Think with Google

L'Oreal: Xmas Corridor Cross Media Research

2012-01-16T10:33:00.004Z

L'Oreal Luxury Products launched a multi-media campaign during Christmas 2010 in UK, France, Italy and Spain. They covered a wide range of franchises including Armani, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint-Laurent, Cacharel and Lancome. The campaign ran on YouTube and TV in each country.

Research was conducted with MetrixLab to understand the impact of YouTube and TV in terms of incremental reach, effectiveness at raising awareness and impacting branding metrics and efficiency of both media.

The results show that YouTube is a fantastic platform to compliment your TV campaigns. Some key highlights include:

YouTube offers incremental reach: 15% average total reach (20% for Top 5 campaigns) and 3% average incremental reach (5% for Top 5).
YouTube reaches lighter TV viewers. 77% of YouTube exposed had lower average contacts with TV.
YouTube can be used as a lever to optimize TV budgets: Shifting 40k€ TV budget to YouTube results in +2 to 3% incremental YouTube reach.

Please download the full research here.

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Think Quarterly - The Speed Issue

2012-01-10T08:56:00.003Z

The new issue of Think Quarterly, The Speed issue has just been launched.

The world is moving fast – faster than ever before – and we are all along for the ride. Technologies are getting quicker, affording us instant access and split-second connections. As Moore’s law prophesied, this change is happening at an exponential rate.

At the same time, consumer expectations are rising as we learn to take speed for granted. Today’s email is tomorrow’s snail mail. We might even have found something faster than the speed of light. In our hyper-real-time world, nanoseconds matter. This is forcing us all 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 Speed issue of Google’s Think Quarterly is about this acceleration of everything – what is changing and how it works, why it matters and when it doesn’t.

Our aim is to get you excited for what’s coming, because it’ll be here before you know it.

You should have a read http://www.thinkwithgoogle.co.uk/quarterly/speed/note.html

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Team

Creative Brands Engaging YouTubers this Christmas

2011-12-15T14:54:00.008Z

When campaigns harness the power of YouTube in conjunction with other media and social platforms we see some really creative results. Let’s take a look at a couple of our favourite examples:

Heineken - #MYSUNRISE

Heineken have recently kicked off a responsible drinking campaign centered around the idea that 'Sunrise belongs to moderate drinkers.' The goal is to make responsible drinking aspirational (see video above). Outlasting all his drunken friends on a night out, the hero ends his night by sharing a sunrise with star DJ Audrey Napoleon.

Developed by AKQA, the campaign was launched across four cities (London, Ho Chi Minh, Rio de Janiero and San Francisco) through a teaser campaign. Sofas featuring the hashtag #mysunrise were strategically placed in locations that offered the best sunrise view. Consumers were encouraged to post photos of their best sunrise moments, tagging them #mysunrise and then submitting them to the Heineken Facebook page. Each week the best sunrise images are retweeted by Heineken to their followers.

Hyundai Holidays

Over the past year Hyundai has been active in using musicians, particularly on Youtube, as the linchpin for several of their campaigns. Last Christmas they enlisted Youtube indie-rock stars Pomplamoose in a series of TV spots. In November they launched their RE:GENERATION music project to promote the new 3-door coupe, the Veloster. The project is a unique documentary film that follows five modern DJs who, through the use of technology, are changing the way the world creates and experiences music. The end result of the project was five new electronic music tracks influenced by genres across the musical spectrum.

As part of this season’s Hyundai Holidays campaign they’ve tweaked their previous activity in a way that’s appealing to both the TV and Youtube audience. Hyundai (and their in-house agency Innocean) have enlisted the creators behind two of our favorite pieces of user generated content from 2011. Have you seen the touching father-daughter cover of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - “Home”? What about the awesome Whole Food Parking Lot song from Fog & Smog? If not check out them out. Hyundai has enlisted the creators of both viral hits as part of a series of holiday spots (see above or here). While using Youtube stars as the subject of TV spots is nothing new, they’re also giving users a forum to showcase their talents or express their wishes for the holidays. The end of each commercial features a call to action encouraging users to upload a video to the Hyundai Youtube channel where they feature top submissions as well as the umbrella for all of Hyundai’s activity across Youtube, Facebook & Twitter.

