Create a Things to do campaign

  • Implementing Things to do ads begins by creating a Things to do campaign within Google Ads, setting its budget, bidding strategy, and linking your Things to do Center account.

  • Key steps in campaign setup include setting the advertising channel type to TRAVEL and subtype to TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES.

  • You must create TravelCampaignSettings, specify the travel_account_id from your Things to do Center account, and add it to the campaign.

  • For Things to do campaigns, the bidding strategy must be set to MaximizeConversionValue.

The first step in implementing Things to do ads is creating a Things to do campaign. When creating the campaign, you configure its budget, bidding strategy, network settings, and Things to do Center account ID.

Campaign setup steps

Follow these steps to configure a Things to do campaign:

  1. Create a shared CampaignBudget (explicitly_shared set to true) and assign its resource name to campaign_budget.
  2. Set the campaign's advertising_channel_type to TRAVEL and advertising_channel_sub_type to TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES.
  3. Create a TravelCampaignSettings object, set its travel_account_id to your Things to do Center account ID, and assign it to the campaign.
  4. Configure a standard (campaign-level) MaximizeConversionValue bidding strategy on the campaign with a target_roas value (required; portfolio bidding strategies aren't supported), enable Google Search targeting (network_settings.target_google_search = true), and declare the campaign's contains_eu_political_advertising status.

Code example

The following code example demonstrates how to create a Things to do campaign:

Java

private String addThingsToDoCampaign(
    GoogleAdsClient googleAdsClient,
    long customerId,
    String budgetResourceName,
    long thingsToDoCenterAccountId) {
  // Creates the campaign.
  Campaign campaign =
      Campaign.newBuilder()
          .setName("Interplanetary Cruise #" + getPrintableDateTime())
          // Configures settings related to Things to do campaigns including advertising channel
          // type, advertising channel sub type and travel campaign settings.
          .setAdvertisingChannelType(AdvertisingChannelType.TRAVEL)
          .setAdvertisingChannelSubType(AdvertisingChannelSubType.TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES)
          .setTravelCampaignSettings(
              TravelCampaignSettings.newBuilder().setTravelAccountId(thingsToDoCenterAccountId))
          // Recommendation: Sets the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent
          // the ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added
          // targeting and the ads are ready to serve
          .setStatus(CampaignStatus.PAUSED)
          // Sets the bidding strategy to MaximizeConversionValue. Only this type can be used
          // for Things to do campaigns.
          .setMaximizeConversionValue(MaximizeConversionValue.newBuilder())
          // Sets the budget.
          .setCampaignBudget(budgetResourceName)
          // Configures the campaign network options. Only Google Search is allowed for
          // Things to do campaigns.
          .setNetworkSettings(NetworkSettings.newBuilder().setTargetGoogleSearch(true))
          // Declares whether this campaign serves political ads targeting the EU.
          .setContainsEuPoliticalAdvertising(DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING)
          .build();

  // Creates a campaign operation.
  CampaignOperation operation = CampaignOperation.newBuilder().setCreate(campaign).build();

  // Issues a mutate request to add the campaign.
  try (CampaignServiceClient campaignServiceClient =
      googleAdsClient.getLatestVersion().createCampaignServiceClient()) {
    MutateCampaignsResponse response =
        campaignServiceClient.mutateCampaigns(
            Long.toString(customerId), Collections.singletonList(operation));
    MutateCampaignResult result = response.getResults(0);
    System.out.printf(
        "Added a Things to do campaign with resource name: '%s'%n", result.getResourceName());
    return result.getResourceName();
  }
}

C#

// Creates a campaign.
Campaign campaign = new Campaign()
{
    Name = "Interplanetary Cruise #" + ExampleUtilities.GetRandomString(),
    AdvertisingChannelType = AdvertisingChannelType.Travel,
    AdvertisingChannelSubType = AdvertisingChannelSubType.TravelActivities,

    TravelCampaignSettings = new TravelCampaignSettings()
    {
        TravelAccountId = thingsToDoCenterAccountId
    },

    // Recommendation: Set the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent
    // the ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added
    // targeting and the ads are ready to serve
    Status = CampaignStatus.Paused,

    // Set the bidding strategy and budget.
    MaximizeConversionValue = new MaximizeConversionValue(),
    CampaignBudget = budget,

    // Set the campaign network options.
    NetworkSettings = new NetworkSettings
    {
        TargetGoogleSearch = true
    },

