In this article, we will explore the main distinctions between brand and product advertising. We will uncover the purposes and advantages of advertising, including its use for promoting products and its various forms. Additionally, we will clarify how Google Shopping operates and provide guidance on setting up Standard Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
What will be discussed
- Two Types of Advertising
- Types and Examples of Product Advertising
- Product Advertising on Marketplaces
- Product Advertising in Google Shopping: Standard Shopping, Performance Max
- Product Advertising with Meta Ads
- Product Advertising in Email Campaigns
- Advantages of Product Advertising
- Conclusions
Two Types of Advertising
Business owners and marketing managers want their advertising to be creative, reputable, and generate maximum revenue. That’s why they draw inspiration from well-known global brands or expect this from their hired employees.
And here, they encounter a stumbling block that has dashed many entrepreneurial dreams.
The thing is, there are two types of advertising—brand and product advertising. Their objectives, advantages, and disadvantages differ, so it’s important to decide which type of advertising suits you right away.
What is Brand Advertising
Brand advertising is aimed at creating a favorable perception of a brand, establishing positive associations, and increasing awareness of its value and advantages.
Through brand advertising, a customer is guided by their experience and emotions associated with the brand name. This is why people choose products and services from brands they are familiar with, even ignoring similar offers (even those with better prices or quality).
Successful brand advertising not only informs about the company but also aligns with existing or creates its own talking points that will be well-known.
Examples of Brand Advertising
KFC. In 2018, the company apologized to its British customers for a shortage of chicken in its restaurants. Local newspapers published an image with an empty bucket of chicken wings with the inscription “FCK” instead of the brand’s initials. This advertising move was highly praised on social media.
Nike. In the 1980s, Nike missed the aerobics boom and lost its leadership to Reebok. The brand had to reconsider its audience, which used to be only athletes, but now included everyone. This led to the creation of the iconic slogan “Just Do It,” allowing every customer to interpret the expression in their own way.
Coca Cola. The brand began selling its beverage in bottles with the slogan “Share a Coca-Cola,” on which the most popular names in the country or words like “Family,” “Friends,” “Best Friend Forever” were written. This campaign brought back interest in the drink and helped increase sales by 2.5% during the summer period. The volume of beverages sold during this time increased by 0.4% after 11 years of continuous decline. For comparison, the sales volume of competing companies PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group was declining during the same period.
Metro Trains. A simple song called “Dumb Ways to Die” became an internet sensation in just a few days. The idea behind this campaign is straightforward: getting too close to train tracks is foolish. In reality, it’s as senseless as poking a bear, removing a helmet in outer space, or eating spoiled food.
Metro Trains shows that even serious topics don’t necessarily have to be presented in a complex and stern manner.
Primary Objectives of Brand Advertising
- increase brand recognition;
- convey the brand’s mission;
- prevent competitors from taking their place;
- remind people about the brand;
- enhance the brand’s perceived value;
- improve the reputation after a scandal;
- build trust with partners;
- unify various services under one brand;
- attract qualified and ambitious employees to the company;
- create a loyal following of brand advocate.
However, brand advertising has its drawbacks (difficulty in tracking effectiveness, high cost, delayed results), so it is best suited for manufacturers of expensive or luxury products, large companies, companies with clear long-term plans and corresponding financial capabilities, and well-known companies undergoing rebranding, and more.
If you want immediate results here and now, then product advertising is better suited for you.
What is Product Advertising
Product advertising is the direct promotion of a product, which includes photos, the name, price, discounts, delivery conditions, and more.
Product advertising is focused on rapidly increasing the sales of a specific product.
The tasks of product advertising are to:
- communicate the company’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to the customer;
- describe the benefits of purchasing the product;
- encourage immediate purchase;
- increase sales by promoting promotions, discounts, and scarcity;
- convey specific information about the product to the target audience;
- provide contact information to potential customers.
Types and Examples of Product Advertising
Types of Product Advertising by Objectives and Purpose:
1. Informative Advertising:
- Objective: Provide potential customers with information about the products.
- Purpose: Encourage users to take a specific action, like buying the product, by showcasing its advantages, quality features, price, and how it can be used.