Posted by Reuben Halper, Creative Services Team

Just another Manic Monday!

2011-11-30T13:50:00.003Z

5th December is MEGA Monday and the next few weeks will be very busy for online retail. So make sure you prepare your online marketing campaigns to make the most of this.

One thing you must not do is this and spray your fellow shoppers with pepper spray to get that must have item!

However here is a check list of things you can do for your online strategy:

Ensure CPCs are competitive to capitalize on higher conversion rates

IMRG predicts £3.72bn will be spent online over the next two weeks, a 14% increase on last year.

Adjust your campaign to deal with peak times and don’t shut your shop early!

Visa predicts UK online spending peaks at 1pm as people log on in their lunch break, and again at 7pm as they get home and go online. Last year we saw actively peak during office hours.

Split out mobile and tablet campaigns for best results and target mobile users at point of sale

Christmas 2011 is the year when mobile moves mainstream. 35% of people are saying they plan more shopping using their phones this year.

Maintain always on strategy to capture valuable tablet users later at night

Think creatively with seasonal messaging!

Posted by Carli Miller, Agency Team

Ready to GO MO?

2011-11-29T10:45:00.004Z

Over 60% of 16-34 year olds use their mobile to connect to the internet so it has never been more important for your site to be mobile friendly. To help with this Google has created GOMO, an initiative to mobilize your site.

GOMO contains:

“GoMoMeter” to see how a business's existing site looks on a smartphone and to learn how to make it better.
Best practices for mobile sites
Current mobile trends and projections
Case studies

The site also has a GoMo Agency Guide with the information you need to help your clients understand why this is such an important opportunity, including:

Understanding the Constantly Connected Consumer
10 Mobile Best Practices
Client Q & A
Tools & Resources

Take a look, enjoy and sign up here for news and more...

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Think Insights with Google is out of beta and packing a data punch

2011-11-21T13:42:00.006Z

Check out this new global insights hub from our US team.

Quick pop quiz:*

Based on search history, consumer demand for pretzels peaks in what month of the year?
Search adds how much (in $) to the world’s GDP?
In 2011, what percent of people dreamed and brainstormed about their next vacation?
What percent of the daily queries on Google.com have never been seen before?

These are just a few questions that can be answered on the new Think Insights with Google, our information and resource hub for marketers. The site is fresh out of beta and sporting a playful new look, helpful tools, more studies, the latest trends and exciting videos. We invite you to visit the site, take a look around and see what’s new.

If you only have a few minutes to spare, try playing with our new Real Time Insights Finder tool. With just a few clicks you can spot emerging trends and gain valuable consumer insights, all in real time. For example, the most popular video in common among males 25-34 in Italy and the U.S. is the Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game trailer.

Although we’ve made a lot of enhancements to Think Insights based on initial user feedback, we’re always trying to iterate and improve. So please don’t be shy! Join the conversation by adding the Think with Google page on Google+ to one of your circles.

Think Insights is forward-thinking and rooted in data. We hope you’ll use it as a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research.

*Answers to pop quiz (they can all be found on Think Insights in less than 60 seconds!):
December, Real Time Insights Finder Tool
$540 billion directly to global GDP, The Impact of Internet Technologies: Search Study, Jul 2011
50%, 5 Stages of Travel Interactive Infographic
16%, Search Fact & Stat

Posted by Laura McClung, Ads Marketing Team

YouTube: 21st Century Makeup Mirror

2011-11-10T15:40:00.006Z

One of the most popular categories on Youtube is beauty. From product reviews, to style tips, to how-to videos, there seems to be an insatiable appetite for beauty content among the Youtube audience. Youtube partners such as Lauren Luke, Michelle Phan, and countless others have built up a tremendous following and established their own personal brands on Youtube by producing videos that offer trusted beauty advice. In the past several years, we’ve seen brands such as L’Oreal and Sephora invest heavily in their Youtube presence to tap into this vast audience. For example, L’Oreal built up their own branded presence on Youtube across a number of markets. Additionally L’Oreal has also partnered with Youtube on Destination Beauty, a L’Oreal branded hub that aggregates videos from popular beauty gurus sharing the latest beauty trends and provides a product showcase for various L’Oreal products.

