Paid Media News & Opinion #142

Google Ad’s Asset Studio is rolling out

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> What’s happening

Google Ads’ Asset Studio, first shown earlier this year, has started to appear in some ad accounts under Tools > Asset Studio.

The suite gives advertisers tools like image generation from text prompts, lifestyle image creation, video creator and editor, and voiceovers for video/audio ads.

Asset Studio signals a further push into creative and creative production from Google, with less reliance on third-party tools.

> Why we care

For smaller advertisers who are lacking resources and assets, these tools may proof invaluable, but could also be hugely beneficial for larger accounts who want to make quick and effortless tweaks without going through several levels of approval.

The AI technology behind these tools has improved a lot, although there are still times we find them to be hit and miss, especially with voice generation in languages outside of US English.

Even if it’s just to enable faster testing and scaling of assets, we recommend advertisers take a look and see what’s available.

Google Ads gets audience exclusions for shopping campaigns

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> What’s happening

Google Ads is introducing a new targeting feature for Shopping campaigns, now allowing audience exclusions.

Historically, advertisers could target audiences with Shopping campaigns, but they were unable to exclude specific audience segments. Often a frustrating limitation that could reduce efficiency and precision. Now, that restriction appears to be changing, with several advertisers spotting the new option in their accounts.

The rollout appears to be happening gradually, so not all accounts may have access yet.

> Why we care

The ability to exclude audiences in Shopping campaigns opens up a range of possibilities for advertisers, offering both potential performance and efficiency benefits.

Advertisers could reduce wasted spend by excluding audiences unlikely to convert, such as existing customers who already purchased the product, to prevent wasted impressions and clicks.

Exclusions give advertisers the ability to split campaigns more effectively. For example, one Shopping campaign could target new customers, while another is designed for remarketing, with audiences more cleanly separated.

Audience exclusions are already standard in Search, Display, and Video campaigns, so their arrival in Shopping brings the format in line with the rest of the campaign types. This small change continues Google’s broader trend of increasing transparency and customisation across ad types.

For ecommerce brands in particular, this could become a significant lever for scaling efficiently, avoiding redundancy in retargeting, and pushing budget allocation toward profitable customer acquisition.

Google Ads brings merchant loyalty perks to shopping listings

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> What’s happening

Google is now empowering retailers to weave loyalty program perks directly into both paid and free shopping listings, along with a new Google Ads “loyalty goal” that shifts bidding strategies toward high-value, repeat customers. Using Google Merchant Center, brands can enable “loyalty annotations” to spotlight member-only pricing, special shipping, and loyalty points right in Search and Shopping.

The new loyalty goal in Google Ads will allow the algorithm to optimise towards users likely to be, or become, higher value and loyal customers. This means that budget will be allocated more efficiently towards shoppers likely to drive greater lifetime value, improving overall performance.

> Why we care

During testing, Sephora in the US reported a 20 % lift in CTR when using personalised annotations for loyalty tiers, which is pretty significant. In the US too, 61% of adults surveyed said that tailored loyalty programs are the most compelling part of a personalised experience when shopping online, so this feature should help to create greater traction for brands offering member discounts and perks.

It will also potentially encourage more shoppers to sign up to and engage with loyalty programs, providing brands with even more first party data and opportunities to market to their existing customer base.

What else we've been talking about:

• The future of remarketing? Microsoft bets on impressions, not clicks

• Google Ads expands PMax Channel Reporting to account level

• Amazon resumes Google Shopping ads – but not in the US

• Google Recommends Upgrading Conversion Import Pipelines

• Minimum Video Length For In-Stream in Demand Gen

• Google: AI Max For Search Has No Conversion Minimums