Demand Gen in Display & Video 360: How to Build Effective Campaigns in 2026

In this article, we will explore the primary capabilities of Demand Gen in 2026: available global features, principles for creating high-impact creatives, and advanced audience signaling – ranging from first-party data utilization to configuring lookalike segments. We will pay special attention to bidding strategies, performance metrics, and the practical technicalities of launching a campaign.

First, let’s examine why Demand Gen has become so popular and sought-after among advertisers.

The Demand Gen Concept: Global Evolution and Scalable Product Capabilities

According to the latest data from the Google/Ipsos Video & Social Impact Study, Google’s advertising tools are demonstrating an unprecedented level of influence on consumer decision-making.

The study’s standout figure is 87%. This is the percentage of internet users who discover new products or brands on YouTube or the Google Discovery feed and confirm taking a target action immediately after viewing. This proves that these platforms have evolved beyond simple awareness-building tools into full-scale conversion drivers.

Demand Gen is engineered to bridge the gap between awareness campaigns and direct sales, unifying the upper and lower funnels into a single ecosystem. In 2026, this campaign type within Display & Video 360 (DV360) received a series of global updates available across all markets. At its core are user intent signals, which allow ads to be served at the most relevant moment.

A common question arises: “Won’t Demand Gen simply cannibalize users who would have found us through Search anyway?” Google’s internal research provides a definitive answer: 68% of conversions generated through Demand Gen come from users who have not seen your Search ads within the last 30 days.

This means that more than two-thirds of your results represent entirely new users. These are people who weren’t actively searching for your brand or services. We found them ourselves, sparked their interest, and guided them toward a target action–bypassing the traditional Search channel altogether. This is the very definition of the “funnel expansion” mentioned earlier.

But how exactly do you hook someone who wasn’t even thinking about making a purchase? The answer lies in well-crafted scenarios and proven methodologies.

Creative Strategy: Crafting Content that Delivers Results

While the platform provides access to the audience, it is the creative that determines whether that touchpoint becomes profitable. Data from Nielsen Catalina Solutions shows that within the success structure of an ad campaign, creative is the #1 driver, contributing 49% to the overall ROI. In comparison, media planning (targeting and frequency) accounts for 30%, and brand strength for 21%.

This means that nearly half of your financial success depends on exactly what the user sees on their screen. In an environment where automated bidding algorithms (such as Maximize Conversions or Target CPA) handle technical optimization, creative has become the primary battleground for competition.

Special attention must be paid to video content. Research by Ekimetrics confirms that transitioning from a weak creative to one optimized specifically for YouTube’s nuances can increase ROI by 2.2x.

Consequently, to achieve peak performance, advertisers must focus not only on bidding strategies but also on deep content adaptation for the platform. Combining high-impact visual offers with the massive reach of YouTube is currently the shortest path to scaling a business and achieving a multiple-fold increase in return on investment.

Scaling via Demand Gen: WHERE and HOW the System Locates Your Audience

The effectiveness of an advertising message and its impact on ROI are directly dependent on the context in which a user encounters a brand. In this regard, Demand Gen campaigns represent an evolutionary leap, offering advertisers access to the highest quality and most visually immersive inventory within the Google ecosystem – all through a single interface.

The core advantage of Demand Gen lies in its seamless reach across platforms where users spend the most time in a state of “inspiration-seeking” or entertainment consumption. The available inventory includes:

• Video Format Dominance: Ads are integrated into the rapidly growing YouTube Shorts, classic streams, and the native YouTube In-feed. This ensures the brand is present at the most engaging touchpoints.
• Personalized Feeds: Google Discover and the Gmail interface provide a native presence in the user’s personal space, where trust in content is traditionally higher.
• Maximum Reach: Utilization of the Google Display Network (GDN) complements the strategy with broad reach across partner resources, while the announced integration with Google Maps promises to add geographic context to the funnel.

The technological foundation of Demand Gen allows advertisers to determine their own level of control over placements. The system interface offers a choice: from full automation (All Google inventory) – where Google’s algorithms independently identify the most effective combinations of platforms to achieve a goal – to manual selection (Selected inventories) of specific sources.