So how can an established beauty brand such as Estee Lauder differentiate themselves from their competitors on Youtube? In addition to building a self-contained platform for consumers, the folks at The Concept Farm developed several impressive ideas that really make the Estee Lauder Youtube channel stand out:

All of the how-to videos include the 'makeup mirror' feature which activates the webcam and allows users to watch the tutorial while trying the application method step-by-step, in real-time. In other words, they’re able to see both the video and themselves on screen at the same time, rather than switching back and forth between the video and their mirror as they experiment with new looks or tips.

Each video also has a 'featured products' icon/overlay that pulls in reviews and ratings from the Estee Lauder e-commerce site, providing users reliable feedback from other consumers without ever having to leave the Youtube environment. This functionality, combined with a direct path to purchase, easily shepherds users further down the purchase funnel.

In addition to those standout features, the channel also provides beauty techniques, tips/tricks, product lines, news, and behind the scenes/extra content from brand ambassadors, so have a look and a play around yourself on the Estee Lauder Youtube channel.

Posted by Reuben Halper, Google Creative Services

Our Mobile Planet: Bringing you Insights for Mobile

2011-11-07T11:06:00.002Z

If you are looking for insights into mobile usage, then look no further than Our Mobile Planet. This great site provides information on smartphone usage and consumer attitudes to mobile. You can use it to create custom charts that will deepen your understanding of the mobile consumer and support data driven decisions in your mobile strategy.

Take a look for global insights into:

Consumer adoption rate of smartphones
How, where and why consumers use their smartphone
What people are doing on their smartphone
Purchase behaviours
Engagement with mobile advertising

This study is a global effort conducted in partnership by Google, Ipsos and the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association). OurMobilePlanet provides deep dives into the search, video, social and email behaviour, as well as mobile research and purchase intentions. Enjoy!

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Plan for New Year 2012 with Google

2011-11-01T14:40:00.004Z

We haven't even celebrated Christmas yet and plans are already frantically being made for New Year 2012.

With this in mind, we've pulled together some important consumer insights, thought starters and creative stimulus to help you and your clients plan for this very important period.

You can view the full document here.

Key take-outs include:

Consumer mindset at the start of a new year influences their search behaviour.
Particular topics garnering high search volume will be health and fitness, finance, sales shopping, travel and holidays and recruitment.
Key dates in January when specific events will influence consumer purchasing behaviour will be Chinese New Year (January the 23rd) and Burns Night (January the 25th).
Different retail sectors will have different click patterns with the home and garden, consumer electronics and apparel sectors all showing increased traffic.
The influence of mobile and tablets will continue to rise into the New Year.

Please get in touch with your Google contact for more details.

Posted by Paul Guerrieria, UK Agency Team

Planning for Christmas 2011

2011-10-12T12:57:00.004+01:00

The festive season is fast approaching and believe it or not, consumers are already planning their Christmases!

If you haven't already, now is the time to plan and finalise your marketing strategies and campaigns for this extremely busy period.

To get you started, we've pulled together some key market data, consumer insights, thought starters and creative stimulus across several Google properties including YouTube, Google+ and Google Images.

You can view the full document here.

Key take-outs include:

Q4 is going to be BIG, with online retail sales estimated at £9bn and e-retail predicted to grow 16% year-on-year
The weather will play an important role in both online and offline sales with it's influence affecting both store footfall and online delivery fulfillment
Consumers will start their shopping earlier than ever before and will be on the hunt for deals and discounts to help ease the financial strain
Different market sectors will have different search query patterns across the period depending on the goods being sold
Mobile and tablet commerce will be key drivers of consumer festive spend as their consumer influence continues to increase
Popular consumer searches will include travel, weather, recipes, store opening times, kids entertainment and video calling as consumer planning for the period is reflected in keyword search terms

Please get in touch with your Google contact for more details.

Posted by Paul Guerrieria, UK Agency Team

Think Quarterly - The People Issue

2011-09-30T16:06:00.002+01:00

We've just launched the new issue of Think Quarterly, The People Issue.

Never before in human history has it been possible for 2 billion+ people to publish their views, share information and ideas - to inspire each other. Within 3 years the majority of people on the planet will have this opportunity.