2. Comparative Advertising:
- Objective: Differentiate the product from similar offerings.
- Purpose: Highlight the benefits of a particular commercial offer by directly comparing it to other similar options in the market.
3. Reminder Advertising:
- Objective: Sustain a certain level of demand for the advertised product.
- Purpose: Ensure that users don’t forget about the commercial offer and keep it in mind.
Ways to Advertise Products
- product advertising on online marketplaces;
- product advertising through Google Shopping;
- product advertising on Facebook;
- product advertising on Instagram Shopping;
- advertising products through email marketing, and more.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these types.
Product Advertising on Marketplaces
A marketplace is a trading platform where third-party sellers can sell their products. On marketplaces, products are uploaded to a shared catalog and displayed alongside offers from other companies.
Features of Marketplaces
- a wide range of diverse products (from clothing to construction goods);
- products belong to many different sellers;
- instead of a separate website for an online store, the company manages sales from a personal dashboard;
- all sellers operate under the same conditions, with equal access to the catalog, chat for customer communication, integration with payment and delivery services, and more.
Marketplaces attract visitors who have the potential to become your company’s customers. Therefore, a brand may not even have its own website but maintain a profile on a marketplace. Posting products on the site is usually free, but the marketplace takes a commission for each order.
Marketplaces also offer paid promotion services: your products will be featured in prominent areas of the website, such as the homepage, categories, product listings, etc. Additionally, products can be included in newsletters and promoted through other means.
Advertising on marketplaces is especially suitable for new sellers and when adding products that the audience should learn about as quickly as possible.
Examples of product advertising on marketplaces include
Product Advertising in Google Shopping: Standard Shopping and Performance Max
Google Shopping is an advertising tool that allows users to see the range of products available in your store across various Google platforms. This method of promotion attracts the attention of shoppers due to its increased informativeness. Product cards can contain images, prices, availability, ratings, brand information, store hours, and contact details, among other things.
If your products meet Google`s requirements, the system can display product listings in various locations.
Google Search—alongside search results when a user is looking for information about products
The “Shopping” tab—which can be accessed on Google by entering your query or by visiting it directly at shopping.google.com.
Google Images—when searching for a product or brand on Google Images, by selecting images labeled as “Product”.
Also, thanks to Google Lens, in the results of which images labeled as “Product” are displayed.
YouTube—while watching videos or searching for products on this video hosting platform.
The operation principle of product advertising in Google is as follows
Google Shopping displays product cards for queries related to shopping. For example, when a user enters a query like “buy a chair” in the Search, they will primarily see offers from various companies on the organic search results page. The product block may have different appearances and can be displayed above/between/right of the search results:
When it comes to highly effective campaigns that allow you to place advertisements across all of Google’s advertising platforms within a single campaign, the key principles include automated processes, targeting the most relevant audience, and a focus on generating sales rather than just brand recognition.
Advantages of placing product advertising
Advantages of product listings with Google:
- better potential customers—the customer sees information about the product directly in the advertisement and already has a general idea of the product and its cost. Therefore, the likelihood that the customer will complete the purchase on the website increases.;
- convenient management—product listings use product attributes specified by the advertiser in the data feed in the Merchant Center, rather than keywords. The product range can be viewed in Google Ads and groups of products can be created with the ability to set bids;
- broader presence—for a search query, multiple product listings from one advertiser may be displayed, and in certain cases, a text ad can be shown simultaneously with a product listing. This means you can reach twice as many users with a single search query;
- reports and competitive data—for competitive statistics, you can use comparative analysis data. Data on impression share and Bid Simulator show opportunities for business expansion;
- access to new advertising resources—new opportunities and statistics created through Google Shopping.