This flexibility, combined with access to premium inventory, reinforces the primary mission of Demand Gen: not just to display an ad, but to find the user at the exact moment and on the specific platform where their readiness to convert is at its peak. It is this technical foundation that allows a creative’s potential to be realized at 100%, delivering the conversion rates that are now becoming the standard for market leaders.

YouTube Shorts Dominance

The primary focus is shifting toward short-form video. The 9:16 format (YouTube Shorts) is becoming the baseline: rather than making the product the center of the video from the very first second (as in classic advertising), it is more effective to showcase it in a real-life context – almost incidentally.

How to craft video content that aligns with the unique DNA of YouTube Shorts:

• Native: The video should look like organic, user-generated content. If it feels like a “polished” TV commercial, viewers will swipe away instantly.
• Authentic: The product should be shown in cultural contexts familiar to the target audience in their specific region.
• Personalized: The protagonist of the video should address the viewer directly, creating the effect of a personal conversation.
• Dynamic: There is no time for long introductions in Shorts. The video must feature a high-energy Hook within the first 1–3 seconds. Dynamic editing, fast-paced cuts, and rhythmic music help sustain attention until the very end.
• Social: Content should spark discussion, invite comments, or create the urge to share the video with friends.

The “ABCD” Standard

An effective approach to creative production can be defined by the “ABCD” framework:

• A (Attention): Hook the audience immediately, starting from the very first frame.
• B (Branding): Integrate the brand naturally into the narrative.
• C (Connection): Evoke an emotional response or offer a clear, relatable solution.
• D (Direction): Provide a clear and compelling Call to Action (CTA).

Creative Variety

Global best practices recommend uploading a minimum of 3 video variations (Horizontal, Square, and Vertical) and at least 10 images. This ensures the system has enough assets for automated A/B testing and algorithmic optimization to perform correctly.

Statement 1: Adding vertical video to Demand Gen campaigns leads to a conversion uplift of over 35% on Shorts.

Statement 2: On average, advertisers who uploaded both video and image assets to Demand Gen campaigns saw 20% more conversions at the same cost-per-action (CPA) compared to those using video alone.

In demand generation campaigns, the quality and variety of source materials (assets) determine the ultimate effectiveness of all automation. For Google’s algorithms to assemble the ideal ad for every user across YouTube or Discover, advertisers must adhere to a “multi-format” strategy.

1. Text Component: Conciseness and Variability

Text in Demand Gen must be adapted for different consumption scenarios. It is recommended to use:

• Headings of varying lengths: Ranging from ultra-short (<15 characters) for quick notifications to expanded versions (<90 characters).
• Descriptions: Kept within 60–90 characters to ensure readability across all screen sizes.

2. Visual Content: Images and Logos

To achieve maximum reach, the system allows for up to 20 images per ad. Maintaining a balance of aspect ratios is crucial: you should have at least three variations of each format – Horizontal (600×314), Square (300×300), and Vertical (480×600). Additionally, the logo must be provided in high resolution (1200x1200px) to ensure proper brand representation.

3. Video: The Lever for Conversion Growth

Video is the “heart” of Demand Gen. Experts recommend adding at least three video clips of varying lengths and formats (Vertical, Square, and Horizontal). Adaptation for mobile consumption is of particular importance here: statistics show that incorporating vertical video into a campaign leads to a conversion uplift of more than 35% in YouTube Shorts.

The Optimal Asset Mix

The ultimate success of a campaign is built on the cyclical synergy of all four elements: text, video, images, and logos. By providing the system with a complete set of high-quality assets, you enable it to conduct an infinite number of tests to identify the exact combination that will deliver the highest ROI for your business.

Investing in content diversity at the outset is the simplest way to ensure Google’s AI operates at its maximum potential.

Leverage product feeds to transform YouTube into your virtual storefront

The core value of this solution lies in leveraging Google’s AI for dynamic product display. The system doesn’t just show random items; it selects the specific positions from your catalog that are most relevant to a particular user’s interests at that exact moment.

