From November 2007

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Interactive gadgets
Gadget ads – non-traditional ad units with interactive, rich media capabilities – enable advertisers to target audiences in a flexible and timely manner via regular updates within the ad unit, but also allow users to engage with ad content in a way static ads haven’t facilitated in the past.

According to a company press release, gadget ads can incorporate real-time data feeds, images, video and much more in a single creative unit and can be developed using Flash, HTML or a combination of both. Designed to act more like content than a typical ad, gadget ads run on the Google content network, competing for placement alongside text, image and video ads.

They support both cost-per-click and cost-per-impression pricing models, and offer a variety of contextual, site, geographic and demographic targeting options to ensure the ads reach relevant users with precision and scale.

The new advertising format “provides advertisers and agencies worldwide with an imaginative, dynamic way to interact with consumers,” says Susan Wojcicki, Google’s vice president of product management.

Business owners can also add radio and television to their AdWords campaign. Google is currently testing a program that runs targeted radio and television spots; earlier this year, it signed multi-year agreements with Clear Channel Radio and EchoStar Communications.

The Clear Channel deal enables Google to sell a guaranteed portion of 30-second advertising inventory available on more than 675 radio stations. With EchoStar, Google will have access to a portion of DISH Network’s advertising inventory that spans across all channels and dayparts.

Still, Sexton says he’s sticking with what has worked for him: simple keywords. Over the last five years, his comparable-store sales have increased at an annual rate of 15 percent, and Sexton believes the prime days have yet to come.

“I want to reach that nirvana of true multi-channel marketing, where we’ve got retail stores – four or five in the Southeast region – working in conjunction with a catalog” and e-commerce,” he says.

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