Robbie Hills is the Head of Rich Media for Google APAC. Here Hills discusses the growth of rich media in the region, and how mobile and exchanges are influencing Google strategy around its offering in APAC.

Can you give an overview of your role with Google across the APAC region and Japan?

My goal is to grow the DoubleClick Rich Media business across all countries in APAC. To do so, we’re hiring people across the region to work with advertisers, agencies and publishers to help them drive results with Google’s display ad technology. We have also expanded our service and support teams to ensure that all of our clients and partners have the best customer experience.

Can you give an insight into the overall usage/growth of rich media across the APAC region and Japan?

Rich media growth is exploding across the wider APAC region. Display advertising has seen a resurgence in the last 6-12 months and a large part of this is attributable to advertisers and agencies using rich media. The two key parts of this extraordinary growth is the rise of video advertising, including both in-stream or in-banner, and the use of dynamic ad optimisation.

What is Google’s strategy for driving the adoption of rich media by agencies and brands across the APAC region?

It’s pretty simple - we intend to provide advertisers, agencies and publishers with engaging rich media advertising formats, including HTML5 and IAB rising star formats like side swipe, which are built and delivered on Google’s secure and stable platform. We believe that this, in combination with partnerships across APAC from India to Australia, China and Japan, will help drive rich media adoption in APAC.

How important a role does mobile play in Google’s rich media strategy in the region – given the strength of the mobile market?

Mobile is obviously very important in Asia.  As we see proliferation of tablets and smartphones across the region and faster connection speed in 3G and 4G, we will also see advertisers and agencies developing more engaging ads to reach their audiences on those devices. Rich media, and more specifically HTML5, allows advertisers and agencies to create engaging ads for tablets and mobile devices. DoubleClick is leading the market globally and in the region with the ability to deliver rich media in a HTML5 format. In addition to allowing advertisers and agencies to deliver engaging ads for mobile and tablets, HTML5 formats ensure a seamless delivery across multiple platforms, including mobile, tablets, and desktop.

Are there still significant issues with mobile given that it remains difficult to track campaign performance?  

This becomes less of an issue as mobile ad networks like AdMob begin to accept third-party ad serving and rich media ads, which makes it easy to track campaign performance.

What role will ad exchanges play in Google’s rich media APAC strategy?

The fundamental role of ad exchanges is to ensure that the right audience sees the right ad at the right price for the advertiser and publisher. Rich Media, especially video, will be a key part of this moving forward for us in APAC. We recently announced that we’re allowing some Ad Exchange buyers to run in-stream video ads on YouTube using real-time bidding technology. We’ll look to expand this small trial in APAC.

What are going to be the real benefits of more rich media inventory being available on ad exchanges for APAC advertisers?  Will expandable banners and video inventory on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange allow advertisers to drive better performance?

Rich Media, whether bought directly or via an exchange, delivers increases in many metrics over standard display ads, including static, image or animated GIF ads. Advertisers see improvements in metrics from CTR, to time spent viewing, to multiple interactions, sharing and more.  Rich Media also delivers increases in brand metrics such as aided and unaided brand awareness that will lead to improved performance for advertisers. Having rich media formats available within ad exchanges means marketers will be able to increase the performance of their overall ad buys.

How do you see the rich media market evolving over next 6 – 12 months in the APAC region?

It really depends on the country and its current level of adoption. At a broader APAC level, we are going to see more advertisers use dynamic creative optimisation offered by the likes of Teracent. For example, we will see advertisers customising ad copy and content based on multiple signals, such as weather, demographic, behavioural and contextual data, and more. The ability to utilise third party data sources and a client’s own CRM data to deliver highly targeted ads to multiple interest groups without having to physically design, build and change creative will be industry-changing for APAC.