At several points during her presentation, Kim Malone, Google’s director of online sales and operations, told attendees at the Future of Online Advertising conference that Google has a number of new AdSense initiatives coming this summer, but that she’s being watched and would be shot if she offered any details. Therefore, she concentrated her talk to AdSense’s Cost Per Action (CPA) clickable ad network and why its right to get a burst of attention, but perhaps not the best thing for branding.

“It’s like if you’re doing a garage sale, branding isn’t a part of it – creating awareness is and that’s the function that clickable ads serve.” She went on to discuss how a number of marketers achieved prominence with clickable ads through Google’s AdSense network. For example, almost no one ever searched for Thermacare heating pads until a series of “Men With Cramps” clickable ads appeared. The example Malone showed features mock interviews with “literary historians” noting that Shakespeare often worked cramp jokes into his stand-up act (can be viewed here). “In order to get to the wallets, you’ve got to get to the hearts and minds and you get there through awareness.”

The CPA network is still in beta, but is expected to launch within the next few months. Google is also working on methods that tell where consumers are finding the ads, either through content or search. “We will have a mechanism that will show whether a purchase has been made. As long as they buy within 30 days, we’ll know.”