Internet Giant Seeks to Work Closer With Madison Avenue as It Targets Display Ad Dollars Google Inc., a champion of the belief that advertising should be less about art and more about science, is embracing its inner creative side.

As it searches for new growth, the company in recent months has focused more on creating custom ad campaigns spanning multiple Google services for big spenders including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Ford Motor Co.

Since the summer, Google has helped J.C. Penney Co. and PepsiCo Inc.’s Quaker Oats unit launch ad campaigns on YouTube and on some of the hundreds of thousands of sites across which Google sells display ads, along with search ads.

As part of the shift, Google is thinking up and tailoring more ad campaigns in close consultation with ad agencies. In May, the Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant altered its sales structure to work more closely with ad agencies and react more quickly to trends by organizing sales staff exclusively by industry, like automotive and technology. It also created a senior position responsible for improving communication with the largest ad agencies.

“We’re working more and more with the creative community,” says Dennis Woodside, Google’s vice president for Americas operations, in a recent interview. Mr. Woodside, who previously oversaw Google’s sales and operations in the U.K. and Ireland, says Google is making the change in part to broaden its sales relationships beyond the people who control search-ad budgets.

[ Source WSJ ]