Success suits those who attain it. Imagine what Google Inc views look like. It’s likely you’d get pretty comfortable peering from the top. Times must change. Change is often embraced by the masses; however, the already elite enjoy the standing penthouse views.
The digital age is here and continues its evolution. If Google wants to continue its pinnacle perch on top it will need to move with the times. A recent WSJ article traces recent behaviors of Google, observing the implementation of G+, and its browser, Google Chrome, as well as the divvying of dividends partitioned for ad spending. Actually, Google is almost on level playing field (as far as ad spending) with competitors Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
If you dig a little deeper into Google-spending behaviors, one may be surprised to find the giant has poured more into the pot; last year Google spent $213 million on advertising its services and products nationally. Perhaps that’s not so amazing; all big businesses spend. But do big businesses quadruple ad spending in one year!? Google shelled out a meager $56 million in 2010. Why the added umph? Are some brands causing anxiety, inspiring Google to spend more out of fear?
“This is a sign of good old-fashioned competition. While Google has a dominant footprint in search, they have work to do in other areas to gain market share,” observes David Cohen, a chief media officer at Universal McCann.
Online ads still rank first regarding Google-ad spending; but, what about non-online ad spending? G invested $70 million on television ads in 2011. How about 2010? Subtract 64 from 70. That’s a bit of a difference.
Former employees remember a different Google, a company that once raised a high brow at the thought of advertising its own products and services. But that was then; this is now. That was when Google was just a search engine service. Now, Google is so much more. Can we even keep track of all the services and products now offered?
The WSJ article paints a future portrait of Google looking more like Apple, a true consumer electronics brand. Google has plans to advertise and sell its own music and video-streaming devices. It also plans to recruit mobile-device producer, Motorola Mobility Holdings.
A Google first was its ad, which ran during the 2010 Super Bowl. It featured an American man courting a French woman through online means. In modern-day times it seems Google is attempting to court consumers who may have begun noticing the offered services and products of other online courtiers…
