Google TV Ad Schedule Bid Coordination

Google TV Schedule Bid Coordination

TV schedule bid coordination which coordinates campaign bid modifiers with an arbitrary schedule as specified in a Google Sheet.

A typical use case of this script is to coordinate an increase in bids on your AdWords campaigns to coincide with your existing TV campaigns. However, there are plenty of similar use cases that could be envisaged, such as coordinating your campaign bid modifiers with a series of sporting events.

Is there any relation between Online Ads and Offline TV ads?

Obviously Yes, there is a relation between online and offline TV ads. It is natural that somebody searching for a product or service certainly just after seeing an ad on TV.

How the script works?

The script works by reading a spreadsheet pre-populated with the dates and times of the uplift periods. The exact bid modifier and duration of uplift can be specified in the spreadsheet, or alternatively, these values can be set globally.

The script runs hourly to update the schedules for the campaigns. The spreadsheet can be updated at any time, and the changes will be reflected the next time the script runs.

Setup:

1. Create A Label in AdWords:
First of all, a label needs to be created in AdWords account, called ‘TV Scheduled’. Follow the below steps to create Labels in AdWords:

a. Click Labels at the bottom of the left side bar

b. Click Add Label

c. Add ‘TV Scheduled’ as name in the label in the edit panel. Then, if you wish, change the color and add a description.

2. Apply this label to the campaigns for which you want to adjust bid modifiers according to the TV schedule.

3. Create a spreadsheet to contain the TV schedule information. Ideally, you can start by using this template; otherwise, see Spreadsheet Setup for working with a pre-existing spreadsheet you might have.

Sample Spreadsheet of ad schedule for 26^th  Feb will look like below screen grab:

             Note: Make sure you use sheet name as ‘Schedule’ when you create spreadsheet by yourself.

4.   Create the script in your AdWords account.

Caveats for using the script

Bidding mode - Campaigns that use automatic bidding may not work with this script, as they may be incompatible with ad schedules. See bid adjustment eligibility.

Existing use of ad schedules - If a campaign relies on pre-existing ad schedules or other scripts that rely on setting ad schedules, it should not be used with this script.

Settings ranges - Bid modifications can range from -90% to +900%. Uplift duration can range from 15 to 180 mins.

Time zone - The time zone of the account will be used. You should check whether or not the account is set up to recognize daylight savings time.

The script makes wide use of ad schedules. Properties of the Ad schedules in AdWords are following:

             ·  Up to six schedule items per campaign per day.
             ·  Schedule items are set by day (Monday-Sunday), not by date.
             ·  Time granularity is 15 minutes, so schedule items can start on the hour, or at 15, 30, or 45 minutes past.

            Use the following approach to set bid modifiers that don't fit a repeating Monday-Sunday pattern, or that may require more than six differing uplift periods for a given day:

             ·  Every hour the script reads the spreadsheet.
             ·  Only items relevant to the next two hours are read.
             ·  All existing schedule items for that day for that campaign are removed.
             ·  Schedule items covering the next two hours are added.

            In this way, an arbitrary schedule can be used to adjust bid modifiers.

            The script handles time granularity as follows:

              ·   Where the start of an item in the spreadsheet does not fall on a 15-minute boundary, it is rounded back.
              ·   Where the end of the item in the spreadsheet does not fall on a 15-minute boundary, it is rounded forward.
            The script uses the following approach for bid modifiers:
             ·  Where there are overlapping items in the spreadsheet, the item with the greatest bid modifier takes priority.

How to create script in Adwords:

                 a.  Click ‘Scripts’ under the Bulk Operations left side of account.

b.  Add the script which is provided by Google which relates to the spreadsheet and authorise it.

                   c.  Add the link to your spreadsheet, replacing ‘INSERT_SPREADSHEET_URL_HERE’ with your spreadsheet URL.

                   d.  Replace ‘INSERT_EMAIL_ADDRESS_HERE’ with your email address, to receive notification of any errors.

5.   Test the Script
      Test the script whether it is working or not. To test the script, click on the preview to run the script. If successful, it should print out the dates from your spreadsheet in the log window.

      6.    Run the Script
             It is essential to run the script hourly if campaigns are to run correctly. So schedule the script to run hourly.