Author Archives: JB

Introducing the next generation of publisher training

At Google, we’re constantly updating our publisher products to improve user experience and push the boundaries of innovation in the digital advertising space. We know it can be difficult to stay current with these ongoing updates when you have an online business to manage, which is why we’re excited to introduce Google's brand new online training center, Publisher University!

This new offering allows you to deep dive into the product areas that are most valuable to you through tailorable, self-study training solutions for DoubleClick for Publishers, DoubleClick Ad Exchange and AdSense.



As your one-stop training destination for all publisher-facing products, the materials have been designed to suit a variety of roles and skill levels. Whether you’re starting out as a trafficker or you’re a seasoned manager, there’s a training solution suited to your needs:
  • Certification: Review one of our engaging online courses and demonstrate your knowledge of Google publisher products by taking an online exam. Once you’ve passed you’ll obtain a printable certificate of completion.
  • Mix and Match: Here you’ll find all of the publisher training materials conveniently located in one place. Go ahead and pick the topics that are most relevant for you.
  • Labs: Practice what you’ve learned through in-product exercises and activities. For example, you can practice your trafficking skills in a real DFP network!
  • What’s New: Check out the latest feature releases and how to use them.
  • Learning Paths (Coming soon): If you’re simply not sure where to start, we can suggest a learning path for you and help you to explore the training options available! 
Access the same high-quality content delivered at our in-person classroom trainings from the convenience of your own computer. With a huge variety of regularly updated learning resources, there’s never been a better time to brush up on your skills.

Visit g.co/PublisherU and kick-start your training today!

Posted by Marcus Jacobs, Technical Trainer

Q&A with Neal Mohan: A Sneak Peek at the DoubleClick Live Stream

DoubleClick’s annual digital advertising summit is just around the corner, streaming live on YouTube on Wednesday, June 4th. (Sign up here to watch.) We caught up with Neal Mohan, Google’s Vice President of Display and Video Advertising Products, to hear what’s on his mind as we get ready for the event.

Q: What topics should we expect to hear about this year? 
A: I don’t think it will come as a surprise that our team has been very focused on how to make digital work for brands and premium publishers. You can expect to hear a lot more about that. Also, since this event marks Google’s annual conversation on the future of digital advertising, we’ll discuss how digital is redefining consumer behavior, content development, and the ways that advertisers and publishers reach their customers.

Q: Will the live stream include any special guests? 
A: I’ll be joined by Nikesh Arora, our Chief Business Officer at Google, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO and Co-Founder of DreamWorks Animation. I’m looking forward to hearing Jeffrey talk about how technology has changed content creation.

Q: What consumer trends are impacting the way brands and publishers think about digital? 
A: When we started this DoubleClick event 14 years ago, going online was a deliberate act that required going to a computer and “logging-in”. The days of going online are coming to an end. Today’s digital experience is one that is always-on and always with us. As a result, digital has become far more personal, and one of the most personal forms of communication - video - is playing a more central role in our online lives. All these factors have major implications for brands and publishers, which we’ll discuss at the event.

Q: So...any scoops you can give us?
A: As I mentioned, video has been very much on my mind lately. Getting video right is something that is essential to our brand, agency, and publisher partners...expect to hear more about what we have planned to help make that happen.

We hope you can join us on Wednesday, June 4th at 9:30 am PDT / 12:30 pm EDT. Register to watch the live stream or to receive the recording.

-The DoubleClick Team

Join us for a conversation on the future of digital advertising

Digital is no longer just another marketing channel. It’s a medium that’s changing the art of storytelling and reinventing the way companies connect with consumers.

How will digital advertising evolve next? You’re invited to tune in live as industry leaders tackle the question at DoubleClick’s annual event on digital trends.

Speakers include:
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation
Nikesh Arora, Chief Business Officer at Google
Neal Mohan, VP of Display Advertising at Google

Register now for the live stream

Wednesday, June 4
9:30 am PDT - 10:45 am PDT / 12:30 pm EDT - 1:45 pm EDT

Time not convenient? When you register you’ll receive a link to watch the recording on demand.

Here’s footage from last year’s event to give you a taste of the 2014 live stream:



We hope you can join!

Posted by Jane Brinkley, Product Marketing Manager

Buzzing towards victory with native: BuzzFeed on DFP

Native advertising is a becoming a dominant force in the online 
advertising industry and at DoubleClick, we’re building tools to power publishers’ native solutions. Today, we’re shining a light on BuzzFeed, who is using DFP to succeed in this space. 

