition from Flash to HTML5? Which HTML5 tools did you use before Google Web Designer?

Francois: For us, the transition from Flash to HTML5 has been gradual over the past two years. Clients want more and more campaigns that run on all devices. 

Marius: We've been working with Flash for about 15 years. The transition from Flash to HTML5 has not been without frustration. 
I've always felt I was missing the essential tools to create fast and efficient workflows. 

What are your thoughts on Google Web Designer?

Marius: The learning curve is very manageable, and even if you only have a basic level of knowledge you can build cool HTML5 creatives in a relatively short time.


 

Francois: The code generated is clean, which makes it easier for designers and developers to work together. GWD will surely become the reference for HTML5 animation.

What impact will Google Web Designer have for creative developers and designers?

Marius: Google Web Designer offers an easy way to create HTML5 content. This enables more people to build multi-screen content in the future.

Francois: Designers typically use After Effect or Flash to provide developers with the animation they want. With Google Web Designer, they will have a tool they can use to experiment with animation and code. 

What feature/functionality of Google Web Designer are you most excited about?

Marius: I’m most excited about the 3D functionality - it offers new ways of animating content in HTML5. The speed with which the GWD development team launches iterations is impressive. Clearly Google is really serious about pushing HTML5 onto the market. And we feel that there is much more to come.

Francois: We’re most excited about the integration of Google Web Designer with other Google tools, like DoubleClick. We know that Google will do everything they can to enable creativity and increase advertising quality, especially for ads on mobile.

**Bonus: Marius was the winner of our Google Web Designer Beta competition with his “Magic Island” HTML5 ad. Check out his ad on the Rich Media Gallery!

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