So this edition of TQ focuses on people - how will people behave in an increasingly connected world? How should business, governments, societies understand their needs, address their desires and solve their problems? What can we all do to help extend these benefits to everyone, everywhere?

Whether it’s Madeleine Albright on the transformative power of women in business; Joseph Stiglitz on wellbeing; or Wael Ghonim on the incredible events of the Egyptian revolution, we celebrate and examine the points where technology, business and society come together in surprising and exciting ways.

You should have a read at http://www.thinkwithgoogle.co.uk/quarterly/people/.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager Team

Google Firestarters #3: The OS of the future for agencies?

2011-09-28T14:50:00.001+01:00

At Google UK we wouldn't presume to know the answer to this question. So for our third Firestarters event in our London office we invited three points of view from Mel Exon of BBH Labs, Martin Bailie of Glue Isobar and James Caig of MEC. In theory, this means we had points of view from an advertising agency, a digital agency and a media agency, although as we've found at previous Firestarters, the discussion rather undermines any neat division between agency types. The event was hosted by Andy Griffin from Google UK’s Agency Team and curated as usual by the Neil Perkin of Only Dead Fish.

The three providing 'provocation' agreed that the question raises two big and different issues: the organisation and the output; what you do and how you do it. And they also agreed on the importance of culture and people to shape 'how' you do things and improve the 'what' that your agency produces.

Mel Exon offered a challenge and some hope. It's no longer possible for marketers to buy their way into people's attention. They have to provide something properly useful, or properly entertaining, or just ‘epic’ to avoid ending up unseen and unheard, she argued. Yet the opportunities offered by the pace of change in technology make this the most exciting time ever to be working in marketing. She urged agencies to foster 'renaissance (wo)men' - people who assume whatever they can come up with will, through developing technology, be possible, rather than limiting their ambitions. She put it bluntly: marketing should become so entertaining or useful that it becomes indistinguishable from the product or platform it promotes.

Martin Bailie had a different take - more challenging to the status quo of agencies but arguably also more risky. He suggested there was an opportunities for marketing agencies to diversify and start selling ideas and digital products directly to the end consumer. Building on Mel's idea of providing something useful or entertaining, but also turning this into its own revenue stream for the agency. He argued that this would improve an agency's skills, business understanding, credibility, and also help keep staff empowered and interested.

MEC's James Caig told us that the diversification of revenue streams was already a feature of life for his agency. He looked to Simon Waldman's Creative Disruption for some suggestions for how to go forward from here: transform the core business, look for adjacent opportunities and innovate at the edges of your capabilities. For him, digital is already pushing the transformation of the core business of media agencies and most agencies on a roster are looking at adjacent opportunities, so the interesting area is innovating at the edges. He suggested agencies make a business out of their ability to spot creative talent and nurture it, or use the analytics skills within agencies to provide data using a freemium model. Again he came back to the importance of people - the operators of any new OS - and how to empower them, equip them and trust them to deliver future business strategies and creative solutions.

So if that's the 'what' the future operating system of agencies will provide, what did our challengers think of the 'how' this will work?

Mel suggested that a planner's inclination to aim for single minded communication meant the idea of a 'minimum viable product' should sit naturally. Paring down your offering to the bare minimum that can work is a core way of working for tech startups, so shouldn't agencies work like this, she argued? She thought nimble, task-based teams, assembled based on the client's needs rather than a traditional departmental structure, could deliver better solutions. James agreed that organising by skill set not department was the way forward, with teams focused but connected into the rest of the agency through strong communication. He wanted to foster 'entrepreneurial opportunities' - giving teams the power and support to deliver on new business ideas. Martin Bailie took this one step further, suggesting that while agency groups will consult on how to deliver the best outcomes for their client, creatively led agencies should focus on their own outputs - be that a client campaign or a product aimed straight at end consumers.

We hosted a noisy discussion among the guests following the speakers' provocation. Perhaps after all an agency's role is purely to add value through branding, creating demand for the product or service being marketed, rather than getting involved in any new product development? The debate will rumble on and I'm sure the subject for the next Firestarters event will fall out of the heat of the discussion...

Posted by Gerald Breatnach, Agency Team

Bringing campaign ideas to life - Listerine YouTube Case Study

2011-09-20T13:01:00.005+01:00

In Listerine's Mouth vs. Life campaign, their key objectives were to transform consumer perceptions of the brand and to connect with people in a way that was fun, disruptive and engaging.

