Google has long had the ambition to be a single platform for media buying of all types. Its recent moves into radio, print and video reflect that. Today there was an interesting post (via SEL) on Reprise Media’s SearchViews blog about a Google advertiser/agency survey investigating traditional media ad rates and hypothetical advertiser interest in new products:
- “A service [that] would connect advertisers to traditional offline media outlets (Newspapers, TV & radio stations) through Google’s online automated process. Advertisers will be able to bid in auction and to make offers for specific media. This technology seeks to simplify the process of selecting, buying, scheduling, delivery and reporting of traditional offline advertising”
- “An online Creative Marketplace (where advertisers can specify the type of ads they want to be created, and then creative agencies can bid on the project)”
- “Online Ad-Creation Tools that lets you create and customize your ads yourself”
AdAge reports that Google is “laying the groundwork” for TV advertising, and has already appealed to the Television Bureau of Advertising to build a platform that would “automate the archaic business of buying local airtime.” If this survey indicates anything, however, it’s that Google intends to build an advertising platform for all media channels.
Google’s ambitions are driven by revenue aspirations (and imperatives as paid-search growth eventually slows), a big vision and a recognition that paid search is only a small component of the overall ad pie.
