Comments on: On Google Selling Newspaper Ads

By: ak

ak — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:23:17 +0000

We’ve been asked multiple times whether we’d be interested in trialing Google Print but the answer has always been “no”. It’s an old dog doing new tricks is all, dead trees are declining and all Google is really offering is a way to climb aboard for the ride down.

By: Gilles Bruno

Gilles Bruno — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:37:19 +0000

One of the problems Google and the newspapers are going to face is the accuracy of the system. Place an airline company advertisement in front of an article talking about a crash is not suitable, and it’s a precise human work to do to avoid these errors. Changing these mistakes on a website can be easily done. But on a newspaper once it’s printed…

By: Adam Hodgkin

Adam Hodgkin — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:07:43 +0000

This is surely one of Google’s few really bad ideas. I heard a Googler admit that it hadnt worked (he was being pressed to cite examples of Google projects that fail — so perhaps he had to think of something), but it was a public meeting (ALPSP meeting March 2005 — JL Needham in response to questions).

I cant even see it working for Classifieds — put yourself in the shoes of an advertiser: How is the money going to flow to Google-mediated print-Classified which is orders of magnitude more expensive per placement than ordinary Google-style text ads where you have the advantages of PPC? Also I can see newspaper and magazine ad departments having real trouble allocating any excess inventory to their nemesis…..Its one thing to flow spare inventory to Expedia if you are an old-style hub ‘n spoke airline, but to push it through Southwest Airlines? That would be a big stretch.

By: Adam Hodgkin

Adam Hodgkin — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:54:23 +0000

This is surely one of Google's few really bad ideas. I heard a Googler admit that it hadnt worked (he was being pressed to cite examples of Google projects that fail -- so perhaps he had to think of something), but it was a public meeting (ALPSP meeting March 2005 -- JL Needham in response to questions). See my explanation of why it wont work

http://exacteditions.blogspot.com/2006/10/advertising-and-web.html

I cant even see it working for Classifieds -- put yourself in the shoes of an advertiser: How is the money going to flow to Google-mediated print-Classified which is orders of magnitude more expensive per placement than ordinary Google-style text ads where you have the advantages of PPC? Also I can see newspaper and magazine ad departments having real trouble allocating any excess inventory to their nemesis.....Its one thing to flow spare inventory to Expedia if you are an old-style hub 'n spoke airline, but to push it through Southwest Airlines? That would be a big stretch.

By: Adam Hodgkin

Adam Hodgkin — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:52:21 +0000

http://exacteditions.blogspot.com/2006/10/advertising-and-web.html

By: Joseph Hunkins

Joseph Hunkins — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 04:11:54 +0000

>>> Ads for a specific, community driven audience need to be part of a conversation, not an algorithm >>>

Sheesh! What "need" are you talking about? Perhaps true from the publisher/sales perspective but not for a smart advertiser. Historically, advertisers have been too mathematically incompetent and manipulated by sales BS to make good decisions. This is all changing thanks to PPC efficiency plus superior analytical tools, both provided by Google at low cost. Newspapers should be worried, because even dense advertisers will finally start to see that most print ad campaigns have negative ROIs. The print media industry was built on overpriced ads and low paid authors, and things are going to get much, much worse.