Last Friday, Google announced a new brand called the Display Ad Network, a network of all Google properties, including Google AdSense, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, gMail, Blogger, YouTube, Google Finance, and over one million web, video, gaming, and mobile display partner sites. See the whole list here.

While advertisers could have purchased and published ads on any of these sites/networks in the past, Google’s move to consolidate all of their ad inventory into one network is a brilliant step in simplifying their products for Madison Avenue and beyond.

Google’s Display Ad Network will undoubtedly lead to better sales and adoption among buyers, as its approach simplifies digital advertising. They are clear about benefits of digital marketing and using the Google Display Network without confusing technical terms and TLA’s (three letter acronyms).

A move like this makes it clear that Google is not just aiming for dollars at Madison Avenue. They already have the attention of national buyers. They are aiming for Joe-and-Mary-Media-Buyer in YOUR market. They feature Step by Step Guides and simple explanations that any half-savvy agency or buyer could follow.

It should cause us to ask the questions:

• Do our prospects understand our marketing products and capabilities?

• How can we stop speaking technically about what we do—and sell the marketing benefits?

• Have we clearly sold the benefits of using radio-and-digital together?

It’s worth noting that Google still lacks the relationship-oriented, street-level presence that radio sellers have mastered. At the same time, most radio-focused companies still lack a clear menu of all capabilities (and unique benefits) for marketers.

Google notes the following benefits of their Display Network:

1. Smart Targeting

Boasting a portfolio of over one million partner web sites, including its highly trafficked YouTube, gMail, and Google Finance sites, buyers can target their ads—and reach people “whether they are exploring the web from their computers or phones to increase performance.”

While Google (and Doubleclick) targeting capabilities are multi-faceted and deep, their explanation is understated and simple—perhaps missing a big opportunity to show off their ability to reach specific targeted audiences.

Sidenote: If you are interested in a more clinical “white paper” explanation of the Google Display Network’s capabilities and performance, see it here.

What are your targeting capabilities? Beyond your airwaves (which can be used for broad targeting), do you have database marketing capabilities and local event marketing to help local marketers narrow their focus?

2. Flexibility for Better Performance

Google is selling “flexibility” – the opportunity to place an ad across multiple platforms and adjust the messaging “on the fly.” Sound familiar? This is a huge benefit of a radio/digital campaign: Fast, creative changes—and in radio, customer service (if we are doing our jobs like we should).

3. Control of Your Budget

You set your own budget, reserve premium ad placements, and start and stop when you want. While this is sold as a benefit, this feature certainly gives idiot marketers enough rope to hang themselves and blame their failure on Google. Marketers who do not understand digital currency will still find that there is little customer service or “advice for optimization” compared to the one-on-one service they can receive from traditional media (like radio).

Still, this flexibility and hands-on control is a unique benefit and can’t go unmentioned when reviewing opportunities like the Google Display Network.

4. Accountability

Google sells transparent reporting on the performance and results of a campaign as a benefit of buying through their service. Their analytics product and Double Click’s metrics do offer significant transparency—although again, it’s only as valuable as the intelligence of its reviewer.

Metrics and accountability are cornerstones of digital marketing, and Google has been a leader in simplifying analytics for the industry.

This should call radio to examine its transparency. How much do we know about how our audience is consuming our ads on-air, on-stream, and online? How much do we look at these metrics and optimize our presentation?

Is your company clearly presenting its capabilities – and unique benefits – to your prospects? Daniel will have reader’s feedback in next week’s newsletter Radio 3D.