Essentially, they wanted to bring their brand idea of 'what you put your mouth through' to life in an extremely visual way, with a touch of comedy.

YouTube provided an ideal platform for the campaign given its reach and the scope for interactivity and engagement. Using a strategic combination of mastheads, true view ads and promoted video alongside their YouTube channel, Listerine embarked upon satisfying their initial objectives.

Their YouTube channel invited visitors to watch visual representations of what they put their mouths through based on what the average mouth might come in to regular contact with, from drinks to cakes, and even pens!

Listerine's YouTube channel received no less than 2.5 million views with a dwell time of 1 minute and 2 seconds. They also received 55 million impressions across their mastheads.

For more details of how they developed the idea for this campaign and for the results, please watch the short video here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Goodbye Barometer Blog, hello Think With Google Blog!

2011-09-12T15:25:00.004+01:00

When we originally launched the Barometer Blog, it was with the intention of providing you with the latest digital learnings, insights, tools and general tips to help plan great campaigns. Over the past two and a half years, we have shared our latest research, industry stats, Vox Pops, examples of cool and inspiring uses of Google's products, and much more.

We are pleased to confirm that we will be providing more of the same on this blog but with a slight twist. Introducing the 4Is: Insight, Ideas, Implement and Impact.

As you will notice, most of our posts now correspond to at least one of the four categories which we hope will help you to:

Discover great insights

Be inspired to develop creative ideas

Find the most effective ways to implement those ideas

Measure the impact.

This blog will continue to be run by the Google UK team. Much of the content will have a UK focus but we hope our readers in other markets will also find it useful.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Can consumers reveal their movie-going intentions through search?

2011-08-31T11:35:00.002+01:00

Our recent whitepaper uncovers new insights as to consumers' movie-going intentions and the evolution of their search behaviour over the last few years.

The study shows that consumers are searching for movies and considering what they want to watch much earlier than they used to. In 2010, we saw that searches for film titles began to ramp up five weeks prior to the opening weekend, whereas in 2008, they would pick up much closer to the time.

Not only are movie-goers searching earlier, they are searching more. Movie-goers searched 1.75 times more per film in 2010 than in 2008. Additionally, searches for film trailers were up by more than 50% in 2010 versus the previous year.

Search provides a unique look at how consumers are researching movies revealing great opportunities to better engage with them.

If you are interested in exploring this topic further, the full study is available for download here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

The Mobile Movement in the UK

2011-08-23T16:16:00.004+01:00

In June, we shared some research from the US market looking into the user behaviour of smartphone owners in our post Understanding smartphone consumers. This month, we are pleased to share the UK version of the study.

As with the previous study, the key objectives were to understand:

How smartphones are typically used on a day-to-day basis

What other activities consumers carry out while using their smartphones

The types of information they are searching for on mobile

How smartphone consumers are using their devices to help them make their purchase decisions

How receptive they are to mobile ads.

More than half of UK smartphone owners use their device every day to go online. They have become so attached to their little pocket PCs that more than one in five claim that they would sooner give up their TV than their smartphone!

As you would expect, a large proportion of smartphone users (89%) access the internet while they are out and about. What is slightly more surprising is that an even larger proportion (98%) are using their device to go online while they are at home.

As with their trans-Atlantic counterparts, some of the most popular smartphone uses among UK smartphone owners include passing the time when waiting (65%) and finding information quickly (52%), as well as being used as a "kind of modern accessory" (48%).

Increasingly, smartphone owners are using their mobiles to assist with their purchase decisions. More than 50% make a purchase based on information which they obtained from a smartphone. Further, 81% looked for local information with nearly a third of these local information seekers going on to make a purchase.

When it comes to mobile advertising, 87% of smartphone owners recall seeing a mobile ad. However, 83% of top UK advertisers do not have a site optimised for mobile. It is important that advertisers build a good mobile user experience as 28% of smartphone owners have taken action after having been exposed to a mobile ad. More specifically:

44% have clicked on a mobile ad

33% have visited the advertiser's site

32% have made a purchase.

