Sharon Strzelecki bowled over by Google Ads AI-powered tools

By Cec Busby February 7, 2024 12:55 am

Fountain Lakes’ beloved netballer Sharon Strzelecki, of Kath & Kim fame, has teamed up with Google to show how their new AI-powered tools can help local businesses find new customers and grow.

Sharon, played by Aussie comedian Magda Szubanski, stars in the new campaign, using Google Ad tools to promote her fictional hairdressing business, ‘Bowled & Beautiful.’

As small businesses face increasingly tough economic conditions, how to attract new customers has become a universal issue. Recent research by Google and Kantar found that nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of Australian small and medium businesses see this as their number one challenge.

To tackle this issue, Google has rolled out a suite of new AI-driven tools in Australia to help businesses grow.

AI-Powered Sign-Up Process: This tool automatically pulls text and images from your website, saving you time and getting you started faster.

Performance Max: Now the default campaign type for new advertisers, this AI-powered tool delivers 27% more conversions at a similar average cost per acquisition compared to standard Google Ads Search campaigns.

Free Tools: Including Product Studio and Asset Generation, these help advertisers quickly create ads using Generative AI, and you get to keep the assets generated.

Watch Sharon Strzelecki on Kochie’s Business Builders

AI helping businesses grow

Kantar’s research also showed that 82 per cent of marketers who’ve adopted AI tools in their campaigns have seen improved performance and efficiency.

Mark Wheeler, Director of Ads Marketing at Google Australia, highlighted the benefits for business owners of adopting Google’s latest AI-injected ad tools.

“We know that SMB owners are some of the most time-poor people on the planet. In today’s economic climate, they need their marketing to deliver more with less. That’s why we’re so excited about the integration of Google AI into our Ads solutions – it’s delivering better performance and making it easier to manage. At Google, we’re committed to putting this powerful technology in the hands of all Australian businesses, regardless of their size or budget.”

Easy to use tools

Google’s campaign, which launched today, sees Sharon Strzelecki showing business owners just how easy Google Ads is to use. Magda Szubanski, who brings Sharon to life, said, “Shaz is a very special character, and I wanted to ensure that her evolution into a business owner was true to her spirit as an everyday Aussie giving it her best crack. Working with Emotive and Google across long-form content ensured that we could tell an authentic story. The fact that Shaz is helping her fellow entrepreneurs… well, I think that’s exactly the type of person she is!”

Taking the fun even further, Sharon features as an Entrepreneur in the Spotlight on Kochie’s Business Builders TV show on Channel 7 . Sharon can be seen chatting about her entrepreneurial journey and the evolution of her Bowled & Beautiful salon.

Host, David “Kochie” Koch even gets in on the action.

Explaining why he wanted to be part of the campaign Koch shared: “Being successful with digital advertising is a must for SMBs. Marketing is always the number one challenge SMBs talk to me about. So it’s fantastic to see Google Ads harnessing AI and continually improving. Plus, launching the message to the masses with Sharon in such an engaging way has been a real blast.”