What's not to trust?

At the 4As conference, Ad and Commerce President Tim Armstrong of Google tried assuring ad agencies that Google wants to improve the industry, not put them out of work, reports MediaPost.

To buttress his point, Armstrong unveiled a dashboard to help manage online and offline media campaigns.

The dashboard, still in beta, draws data from all media upon which an advertiser runs campaigns. Then it identifies whether user interaction with one campaign was the result of exposure to a different one.

For instance, it could demonstrate if a TV campaign running in Milwaukee, Wisconsin results in an upswing in Milwaukee-based hits to a campaign website.

Particularly since its decision to hire Andy Berndt of Ogilvy, Google has taken pains to convince agencies and ad buyers it is not trying to move in on their turf.

Like Berndt, Armstrong insists Google is not interested in destroying the ad buying business. It seeks instead to make ad analysis and campaign planning more efficient.