Australia · Sydney · National
Google Demand Gen Agency Australia Create demand before the search begins.
AIIMS plans, produces and optimises Google Demand Gen campaigns across YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network—connecting audience strategy, creative production, product feeds and revenue measurement.
Built fordiscovery · attention · action
Live surface 01Discover
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3B+Potential monthly active-user reach reported by Google
50B+Global daily views on YouTube Shorts reported by Google
5Top-level channel groups available through current controls
Demand generation, measured
Do not wait for the search. Create the reason to search.
Search advertising captures a declared need. Demand Gen operates earlier. It uses visual creative, audience signals and Google AI to reach people while they are watching, scrolling, exploring products, reading email or discovering places. The campaign still needs commercial discipline: the right audience, the right story, a strong destination and measurement that continues after the click.
What is a Google Demand Gen campaign?
A Demand Gen campaign is Google’s audience-led, visual campaign type for creating consideration and driving action across YouTube—including Shorts—Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. It can use images, video, carousel creative and eligible product feeds, with bidding for clicks, conversions or conversion value. Channel availability depends on the selected ad type, audience, objective and account configuration.
Read Google’s Demand Gen overview
Where Demand Gen appears
One campaign. Multiple moments of discovery.
The format must feel native to the surface. A vertical Shorts concept, a Discover image story and a Gmail promotion should share one campaign idea without becoming the same execution.
01Discover
Discover
Reach people inside an interest-led feed when they are open to ideas, products and content—not only when they have typed a query.
02Vertical video
YouTube Shorts
Use vertical, mobile-first creative to enter the fastest-moving part of YouTube with a direct path from attention to action.
03Video
YouTube in-stream
Build awareness and response around a video story that earns the next second, then gives the viewer a clear commercial next step.
04Feed video
YouTube in-feed
Place relevant video creative around YouTube discovery behaviours, including Home, Search and Watch Next environments where eligible.
05Open web
Google Display Network
Extend Demand Gen into eligible sites and apps while governing placements, formats and campaign economics within the wider system.
06Inbox
Gmail
Use image-led promotional creative to reach eligible audiences inside Gmail with an experience designed for exploration and click-through.
Demand Gen can also serve on Maps when the account, campaign and eligible location assets support it. Google allows automatic channel selection or manual selection at ad-group level; not every format or audience is compatible with every channel. Review Google’s channel controls
When to use Demand Gen
Different campaign types do different jobs.
Demand Gen should not replace Search simply because it is newer, and it should not imitate Performance Max. AIIMS assigns each campaign type a defined commercial role.
| Decision area | Search | Performance Max | Demand Gen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Capture declared intent when a person actively searches. | Optimise conversion performance across Google inventory from one campaign system. | Create consideration and action across Google’s most visual and discovery-led environments. |
| Customer state | The need is already expressed through a query. | Google predicts who is most likely to complete the selected conversion goal. | The audience may be interested or qualified but has not necessarily searched for the offer. |
| Inventory | Google Search and eligible search partners. | Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps and other eligible Google inventory. | YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network, subject to setup and eligibility. |
| Audience approach | Keywords and search intent can be combined with first-party and Google audience signals. | Audience signals, value rules and acquisition goals steer automation rather than operate as conventional hard targeting. | Custom segments, first-party data, interests and Lookalike segments can shape audience strategy, with optional optimisation expansion. |
| Creative | Text-led ads supported by image and other eligible assets. | Images, text, video, logos and eligible product feeds assembled across asset groups. | Image, video, carousel and eligible product-feed experiences built for visual discovery. |
| Bidding | Strategies can support visibility, clicks, conversions or conversion value. | Primarily conversion or conversion-value outcomes. | Clicks, conversions or conversion-value outcomes, depending on campaign objective and eligibility. |
| Best fit | Existing demand, urgent services, known products and high-intent acquisition. | Businesses with strong conversion data, sufficient creative and a clear cross-channel performance goal. | Brands that need to create demand, introduce products, expand qualified audiences or convert visual attention. |
The 2026 platform shift
Display did not disappear. Its operating model changed.
Google is moving Display campaigns into Demand Gen. This is more than a naming change. It brings image, video, feed-based discovery and expanded channel controls into one increasingly connected campaign environment. Existing advertisers need a migration plan that protects tracking, exclusions, creative quality and performance history.
Read Google’s Display-to-Demand-Gen updateVoluntary migration opened for eligible advertisers.
Google announced that eligible accounts could begin moving existing Display campaigns through its migration tool.
New Display campaign creation moves into Demand Gen.
Google says remaining eligible campaigns will be migrated later. Timing and eligibility should be checked inside each account before action.
Protect the commercial system during transition.