The mechanics of the product feed in Demand Gen are built on a deep analysis of intent:

• Dynamic Delivery: Algorithms analyze consumer behavior and populate the ad unit with the most suitable product cards, significantly increasing the likelihood of conversion.
• Immersive Experience: By integrating the feed, ads appear organically across all key touchpoints–from short-form vertical YouTube Shorts and streams to the Discover feed and the Gmail interface.

• 33% Conversion Uplift: It has been established that mature Demand Gen campaigns utilizing a broad range of products in their feeds record a conversion increase of one-third on average. This highlights the importance of providing system algorithms with a high volume of data to select the most relevant offers.
• Efficiency Using tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend): Even in campaigns optimized for strict profitability targets, the implementation of product feeds delivers a 20% increase in conversions.

How to Diversify Your Creative Asset Mix?

To provide algorithms with the necessary variety for effective testing and to adapt ads to various audience interests, the following mix is recommended:

1. Video Content (4 Key Clips)

The strategy involves using different narrative styles and formats:

• Testimonials: Two clips (one horizontal 16:9, one square 1:1) with a duration of 20–45 seconds. This provides social proof and builds brand trust.
• Creator Content: One vertical clip (9:16) longer than 30 seconds. This is ideal for YouTube Shorts.
• “How-To” Guides: One vertical video (9:16) longer than 30 seconds, demonstrating the product’s benefits or functionality.

2. Graphic Content (4 Key Images)

The focus is on Product Lifestyle Shots–images showing the product in real-world use. The set should include all major aspect ratios:

• Square (1:1): A universal format.
• Landscape (1.91:1): For native placements and the Google Feed.
• Portrait (4:5): For mobile feeds.
• Vertical (9:16): For full-screen mobile placements.

Why This Asset Structure Works:

This asset library setup is a logical extension of the principles mentioned earlier:

• ROI Maximization: With this set, you address the 49% of campaign success that depends entirely on creative.
• Adaptability: A variety of formats allows the system to utilize all available inventory–from YouTube Shorts to Gmail and Discover.
• CPA Reduction: As noted previously, including both video and images in a single campaign yields an average 20% increase in conversions at the same cost.

Targeting and Audiences: Leveraging Data and Lookalike Segments

In 2026, audience targeting precision in Demand Gen has seen a significant leap forward, driven by deep integration with first-party data. Advertisers can now leverage their own proprietary customer data to train algorithms and identify new, highly relevant segments in real-time.

• Lookalike Segments
  A powerful tool that identifies users whose behavior aligns with your existing customers. You can adjust the reach levels: Narrow (for maximum similarity), Balanced, or Broad (for large-scale reach).
• Interests and Intent
  Custom Intent audiences enable you to target users who have already demonstrated interest in similar products or categories. This allows you to engage the audience during the demand-generation phase and compete more effectively for user attention.
• Existing Customer Exclusion
  A global feature that ensures your acquisition budget is spent exclusively on new users by filtering out those who have already made a purchase.

Proper audience segmentation ensures ad relevance. However, to achieve sustainable results, it is crucial to supplement this with an effective bidding strategy.

Optimization and Bidding: Maximizing Efficiency through Automation

In 2026, efficiency is built on a foundation of trust in algorithms. Demand Gen within DV360 offers three core bidding strategies that allow advertisers to meet diverse business objectives. Choosing a strategy is ultimately about defining your business priorities.

The effectiveness of Demand Gen campaigns directly depends on the choice of bidding algorithm, which must correlate with your business objectives and the level of data maturity within your account. Within the Display & Video 360 (DV360) platform, advertisers have access to a flexible toolkit that allows for a transition from simple quantitative metrics to the deep optimization of conversion value.

