Google as a call to action in advertising
Will we see more ads urging us to 'Google' something as the call to action? I think so and in fact I'm surprised there hasn't been more since Leo Burnett's ground breaking 'Google Pontiac' ad for the G6 Sedan from way back in 2006.
There are certainly things to consider in taking this approach and the case against largely revolves around the fear that it provides an opportunity for competitors to 'steal response' from your own campaign by bidding aggressively on the call to action.
With Google's trademark policy changes in May 2008 the whole market has opened up and brands no longer enjoy the protection they had from Google in the past. This means that the call to action 'Google O2' for example could no longer show only O2s own adwords campaign plus their permitted brand bidders but also Vodafone, Orange, Three and anyone else who cared to bid on the term. So is Google's trademark policy change the end for a Google call to action campaign in the UK? Not at all. There are two things to consider in developing a Google call to action idea for a campaign. Number one, what keyword or phrase will you use in the call to action? Secondly what does the SERP (search engine results page) look like for that keyword both in terms of Adwords (how competitive is it?) and in terms of organic listings (where do your assets rank and are the rest of the results positive and favourable?).
If the answers to these questions are positive then using a Google 'something' call to action is an effective way to drive response to a campaign. It's better in terms of recall and it fits in with the way we react to advertising these days. People don't tend to enter a website address directly into their browsers. If they are interested, they Google it, and getting your audience to Google what you want them to Google seems logical. Especially when you consider that the increase in brand search volume is one of the best indicators of the success of an above the line campaign these days and one that can be clearly seen using free tools such as Google Trends or Insights.
So yes, your competitors can bid on your call to action, but if they have something useful to say, they are probably already bidding on your brand anyway. If they don't have anything relevant to add they'll simply be burning budget against your campaign. I don't believe this competitive threat is a reason not to include a Google call to action as a creative idea. But it is vital that the keyword or phrase you choose is well thought out and the SERP assessed beyond your own website for this phrase.
Since Pontiacs ad, Orange have used the call to action "search online for 'I am'" , the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ran with Google 'Act on CO2' but there haven't been many major campaigns with this response mechanism. I know of several at the planning stage and I think we'll see this situation change in 2009.
Paul Mead
MD, VCCP Search
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