What We Learned from CES 2011

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

(Cross-posted on Google Retail Blog)

Well, it’s been just over a week since we wrapped up another exciting CES with some very innovative new product displays. From the world’s thinnest tablet (and a concept tablet...and a waterproof tablet!), to a range of smart tvs, to a surge in ultrabook designs, and of course who could leave out the sleek new smartphones, this year’s show had many talked about products.

But what will have consumers buzzing the remainder of the year, as many of these products gear up for their official releases? While it’s tough to predict that, we did want to take a quick look at what happened after CES last year, to glean insights into some trends we can look for this year.

Insight #1: CES week search volume could be a good indicator of launch week popularity

Insight #2: CES 2012’s Top 5 Products had 50% more Google Searches than CES 2011’s Top 5
ASUS Transformer Prime looks like a potential big winner based on Google search volume, and its volume was even greater than two of last year’s hottest products, the HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Atrix.

Insight #3: Samsung made a much bigger splash this year with 3 of top 5 mobile searches, while in 2011, HTC had 2 of the top 5 products. Top products are determined based on query volume.

Insight #4: Among top launches, the Nokia Lumia was the most frequent 2012 product searched in a single session on Google.com and heavily searched on YouTube. The ASUS Eee Pad and Transformer Prime were cross-researched on Google.com most often with the Lumia. User activity on Youtube showed top term Nokia Lumia with 1.3 million video views for the Nokia LumiaTV ad.The ASUS Eee Pad had ~400K video views for review and there were about ~540K views for “Ipads2 vs ASUS”.Consumers are searching primarily for products and product reviews on Google.com & YouTube to learn more about new launches during CES.

Nina Thatcher and Amy Liu, The Google Tech Team

2012 Predictions For Marketing To Moms

Monday, January 16, 2012

Great article out this week on by Holly Pavlika at mediapost emphasizing the importance of video and mobile in marketing to moms in 2012. You can read the whole thing here.

Here are the video and mobile highlights:

1. More mom video content on the web.

Moms love to view other moms in action. They trust what another mom has to say more so than they do celebrities. And they consume a lot of video on a weekly basis. So it’s only natural that video content will continue to rise. YouTube is commissioning new channels and Deca has launched “Kin,” a mom/women’s channel. And, don’t forget “The Mom’s View” from Maker Studios. Moms are also finding that their personal channels on YouTube can turn them into web celebs, lead to book deals and make them money with the right content. Brands need to jump on the video bandwagon if they want to stay engaged with mom.

2. Mobile will continue to influence mom’s path to purchase.

Moms armed with smartphones are putting them to good use. Brands that don’t yet have a mobile strategy are way behind the curve. Moms see mobile as their command center and remote control for managing life. According to BabyCenter, 53% of moms purchased a smartphone because they had become a mom. And, it’s influencing her path to purchase. With smartphone and apps in hand, she can comparison shop, check out potential purchases with friends, download coupons, manage the budget and more. Her phone is connecting her to all the information and references she needs to make a purchase decision.

Congrats to King Arthur Flour

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Congrats to CPG Company King Arthur Flour of Vermont for being featured in Ads @
Google's 2011 at a glance "on the map" feature!

Think fast in the first Think Quarterly of 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

[Cross-posted with the official Google blog]

In the amount of time it takes you to read this blog post, roughly 382 Android phones will be activated, 250,000+ words will be written on Blogger and 48 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube. The world is moving faster than ever before, bringing us instant access and split-second connections to people and information.

Speed is important in technology, but equally essential in business. Consumer expectations are rising as we learn to take speed for granted; today’s email is tomorrow’s snail mail. In our hyper-real-time world, nanoseconds matter—which means we need to question old assumptions. How will we respond to consumer expectations as the demand for instant access to everything intensifies? How will we keep pace in a world that moves at web speed?

