• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 6, 2010

Among the ways Google aims to defy conventional wisdom with the Nexus One -- besides selling the unlocked device directly online--is not to promote it with a splashy cross-media ad blitz. Don't expect a $100 million campaign with a series of high-impact TV commercials like that which accompanied the roll out of the Droid.

That's partly because there's no carrier, like Verizon Wireless, to foot the bill for a high-priced traditional campaign. TV ads also just aren't part of Google's DNA-it sets a bad example when the biggest Web company is spending a ton of money on 3o-second TV spots. Instead, Google has said it plans to focus promotional efforts for the Nexus One primarily online.

"Because the Nexus One is exclusively sold online, our marketing plan will heavily focus on online marketing to educate users on the benefits of the phone and the new way of buying it," the company explained in response to a TechCrunch enquiry Tuesday. The post noted Google has already slapped a prominent link to the Nexus One official YouTube channel and is running a bunch of related keywords like "smartphone" and "Android" for the phone.

It's now also promoting it directly on the Google homepage below the search box with a small phone icon and an invitation to "Experience Nexus One" with a link to its new Web phone store.

While Google hasn't detailed its full plans for advertising the phone online, TechCrunch expects the company to put a lot of marketing muscle behind it. Even so, it points out analysts have already questioned whether average consumers will even notice the device without a big push. Does it need a $100 million boost?

A recent comScore study credited Verizon's ambitious Droid campaign with helping to increase awareness of Android phones generally. And Apple's signature TV ads for the iPhone (lampooned in the Droid ads) obviously haven't hurt sales of the device Google is going head-to-head with. But spending $100 million to plaster ads everywhere doesn't necessarily deliver results. (See: Yahoo.)

Still, most consumers may not only be unaware of the Nexus One but also that Google has set up a new online store to sell it and other Android devices and related products as its direct-to-consumer channel expands. When people think of Google, they think "search engine" not "online retailer." And unlike other products Google has quietly rolled out previously, the Nexus One at $529 without a contract, is far from free. It won't go viral.

So making a marketing push beyond its own properties in this case at least would make sense if Google wants its flagship phone to be more than a Droid, let alone, iPhone wannabe. It's not like it doesn't have the cash.