Can Google Go Glossy?
Why its plan to resell print ads to its army of advertisers may be off to a slow start — It was a babystep that sent tremors through the media establishment. Seeking ways to expand its advertising juggernaut beyond the Internet, Google Inc. (GOOG ) …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google's plan follows its November consideration of a newspaper print-ad test, extending its advertiser network beyond search pages and into publishers' physical inventory. The move matters because it asks Google to apply its ad-selling machinery to a medium with different buying, production, and placement constraints.
First-order effects
- Google gains a new outlet for advertisers seeking print reach, while participating newspapers hand part of their ad inventory sales process to Google.
- Google's advertisers must adapt search-style campaign buying to newspaper ad formats, schedules, and local placement requirements.
Second-order effects
- Newspapers that join the program face pressure to show that Google-sold inventory adds advertisers rather than merely shifting sales away from their own ad teams.
- Google's ability to make print resale useful depends on whether its advertiser base and buying workflow can accommodate the operational constraints of newspaper advertising.
Third-order effects
- If cross-media resale takes hold, advertising platforms may compete less on a single medium's audience and more on their ability to aggregate demand across publishers and formats.
- The experiment tests whether Google's auction-and-self-service model can become a distribution layer for offline media, not just Internet advertising.
The trend: Google is testing whether its advertiser network can be extended from search advertising into a broader media-buying platform.