Varieties of product listings: Differences between Standard Shopping and Performance Max with listing groups
| Standard Shopping | Performance Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Placement of ads | — Shopping; — Google Search (alongside search results and separately from text ads); — Google Images; — Google search partner websites (if the campaign is configured to include such sites); — Maps (through local inventory ads). | — Shopping; — Google Search (alongside search results and separately from text ads); — Text ads in Google Search; — Google Images; — Google Display Network; — YouTube; — Gmail; — Recommendations feed; — Maps (through local inventory ads); — + automatic access to new advertising resources and ad formats if they become available. |
| The format of advertisements includes | — Product Ads. — Local Inventory Ads (Local Assortment Ads): These ads are designed for promoting products available in local stores. | — Product Ads. — Local Inventory Ads (Local Assortment Ads). — Media Ads. — Text Ads. — YouTube Advertising. |
How to set up
According to the requirements for product listings and Merchant Center policies, the website must include:
- accurate company information, including phone number and email address;
- sections on Payment and Delivery, as well as Exchange and Returns, with detailed information;
- availability of address delivery and secure online payment options;
- absence of order processing through contact with a manager;
- products in stock with up-to-date pricing, descriptions, and images.
To launch your product advertising in Google, follow these steps:
- set up and configure Google Analytics 4. Ensure that it is working correctly and tracking accurately;
- create and configure Google Merchant Center. Add your products to the Merchant Center;
- link Google Ads, Google Analytics 4, Search Console, and Merchant Center (or any other Google services you have) together for seamless integration.
So, with over 80% of your products active in your Google Merchant Center, let’s begin setting up advertising for them.
Standard Shopping
To create a Standard Shopping campaign in Google Ads, click on “Shopping campaigns” and select “create new.”
Choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance,” and then select “Shopping.”
Google may recommend the Performance Max option, which replaced Smart Shopping campaigns in 2022. Choose Standard Shopping:
Set your daily budget and location targeting, and if needed, specify the start and end date for your campaign:
Name your ad group, set the maximum cost-per-click if your bidding strategy requires it, and publish your campaign:
To segment, disable, or adjust bids for different product groups after publishing your campaign, click on “All products”:
Select the desired criterion for segmentation (category, brand, product ID, etc.), check the boxes next to the relevant product groups, and save your changes:
Now you’ll be able to track the results for each product group separately, turn on or off necessary categories, and segment them into subgroups as needed.
Performance Max
On the Performance Max campaigns page, select “Create a new one”:
Since we are running product advertising, choose the “Sales” goal:
Specify the Performance Max campaign type and enter a name:
Set your bidding strategy:
Select your targeted locations, languages spoken by your customers.
You can also enable automatic asset creation and configure other additional settings here if needed. Once you’ve set everything up, click “Create campaign.”
Next, name your asset group and select which products you plan to advertise.
Similarly to Standard Shopping, in Performance Max campaigns, you can segment products using filters:
After this, add the maximum number of relevant and unique images, logos, videos, headlines, and descriptions to your object group:
Next, create an audience signal. You can add visitors who have made a purchase, visited your website, or specific pages, and so on.
Set your daily budget for the campaign and publish it.
Product advertising on Meta Ads
Product advertising on Meta Ads (formerly known as Facebook Ads) is a way for businesses to display their products to specific target groups on the Meta social media platform. Among its other benefits, this platform offers flexible audience targeting, dynamic advertising options, various ad formats (including video, carousels, collages, and more), and the ability to track the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
The operation and configuration of product advertising on Meta Ads
Within Meta Business Manager, there is a created Catalog that Commerce Manager receives data about products from the website, and this Catalog is linked to the advertising account of Meta Ads, as well as Facebook and Instagram Business Pages.
Meta Catalog Sales (Shopping) displays product cards that are related to users’ interests.
Types of advertising campaigns in Meta Ads for online stores
For lead generation in Meta Ads for stores, the following options are available:
- Facebook Catalog Sales;
- Meta Advantage+ Catalog Sales;
- Instagram Shopping.
Facebook Catalog Sales allows you to manually select detailed interests, segment products, and adjust settings.
Meta Advantage+ automatically recommends relevant products to users based on their interests, intentions, and actions on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram Shopping is used for advertising on Instagram and allows for tagging products in posts.
Product Advertising in Email Campaigns
Providing both general and personalized product recommendations in email campaigns, based on user behavior and preferences, is one way to maintain and boost sales. Displaying products in email messages helps customers simplify their choices and expedite the purchasing process.