BuzzFeed is a leading social news and entertainment company whose popular website curates viral and shareable online content to over 100 million unique monthly users worldwide. Their mantra is “great advertising is content” and they’ve applied this across their entire monetization strategy. Eric Harris, BuzzFeed’s Executive Vice President of Business Operations explains that the site exclusively uses ‘social advertising’, a form of native advertising, to ‘communicate the aspirations and attributes of the brands we’re working with...and promote it on our site in a way that’s clearly marked as advertising, but similar to how we promote our other content.” Scaling this burgeoning format to a large user base is no small feat. So, we caught up with Eric to learn how DFP is helping BuzzFeed execute against this strategy.

Scaling for success

BuzzFeed needed a customized and robust infrastructure that could keep up with its growth and reliably serve ads across different platforms. The team turned to DFP for it’s scalability, enabling them to “focus on what we do best, and giving us the credibility that comes with working with the industry leader.” Using DFP for ad serving and inventory management has been critical for BuzzFeed’s success. “We haven’t had to worry about anything with DFP – it just works.” Eric emphasizes.

Integrating the best of BuzzFeed with DFP
In addition to ad serving, BuzzFeed leverages the openness and flexibility of the DFP API to integrate its proprietary technologies- which help determine the content to promote- with DFP’s ad targeting and delivering capabilities to serve the ads.

When it comes to tracking, DFP also enables BuzzFeed to accurately measure its social advertising: “The fact that DFP easily integrates with other third-party tracking solutions and our custom analytics – with low discrepancies – is a big benefit for us,” says Eric.

Taking engagement cross-device
Moreover, with over half of its traffic (and growing) coming from mobile devices, BuzzFeed deeply values the ability to work fluidly and consistently across platforms with DFP. “It is hugely important for us that we can work with just one vendor – DoubleClick – to serve ads seamlessly across desktop, mobile web and mobile apps,” notes Eric.

Powering long-term growth
As it examines the future of its native advertising program, BuzzFeed has three clear goals: leadership in social, content-driven advertising, continued growth in mobile, and international expansion. Eric notes, “with the flexibility, scale and robust infrastructure that it offers, DFP plays an important role in all three of these goals.”

To get the full scoop on BuzzFeed’s success with native advertising, download the full customer story here. Stay tuned to the DoubleClick for Publishers blog for even more customer success stories.

Posted by Jane Brinkley, Product Marketing Manager

Weight Watchers weighs in on their success with Google Publisher Tag and DFP

A top name in weight loss and healthy living for 50 years, Weight Watchers serves over 140 million ad impressions a month at WeightWatchers.com.

Weight Watchers began using the Google Publisher Tag (GPT) in 2012 once they upgraded to the DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad server. They were hoping for better targeting, but they got much more.

Higher ROI, happier advertisers
With up to five levels of targeting hierarchy, GPT let Weight Watchers improve its targeting and end manual re-tagging. The results have been strong with Click Through Rates across all standard display ad units are up 13%, and for leaderboards up 76%. Advertisers are loving the performance and Weight Watchers now runs four times more monthly campaigns with advanced targeting than with basic demographic and geo-targeting.

100% boost in operational efficiency from DFP

"I would actually say we've had a 100% increase in efficiency," says Jordan Tuck of Weight Watchers. Campaign setup is faster, and new features like the ability to update multiple line items on the same page save even more time later.

30% rise in indirect inventory earnings

With the move to DFP, Weight Watchers benefited from Dynamic Allocation with DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) to monetize indirect inventory. Their indirect inventory rates are up 30% year-over-year, and the clickthrough rate is 2.5 times higher than it was before AdX. AdX now has 70% share of their indirectly sold inventory.

Weight Watchers helps its customers "move the needle," and DFP and AdX have helped them do the same with their own online properties.

Read the full Weight Watchers story »

Posted by Yamini Gupta, Product Marketing Team

Helping publishers grow with DFP Small Business

Since we launched DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) Small Business, we’ve been constantly innovating to meet the evolving needs of growing publishers.

From introducing free mobile and video ad serving functionality, to streamlining the tagging process, we’ve been committed to building a complete and easy-to-use platform that helps publishers grow their digital advertising business.

To help publishers continue to grow with the platform, we’re making available a set of features, such as creative templates, competitive exclusion, and configureable roles, that had previously only been available to our largest publishers. These features will help DFP Small Business publishers unlock new revenue opportunities and have even greater flexibility and control over their ad operations.

A full list of features now available to DFP Small Business publishers can be viewed here. If you don’t have a DFP Small Business account, sign up for free today.

Posted by Chealsea Conroy, Product Manager