In an era where digital advertising is becoming increasingly competitive, relying solely on consumer-initiated searches is no longer enough to support a brand’s growth. Businesses must take the initiative to place their brand in front of potential customers instead of waiting to be found. This is precisely where Demand Generation plays a crucial role.
In the past digital marketing landscape, brand growth depended on being “searched”: consumers actively entered keywords to express their intent, and brands responded with targeted keyword ads. However, Google’s latest advertising trends indicate that with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, user search behavior is undergoing major changes. Many brands are finding that organic search traffic is not what it used to be. Consumers’ exploratory behavior has become fragmented and unpredictable, rendering the traditional sales funnel outdated.
1. What is Demand Generation?
It’s the strategy of placing your brand into the consumer’s field of vision before they generate a specific need. In other words, brands should proactively create dialogue and appeal, rather than passively wait to be discovered. The core of this marketing approach is about being seen—sparking interest, curiosity, or affinity toward the brand before consumers even realize they have a need. Unlike traditional demand response, this is about planting a seed in the consumer’s mind that can grow over time.
Consumers today don’t shop or browse through a single platform or channel. They might watch videos during their commute, scroll through product pages at lunch, or research travel options before bed. Purchasing decisions stretch across time and platforms. If brands focus only on search or conversion stages, they risk missing a large share of potential customers. Demand Generation helps expand reach and boost brand recall among unfamiliar audiences—an ideal strategy for new market entrants or mature brands seeking growth breakthroughs.
Core Strategies of Demand Generation
2. The Shift and Challenges in Consumer Behavior
Unlike in the past, consumers now often bypass traditional search engines. With tools like ChatGPT, some now prefer asking situational questions to AI, receiving concise, sourced answers. This streamlines the information-gathering process and reduces the need to enter multiple keywords and sift through results. As consumers become less reliant on keyword searches, this disrupts traditional digital advertising, particularly Google’s search ads. With fewer searches, ad impressions decrease, driving up cost-per-click.
3. Impact on Digital Advertising & How to Respond
(1) From Keyword-Based to Phrase-Based Targeting
Ads can no longer rely on single keywords. As consumers use more contextual, scenario-driven queries, ad systems need to understand and infer intent through context.
(2) From Static to Dynamic Creatives
When consumer intent is still unclear, emotional, story-driven, and visually engaging content, not just discounts, captures attention. Creatives must be rapidly generated, tested, and matched to various scenarios.
(3) Shift in Performance Metrics
Traditional click-through and conversion rates are no longer sufficient when demand hasn’t yet formed. Brands need a robust data infrastructure to measure long-term value through cross-channel attribution, incrementality testing, and memory impact.
4. Combining Demand Generation with Ad Strategy
(1) Use DSP for Proactive Exposure: Through DSP, visually engaging ads can be delivered across display networks and platforms to capture attention before search intent arises.
(2) Leverage DKT to Expand Reach: DKT helps analyze context and discover emerging keywords, allowing brands to infer interests and reach audiences who haven’t explicitly searched for their products or services.
(3) Create High-Quality Creatives: Invest in compelling videos, visuals, and copywriting to capture interest and stand out from the crowd.
(4) Omnichannel Integration: Combine DSP, DKT, and other channels (social media, SEO, etc.) to build a comprehensive Demand Generation strategy.
(5) Data-Driven Optimization: Use DSP and DKT data to refine campaigns continually. AI-driven solutions help maximize ad ROI.
(6) Advertising Strategy in Four Phases:
5. Summary
In the AI era, digital advertising must be more proactive, not reactive. Demand Generation strategies are essential for sparking curiosity and emotional resonance before a consumer even thinks about searching. By integrating the capabilities of DSP and DKT, brands can attract potential customers early, establish connections before the search begins, and continuously optimize using data to gain a competitive edge in a crowded market.