For an effective campaign launch, the choice of algorithm depends on your goals and current analytics setup:

• Maximize Conversions: We recommend this as the primary option for starting if you already have conversion tracking (Floodlight) configured and have accumulated sufficient data. The algorithm will strive to secure as many target actions as possible within the specified budget.
• Target CPA (tCPA): If you have clear KPIs regarding lead or sale costs, use tCPA. Note: It is best to activate this strategy once the campaign has moved past the learning phase on “Maximize Conversions” and has a stable data flow. The system will automatically adjust bids in every auction to reach your desired average cost per conversion.
• Maximize Clicks: If conversion tracking is not yet set up or if your primary task is reach and attracting a new audience, start with this algorithm. It optimizes bids to drive the highest volume of site traffic.
• Maximize Conversion Value: This strategy aims to extract the maximum “profit” from your daily budget. Instead of searching for the “cheapest” lead, the algorithm looks for users who are most likely to make a high-value purchase.
• Target ROAS (tROAS): This is a stricter and more advanced version of the previous strategy. Here, you set a specific return-on-investment ratio–for example, for every $1 spent, you want $5 in revenue. The system analyzes thousands of real-time signals and only bids when the probability of achieving that target return (500%) is at its peak. The system may spend less of the budget if it cannot find auctions that meet the ROAS requirement. This strategy is ideal for those who want to drive revenue while strictly maintaining a set profitability margin.

Requirements for Smart Bidding Activation

You cannot enable Maximize Conversion Value or Target ROAS right from the start. To transition to these more complex bidding strategies, the system imposes strict requirements on the quality and quantity of data. Activating these strategies at the Line Item level only becomes possible after accumulating a critical volume of signals: at least 30 conversions with reported conversion values within the last 30 days.

For AI algorithms to function effectively, the investment volume must align with your chosen bidding strategy. Therefore, it is critical to adhere to the following budget thresholds during planning:

• Target CPA (tCPA): The recommended daily limit should be at least 15 times your set tCPA (and no less than $100/day per ad group). This is vital to avoid a “cold start,” where the system fails to meet its objectives due to an insufficient daily budget.
• Target ROAS (tROAS): For stable optimization, the budget should be set at 20 times the expected cost per conversion. The ideal threshold for rapid machine learning is $500/day.
• Maximize Conversions & Maximize Conversion Value: The daily budget should be at least 15 times the expected CPA. Consistent performance is achieved upon reaching the “magic number”–50 conversions at the ad group level.
• Maximize Clicks: The minimum entry threshold starts at $100/day. To improve traffic quality, it is recommended to pair this strategy with Optimized Targeting.

Adhering to these budgetary guidelines ensures that the system receives a sufficient volume of signals to function correctly and achieve your target business KPIs.

To achieve sustainable results in AI-driven campaigns, advertisers must adhere to a strict sequence of actions, minimizing sporadic changes to the campaign structure.

Core Principles of Working with Algorithms:

The efficiency of the system’s self-learning process is based on several fundamental rules:

• Data Consolidation: Ad groups with low activity (fewer than 30 conversions over 30 days) should be merged. This allows the system to accumulate the “critical mass” of signals required for optimization more quickly.
• Setting Stability: During the initial phase, it is crucial to limit changes to the campaign structure and targeting parameters. Any major adjustment resets the learning process and forces the algorithm to start over.
• The Time Factor: Demand Gen algorithms require time to adapt. It is recommended to refrain from optimization during the first 2 weeks or until a threshold of 50 conversions is reached.
• Evaluation Window: A full performance assessment should be conducted no earlier than 4–6 weeks after launch.

The Demand Gen Campaign Lifecycle

• Campaign Launch: The starting point, requiring the preparation of high-quality assets.
• Learning Period (~2 weeks): The phase for accumulating initial statistics.
• Optimization Period (4–6 weeks): The minimum recommended duration for algorithms to run before conducting a deep analysis.
• Conversion Lag: Accounting for the conversion window (depending on product complexity and the customer’s decision-making cycle).
• Scaling and Improvement: The stage for making adjustments based on verified data and replicating successful results.

Use the Planner to model different budget scenarios.

1. Forecasting Based on Historical Data
The Planner analyzes billions of past auctions alongside your previous campaign performance. It generates performance curves that demonstrate how budget adjustments will impact reach, impressions, or conversions. You will see a graph where the “inflection point” identifies the moment of saturation–the point where further budget increases no longer yield proportional growth in results (the law of diminishing returns).

