Brand Networks Platform vs. Google Ad Manager

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Brand Networks Platform
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
The Brand Networks Platform is an ad serving platform from Brand Networks headquartered in Boston.N/A
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.N/A
Pricing
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
Brand Networks Platform
6.0
1 Ratings
21% below category average
Google Ad Manager
7.6
24 Ratings
3% above category average
Data Transfer6.01 Ratings7.524 Ratings
DSP integration6.01 Ratings7.719 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Brand Networks Platform
8.0
1 Ratings
2% above category average
Google Ad Manager
8.7
33 Ratings
11% above category average
Ad campaign creation7.01 Ratings8.733 Ratings
Ad deployment8.01 Ratings8.433 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation9.01 Ratings8.731 Ratings
Display advertising00 Ratings8.632 Ratings
Sequence targeting00 Ratings8.924 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Brand Networks Platform
5.8
1 Ratings
29% below category average
Google Ad Manager
8.3
33 Ratings
7% above category average
Ad dashboards5.01 Ratings8.931 Ratings
Ad performance reports7.01 Ratings8.433 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking4.01 Ratings8.932 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting4.01 Ratings7.829 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management9.01 Ratings8.226 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization6.01 Ratings7.729 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Small Businesses
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 8.1 out of 10
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 8.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(1 ratings)
8.9
(33 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Brand Networks PlatformGoogle Ad Manager
Likelihood to Recommend
Brand Networks
If you have a multiple social channel strategy, the Brand Networks Platform does a good job of comparing and summarizing the cross-platform performance of all the social campaigns. They also have really good optimization technology, so if you have a beginner media buyer who doesn't have a lot of time to devote to (or knowledge about) optimizing campaigns, the BN tool would be helpful.
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Google
Google Ads Manager is great if you need major visibility on a large ad network rather than targeting one specific website, app or platform. Let's be real here if you have any business that is done online (sell products, generate leads, etc) you pretty much have to be on Google. I've tried other advertising solutions including competitor search engines, sponsored content solutions, social media advertising, and none really compare to the traffic you can get that is keyword-driven, meaning a user is actually demonstrating interest in whatever you sell or offer.
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Pros
Brand Networks
  • Sleek design -- very attractive UI
  • Constantly innovating and updating the platform
  • Their support desk is very good. Very responsive and can usually update my issue within 1-2 business days.
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Google
  • Interface. You can understand how to build the ads very easily. When you first begin, and throughout the process, there are little help icons which explain what you need to understand.
  • Pricing. By this, I mean the ability to change it at any time. You can select a variable rate, or you can preset it. Either way, you can change how much you spend every second if you'd like. This makes it easier to control your budget if you need to make emergency purchases and don't have much space in your budget.
  • Always growing. They are always announcing something new. Always growing and always trying to update.
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Cons
Brand Networks
  • API data issues. There are somewhat frequent breakdowns in continuous data being pulled from the social platforms
  • The campaign creation flow is a little clunky and has a couple bugs. Users often forgo using the platform to set up new campaigns, and use the native platforms instead
  • Because it's in continual development, there are lots of little bugs that slip through the cracks
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Google
  • Bumper Machine - While this is still in beta, there is a lot of room for improvement for the machine to pick proper clips. I'm sure that will come in time though.
  • Inclusion of a Home Page Button - This is a simple request, truly, but one that bothers me everyday. I have a campaign home button, but it's not accessible unless you go back to the beginning of the platform. If the 'home' button was static, I'd be able to go to my preferred view with one click instead of having to loop around, as there isn't a trustworthy 'back button' option either.
  • Display - This is a big one. I have a love/hate relationship with display campaigns and algorithms. I have seen where they can perform [strongly] but also be massive budget bleeds with little ROI. It's not very industry specific either so I'm hoping to gain more consistency and trust with the future of the display algorithm.
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Likelihood to Renew
Brand Networks
No answers on this topic
Google
I think it's useful for our team and we rely on it to improve our business. It is within our budget also. Although we still will need an approval from the upper-level management team, I don't see any problem with that
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Usability
Brand Networks
No answers on this topic
Google
Love the product and how the GUI is as it is user friendly. When working with the product it is better to have some knowledge of what ad's you want to deploy where so that it is easier to use and move forward.
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Support Rating
Brand Networks
No answers on this topic
Google
I could say a lot about this topic. As an agency, we get a new [representative] to talk to almost every quarter to go over select accounts and the campaigns within. Most of the time, these [educated representatives], don't provide any new feedback, or I just simply [disagree] with their approach. This is not all the time however. I have learned a lot from a rare few, [individuals] that have given me new strategies and access to betas early on. The other side of support, is the [overseas support platform]. [It] is usually not very helpful, but you can [emphasize] issues and they can research [them]. The Google Tag Implementation team is pristine though. When you need them, you need to set an appointment, which is usually 2 weeks out; they are so over-my-head intelligent, I've never had a bad experience with them and whenever I needed them for a fix, they solved it [within] the first call.
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Alternatives Considered
Brand Networks
Facebook for Business has far fewer bugs and errors. Brand Networks has made some major changes over the 3 years that I have been using the platform, but because they are constantly changing and overhauling their platform, there are naturally more bugs in the system -- and this can interfere with the user experience.
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Google
The main advantage of Google Ad Manager over The Trade Desk is based on the fact that Google Ad Manager has better data to identify a user on any device as it has more data and the user is signed in over Google Ad Manager´s set of properties. That is why results on Google Ad Manager´s platform are better as The Trade Desk needs to develop a unified id solution that is more complex and less performing that Google Ad Manager's data.
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Return on Investment
Brand Networks
  • If you can create the report you need through automation, you can have those automatically sent to your email or a client's email. That saves time.
  • If optimization works correctly, you get even more efficient costs against you given campaign objective.
  • However, when features are broken, or there is a bug and I can't pull the performance data I need immediately, it detracts from my productivity
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Google
  • It had a massively positive impact for us, allowing us to generate revenue from ad space on our website.
  • Being able to custom quote ad space on our site, instead of relying on AdSense allowed us to increase our monthly ad revenue as well.
  • Providing reliable data to advertisers regarding impressions and CTRs helped create repeat-customers.
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ScreenShots