Google to educate ad agencies on digital advertising

Google is undertaking a major effort to educate advertising agencies on all things digital with a new set up called AgencyLand. 

AgencyLand is an online educational portal developed for ad shops. The AgencyLand platform, now in beta with select agencies, houses a ton of Google-centric content created for agency staff.

Much of it is focused on digital topics. There are webinars, a searchable library with more than 200 marketing case studies and short, on-demand video segments featuring Google leaders such as Chief Economist Hal Varian.

It also aggregates Google's array of ad tools, such as a media-planning tool that connects advertisers and publishers and a website optimizer, which helps measure user behavior on Google, has big ambitions for AgencyLand. Earlier this year it asked 10 shops across different holding companies, including Ogilvy, Initiative, Starcom and Carat, on come onboard.

It is curently in the process of rolling the platform out to a second batch of shops for testing (DraftFCB, Martin Agency, DDB, Digitas, Group M, BBDO, 360i and Razorfish) and estimates it will make AgencyLand widely available to agencies late this year or early next.

Usage of the portal is free. The search giant said it had received requests from the agency community for training that would help employees stay ahead of the digital curve.