The new Speed issue of Think Quarterly explores these questions and more. Our SVP of Engineering Urs Hölzle shares our efforts to speed up the Internet, while Astro Teller, Director of New Products, dreams about the amazing inventions these improvements will unleash. Paul Gunning, CEO of Tribal DDB, talks about the rise of real-time marketing. And journalist Jeff Jarvis wonders if we’re really that fast after all.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Let us know what you think on +Think With Google. And if you’re at CES this week, drop by our Room to Think in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and tell us your thoughts live. We’ll also host a Google+ Hangout there with Astro Teller, author of Speed of Dreams, on Thursday at 2pm PST.

Posted by Allison Mooney, Think Quarterly Editor

Google - Where We've Been and What's Next

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Here's the story of Google from its inception to present day. From our humble beginnings, we've always tried to put the user first and we will continue to do so in 2012.

A new agency council for a new kind of shopper: introducing The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Guest post by Stephanie Redish Hofmann, Head of Agency IPG, Google

As festive shoppers deck the halls earlier each year, putting their bargain detective hats on in search of products that provide the best value for each dollar spent, marketers have had to change the way they think about reaching these savvy shoppers. Because while a shopper's first interaction with a product, the First Moment of Truth (FMOT), used to occur when that person saw a product on the store shelf for the first time, the advent of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) -- the online moment at which a person first develops an opinion about a brand, prior to encountering it in the physical world -- is changing the way marketers think about the digital path-to-purchase.

In turn, the Shopper Marketing Agencies (SMAs) that work closely with marketers to capture mind and market share during each holiday shopping season and beyond have been working hard -- using rich data and deep understanding and insights -- to help companies evolve their digital marketing strategies to 'win' this newly defined and important moment in time. They are a vital part of a vital marketing transformation, which has changed the game for modern marketers.

We've always valued our relationship with these SMAs -- but it occurred to us, as this uber-busy season approached, that it would benefit consumers, advertisers and SMAs alike to work even more closely together, delving deeply into understanding the ZMOT model as applied to shopper marketing and digital brand activation along the path to purchase.

To do this, we formed The Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council. This group is comprised of leading SMAs, including Arc WW, DraftFCB, Integer, Mars, Momentum, RPM Connect, Saatchi & Saatchi X, Shopper Sciences, ShopWork, The Marketing Arm, Triad Media, TracyLocke, and Upshot -- and its goal is to advance understanding of how online and offline behavior drives purchase consideration and decision-making, and to overcome the challenges related to communicating this transformation.

We're looking for this group of marketing innovators to help guide the way Google engages and partners with SMAs and the industry in general, and are sure it will help us better support SMAs in search of the best way to help their clients' brands win the ZMOT. Stay tuned for news and updates!

ZMOT - Top 10 Book!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Congratulations to Jim Lecinski and the ZMOT book team for being honored as one of Ad Age's top 10 marketing books of 2011. You can read the full article here.

The Tablet Generation

Friday, December 09, 2011

Just think about it...in just a few years these kids are going to be your consumers. If you don't have a tablet search and display strategy, you're not just missing today's shoppers, you're also missing tomorrow's.

2011's Best CPG Marketing on YouTube

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

As we approach the end of the year, we've taken some time to reflect on all of the great brand marketing that we've been fortunate to be a part of in 2011. The video below highlights what we think are some of the best examples of CPG marketing done on YouTube this year. We'd love to hear your thoughts about your favorites.

Happy viewing!

YouTube and TV Ads: Your Media Plan Needs Both

Monday, December 05, 2011

Pre-roll video ads are playing an increasingly important role in online media plans, and many advertisers wonder how these newer formats compare with traditional TV ads. YouTube partnered with Ipsos on a study across 2,400 people split into groups exposed to :15s & :30s video ads. We tested to see how these units compared and complemented each other and found:

· Among those exposed to the 15 second spot on both YouTube and TV combined, we found 2x better recall than TV alone, 1.5x better for those exposed to the 30 second spot

· 5 out of 6 advertisers saw ad recognition lift on the :15 spot for YouTube + TV over TV Alone, and 4 out of 6 advertisers saw lift on the :30 spot

· YouTube generally has the same impact on aided brand attribution as TV for both :15 and :30 ads

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Final Episode - Google's Kevin Kells

Sunday, December 04, 2011

The final episode of our CPG Thought Leader series features Kevin Kells, the Industry Director for the Home & Personal Care vertical at Google. Over the past 5 years he has helped hundreds of brands enhance their digital marketing plans. Kevin also has rich experience as a brand marketer at companies like Revlon, Unilever, and Diageo.

