Is Googles Performance Max going to crush direct response Display?

One of Google's big pushes of the moment is performance max. This product sits in Google ads and allows effectively one setup to auto run and optimise across Paid Search, shopping, Video (YouTube) and Display - including ads in Google mail.

At this point many many programmatic experts and not a few search experts will be banging their heads in frustration. This is not the right way to run best in breed in any of these channels, they will say. They are 100 percent right and I agree - I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who wants to run the best possible marketing campaigns - or even above average marketing campaigns. Despite this I expect performance Max to have a huge uptake and dominate much of the inventory. So whether or not we think this is a good thing (I don't) it is a big thing. Here is why.?

Ease of use. Pretty much every advertiser uses Google ads for something - most likely paid search as a starting point so everyone has an account and uses their interface and reports for some reason. Not only that but most search advertisers (which is all advertisers) have at least been experimenting with Smart Search - the search equivalent of automated buying which is a precursor to performance max. Therefore, the barrier for every advertiser in the land to testing this is crazy low.?

Measurement. Google ads measurement is super flawed. Yet despite this it is widely trusted. It ties in seamlessly to Google Analytics and in some combination Google Ads and Analytics are the gateway measurement system for most people in media. Furthermore with their enhanced conversions (passing emails) it can use Googles login data (details here for a different post) to give a big advantage on tracking over other DR display companies. Google also now have new reporting options that in theory build in incrementality (top tip, it may take account of some incrementality, but these are not incremental sales). Indeed, many will just measure display as part of the blend with other Google channels, including brand search and shopping, this gives it a reach and performance level that other display companies simply cant match.?

Google support. Google is great at pushing its products with company c suite staff. They also have a huge network of agency resellers pushing their products (with reseller incentives). This gives them huge lobbying power - only approached by Facebook and Amazon - and garuantees that many providers will test and ultimately move dr display budgets to performance max.?

Integrations. Because it integrates with shopping then dynamic product led creative become easier to build. Because it integrates with YouTube then video assets are as seamless as possible. These channels can support each other with many clients in one interface to drive use and adoption.?

To conclude. For sophisticated advertisers those that want to do display well and focus on brand and other more sophisticated methods such as CTV, Rich Media and the like Google Performance max will not be much of an option. But for the huge mid to long tail of advertisers that want to run advertising seamlessly performance max will become the default option. Its time then for the independent market to respond and move away from long tail low-cost display and focus on building brands and performance through quality and sophisticated marketing. Better environments, creative, data usage and strategy - what you might call proper marketing is the route the independent sector needs to take. There is simply no choice because in a world of piling it high and selling it cheap Google with performance max and similar efforts from other huge walled gardens will dominate budgets even more than they do today.