Update: Google Feeling the Pinch

Well, who didn't see that Google investing in newspaper sales wasn't maybe the brightest strategy? I mean in THEORY it's a cool idea -- using codes in newspapers to track to eventual sales, but in a medium that is feeling the pains, it's smart for Google to cut it's losses.

Unfortunately, that's not the only area that's effecting Google's ad revenue.

Due to the economic climate's effect on the way marketers are looking at media's need to be accountable, one would think that Google of all places would see an increase in CPCs (money out of branding and into DR means more demand = higher bids). As it turns out, not so much. Reportedly, this is due to marketers moving to less expensive terms that still produce results. Google ad spends, like the rest of advertising, are feeling the pinch.

Compacting the effect the economy has in this field is the fact that marketers are seeing that Search Engines alone aren't the end all be all. In fact, Search Engine usage has actually fallen a bit over the past few years.

Will people's use of Google products tumble?

Likely not.

Sure, consumers may shift to favor social network learning, but Google won't die. People will still need a 3rd party to help give us unbiased, factual information. We as consumers may be prompted to explore something by our friends, but we still feel the need to be the leader of our own research.

We may see more people lessening their use of SEARCH part of learning, but this will likely not hurt nimble companies like Google - keep in mind that Google/Yahoo have an extensive network of partnerships with content based sites and we'll still their ads. Additionally, YouTube is one of the most heavily "searched" sites on the net and they're owned by Google.

With that worry out of our minds, it brings up a larger issue. We're afraid that one of the "best" products we've grown accustomed to showing "success" may not be invincible.

Today's marketing isn't "media is the message" or "creative is the message" it is.. your customer is the message.

With the market ever changing it's easy to get hung up on the tactics instead of the idea. Search doesn't stand alone, display doesn't stand alone... WOM while several instances are EXTREMELY cool doesn't stand alone. Each media tactic works in tandem.

The key take away I have been feeling over the past few years is that there's a need to impact people no matter where they're researching (across this fragmented market). This means that we as marketers need to focus in on why/when our message would be most impactful. For instance, imagine it -- an ad network that puts your ad in front of someone who's looking to find out about your specific product. Selling a Dried Bean product? Imagine marketers targeting search/display/conversations about bean soup recipes. Or targeting consumers who are looking for projects to keep their kids entertained on a rainy day. Who is that optimum customer - not how old are they, but who are they and why would they care about your product?

Today's new model is shifting from telling why your brand is important to demonstrating how this product is a part of the consumer.