Audit assets, conversion signals, audiences, placement controls, exclusions, feeds and reporting before treating migration as a one-click administrative task.
Demand Gen creative system
One idea needs enough shapes to travel.
Performance depends on more than feeding one image into automation. AIIMS develops the creative matrix around the story, the surface, the safe zone and the next action.
Image assets
Cover the key square, horizontal and vertical environments with clear focal points and minimal dependence on embedded text.
- 1:1 — recommended 1200 × 1200
- 1.91:1 — recommended 1200 × 628
- 4:5 — recommended 960 × 1200
- 9:16 — recommended 1080 × 1920
Video assets
Build native cuts for horizontal, square and vertical viewing rather than relying on one automated crop to carry the campaign.
- 16:9 — recommended 1920 × 1080
- 1:1 — recommended 1080 × 1080
- 4:5 — recommended 1080 × 1350
- 9:16 — recommended 1080 × 1920
Carousel story
Sequence products, benefits or proof across swipeable cards. Keep the aspect ratio consistent and the narrative strong in any stopping position.
- Two to ten image cards
- Card-specific headlines
- Card-specific landing URLs
- Square, horizontal or optional vertical
Product feeds
Connect an eligible Merchant Center feed so visual demand can become a browsable, product-led pathway into the catalogue.
- Product imagery and availability
- Price and catalogue structure
- Retail reporting by product
- Feed health and destination quality
NOTE
The GIFs on this page explain placement behaviour; they are not presented as upload-ready ad files.
Google currently states that uploaded Display ads within Demand Gen must use non-animated image files. Campaign assets must be produced and checked against the live format, size, duration and policy requirements inside Google Ads. Check current image and carousel specifications
Google AI × AIIMS judgement
Automation needs a commercially useful brief.
Google AI can identify patterns at a scale no person can scan manually. It still needs clean signals, strong creative, a real offer and a business that knows which outcomes are worth paying for.
Find patterns across people, content and placements.
- Audience predictionWho may act next
- Placement selectionWhere attention moves
- Bid adjustmentValue in each opportunity
- Asset combinationsWhich message may resonate
- Lookalike expansionPeople similar to strong seeds
Turn reach into commercially controlled growth.
- Audience seedWhich customers are worth replicating
- Channel planAutomatic or deliberately isolated
- Creative directionWhy the audience should care
- Conversion truthWhich actions create business value
- Customer experienceWhat happens after the click
Important restrictions for sensitive categories
Demand Gen inventory and targeting are more restricted for sensitive verticals. Google’s current guidance says these campaigns are generally limited to YouTube rather than Gmail or the Google Display Network, with conditional Discover eligibility for many sensitive categories. It also requires predefined Google audiences in affected cases and prohibits alcohol advertisers from using product feeds.
- Policy and inventory eligibility must be checked before the channel plan is approved.
- Gambling, alcohol and political content can face additional limitations.
- Audience expansion cannot override personalised-advertising policy.
Measurement architecture
Views create possibility. Revenue proves the system.
Demand Gen operates earlier in the decision journey, so last-click reporting can understate influence. That does not justify vague measurement. It requires a stronger measurement plan.
Attention
Reach, impressions, video engagement and creative retention.
Consideration
Engaged visits, product exploration and qualified on-site behaviour.
Action
Calls, forms, bookings, purchases and meaningful conversion events.
Quality
CRM stage, lead validity, order value, margin and customer fit.
Learning
Feed valuable outcomes back into bidding, audiences and creative testing.
A shallow report stops at platform activity.
- Impressions without audience context
- Clicks without landing-page quality
- Conversions treated as equally valuable
- Creative ratings without commercial learning
- Channel costs without incrementality context
AIIMS connects the campaign to business outcomes.
- Channel and ad-format reporting
- Asset-level creative performance
- GA4 and Google Tag Manager validation
- CRM and offline-conversion feedback
- Revenue, margin and customer-quality signals
AIIMS Demand Gen process
Build the campaign around the buying decision.
Campaign setup is one part of the work. The complete system aligns commercial strategy, audience design, creative production, destination experience and measurement.
Define the job.
Set the business outcome, market, product economics, customer value, capacity and the role Demand Gen will play beside Search, Performance Max and paid social.
Build useful signals.
Audit first-party data, customer quality, site visitors, converters, YouTube engagement, exclusions and Lookalike seed quality.
Create for the surface.
Produce hooks, messages, images, video cuts, carousel sequences, product-feed pathways and destination-specific calls to action.
Protect the signal.
Configure campaign goals, channel controls, bidding, assets, feeds, URLs, conversion actions, GA4, Tag Manager and CRM pathways.
Read before reacting.