If you are interested in learning more about UK smartphone users, please watch our short video here or download the full study here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Understanding consumers' online path to purchase

2011-08-08T15:28:00.008+01:00

The internet is a multi-billion pound industry in the UK, which accounted for 7.2% of the nation's GDP in 2009. The UK leads the world in e-commerce as the country with the highest per capita spending online. [1]

As the growth of e-commerce remains unabated, we see that consumers are increasingly researching their purchases online.

Our new whitepaper conducted in conjunction with Nielsen, takes a detailed look at consumers' path to purchase across multiple sectors. The study seeks to understand the length of research journeys, how shoppers are researching their purchases and how they are using search during their decision making process.

Here are somes key findings from the study:

Research journeys are often lengthy and in some sectors, can last more than a month.

1 in 3 conversions takes place 30 days after the initial research.

70% of consumers who purchase use search.

Generic search terms play a key role in the research process. Shoppers who convert online are 19% more likely, on average, to search on generic terms than those who are just 'window shopping' or end up making their purchase offline.

To learn more, please download the full study here.

[1] BCG Report - The Connected Kingdom, October 2010

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

The latest insights & trends from Google Internet Stats

2011-08-05T15:08:00.001+01:00

Here is our latest round-up of some of the most current insights on Google Internet Stats:

Online video

Britons watch 11,000 years of video online every month.
Nielsen VideoCensus, May 2011
23% of people watch online video every day, nearly double the 2010 figure.
MediaTel, July 2011
Three times more people watch music videos on YouTube than download music.
Nielsen, July 2011
Nearly a quarter of all global mobile bandwidth is consumed by people watching YouTube videos.
Allot Communications, July 2011

Mobile

For 1 in 4 smartphone owners, their phones are their primary way of accessing the internet.
Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 2011
Nearly half of UK teenagers own a smartphone.
Ofcom, August 2011
Almost half of mobile users make more than one purchase per month via their mobile devices.
Myxer, July 2011
Nearly 1 in 4 people are interested in using their mobile phones instead of cash to make purchases.
YouGov, June 2011

Reviews & Recommendations

More than 1 in 4 UK adults claim that online product reviews have a major influence on their purchasing decisions.
TGI, Q2 2011
50% of consumers admit that recommendations from their friends and family influence their decision to buy a new product or brand.
Havas Media Social and Lightspeed Research, June 2011
More than 50% of consumers have changed their perceptions about brands based on social influences.
GroupM, February 2011

For more stats like these, visit google.co.uk/internetstats.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Is paid search traffic incremental to organic traffic?

2011-07-29T16:41:00.001+01:00

Many advertisers wonder how much of the traffic driven by their search ads is actually incremental to the traffic driven by organic search results for their brands. So, what happens if search ads are paused?

Our brand new research addresses this much debated issue. The results from the study which examined more than four hundred advertisers, show that on average, when search ads are paused, 89% of paid clicks are lost and not recovered by organic clicks.

Watch our short video for a brief overview of the study and its highlights.

If you would like to read the full study, please download it here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Think Quarterly - The Innovation Issue

2011-07-25T13:08:00.001+01:00

Innovation's co-founders; WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell; Nike's head of Innovation, Hannah Jones and our very own Susan Wojcicki.

We're living through a time of rapid change. As technology, culture and even democracy evolve, it's becoming clear that we must learn to adapt in the face of uncertainty.

At Google, we're doing this by working hard to help people and organisations take advantage of technology to fuel their own creativity.

What do you need to do differently to shape the future? Are you ready to be unrealistic? To do the unexpected? To act boldly? Where will you find inspiration, and who else will you inspire?

Read the fascinating articles in Think Quarterly and you'll find some of Google's secrets of innovation revealed, alongside cutting-edge insights from some of the world's brightest minds. Most of all, though, you'll find a series of questions, not answers. Think. Innovate. Think Innovation.

You should have a read at www.thinkquarterly.co.uk and let us know your thoughts @thinkquarterly.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager

Can you handle a week without the internet?

2011-07-19T12:13:00.001+01:00

For many, the answer to this question is no. The internet, it seems, has truly become an indispensable part of everyday life.

The University of Utrecht and advertising agency, Ara Advertising in the Netherlands, recently conducted a qualitative research study which saw sixteen participants deny themselves of internet access for an entire week.