2. “What-If” Scenario Modeling
You can experiment with various parameters without spending a dime. Simply input an amount, and the system displays the projected reach or conversion volume you will receive.

• Target Metrics: You can specify a goal–for instance, reaching 2 million unique users–and the Planner will calculate the exact budget required to achieve it.

How to Measure Demand Gen Effectiveness?

In 2026, the success of Demand Gen is measured not only by direct clicks but also by its influence on the entire user journey, which can span several weeks.

The final and most critical stage of the strategy is evaluating the impact of Demand Gen on overall marketing performance. Since this format operates at the top and middle of the funnel, its value often extends far beyond direct clicks. Google offers three levels of evidence to assess the contribution of Demand Gen campaigns to the total marketing result:

1. Assisted Conversions (Assistive Value)

Utilizing Attribution reports allows you to see the role Demand Gen plays in long-touchpoint chains.

• Key Focus: Does Demand Gen create incremental value on the user’s path to the final purchase, and at which specific moment in the customer journey does this occur?

2. Complementary Contribution (Full Funnel Impact)

A new reporting type – the Full Funnel Impact report – is designed to demonstrate the synergy between Demand Gen and other campaign types, such as Performance Max and Search.

• Key Focus: Does Demand Gen help reach unique new users? This report analyzes audience overlap with other campaigns, proving that Demand Gen doesn’t just duplicate existing reach but effectively expands the funnel.

3. Measuring Incremental Value (Conversion Lift)

The most precise evaluation method is Conversion Lift studies. This tool allows you to isolate the influence of a specific campaign and determine the number of “incremental” conversions – those that would not have happened without the presence of Demand Gen.

Data-Driven Approach in Demand Gen: Inventory Segmentation and Post-View Impact Assessment

This image provides a real-world reporting example from the platform, showcasing the level of transparency available within DV360.

In the top table, we see a detailed traffic segmentation. DV360 doesn’t simply group everything under a generic “Google” category; it clearly breaks down the traffic sources – showing whether visits originated from YouTube, Discover, or partner inventory via third-party exchanges (such as OneTag or Adman).

In the App/URL column, you can identify the specific websites and applications where your ads were displayed. For this example, we have included impressions and clicks, but you can customize your report with any metrics relevant to your KPIs. The bottom table illustrates conversion attribution by device type. In this specific case, smartphones are completely dominant: over 11,000 “Page View” conversions came from mobile devices, while desktop accounted for only about a hundred.

The next report allows for a detailed performance analysis specifically within YouTube. In the top table, we see statistics broken down by ad formats. This provides a clear understanding of traffic distribution, showing exactly what share of impressions came from Shorts, In-Feed, and In-Stream.

Specialized video metrics are also available. For example, for In-Stream, you can evaluate Complete Views (the number of times the video was watched to the end), while for In-Feed and Shorts, you can track the specific number of clicks and engagements.

How to Maximize Signal Collection for Effective Demand Gen Algorithm Training

To ensure that Google’s algorithms can effectively identify your target audience and optimize bids, advertisers must provide a continuous flow of high-quality data.

The algorithm’s learning process is divided into three critical stages:

Step 1: Enhancing On-Site Event Measurement

The primary task is to establish the most accurate tracking possible. The more technical identifiers the system receives, the higher the attribution accuracy. It is recommended to pass:

• Identifiers: gCLID/dCLID, Braid, and Match ID (for SA360 & DV360).
• Privacy-Safe Data: Hashed PII (hashed personally identifiable information or Enhanced Conversions for Web).
• Context: IP addresses, session attributes, and unique Transaction IDs to eliminate duplicates.

Step 2: Enriching Data with External Signals

At this stage, information from offline sources or CRM systems is added to the website data. This allows the system to see the complete funnel, including leads that converted offline (Enhanced Conversions for Leads). The same identifiers (gCLID, hashed data) are used to link an online view to the final closed deal.

