Marketing Without Advertising

Marketing Advertising and Google

"Marketing Advertising and Google" is the title of this entry because Google has a new blog search service that stinks. (A disclaimer: I own Google stock.) Yet, from the evidence, the Google engineers are not as competent as the self-serving reputation they have claimed for themselves.

If you go to the new Google blog search and check out which blogs focus on marketing and advertising you will find that this blog site headlined “Marketing Without Advertising” is far down the list. It is not in the first hundred citations and the only blog entry above it that is concerned with marketing and advertising  is one of mine.

It is clear that the Google engineers have excluded blog titles from their search. Not smart in my book.

Humility

Michael
Rasberry and I disparage the effectiveness of advertising.  I've had decades of experience watching ads that do nothing but cost money. Ads can occasionally work for businesses that sell to tourists and children:  people without habits or reliable information systems --- almost nothing else.

I have to admit a minor deviation.  I am currently in Weight Watchers at Stonestown in San Francisco which has several classes every day for people losing weight. I've been going to classes for seven months. Weight Watchers began running a national TV commercial in mid-August that is a perfect model of pure emotional appeal.  No storyline, just faces, juxtaposition, fast cutting and a few typed words over the image.  The timing of the ad is perfect, many women think about losing weight when their kids go off to school at Labor Day.

I actually saw new people show up in classes for Weight Watchers for three weeks since the ads began.  The ads are clearly working.   Whether the ads are cost effective I don't know, but they are drawing in new customers. 

Weight Watchers is the best product on the market, there is a social overlay of guilt about being over weight and the price is low.  In his case the ad is bringing new customers in the door.