It’s no secret that Google sees mobile phones as an emerging frontier for search; as smart phones (and carriers’ data plans) become more sophisticated, it becomes possible to interactively exchange data in new and innovative ways, while also allowing people to tap into existing sources of information, such as the Internet. Google recognizes that the cell phone is developing along the same path that the personal computer did – it is a tool that we increasingly use to connect ourselves to people and relevant information, wherever we go. The question for Google then becomes, in what ways can it enable people by connecting them with the information that they need, as well as advertisements that provide relevant solutions.
The answer is Android – the open source mobile platform that Google is building (in partnership with 34 tech companies and carriers, under the Open Handset Alliance banner), to compete with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, Blackberry’s OS, and Apple’s iPhone. Wired recently wrote a long, but excellent article on Android, which talks about its development, and how this mobile platform is expected to be a gateway for people to access Google applications (and ads) from their phone, in the most efficient way. When it comes down to it, whenever you use a computer, people tend to use Google overwhelmingly to access or find information. Google wants to make sure that as mobile connectivity improves, this holds true for phones as well, and that they are a dominant information distributor, rather than say, Microsoft. Should they enter the race late, Google would stand to lose market share to competitors like Microsoft, vying for a piece of a huge advertising market (estimated to be $11.3 billion by 2011). Android itself is an interesting initiative that embraces the idea of being open, and the first phase of its $10 million contest is over, receiving numerous submissions from programmers who developed software for the platform.
But you knew all this you say, Android is nothing new! Well what is new, is how Google is attempting to extend its brand, and create associations in the minds of the public, between Google and mobile phones. If you check out the Google Mobile blog (started in November 2007), you can see that there’s been a lot of recent action, including the creation of a Mobile Tricks channel for YouTube, and a Google Mobile Community Group. This is a great example of the transformation that’s taking place in the world of marketing, where traditional ‘push’ based marketing is fading out, and companies learn to engage people in what we call ‘experience’ based marketing, and which fosters community growth.
Rather than telling people “we’re now all about mobile,” Google is creating a space for people to tell other people “Google’s now all about mobile…and we like it!” With the YouTube channel, people create videos that show off how they use their phones, and submit them for consideration via YouTube. Participants create the content for free, discuss them, and also publicize the videos throughout the Internet; they benefit because they’re interested in the topic and if their video is good, it will be given a notable mention in the YouTube channel and Google Mobile blog. Casual observers benefit because they get to learn some cool and entertaining tricks for their phones, and Google certainly benefits because anyone who checks out the channel will see their brand prominently displayed, related to a cool and people-centric contest. In addition, all web traffic to this page will be exposed to Google’s recently launched Google Mobile page, which is a centralized source of information that educates people about all the different Google tools available for mobile phones. Although the competition only began last week, some submissions have been viewed tens of thousands of times, while this video (pictured shown in this post) has been viewed almost 2 million times. Sounds like a pretty good brand building exercise to me, at almost no cost!
As I wrap this post up, my question for you then is:
- Can any company use this type of brand building strategy, or does the high profile Google brand name backing make this work?
- Why do you think this is, or isn’t a good marketing activity?
- What are some examples of other similarly effective online promotions?
- How many times have I used the word Google in this post?!
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[...] Jude Fiorillo asks whether we can all take a leaf from Google when it comes to forum-style marketing techniques. “This is a great example of the transformation that’s taking place in the world of marketing, where traditional ‘push’ based marketing is fading out, and companies learn to engage people in what we call ‘experience’ based marketing, and which fosters community growth.” [...]
Pingback by Sterling Performance mobile edition - July 4, 2008 2:19 pm
Really good article. I have been following your blog for last 3 months. You have good knowledge
on Mobile(cell phone) Industry and happenings. Please continue the good work. Thank you.
Comment by satya - October 4, 2008 3:51 pm