Think Quarterly - The Innovation Issue

Monday, July 25, 2011

At Google, we aim to help people and organizations navigate a world gone digital. That's why we created Think Quarterly.

We don’t want to review what’s happened; we want to prepare you for what happens next. For each issue, we tap our homegrown visionaries, plus heads of industry, innovators and experts, to lend their insights and outlooks on the digital future. We hope it gives a view into what drives us as a company and inspires those of you who lead the way.

We hope you find the content engaging and insightful. Included are insights from Dennis Woodside on his vision for our industry, as well as SVP of Advertising, Susan Wojcicki’s Eight Principles for Innovation.

Think Quarterly is very much an experiment, and like any other Google product we aim to iterate, so please let me know what you think. And if you like it, +1 it at thinkwithgoogle.com/quarterly!

You can also check out a great article about Think Quarterly in Sunday’s New York Times here: Slowing Down to Savor the Data.

Do you Have the Right Mobile Strategy for Back to School?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Post by Grace Dolan, Google Mobile Ads

During the summer months, more users turn to mobile devices to shop. Summer is also when the Back to School shopping season begins. This is a perfect opportunity for marketers, especially in retail, consumer electronics, and cable/telecommunications, to get in front of their target customers who are hungry for information to make purchases. Last year we saw a lift of 500% in mobile searches for retail and consumer electronics categories over the summer months.

I experienced the growth in mobile searching personally over this past 4th of July weekend. My brother is in college, he was researching options for a new laptop for school. During a family barbecue, he and my father were on his smartphone, comparing features, prices, and getting opinions from others (photo featured below). My brother was able to interact with everyone during the get together instead of being inside on his computer.

This isn’t just happening at my parents’ house. The Back to School demographic is on mobile devices, often several hours a day, for more than just a phone call or text message. According to Sergio Alvarez, Chief Operating Officer of the interactive marketing agency Ai Media Group, "The Back to School crowd is leading the way with mobile. As mobile phones increase in versatility and power, they have become more like pocket computers than phones. Colleges and institutions are taking advantage of this technology. We consider mobile to be an integral part of our marketing strategy, and we will continue to make it part of all our campaign portfolios.”

As a marketer, how can you maximize Back to School success with the peaked traffic? Here are a few tips:

• Prepare for the massive traffic spikes with appropriate budgets in place.
• Be on top 24/7. Bid to be in “above the fold” positions on Back to School categories. This is essential on mobile.
• Give them incentive. Include Mobile Offer ads to help drive redemption in-store, online or on the phone.
• Be local. Direct customers to your store by adding your location to your ads.

Back to School is a great opportunity to be in front of your target audience, especially if you maximize the potential of mobile marketing. Don’t miss out; visit the mobile ads site today to find out more.

Use the Google Display Network to Target Back to School Shoppers

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Today's post is a guest post from Jieun Baek on the Google Retail Team

The trends for ‘back-to-school’ queries over the past four years illuminate more than when queries start and peak. These searches have been analyzed and grouped within categories that can help shape retailers’ display strategy for this year’s back to school season on the Google Display Network.

The following categories and sub-categories, in order of frequency, were the most commonly searched themes for back-to-school queries:

• Society: Education, Legal, Social Science
• Entertainment: Music and Movies
• Shopping: Apparel, Mass Merchants and Department Stores, Flowers Gifts and Greetings
• Local: Regional Content, Jobs

As the graph below indicates, back to school searches begin to quickly rise at the beginning of July, peak in mid-August, and tail off at the end of September. So start gearing up for back-to-school season, and be sure to target these relevant categories on the Display Network!

Highlights from this week's Google CPG Industry Newsletter

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

WHAT’S HOT

1. Google+: Sharing is a huge part of the web, a part that we think could be a lot simpler. That’s why we’ve been working on adding a few new things to Google: to make connecting with people on the web more like connecting with them in the real world. We hope you like what we’ve cooked up so far. And stay tuned, because there’s more to come. Click the link or the logo to learn more about how Google+ works.

2. Google+ for Brands: We have been watching Google+ take shape over the last week and we’ve seen some really great companies get involved. But frankly we know our product as it stands is not optimally suited to their needs. In fact, it was kind of an awkward moment for us when we asked Ford for his (or was it her?) gender!

How users communicate with each other is different from how they communicate with brands, and we want to create an optimal experience for both. We have a great team of engineers actively building an amazing Google+ experience for businesses, and we will have something to show the world later this year.

The business experience we are creating should far exceed the consumer profile in terms of its usefulness to businesses. We just ask for your patience while we build it. In the meantime, we are discouraging businesses from using regular profiles to connect with Google+ users. Our policy team will actively work with profile owners to shut down non-user profiles.

Over the next few months we are going to be running a small experiment with a few marketing partners to see the effect of including brands in the Google+ experience. We’ll begin this pilot with a small number of named partners. If you represent a “non-user entity” (e.g. business, organization, place, team, etc.) and would like to apply for consideration in our limited program (and be amongst the first to be alerted when the business product launches) you can sign up here: http://goo.gl/zq95C

3. Google Wallet: Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet. It stores virtual versions of your existing plastic cards on your phone. Simply tap your phone to pay and redeem offers using near field communication, or NFC. Learn more by clicking on the link.

4. The Google CPG Blog: The Google CPG Blog is always hot. For all of the latest news and updates in the world of CPG digital marketing, please visit: http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/. We are updating the site a couple of times per week now, so check back often. This week you can read a guest post by Patrick Tedjamulia about how to create a digital dashboard for your brand and download the Zero Moment of Truth E-book.

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STAT OF THE WEEK
Consumers can’t seem to get enough video. Video delivered “over-the-top” via the internet to a growing range of devices is fueling this newfound passion. The only limit to video viewing, it seems, is the number of hours in a day.



Media usage is changing rapidly as more internet-enabled devices enter the home, and are used in front of the TV. Consumers’ digital media habits are shifting significantly—and perhaps permanently—away from the TV set to other screens.







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GOOGLE NEWS
Google Scoops Up 5 Creative Awards at Cannes Lions Ad Festival
Google, a company that has made its name off search and has famously eschewed brand advertising for over 10 years, have picked up five awards for creative and inventive advertising campaigns. You can’t tell me that you didn’t love that Dear Sophie Lee spot!

Evolving the Google Design & Experience
Starting last week, you might have noticed that things look a little different across Google products. We’re working on a project to bring you a new and improved Google experience, and over the next few months, you’ll continue to see more updates to our look and feel. Even our classic homepage is getting a bit of a makeover.