Ultra-High Speed Internet: Gimmick or Difference Maker?
Our friends at The Brainzooming Group helped shape an intriguing project featuring two graduate level marketing communications classes at the University of Kansas. Students in Max Utsler’s “Innovations in Marketing Communications” class and Barrett Sydnor’s “Integrated Marketing Communications and Sales Strategy” class are writing blog posts during the semester on topics related to the classes, including branding, marketing, media relations, social media, experience marketing, and innovation.
Today’s author is Patrick Kerr. Patrick is pursuing his Masters degree in Marketing Communications at KU.
Patrick offers some insights and opinions about the impact of the Google Ultra-High Speed Internet technology that has been “gifted” to Kansas City. Is it just a “marketing ploy” by Google or a genuine advantage for KC–or both?
Ever since Google announced it was planning to build an ultra high-speed broadband network in Kansas City on both sides of the river, I’ve wondered what the actual impact would be on the metro area. After all, Google made it clear that the plan would do very little in terms of jobs which disappointed city leaders and laid-off workers hoping for an immediate economic windfall. Who cares if you can download the latest Youtube video faster than usual? Is this really going to improve the quality of life in the metro area, or is this merely a marketing ploy by a company that is systematically taking over the technology world?
First, let’s take a look at what the new technology will actually do. The plan is to build a network that will deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit (or 1,000 megabits) per second using state-of-the-art-fiber technology. That’s approximately 20,000 times faster than dial-up and more than 100 times faster than a typical broadband connection. In the animal world, that would be like a cheetah racing a turtle in a dead-on sprint. In other words: scary fast.
According to Google, the plan will boost the area economy by allowing new innovations and cutting-edge technologies to develop in Kansas City. That’s all well and good and sounds convincing enough on paper, but how does that translate in reality? With the announcement of the Bistate Innovations Team, Kansas City leaders from both sides of the state line aren’t waiting around to find out. The team is made up of 12 key people appointed by both Kansas City mayors and will look at ways the area can take advantage of the project.
“From designers to small-business owners, health care to education, the arts to industry, these exceptional individuals will work together to explore every possibility our exciting partnership with Google may offer. I am confident this team will seize this transformational moment for both Kansas Cities,” said Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Sly James in a statement following the announcement.
So it is clear area leaders are taking a proactive approach to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That’s the first of many steps in the right direction. But how is this news being received at the national level? According to a recent Wall Street Journal roundup of industry hubs across country, the newspaper identified Kansas City as an emerging technology hotbed and even suggested the city’s new nickname should be “Silicon Prairie.” The article cited the growth of area tech giants Sprint and Cerner as reasons for the choice, but also credited Google’s ultra-high-speed internet plans for solidifying the selection. Now that’s the kind of traction that just might encourage businesses to relocate to or start up in Kansas City.
Now back to the question of how this new development will impact the daily lives of Kansas Citians. Just this past weekend, Google-owned YouTube announced it was planning to launch 100 new channels of professionally made video to the otherwise amateur content that currently dominates its website. The Wall Street Journal, British newswire Reuters and online magazine Slate are some of the many channels scheduled to debut on the new lineup. The move is seen as one more step in moving TV to the Internet. Once the city’s new high-speed Internet is in place, it will be at the forefront of this exciting new technology.
Of course, some analysts see the development as yet another way to increase viewership on the Internet – which is precisely where Google wants them. Perhaps Google’s plan to build the new high-speed connection for Kansas City is a marketing ploy after all.
-Patrick Kerr lives and works in the Kansas City area. His interests include good food, fishing and finding new hobbies to take his mind off the reeling Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.
Google Commands Big Cash from PR-Damaged Brand
Public relations is all about reputation management–your credibility is the coin of the business realm. We’re pretty hard on companies and brands that take a cavalier attitude about their credibility–because once you lose that, it’s all over. Or is it?
Admittedly, we have strongly implied that you can’t buy your way out of a PR disaster, but the oily BP sure makes us think twice:
Before BP could stem the oil gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, it unleashed $100 million in ad spending, largely on network TV, to stem the damage to its image. But it also started spending heavily where it had never spent much before: buying ads in Google’s search results.
How much did BP spend on search? In two months, BP went from spending very little on search advertising — about $57,000 a month — to becoming one of Google’s top advertisers, dropping nearly $3.6 million in the month of June alone, according to an internal Google document obtained by Advertising Age. That pushed BP into the upper echelon of search advertisers, in a league with Expedia, which spent at least $5.9 million in June, Amazon, which spent at least $5.8 million, and eBay, which spent at least $4.2 million.
This is a significant outlay, even for BP, which spent $94 million on advertising in 2009, and $78.7 million in the first six months of 2010 alone excluding search, according to Kantar Media. Search advertisers only pay when their ads convert or get a click, and in June the crisis was still at full-boil, driving clicks on BP&’s ads. But if BP kept spending at this rate, search would’ve become one of its bigger advertising line items by the end of the year, up there with network, cable or spot TV.
[...]
BP’s increase underscores how important Google has become for reputation management, and in the battle for public opinion. In the wake of the spill, Google was a natural first stop for people seeking information, and BP bought up dozens of keywords associated with the disaster such as “oil spill,” “leak,” “top kill” and “live feed” as it vied for clicks with news stories, images of oiled wildlife and plaintiff attorneys trolling for clients.
via What Big Brands Are Spending on Google – Advertising Age – Digital.
According to BP, ad expenditures during the active spill were $5 million per week.
BP’s ad strategy now follows the typical trajectory of crisis PR, he says. It didn’t start out that way. BP was slow to connect with consumers and gulf residents right after the spill. Tony Hayward’s numerous gaffes didn’t help the company’s image, which came across as inept and out of touch. There’s little question that his mismanagement of the company’s public image led to his ouster as CEO.
So how’s the advertising paying off in PR improvement? A recent AP poll says that “some 66 percent of those surveyed continue to disapprove of BP’s performance, down from a whopping 83 percent in June.” Though still dismal, it does look like the ad spending is helping. However, it’s also certainly due to the fact that time has passed and the oil spill isn’t leading the newscasts anymore. The public has turned to the latest Sarah Palin Facebook pronouncement, Paris Hilton’s cocaine possession arrest and even something important, like the president’s new rug.
Sure, we’ve seen the TV ads BP is using to rebuild its tattered, oil-stained image–that was as predictable as a blob of oil on the beach at Destin. But who would’ve thought they would have spent all that coin on Google search ads?
Clearly, the internet is now the 800 lb. gorilla of reputation management, and Google has some serious bananas.
Hat tip to Shelly Kramer for inspiring this post.