    // Declare whether or not this campaign contains political ads targeting the EU.
    ContainsEuPoliticalAdvertising = EuPoliticalAdvertisingStatus.DoesNotContainEuPoliticalAdvertising,
};

PHP

    private static function addThingsToDoCampaign(
        GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient,
        int $customerId,
        string $budgetResourceName,
        int $thingsToDoCenterAccountId
    ) {
        // Creates a campaign.
        $campaign = new Campaign(
            [
            'name' => 'Interplanetary Cruise Campaign #' . Helper::getPrintableDatetime(),
            // Configures settings related to Things to do campaigns including advertising channel
            // type, advertising channel sub type and travel campaign settings.
            'advertising_channel_type' => AdvertisingChannelType::TRAVEL,
            'advertising_channel_sub_type' => AdvertisingChannelSubType::TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES,
            'travel_campaign_settings'
                => new TravelCampaignSettings(['travel_account_id' => $thingsToDoCenterAccountId]),
            // Recommendation: Set the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent
            // the ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added
            // targeting and the ads are ready to serve.
            'status' => CampaignStatus::PAUSED,
            // Sets the bidding strategy to MaximizeConversionValue. Only this type can be used
            // for Things to do campaigns.
            'maximize_conversion_value' => new MaximizeConversionValue(),
            // Sets the budget.
            'campaign_budget' => $budgetResourceName,
            // Configures the campaign network options. Only Google Search is allowed for
            // Things to do campaigns.
            'network_settings' => new NetworkSettings(['target_google_search' => true]),
            // Declare whether or not this campaign serves political ads targeting the EU.
            'contains_eu_political_advertising' =>
                EuPoliticalAdvertisingStatus::DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING
            ]
        );

        // Creates a campaign operation.
        $campaignOperation = new CampaignOperation();
        $campaignOperation->setCreate($campaign);

        // Issues a mutate request to add campaigns.
        $campaignServiceClient = $googleAdsClient->getCampaignServiceClient();
        $response = $campaignServiceClient->mutateCampaigns(
            MutateCampaignsRequest::build($customerId, [$campaignOperation])
        );

        /**
 * @var Campaign $addedCampaign
*/
        $addedCampaign = $response->getResults()[0];
        printf(
            "Added a Things to do campaign with resource name '%s'.%s",
            $addedCampaign->getResourceName(),
            PHP_EOL
        );

        return $addedCampaign->getResourceName();
    }

Python

def add_things_to_do_campaign(
    client: GoogleAdsClient,
    customer_id: str,
    budget_resource_name: str,
    things_to_do_center_account_id: int,
) -> str:
    """Creates a new Things to do campaign in the specified customer account.

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        customer_id: a client customer ID.
        budget_resource_name: the resource name of a budget for a new campaign.
        things_to_do_center_account_id: the Things to Do Center account ID.

    Returns:
        The resource name of the newly created campaign.
    """
    # Creates a campaign operation.
    operation: CampaignOperation = client.get_type("CampaignOperation")
    # Creates a campaign.
    campaign: Campaign = operation.create
    campaign.name = (
        f"Interplanetary Cruise Campaign #{get_printable_datetime()}"
    )
    # Configures settings related to Things to do campaigns including
    # advertising channel type, advertising channel sub type and travel
    # campaign settings.
    campaign.advertising_channel_type = (
        client.enums.AdvertisingChannelTypeEnum.TRAVEL
    )
    campaign.advertising_channel_sub_type = (
        client.enums.AdvertisingChannelSubTypeEnum.TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES
    )
    campaign.travel_campaign_settings.travel_account_id = (
        things_to_do_center_account_id
    )
    # Recommendation: Set the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent
    # the ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added
    # targeting and the ads are ready to serve.
    campaign.status = client.enums.CampaignStatusEnum.PAUSED
    # Sets the bidding strategy to MaximizeConversionValue. Only this type can
    # be used for Things to do campaigns.
    campaign.maximize_conversion_value = client.get_type(
        "MaximizeConversionValue"
    )
    # Sets the budget.
    campaign.campaign_budget = budget_resource_name
    # Configures the campaign network options. Only Google Search is allowed for
    # Things to do campaigns.
    campaign.network_settings.target_google_search = True
    # Declare whether or not this campaign serves political ads targeting the
    # EU. Valid values are:
    #   CONTAINS_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING
    #   DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING
    campaign.contains_eu_political_advertising = (
        client.enums.EuPoliticalAdvertisingStatusEnum.DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING
    )

