In October of 2013, Google began testing ads that would appear on the top and bottom of email messages. These ads were known as Gmail Sponsored Promotional Ads and were in the beta phase of development; based on a cost-per-click basis. As of earlier this month, now referred to as Gmail Ads, Google has rolled out native Gmail ads to all AdWords advertisers.
Now out of beta, Google Ads aim to deliver a similar experience to landing pages on an email message. The change of platforms does not affect consumers in any way as their experience viewing these ads on email messages stay the same, but for Search Engine Managers (SEM), the transition may come as a shock if the SEM is not familiar with the AdWords platform. For those SEMs who are familiar with Google AdWords, managing Gmail Ads should not be a problem. The biggest changes are to the implementation, reporting, and features of Gmail Ads.
Gmail Ads are now a standard part of Adwords toolbox and are relatively inexpensive to run. Now would be a good time to experiment with the new platform.