Monitor delivery, policy, placement mix, conversion lag, lead quality and data volume without making nervous changes that reset learning.
Improve the system.
Run structured creative and audience tests, review channel contribution, refresh fatigued assets and scale against commercial limits.
Connected AIIMS capability
Media performs better when production and conversion are in the same room.
These case studies demonstrate AIIMS creative, ecommerce and performance infrastructure. Results shown in each case study reflect its documented channel mix and should not be attributed to Demand Gen alone.
GemIQ
See how brand, ecommerce, content and paid media infrastructure combined into a global commercial system.
Uniden Looop
Explore the production and launch infrastructure behind a new portable-speaker range built for attention across multiple formats.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Campaign outcomes depend on market conditions, budget, offer, data quality, creative, website experience and commercial execution.
Frequently asked questions
Google Demand Gen campaign FAQs.
Straight answers for Australian marketing teams comparing Demand Gen with Search, Performance Max and paid social.
What does a Google Demand Gen agency do?
A Demand Gen agency plans and manages the commercial system around the campaign. This can include audience strategy, channel selection, image and video production, carousel concepts, product feeds, bidding, conversion tracking, landing pages, CRM feedback, experimentation and reporting. AIIMS can connect those disciplines through its performance, creative, video, web and ecommerce teams.
Where can Demand Gen ads appear?
Depending on the ad type, audience, goal and account configuration, Demand Gen campaigns can appear across YouTube—including Shorts, in-stream and in-feed inventory—Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. Not every creative format or audience is eligible for every channel.
Is Demand Gen replacing Google Display campaigns?
Google is moving Display campaigns into Demand Gen. Eligible advertisers could begin voluntary migration in June 2026, with new Display campaign creation and remaining eligible migrations moving later. Each account should be checked before changing campaigns because availability and timing can differ.
What is the difference between Demand Gen and Performance Max?
Performance Max is designed to maximise conversions or conversion value across Google inventory from one goal-led campaign. Demand Gen is more audience-led and visually focused, with stronger channel and audience customisation for creating consideration and action across discovery environments. They can work together when each has a clearly separated job.
What is the difference between Demand Gen and Search?
Search responds to an active query and captures demand that already exists. Demand Gen reaches relevant people before or beyond that query through visual, feed and video environments. A balanced strategy can use Demand Gen to create interest and Search to convert the later expression of intent.
Can AIIMS choose where Demand Gen ads appear?
Yes. Google provides automatic channel selection and manual controls at ad-group level. Manual options can include YouTube in-stream, YouTube in-feed, YouTube Shorts, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. AIIMS selects controls according to the campaign goal, creative suitability, reach, data volume and measurement plan.
What creative assets does a Demand Gen campaign need?
A strong campaign normally needs multiple image orientations, square and horizontal logos, several headlines and descriptions, and video in horizontal, square and vertical formats. Carousel ads can use two to ten images with a consistent aspect ratio. The exact requirements should always be checked in the live Google Ads specifications before production.
Can Demand Gen use a Google Merchant Center product feed?
Eligible retailers can connect a Merchant Center product feed to create browsable product experiences across supported Demand Gen placements. Feed quality, pricing, availability, product imagery and landing-page consistency all affect the commercial result. Carousel ads and product-feed formats also have different eligibility rules.
How should Demand Gen performance be measured?
Measurement should connect platform activity to meaningful business outcomes. AIIMS can use channel and asset reporting, GA4, Google Tag Manager, conversion tracking, ecommerce revenue, calls, CRM stages and offline-conversion feedback. Brand lift, search lift, conversion lift and A/B experiments may also be available depending on eligibility and campaign conditions.
Are sensitive industries allowed to run Demand Gen?
Some sensitive categories can use Demand Gen, but inventory, audiences, personalisation and product-feed options may be restricted. Google’s current guidance generally limits affected campaigns to YouTube, with conditional Discover eligibility for many categories, and prohibits alcohol product feeds. Policy should be checked before campaign and creative approval.
Why choose AIIMS for Demand Gen campaign management?
Demand Gen needs more than media buying. AIIMS combines Google Ads specialists with in-house video, design, content, ecommerce, landing-page, analytics and CRM capability. That makes it possible to improve the creative and conversion infrastructure around the campaign instead of treating the ad account as an isolated product.
Build demand with commercial control
Make your brand the next choice.
Bring the market, offer, creative position and current campaign data. AIIMS will examine whether Demand Gen should create demand, recover consideration or extend a wider Google Ads system.
Campaign availability, formats, inventory and policies change. AIIMS checks the live Google Ads requirements during planning. Google-reported reach statistics are directional platform figures, not a forecast of any individual campaign’s reach or result.