Next-Gen Retargeting
Personalized retargeting chosen by deep learning, including products the user has not viewed; setup and creative sit with the RTB House team.
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RTB House solution
RTB House Demand Generation: Product-Led Awareness on the Open Web
RTB House Demand Generation is the company's upper- and mid-funnel solution. It adds a product layer to video and display ads, so people who do not know the brand yet but are interested in the category see the brand and its products together. Despite the similar name, it is not Google's Demand Gen. We plan it as an investment in demand creation and do not judge it by sales campaign metrics.
Purpose and appearance
What do we use this format for?
In our setup, RTB House Demand Generation introduces the brand and its products to people who do not know it yet but are researching the category. The goal is less about short-term sales and more about growing branded search, direct visits and the retargeting pool. We bring it in for launches, new categories and the start of a season, and measure its impact against a control region.
Funnel stages it serves
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
- Loyalty
RTB House Demand Generation vs Google Demand Gen
No, and this confusion comes up often at the brief stage. Google Demand Gen is a campaign type managed within Google Ads that runs on YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Display Network. RTB House Demand Generation is video and display inventory on news and content sites across the open web, bought through RTB House's DSP. Both can reach the same user, but the inventory, targeting logic and reporting differ.
We keep the two on separate lines in the budget plan, and when we run them in the same period we try to measure separately what each channel adds to branded search. For a brand that is strong on YouTube, this additional open web reach means touching the same audience a second time in a different context.
What product overlays add to awareness ads
A classic awareness video tells the brand story and ends. In Demand Generation, product cards from the feed are added on top of the video or image, so viewers see price and product along with the brand. This makes it easier to move to the product page after the first touch, especially in categories that sell on visuals.
On the creative side, we make sure the brand and product appear in the first seconds and that the ad is clear with the sound off; on the open web, video mostly plays muted while people read an article. We compare which message gets more engagement through ad creative analysis and replace weak creatives in the second wave.
- Logo and product in the first three seconds of the video
- A subtitled edit that makes sense when watched without sound
- Entry-priced products with deep stock in the product layer
- Dynamic banners on the display side in the same visual language as the video
IntentGPT: contextual targeting without cookies
The biggest waste in awareness campaigns is an ad shown to someone with no interest in the category. RTB House's IntentGPT layer reads the content of the page where the ad will appear using large language models and matches it to your product feed. That way, a brand selling garden furniture reaches someone reading an article about balcony makeovers. Because it does not require cookies, it also works on sites with low consent rates. We set the boundaries of this matching by adding content categories unsuitable for the brand to the brief.
How to measure upper-funnel impact
If we judge a demand creation campaign by last-click sales, it will always look like a failure. On the RTB House side, we look at cost per completed view for video and cost per viewable impression; the real question, though, we ask of our own data: did branded searches, direct traffic and the number of new visitors rise during the campaign period? Where possible, we set up a growth experiment that runs the campaign in some regions and not in others, and read the difference through GA4 and order data.
Demand Generation: when do we recommend it?
We recommend it
- Brands that want to create demand during a launch, a new category or the start of a season
- Accounts whose lower-funnel campaigns cannot grow because the retargeting pool is too small
- Product categories that sell on visuals and have video creative
- Brands with enough search volume to measure a lift in branded search
We don't recommend it
- Budgets that expect direct sales ROAS in the short term
- Brands without video or high-quality image production
- Very small accounts that cannot set aside a control region or period for measurement
How we manage Demand Generation
- Demand goalWe decide whether the campaign should grow branded search, new visitors or the retargeting pool.
- Creative and product layerWe align video, display and product cards around the same message and make them work for silent viewing.
- Measurement designWe fix the region- or period-based control group and comparison metrics before the campaign starts.
- Launch and creative rotationAfter the first wave, we replace low-engagement creatives.
- Measurement against a control groupWe compare the lift in branded search, direct traffic and new visitors with the control group.
Demand Generation: metrics and requirements
Metrics we track
- Cost per completed view
- Cost per viewable impression
- Branded search lift
- Number of new visitors
- Retargeting pool growth
What you need to get started
- Vertical, square and horizontal video or high-quality images
- An up-to-date product feed for the product layer
- An RTB House tag to capture visits
- A region or period plan that allows a control group
Official sources
The Brand Move RTB House Team
Contact us nowTo learn more about Demand Generation or other RTB House ad formats, contact The Brand Move RTB House team today.
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RTB House overview
Other RTB House campaign types and ad formats
Acquisition
Dynamic product ads over several touchpoints for users who have never ordered; we own the new customer definition and measurement.
ExploreQuality Traffic
An RTB House solution that optimizes for tag-verified site visits, not clicks; we check visit quality in GA4.
ExploreFrequently asked questions
Demand Generation: frequently asked questions
Is RTB House Demand Generation the same as Google Demand Gen?
No. Google Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type running on YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Display Network. RTB House Demand Generation buys video and display inventory on news and content sites across the open web through RTB House's DSP. They can reach the same person, but inventory, targeting and reporting differ.
Should our Demand Generation videos differ from our YouTube videos?
Existing videos can usually be used, but on the open web the ad plays between article content and often without sound. That calls for subtitles, a logo in the first seconds and a layout that leaves room for the product layer. If needed, we prepare a shorter edit.
Will we see this campaign's impact on sales?
Yes, but indirectly. Some people who see the campaign later buy through branded search or retargeting. We estimate this effect by comparing against a control region and looking at the total number of new customers during the campaign period.
Does it work without cookies?
Yes. RTB House's IntentGPT reads the content of the page where the ad will appear and matches it to your product feed, so targeting does not depend on cookies and also works on sites with low consent rates.
Does it make sense to run Demand Generation without retargeting?
In most cases, we do not recommend it. Demand creation brings interested people to the site; without retargeting to convert them, most of that interest is lost. We build the lower funnel first, then open up the upper funnel.
Let's run a first Demand Generation review together.
In a free call we review your audience, inventory needs and measurement setup, then tell you in writing which platform makes sense to start with.
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