Google brings increasingly precise ads to Gmail and YouTube
Organizing a trip to New York, but getting distracted by wobbly recordings of the supermoon on YouTube? Fear not, as the planning will come to you via Google's newest advertising features: 'Customer Match' and 'Universal App Campaigns.' These new tools (similar to Facebook's ad service) are designed so that companies can use your personal email address (and the associated Google tools and apps) to deliver targeted marketing as you sift through the countless flash sales in your Gmail or even as you watch videos on YouTube.
With Customer Match, a brand that has dealt with a person before can upload their email address (obtained via a previous purchase or loyalty program) to the search engine. It can then use the collected data from Google, YouTube and even the Google Play store to tailor ads specifically to the consumer. On the one hand, you may start receiving ads that you'd potentially click on rather than ignore. Of course, it also adds another method for Google to collect more advertising bucks.
Universal App Campaigns works in a similar way. Through search results, Google Play and YouTube, the campaign will promote an app to audiences who are likely to download it. Both programs are set to roll out over the coming weeks, meaning that this author expects to be inundated with ads relating to VR, McDonalds and cheap flights to New York City. Thanks Google.
