Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Google Widgets: Ads That Are So Much More

Google has turned its gadgets into flexible ad units (let's call them gADgets) that break the mold of what is an ad, and advertisers should run wild in exploiting the possibilities.

Through Google's Gadget API advertisers can enclose rich media, videos and RSS feeds into standard size ad units. The definition of an ad has been expanded -- as long as it fits the pixel dimensions and can be tracked, then its an ad.

Using RSS to showcase your product offerings within ad units is something I've thought shows great promise for some time. (I built an example for selling books on the right side here).

Advertisers have been hamstrung for too long in two-dimensional ads; now "creatives" can truly be creative. Instead of one or a handful of ads, your campaign can dynamically create ads from any content. As long as an interaction can be simply coded, it can become an ad.

Thinking beyond the banner or box will be one of the biggest advertising shifts of the coming years.

Posted By John Gartner at 09:53 AM
Permanent Link: Google Widgets: Ads That Are So Much More | Comments (0)

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