In the videos filmed by each of the participants before, during and after the study, we catch a glimpse of their struggle to go about their daily lives without the lifestyle and communication tools provided by the internet, which they had come to take for granted.

They talked about feeling "cut off from the world" and "frustrated" during their week offline. One found himself literally feeling lost without his smartphone as he didn't have access to Google Maps!

Check this short video out to see what else they had to say...

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Going Beyond Placements with AdPlanner

2011-07-15T09:33:00.001+01:00

Cross-post from the DoubleClick Advertiser Blog

Since its release, DoubleClick Ad Planner has strived to simplify the display planning experience by helping you find the most relevant sites on the internet for your campaign. But even the best placements get extraneous impressions - folks who are unlikely to convert in a direct response campaign or outside the target audience for a brand. Why can't you always reach the right people as well as the right placements? Well - now you can.

Here at Google we've been working on some novel technologies to enable audience based buying. Thanks to this effort audience buying is now available to all AdWords users. And today we've brought the ability to plan for an audience buy into Ad Planner. You can now select from over 1,000 interest categories across the more than 500 million daily users of the Google Display Network (GDN). Advertisers like ShoeDazzle have used audience buying on the GDN to improve conversion volume as much as 400% and interest targeting consistently shows CTR far greater than the display ad average. This phenomenal performance is driven by the power of Google audiences across the GDN.

Through Ad Planner you can now set up a campaign that will reach your users across the GDN regardless of the site they are on. That means greater ROI for advertisers who want to reach their audience at scale for brand or performance goals. This will also result in more meaningful, relevant ads for users, ultimately translating into higher conversion rates. And it means an easier time building the campaign by allowing you to focus on defining your audience rather than sorting through a list of sites and placements.

Log into Ad Planner and take a test drive on the new Audience Planning tab. While you're doing that we'll be working on the next set of exciting features for interest categories powered by Google.

Posted by Roshan Khan, Product Manager

Delivering incremental reach to TV campaigns with YouTube - Renault Case Study

2011-07-08T09:40:00.001+01:00

In our latest study, conducted in conjunction with GfK using their Media Efficiency Panel, for Renault, we see how YouTube can be used to complement TV campaigns to reach exclusive audiences.

Highlights from the study:

Almost half of YouTube homepage reach was incremental to TV.

Each of the three YouTube homepages reached a high level of exclusive audience. Only 8% of those reached were exposed to all three homepage ads.

The YouTube homepages achieved a cost per reach point significantly lower than TV.

To see the full study, please download it here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Word of Mouth and the Internet

2011-06-29T09:04:00.001+01:00

We are pleased to share our new study from the US market which looks into the effect of the internet on conversations involving a mention of a brand. The study illustrates how important online channels, particularly search, are to inspiring and informing these conversations.

Everyday in the US, there are currently 3.3 billion brand mentions. 2.4 billion conversations involve a brand each day which equates to approximately 1.4 impressions per conversation.

While the majority of conversations that involve a mention of a brand (WOM conversations) occur offline, the internet is now the primary source of information stimulating such conversations and it is the leading source for consumers to find information during and after a WOM conversation.

In more than 15% of WOM conversations, search engines are used to find additional information. Search websites have also been shown to be the number one place that consumers visit in order to take further action.

Please watch our short video to find out more.

The full study is also available for download here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

+1 around the world

2011-06-28T10:14:00.001+01:00

Cross-post from the Inside AdWords Blog

A few months ago we released the +1 button on English search ads and organic search results on google.com. More recently, we’ve made the +1 button available to sites across the web, making it easier for people who love your site to help their friends and other users find your content in Google search.

Today, +1s will start appearing on ads and organic search results for Google pages globally. We'll be starting with sites like google.co.uk, google.de, google.co.jp and google.fr, and then expanding quickly to most other Google search sites soon after.

We’ve also partnered with a few more sites in Europe, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand where you’ll start seeing +1 buttons in the coming days.

You can also add the +1 button to your international websites by going to the +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central where it's already available in 44 languages.

We expect that personal annotations will help users know when your ads and organic search results are relevant to them, increasing the chances that they'll end up on your site.
Think of +1 buttons as an enhancement that can help already successful search campaigns perform even better, now, at a global level.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords Team