Google Gives Advertisers Another “In” On YouTube

In a move that investors and marketers alike should applaud, Google's figured out another way to make money off the site it bought for $1.65 billion three and a half years ago.  Today, Google explained that it's come up with a tool to help small organizations advertise on YouTube.

Emily Williams, a member of the Inside AdWords team, explained on the corporate blog, "[W]e're announcing another new feature in Display Ad Builder that lets advertisers use simple templates to create InVideo overlays and companion ads on YouTube."  (FYI: "An InVideo ad is an animated flash overlay that appears at the bottom part of a video that a user is watching.")

Williams later continued, "Now, any advertiser can use Display Ad Builder to turn their image ads into overlays and run a campaign on YouTube in minutes.  Depending on the type of campaign an advertiser wants to run, overlays can be bought on a CPC (Cost Per Click) or CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) basis, and can be matched to YouTube videos based on numerous criteria (like demographics or content categories), or even on a video by video level."

This could prove to be a very popular option, considering that takeover ads on the YouTube homepage are said to be sold far in advance for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  And the move also earns points for being low risk, since it probably didn't take much in the way of resources to execute and doesn't cut any privacy corners.

Now we just get to guess how much Google will actually make from the new feature.  One slightly relevant note: earlier this month, a Citigroup analyst estimated that YouTube will pull in about $1 billion in gross revenue this year.

Important Product Director Moving From Google To Digg

When Google's current director of product management arrived at his desk this morning, he did so for the last time, according to a new report.  Keval Desai is supposed to be leaving Google in order to start a position at Digg.

Desai - who's been with Google for about six and a half years - didn't exactly do unimportant work.  In fact, he led the development of AdWords, which is one of the search giant's most recognizable products, and was also a force behind TV Ads, which has outlived Audio Ads and Print Ads.

Previously in his career, Desai cofounded a company with Michael Arrington and put in some time at Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, too.

As for what Desai's supposed to do for Digg, Arrington wrote this afternoon, "He'll be Digg's first head of product, a responsibility that has been shared at various times by founder Kevin Rose, CEO Jay Adelson and Chief Strategy Officer Mike Maser."

It seems Desai's headed almost to the top of the organization, then, and will probably exert a big influence over whatever "ballsy" changes are on the way.

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Microsoft Announces CFO Changeover

Chris Liddell, who's served as Microsoft's chief financial officer for four and a half years, intends to leave the company rather soon.  Microsoft announced that Peter Klein will be transitioning in over the next month, and then Liddell will depart at the end of the 2009.

It should comfort Microsoft fans and/or shareholders to know that Liddell isn't leaving in any sort of disgrace; CEO Steve Ballmer complimented him in a formal statement, and Liddell in fact seems to be interested in becoming a CEO himself.

Klein also said, "I'm honored to take on the role of Microsoft CFO.  I've learned a lot working with Chris, and I'm excited about the opportunities ahead for Microsoft.  We have an incredible pipeline of products, we have strong financial and operational accountability, and we are well-positioned for growth as the economy recovers."

So let's now take a closer look at Klein.  With degrees from the University of Washington and Yale, he started at Microsoft in 2002, and served for a time as CFO of Microsoft's Server and Tools Business.  At the moment, he's CFO of Microsoft's Business Division, which puts him in charge of an $18.9 billion organization and 7,800 full-time employees.

Klein's not exactly from the minor leagues, then.  Count on the transition going smoothly.

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