In the video below, Kevin talks about the importance of making Google a part of brands' new product and campaign launch plans. He sees Google as a powerful marketing engine that can help drive rapid awareness and trial of new products. According to Kevin, brands can spark awareness through YouTube and Display advertising, capture intent through desktop and mobile search, and drive purchase through mobile ads and coupons. Don't hesitate to reach out to Kevin with questions or comments.

Consumers on tablet devices: having fun, shopping and engaging with ads

Thursday, December 01, 2011

(cross-posted on the Google Mobile Ads Blog)

Tablets have quickly emerged as a distinct third digital screen in consumers lives that fill the gap between desktops and smartphones. But there are still many open questions about exactly how consumers are using them. We explored tablet search trends earlier this year, but wanted to dig deeper and answer key questions such as: What are the contrasts between tablet use, laptop use, and smartphone use and how are consumers engaging across these devices? What are the most common activities (playing games, searching, reading, etc.) that tablets are used for? What ads are most relevant and useful based on how people are using the devices?

Tablets are for fun, entertainment, relaxation, while laptops are for work
One of our studies, a diary study that had people record every occasion that they used their tablet over a two-week period, found that most consumers use their tablets for fun, entertainment and relaxation while they use their desktop computer or laptop for work. Tablet devices are personal - 91% of the time that people spend on their tablet devices is for personal rather than work related activities. When a consumer gets a tablet, we’ve found that they quickly migrate many of their entertainment activities from laptops and smartphones to this new device.

Tablet owners are building the device into their daily routine. Our research found that the most frequent tablet activities are checking email, playing games and social networking. We also found that people are doing more activities in shorter bursts on weekdays (e.g. social networking, email) while engaging in longer usage sessions on weekends (e.g. watching videos/TV/movies).

Tablets are multi-tasking devices with at least 42% of activities occurring while doing another task or engaging with another entertainment medium. Of all the activities that people do on tablets, checking email, playing games, social networking and searching are the ones most frequently done in front of the TV. Many consumers also used their tablets to check email while eating, and listen to music while cooking.

The activities shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Tablets primarily stay home, few travel
But unlike smartphones that go everywhere and laptops that travel between work and home, few consumers take their tablets with them when they leave the house. However, consumers do take their tablets on vacation or work trips where they use them as a laptop replacement and a small number take them on their commute. Interestingly, our recent research found that tablets are for the most part a one-person device, although there are consumers who share their tablet with other family or household members.

Tablets are, however, mobile within the home, with the highest usage taking place on the couch, from the bed and in the kitchen.

The activities and locations shown in the above chart were self-reported by respondents.

Consumers are shopping on tablets
Many consumers do a lot of window shopping on their tablet and our data shows that they are making more and more purchases on their tablet devices. Indeed, tablets figure to be a significant new way for people to be shopping this holiday season. While shopping they are engaging with familiar brands through social media sites, deals discounts, and navigating directly to trusted shopping sites.

We also found that people are using their tablets for activities that they are also doing in the real world, such as searching for something in their local area, shopping (browsing and purchasing), and managing finances.

For many people, websites and apps designed for smartphones just don’t cut it on tablets. Instead consumers are taking advantage of the bigger screen and prefer using fully featured apps and the full desktop sites on their tablet.

We found that some of those activities also extend to additional devices (e.g. smartphone, laptop, etc.). These activities included shopping (both browsing and purchasing), searching for information, managing finances, checking the calendar and checking email.


Consumers don’t view ads differently on tablets, but they do expect more interactivity
Consumers are engaging with useful, relevant and rich ads that take advantage of the touchscreen interface on tablets. Some consumers expect more interactivity from ads on tablets than they do from ads on their desktop computer.

