The future of digital marketing is bright. With the recent global introduction of generative AI chat and image models, the digital advertising landscape is changing at a breakneck speed. As a leading marketing agency, Revel Interactive understands the importance of staying ahead of the curve.
As AI advances exponentially, expect to see drastic changes in Google’s generative AI models in the coming years. Google’s recent integration of Gemini Imagen 2 into Google Ads emphasizes the importance of leveraging generative AI capabilities, expanding image display options and embracing generated content.
What is Imagen 2?
Imagen 2 is Google’s most powerful text-to-image generative model. Imagen 2’s functionality can boost CTR by up to 6% by showing relevant, high quality product and lifestyle image assets with your ads. By depicting people in relatable situations, we can connect with our clients’ target audience on a deeper, more personal level.
Imagen 2: Crafting Compelling Narratives through Active Lifestyle Scenarios
Imagen 2 introduces a new dimension to ad creation by allowing marketers to depict people in active lifestyle scenarios like the example below:
Imagen 2’s generative features tap into the power of storytelling. By leveraging Imagen 2, we can create narratives that better resonate with the target demographic, and drive increased engagement, sales, and revenue for our clients.
According to Frederick Vallaeys of Search Engine Land, Imagen 2 offers the following optimization options in Performance Max Campaigns:
“Add more assets, including AI-generated adaptations of existing creatives.
Leveraging design platforms, like Canva, that allow you to import images directly into campaigns.
Imagen 2 will also offer the ability to generate image variations from existing top performers. Google emphasizes the importance of high quality creative assets in driving better results, with advertisers that achieve an "Excellent Ad Strength” seeing a 6% increase in conversions vs. advertisers that do not achieve an excellent rating. Generating images from top performers will give us increased opportunities to perform advanced A/B testing. By using top performing creatives to generate additional high-quality, winning image variations, Revel Interactive’s team can leverage these features to increase advertising performance over time.
There are no definitive signals that we have seen to show that AI-generated images are given more performance weight in Google Ads. We still advise leveraging client imagery to showcase originality, maintain artistic control, and ensure consistency across your brand.
Auto-Generated Video Creation & Merchant Center Integration
Google’s generative AI models don't stop at Google Ads. Google is expanding its auto-generated video creation tools using Merchant Center Product Data. Google’s approach allows greater flexibility to marketers, giving us the ability to create dynamic and engaging video content to accompany our advertising efforts. As video continues to be a dominant format, advertisers can better integrate these conversion-boosting video assets into their marketing programs.
What does this mean for Advertisers?
Generative AI models have introduced a new paradigm for the advertising industry. Image and video generation options gives advertisers unlimited flexibility for lifestyle, environmental, and product images & videos. Creating advertising assets will soon only be limited by our team's imagination.
The Revel team has tested some of Imagen 2’s capabilities and has found that it struggles to accurately reflect product images just yet, but we're excited for the potential down the line. We still recommend using client provided, professional product images for the time being until Imagen 2’s systems are improved.
How will this advancement help Marketing Agencies?
Gemini’s integration has a direct impact on our advertising programs here at Revel Interactive. Many times our clients, whether it be in ecommerce, beauty, education, fashion or beyond, have a limited set of product or lifestyle photos. Sometimes our clients will only have a few images of the isolated product and no lifestyle images to speak of. Lifestyle images are often more difficult to obtain, requiring logistics, planning, and the hiring of models.
These tools will take pressure off of clients who do not have the resources, budget or ability to create high quality photos and videos on a regular basis. It will also allow for cost savings when we include things like the shipping of the product to the photoshoot site, as well as the costs involved with a professional photo or video shoot.
With Gemini’s Imagen 2 integration and continuing advancement, advertisers will soon have the ability to create lifestyle images from an isolated product image alone. This feature can create huge flexibility within our Digital Marketing Agency, and limit creative bottlenecks that we sometimes have to deal with.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the integration of generative AI models like Imagen 2 into Google Ads is revolutionizing the digital advertising landscape. As a leading marketing agency, Revel Interactive recognizes the immense potential of these advancements in creating compelling narratives, boosting ad performance, and overcoming creative limitations. While the technology is still evolving, the future of digital marketing looks promising, with AI-powered tools set to transform the way advertisers engage with their target audiences and drive results.
CITATIONS
Naresh, Pallavi. “Gemini models are coming to Performance Max.” Google Ads & Commerce Blog, Google, 22 February 2024, https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/gemini-models-are-coming-to-performance-max/. Accessed 22 March 2024.=Vallaeys, Frederick. “Google Ads Performance Max Image Generation Now Available To All.” Search Engine Journal, 22 February 2024, https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-performance-max-image-generation-now-available-to-all/509015/. Accessed 19 March 2024.
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