Google Web Designer, an HTML5 design toolset that was unveiled in September 2013 as a beta release, just got some key upgrades to make it even more useful for online marketers and Web designers who want to build ad campaigns tailored to a wide variety of screen sizes, from desktop to mobile.
The updated version includes the ability for designers to now make any element in a Web page interactive, as well as an updated timeline that provides more granular control for designers if they want to build animated content, according to an Aug. 5 post by lead engineer Sean Kranzberg and lead product manager Tony Mowatt of the Google Web Designer team, on the DoubleClick Advertisers Blog. The new updates also include tighter integrations with Google Drive, DoubleClick Studio and DoubleClick Campaign Manager, and first-time HTML5 support for ads using Google AdWords.
“Through its integration with Google Web Designer, AdWords now supports HTML5 ad creative,” wrote Kranzberg and Mowatt. “In addition, Flash ads that are uploaded to AdWords will automatically be converted into HTML5 ads and can be uploaded via AdWords Editor and other 3rd party tools coming soon. Over the next few months, we’ll also be releasing tools and services that will resize ads to some of the most popular mobile sizes, without requiring any additional work on the part of the agencies.”
Since the launch of Google Web Designer, Google has seen increased adoption of HTML5 and Google Web Designer across the industry, they wrote, with DoubleClick Rich Media ad impressions from HTML5 growing by 140 percent in the first half of 2014 compared with the second half of 2013. “Ads built with Google Web Designer have garnered 2.5 billion impressions since the launch of the product,” they wrote.
At the same time, Google has been developing other tools to make it easier for advertisers and agencies as they build their cross-screen advertising campaigns, the post stated. “We recently launched several features in DoubleClick to help you execute and measure your campaigns across screens, including in-app remarketing and conversion tracking in DoubleClick Campaign Manager. We also launched MRAID 2.0 support in DoubleClick Studio and we have certified 69 large publishers and networks for in-app formats, meaning developers can build mobile in-app ads with the confidence that they’ll be accepted across more publishers and networks.”
Google Web Designer was launched last September to help anyone create beautiful designs that can be displayed on any devices and is aimed at advertisers, design newbies and pros, according to an earlier eWEEK report. The new tools have been helping designers prepare their content for accurate display on a wide range of device screens and formats, while also moving designers to the HTML5 environment, which is expected to become more popular than Flash in the next several years, according to Google.
The new Google Web Designer enables users to create animated HTML5 creative content that will be able to run on any device, while allowing users to view and edit the code behind their designs and see their edits instantly. Users are able to build their ad content for use with DoubleClick and AdMob, or use it elsewhere as needed.
The application includes two modes for users. The Quick mode lets users build their animations scene by scene with some automation, while in Advanced mode, users can animate individual elements using layers and then change the location of elements within the stack, according to Google. Users can also create and manipulate 3D content utilizing an array of tools and the power of Cascading Style Sheets 3 (CSS3), while rotating objects and 2D designs along any axis, visualizing 3D transformations and translations as they build their content.
In September 2013, Google released its latest DoubleClick for Advertisers (DFA) Campaign Manager, a platform that included several new tools and capabilities for advertisers to get their messages out in front of consumers and other businesses. The new application came some three months after Google announced big changes for the platform at its June ThinkDoubleClick conference, which is the unit’s annual industry event held to discuss the future of digital media. The new platform included a more responsive user interface that includes a myriad of time-saving features for users, as well as a new trafficking interface that loads up to five times faster than before and ad updates that now go live in only 2 minutes.
Google acquired DoubleClick after making a $3.1 billion bid for the company back in 2007. The purchase gave digital ad and search leader Google plenty of new firepower, including the ability to serve graphical display ads in addition to the company’s text-based links. DoubleClick’s technology lets advertisers and publishers deliver ads once they have agreed to terms, and provides statistics relating to those ads. Privacy and Internet advocates were not happy about the acquisition of DoubleClick and its approval by the Federal Trade Commission at the time; they cited concerns that it would give Google too much power over the data around search.