Google is set to roll out a significant upgrade to its advertising suite, transitioning from Video Action Campaigns (VAC) to Demand Gen campaigns by the second quarter of 2025. This strategic move is designed to provide advertisers with expanded reach, enhanced targeting capabilities, and increased creative flexibility, all aimed at capturing emerging demand and driving growth. According to internal data from Google, advertisers who shift from VAC to Demand Gen stand to gain substantially. By combining video and image assets in campaigns, they could see up to a 20% increase in conversions while maintaining the same cost per action (CPA) compared to campaigns that use only video assets.
One of the standout features of this upgrade is the extensive reach that Demand Gen campaigns offer. These campaigns have the potential to engage up to 3 billion users every month across popular platforms like YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. This broad reach is further strengthened by the enhanced creative flexibility within Demand Gen campaigns. Advertisers can now include both video and image ads within a single campaign, optimizing their creative strategies based on granular insights. Improved audience targeting capabilities are another significant advantage. Demand Gen’s lookalike segments allow advertisers to reach new customer bases that closely resemble their existing audiences, thereby broadening their market reach without compromising the relevance of their ads.
Enhanced Targeting and Creative Flexibility
A key theme of this upgrade is the emphasis on enhanced targeting and creative flexibility, which are pivotal in achieving better campaign results. With Demand Gen, advertisers can leverage sophisticated lookalike segments to pinpoint audiences similar to their existing customers, making it easier to tap into new markets. This is particularly beneficial for brands looking to expand their footprint without the risk of diluting their message or targeting irrelevant audiences. The ability to reach 3 billion monthly users across platforms such as YouTube, Discover, and Gmail further amplifies this targeting capability, offering a more integrated advertising ecosystem.
Creative flexibility is another cornerstone of Demand Gen campaigns. Unlike VACs, which focused primarily on video assets, Demand Gen allows for the integration of both video and image ads within a single campaign. This flexibility enables advertisers to diversify their creative approaches, making campaigns more engaging and visually appealing. Granular insights provided by Google’s analytics tools further enhance this capability, allowing advertisers to fine-tune their creative strategies in real-time. This dynamic approach to creative content ensures that ads are not only more engaging but also more likely to convert, fulfilling the ultimate goal of driving growth and capturing emerging demand.
The Transition Timeline
The transition from VAC to Demand Gen has been thoughtfully planned with a comprehensive timeline to ensure a smooth shift for advertisers. Google’s roadmap encourages advertisers to begin exploring Demand Gen campaigns immediately to familiarize themselves with the new tools and features. By early 2025, Google plans to release a migration tool that will enable manual upgrades from VAC to Demand Gen. This interim period allows advertisers to transition at their own pace, ensuring they have ample time to adapt their campaigns and strategies.
As the year progresses, the creation of new Video Action Campaigns will be disabled by March 2025. This cutoff point serves as a clear milestone, signaling the end of the VAC era and ushering in the Demand Gen phase. Finally, by the second quarter of 2025, all remaining VACs will be automatically upgraded to Demand Gen. This phased approach ensures that advertisers are not rushed into making changes but are instead given sufficient time to adapt and optimize their campaigns for the new system.
Real-World Success and Industry Trends
Google is gearing up for a significant upgrade to its advertising suite by transitioning from Video Action Campaigns (VAC) to Demand Gen campaigns by Q2 2025. This strategic shift aims to give advertisers broader reach, better targeting, and more creative flexibility, all focused on capturing new demand and driving growth. Internal data from Google indicates that advertisers who make the switch from VAC to Demand Gen campaigns could see a 20% boost in conversions while maintaining the same cost per action (CPA) as campaigns that use only video assets.
A standout feature of this upgrade is the impressive reach of Demand Gen campaigns, which can engage up to 3 billion users monthly across platforms like YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. This extensive reach is further amplified by the enhanced creative flexibility; advertisers can now blend video and image ads in a single campaign, enabling them to fine-tune their strategies using detailed insights. Improved audience targeting is another major advantage. Demand Gen’s lookalike segments help advertisers tap into new customer bases that closely match their existing audiences, thereby expanding market reach without losing ad relevance.