We believe that tablet ownership will continue to rapidly grow in 2012 and that tablet usage may change over time, particularly as smaller devices come on the market. We plan on continuing to conduct research to understand consumers’ uses of their tablet devices and are excited to share these research insights with you.

Posted by: Jenny Gove and John Webb, User Experience Research, Mobile Ads

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Here's a great new video on the evolution of Google search. Enjoy!

Holiday Insights and Tips from Google

Monday, November 28, 2011

Think it’s too late for holiday marketing initiatives? Think again!

Today the Think with Google team is launching December Adventure, where every weekday between now and December 23, they’ll share useful, surprising and delightful insights and opportunities for sparking your online holiday sales via search ads, mobile and more. It’s prime time for online shopping, so follow Think with Google on Google+ for daily tips! You can also add this helpful holiday calendar to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Our December Adventure is just beginning - so bundle up, log on, and get ready to grow your holiday business day by day.Click here to visit Think with Google on Google+. To share the glow of these holiday insights, use #decemberadventure.

Five Truths of the Digital African American Consumer

Monday, November 28, 2011

If African American consumers aren't a part of your brand's digital strategy, they should be. African Americans are one of the most engaged, influential, and responsive online audience segments.

Last month, Google and GlobalHue teamed up with OTX to understand what role search and other digital advertising technologies play in African Americans' purchasing decisions. The team, which included Google CPG's own Jason Crain, uncovered five key truths that every CPG marketer needs to consider:

1. African Americans are early adopters, and are more likely to watch video online and to access online content via smartphones and other alternative platforms.
2. Digital technologies provide an important “microphone” to African American consumers, who are significantly more likely to use Twitter and to recommend online brands and products to acquaintances.
3. They are avid searchers, more likely to use search daily, and to click through on search ads.
4. This audience is nearly 50% more likely than others to begin their “path to purchase” with search.
5. African American consumers are substantially more responsive than the general population to digital video ads and smartphone ads.

Here's a cool infographic with even more study findings:

In addition to the graphic, the team also put together a 43-slide deck that you can steal from with pride for use in your own presentations.

For more thoughts on the research, check out the excellent coverage in AdWeek.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 6 - Ford's Matt Van Dyke

Monday, November 28, 2011

Today's video features Ford's Director of Marketing Communications Matt Van Dyke. He spoke to our 200+ attendees at Think Branding NYC about Ford's social media strategy, with a focus on Ford's use of Google+. In this episode, Matt discusses the importance of listening to consumers when planning social media strategies.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 5 - Mindshare's Ritu Trivedi

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Over the past four days, we've featured a consultant, two Googlers, and an entrepreneur in our CPG Thought Leader Video Series. Today's thoughts come from a leader in the agency world, Ritu Trivedi, Managing Partner at Mindshare. She discusses today's demanding consumers and how they are interacting with brands.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 4 - Consmr's Ryan Charles

Monday, November 21, 2011

In today's video, we hear from Ryan Charles, the founder and CEO of Consmr. Consmr is a ratings and reviews site for products in the food, home, and personal care spaces. The site's mission is to ensure that consumers make informed decisions about everyday products.

Ryan's a huge believer in the concept of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). In this video, he shares his thoughts on how the consumer's path to purchase is evolving and how online research is shaping purchase decisions, even in categories formerly seen as "low consideration."

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 3 - Google's Karen Sauder

Friday, November 18, 2011

In today's episode of the CPG Thought Leader Video Series, Karen Sauder, Industry Director, Food, Beverage and Restaurants at Google, discusses the excitement of brand marketing today and the new brand storytelling opportunities that digital offers.

CPG Thought Leader Video Series Episode 2 - Google's Karim Temsamani

Thursday, November 17, 2011

In episode 2 of the CPG Thought Leader Video Series, Karim Temsamani, VP of Global Mobile at Google, talks about the growth of the mobile industry overall and consumers' pattern of shifting access from desktop to the cloud.