    # Issues a mutate request to add campaigns.
    campaign_service: CampaignServiceClient = client.get_service(
        "CampaignService"
    )
    response: MutateCampaignsResponse = campaign_service.mutate_campaigns(
        customer_id=customer_id, operations=[operation]
    )

    resource_name: str = response.results[0].resource_name
    print(
        f"Added a Things to do campaign with resource name: '{resource_name}'."
    )
    return resource_name

Ruby

def add_things_to_do_campaign(client, customer_id, budget_resource,
  things_to_do_center_account_id)

  # Create a campaign.
  campaign_operation = client.operation.create_resource.campaign do |c|
    c.name = generate_random_name_field("Interplanetary Cruise Campaign")

    #  Configures settings related to Things to Do campaigns including
    # advertising channel type, advertising channel sub type and
    # travel campaign settings.
    c.advertising_channel_type = :TRAVEL
    c.advertising_channel_sub_type = :TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES

    c.travel_campaign_settings = client.resource.travel_campaign_settings do |tcs|
      tcs.travel_account_id = things_to_do_center_account_id
    end

    # Recommendation: Set the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent the
    # ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added targeting
    # and the ads are ready to serve.
    c.status = :PAUSED

    # Sets the bidding strategy to MaximizeConversionValue. Only this type can
    # be used for Things to Do campaigns.
    c.maximize_conversion_value = client.resource.maximize_conversion_value

    # Set the budget.
    c.campaign_budget = budget_resource

    # Configures the campaign network options. Only Google Search is allowed for
    # Things to Do campaigns.
    c.network_settings = client.resource.network_settings do |ns|
      ns.target_google_search = true
    end

    # Declare whether or not this campaign serves political ads targeting the EU.
    # Valid values are CONTAINS_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING and
    # DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING.
    c.contains_eu_political_advertising = :DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING
  end

  # Issue a mutate request to add the campaign.
  campaign_service = client.service.campaign
  response = campaign_service.mutate_campaigns(
    customer_id: customer_id,
    operations: [campaign_operation],
  )

  # Fetch the new campaign's resource name.
  campaign_resource = response.results.first.resource_name

  puts "Added Things To Do campaign with resource name '#{campaign_resource}'."

  campaign_resource
end

Perl

sub add_things_to_do_campaign {
  my ($api_client, $customer_id, $budget_resource_name,
    $things_to_do_center_account_id)
    = @_;

  # Create a campaign.
  my $campaign = Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Resources::Campaign->new({
      name => "Interplanetary Cruise Campaign #" . uniqid(),
      # Configure settings related to Things to do campaigns including
      # advertising channel type, advertising channel sub type and travel
      # campaign settings.
      advertisingChannelType    => TRAVEL,
      advertisingChannelSubType => TRAVEL_ACTIVITIES,
      travelCampaignSettings    =>
        Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Resources::TravelCampaignSettings->new({
          travelAccountId => $things_to_do_center_account_id
        }
        ),
      # Recommendation: Set the campaign to PAUSED when creating it to prevent
      # the ads from immediately serving. Set to ENABLED once you've added
      # targeting and the ads are ready to serve.
      status => Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Enums::CampaignStatusEnum::PAUSED,
      # Set the bidding strategy to MaximizeConversionValue. Only this type can be
      # used for Things to do campaigns.
      maximizeConversionValue =>
        Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Common::MaximizeConversionValue->new(),
      # Set the budget.
      campaignBudget => $budget_resource_name,
      # Declare whether or not this campaign serves political ads targeting the EU.
      # Valid values are CONTAINS_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING and
      # DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING.
      containsEuPoliticalAdvertising =>
        DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING,
      # Configure the campaign network options. Only Google Search is allowed for
      # Things to do campaigns.
      networkSettings =>
        Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Resources::NetworkSettings->new({
          targetGoogleSearch => "true"
        })});

  # Create a campaign operation.
  my $campaign_operation =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V25::Services::CampaignService::CampaignOperation->
    new({create => $campaign});

  # Add the campaign.
  my $campaign_resource_name = $api_client->CampaignService()->mutate({
      customerId => $customer_id,
      operations => [$campaign_operation]})->{results}[0]{resourceName};

  printf "Added a Things to do campaign with resource name: '%s'.\n",
    $campaign_resource_name;

  return $campaign_resource_name;
}

curl

What's next

After creating a campaign, create at least one ad group and ad:

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Overview
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Create ad group