Demand Gen Campaigns: Changes, Preparations and Coordination

Digital advertising is ever-evolving, in which platforms such as Google Ads undergo constant updates. Therefore, businesses and professionals must be aware of new changes that affect marketing strategies. In this blog, we cover the recent changes affecting Google Ads Discovery and Demand Gen campaigns and the impact they will have on Campaign Manager 360 and Search Ads 360.

Changes to Discovery Campaigns

22 January 2024, Google announced Discovery campaigns have been automatically migrated to Demand Gen. It should be noted, at this point, that active Discovery campaigns will continue to function as Demand Gen without interruptions, and historical data of Discovery campaigns will seamlessly transfer to the new version.

Lead Forms Measurement

A significant change is the elimination of the Lead Forms option in Demand Gen. The campaigns that have this format active will migrate, but the form will remain inactive. Although historical reports will still be available, they cannot be used as a campaign objective to optimize. Instead, campaigns will optimize to other Google Ads conversion actions already included in the campaign.

To overcome this, it is recommended to explore the new features of Demand Gen, such as video ads, similar segments, and A/B testing. These options can be new ways through which you can maximize the impact of your campaigns.

Changes in Search Ads 360

The move to Demand Gen also has implications for Search Ads 360. As Discovery campaigns migrate, you’ll notice that they progressively begin measuring Floodlight clicks and conversions in SA360 and CM360.

Initially, this data cannot be optimized in SA360 bidding strategies but can be included in platform reports. In the second phase, SA360 will offer full support for Demand Gen, allowing the optimization of these metrics.

It is essential to note that the change to SA360 is gradual and does not have a manual activation lever. Therefore, it is recommended to review the activity of these campaigns in Campaign Manager 360 after activation and maintain the measurement tags until the second phase is confirmed, thus avoiding data loss during the transition.

At Making Science, we have specialised teams that can help you resolve your questions or manage your migration process. Get in touch with our specialists!