Adding product blocks increases:
- Click-through rate (CTR),
- Website conversion rate,
- Number of orders,
- Revenue growth.
Product recommendations can be
- general or non-personalized: Static product suggestions that are provided when the advertiser lacks sufficient information to create individualized selections (most popular products, promotions, best in categories, etc.);
- personalized: Product collections created based on the customer’s interaction with the website (category views, previous orders), email campaigns, or based on the views and purchases of people with similar behavior.
The most popular types of advertising in email marketing are:
Promotions—collections of recommended discounted products.
A product is back in stock—notification of the opportunity to make a purchase.
Abandoned cart—offers that were added to the cart but not purchased.
Upsell—offers of similar products to those you have ordered.
For advertising products in email campaigns, the “customer care” format is suitable. You can remind them of important orders and send an email with relevant offers. For example, if you sell pet products, you can remind customers about running out of pet food (calculate the reminder time based on the packaging size and the pet’s breed, for example).
Benefits of Product Advertising
- Increased Campaign Effectiveness
Automated ad generation and segmentation based on specific product characteristics ensure that users see the most relevant offers.
- Higher Conversion Rates
Product advertising improves conversion rates because customers can see detailed product information before visiting the website and can immediately compare options from different sellers.
- Expanded Presence Across Various Platforms
With the capabilities of Standard Shopping and Performance Max, businesses can display their product ads on various e-commerce platforms and marketplaces.
- Tracking Results
Advertisers can analyze data on product views, clicks, conversions, and other important metrics, allowing them to identify effective and ineffective aspects of their campaigns.
- Flexibility
Product advertising offers flexibility in displaying ads for specific product categories or individual items.
Frequently Asked Questions
Product advertising is the direct promotion of a product, including photos, name, price, discounts, delivery terms, and more.
Product advertising is also known as merchandise advertising. It focuses on rapidly increasing the sales of a specific category or individual product.
Types of advertising used for products, based on objectives and purposes:
— Informational (or introductory) advertising: Provides potential customers with information about products, helping them learn about the product’s features and benefits;
— Comparative advertising: Highlights a specific product among similar options and may compare it to competitors to persuade consumers to choose it;
— Reminder advertising: Aims to maintain interest and demand for a product that is already familiar to consumers, serving as a reminder of its presence.
Regarding methods of advertising products, different approaches include:
— Product advertising on marketplaces;
— Product advertising on Google Shopping;
— Product advertising on Facebook;
— Product advertising on Instagram Shopping;
— Product advertising in email campaigns.
Advertising in Google Shopping involves promoting products across various Google platforms using Standard Shopping or Performance Max campaigns. This method of promotion attracts the attention of shoppers due to its increased informativeness, as the product card can include images, prices, availability, ratings, brand information, operating hours, and the store’s phone number, among other details.
Conclusions
- Advertising can be either brand-based or product-based. The former is responsible for increasing brand recognition and has a delayed impact, while the latter focuses on quickly increasing sales of a specific product.
- Based on their objectives and purposes, product advertising can be categorized into informative, comparative, and reminder advertising. It can be placed on various platforms, including marketplaces, Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram Shopping, email newsletters, and more.
- Thanks to paid promotion on marketplaces, products will be displayed in prominent positions on the website, including the homepage, category pages, product listings, and more.
- Google can display product listings in various places, including:
- Google Search,
- Shopping tab,
- Google Images,
- YouTube.
- Some of the advantages of Google Shopping product listings include attracting more informed customers, easy management, wider presence, reports and competitive data, and access to new advertising resources.
- Standard Shopping and Performance Max product listings differ in terms of placement and format, with Performance Max campaigns offering broader capabilities.
- For lead generation in Meta Ads, you can use Facebook Catalog Sales, Meta Advantage+ Catalog Sales, and Instagram Shopping.
- Displaying products in email newsletters helps customers simplify their choices and expedite the purchasing process. Adding blocks of products increases CTR, website conversion, the number of orders, and revenue growth.
- Due to its flexibility and the ability to track results, product advertising allows for improved conversion rates. Customers can see detailed information about a product even before they visit the website or product page, which enhances the conversion process.
