Google has announced a series of upcoming updates to its Demand Gen advertising platform, aiming to provide more control over ad placement and enhance creative tools. The changes reflect Google’s drive to help advertisers create more engaging content and better measure its effectiveness compared to social media campaigns.

Beginning in March, advertisers will have the ability to precisely choose where their ads appear across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Additionally, specific targeting for YouTube Shorts will be available, and Google will add Display inventory, expanding reach to over 90% of global internet users.

As for creative tools, Google will introduce vertical 9:16 image ads for Shorts starting in late February. A new tool will allow advertisers to create shorter versions of their videos at scale, while the ad creation workflow will be improved with shareable previews. Retail-specific features include better integration with product feeds, local inventory display capabilities, and omnichannel bidding for optimizing both online and in-store sales.

According to Google data, 61% of Gen Z users feel closer to YouTube creators than those on other platforms. Demand Gen delivers 58% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) than Video Action Campaigns, according to Nielsen. One example of success is Marks & Spencer, which exceeded their forecasted ROAS by 186% with 66% lower cost per acquisition. YouTube, particularly popular with Gen Z, is shown to deliver 2.3x higher long-term return on ad spend compared to paid social media.

These updates are designed to make it easier for advertisers to create and optimize content across multiple platforms without needing to rebuild campaigns from scratch. Features like local inventory integration aim to help advertisers connect their online and offline presence, ultimately improving performance and return on investment.

Starting in April, new Video Action Campaigns will no longer be available, and advertisers are encouraged to manually upgrade to Demand Gen before the automatic upgrade takes place in July.