08/09/2026
**These trainers don’t exist.**
But did you stop and look at them?
Perhaps Nan’s Christmas present has just been pushed a little further down the list. She’ll understand.
This is a fictional example of the type of ad that could appear while you’re watching videos, checking Gmail, browsing Discover or using Google Maps.
You weren’t searching for trainers. You may not have even been thinking about buying trainers, but now you’ve seen them.
If the advert does its job, you might remember them later, visit the website or search for the brand when you’re ready to buy.
That’s the difference between **capturing demand** and **creating it**.
Google Search is excellent at reaching people who already know what they want. Demand Gen can introduce the product earlier, while they’re still forming ideas and comparing options.
For businesses planning for Christmas and other peak periods, that means activity needs to start before searches begin climbing, not once everyone’s buying decisions have already been made.
There is preparation involved. You need good creative, accurate tracking, sufficient budget and, for retailers, a properly established product feed.
An existing feed can be brought into a Demand Gen campaign within a few days. A completely new feed needs considerably longer; four weeks isn’t enough to get it properly established for peak season.
The goal isn’t simply to show more adverts.
It’s to be one of the brands people think about when they’re finally ready to search and buy.
Sorry, Nan.