Step 3: Saturating Data with Value Metrics (Enrich with Values)

This marks the transition from quantitative to qualitative metrics. Instead of simply reporting a conversion event, you transmit its “weight.” Choose one of the following approaches:

• Actual Value: The real transaction amount.
• Predictive Value: Forecasted value based on the probability of purchase.
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): This enables the AI to hunt for the most profitable users over the long term.

Without high-quality signals, even the best creative will fail to meet target business KPIs. Implementing all three steps transforms a campaign from a simple reach tool into an intelligent profit-seeking system.

In 2026, passing Transaction IDs and Hashed PII has become a standard for “data hygiene,” allowing advertisers to bypass cookie limitations and ensure the success of the Value-Based Bidding strategies discussed in previous sections.

How to Leverage Collected Signals in Synergy with Google AI

Once a sufficient volume of signals has been collected, it is essential to begin their activation.
The activation of collected signals can be divided into three functional blocks:

1. Google Attribution

Goal: To provide the system with transparent data regarding the user journey.

• Enabling DDA (Data-Driven Attribution): Moving away from legacy models toward data-driven attribution, which evaluates the contribution of every single click.
• Conversion Window Setup: * CTC (Click-Through Conversion): Attributing a conversion within a set period after a click.
  • EVC (Engaged-View Conversion): Attributing a conversion within a set period after an engaged video view.
  • VTC (View-Through Conversion): Attributing a conversion within a set period after a creative impression.
• VTC Optimization: Activating optimization for post-impression conversions to analyze the “delayed” impact that media formats have on the final action.

2. Audience activation

Goal: Leveraging data to scale your reach.

• 1P Data (First-Party Data): Activating your own data through Customer Match and tag-based audiences.
• AI-Driven Lookalikes: Utilizing artificial intelligence to find new users who mirror the behavior of your existing customers.
• Optimized Targeting: Enabling optimized targeting to reach beyond selected segments whenever the system identifies high conversion potential.
• Customer Lifecycle Goals: Informing the system that different users hold different values, specifically by prioritizing New Customer Acquisition (NCA).

3. Campaigns & Bidding

Goal: Finalizing the performance vectors.

• Conversion Categorization: Clearly defining and separating target actions based on their business significance.
• Value-Based Bidding: Shifting bidding strategies from volume (Maximize Conversions) to value (Maximize Conversion Value), directing algorithms to hunt for the most profitable transactions.
• App Conversions: For mobile app owners, this is a mandatory configuration to optimize bids for in-app conversions and ensure data integrity across both web and in-app environments.

Conclusion: How to Maintain Market Leadership in 2026

In 2026, Demand Gen within Display & Video 360 has firmly established itself as the strategic core of performance marketing. Success is no longer defined solely by technical campaign setup; it lies at the intersection of data-driven activation, deep analytics, and high-tier creative production.

The shift toward the Attention Economy requires brands to be agile. Utilizing a diverse range of multi-format assets allows the system to do more than just “show ads”–it creates an immersive user experience at the exact moments when people are most open to discovery.

However, to fully unlock the power of Demand Gen, one must take the collection and activation of signals seriously – from precise on-site event tracking to passing LTV (Lifetime Value) data. This transforms Google AI into a self-learning ecosystem focused on finding real business profit rather than just “traffic.”

Final Checklist for Success in 2026:

• Invest in an expanded set of video assets: Shorts is a “must-have” format, not an option.
• Trust the algorithms, but verify with data: Use Conversion Lift to see the actual contribution of Demand Gen to the overall funnel.
• Focus on Value: Transition from Maximize Conversions to Target ROAS as soon as you accumulate the necessary signal volume (30+ conversions).

Demand Gen is the bridge between user inspiration and final action. In 2026, the winners are those who build this bridge on a foundation of high-quality data and visually authentic creatives.

Admixer Advertising is an international digital marketing company with offices in 11 countries and an official Google Marketing Platform Sales Partner. We provide client support and train digital agencies and in-house teams on how to master the Google Marketing Platform, while offering the convenience of payment in local currencies.

Contact us today to build an effective Demand Gen strategy together and take your marketing performance to the next level.