Creating brand awareness and brand affinity begins with getting in front of the right audience at the right time. Now it’s even easier to do just that with Google’s new feature, Customer Match.

Customer Match gives advertisers the ability to upload email addresses from their own databases, which are then matched with Google’s database of logged-in users. Users are made anonymous for privacy reasons, but advertisers can still send targeted ads to specific segments of users.

To see Customer Match in action we’ll use an example of a hotel with a rewards or customer loyalty program. The hotel would create an email list segment for all of the people who are part of their loyalty program. They would then submit this list through AdWords and that list would be matched against Google’s database. The hotel would then create specific text, display and video ads that speak directly to their loyalty program members.

For example, if a loyalty program member searches “hotels in Myrtle Beach”, Google would then serve text ads at the top of the SERP, or a video ad before watching a YouTube video that prompts them to start planning their next trip.

Customer Match also has the ability to serve to Similar Audiences. When other Google users share interests and behaviors with users on a Customer Match email list, they would be included in Similar Audiences. If the Similar Audiences feature is selected ads will then serve to those users as well. This is much like what’s been possible on the GDN for some time.

Because it’s inevitable that there will be privacy complaints due to Customer Match, Google has included settings that allow users to control the ads that are shown to them. Through Google Ad Settings users have control over what ads they see by opting out of personalized ads or by blocking ads from individual advertisers.

Customer Match gets advertiser’s ads in front of the right users at the exact time they’re looking for a specific product/service. In Google’s recent article announcing Customer Match, they point out that 70% of online consumers concur that the quality, timing and message relevance greatly influence brand perception. Creating a great brand perception through advertising achieves that all-important affinity all brands strive for. Brand loyalty and brand affinity can have a snowball effect after targeted ads are seen in the right place, at the right time, on a consistent basis.

Though Customer Match is in its infancy, it looks to be a very powerful personalization tool for advertisers. This new feature will be rolling out to all AdWords users over the next few weeks. We here at TravelBoom will certainly be testing some targeted ads using Customer Match, and will have a follow up on it when we’re able to generate enough data. If you would like to get involved with this new feature, Contact TravelBoom today about our PPC services.