We couldn't make it
through April Fool's Day 2011 without the ad industry getting a little zany. So, I've put together a few samples to give you a taste of what folks are working on.
Google has embarked on a
"great new adventure," launching gBlimp to give marketers and advertisers a pitch in the sky. The tech company tells us the new fleet of
"meticulous" blimps fly above major cities, displaying AdWords ads to a larger audience than ever before.
Supported by success stories, Google says the Blimp Ads can target audiences in
"exciting new ways" by specifying the height and location of the blimp, as well as day parting, the time you want ads to run. Advertisers also can target special events like football games, outdoor
concerts, meteor showers, and more.
But the AdWords group isn't the only Google team spoofing users. The Google Gmail team came up with one of its own. The problem with this spoof isn't so
far fetched. Search and applications in the future likely will occur with motion and voice commands similar to apps we have seen with home entertainment systems such as Nintendo Wii and Microsoft
Xbox.
The Google Gmail team tells us "Gmail Motion uses your computer's built-in webcam and Google's
patented spatial tracking technology to detect your movements and translate them into meaningful characters and commands. Movements are designed to be simple and intuitive for people of all skill
levels."
Notice that the video of the Google Gmail Motion tool is uploaded to a page titled "YouTube 1911."
And, for marketers wanting to work for Google who think they are always
correct, the tech company has the perfect job for you. The Mountain View, Calif., company is looking for an Autocompleter for its Product Quality team. People type more than a billion searches daily on Google
and expect the engine to predict what they seek. So, Google Autocompleters will "successfully guess a user's intention as he or she starts typing instantly."
Down the road from Mountain View
in San Francisco, search engine marketing technology company Kenshoo has been cooking up its own product designed to "help marketers reach for the sky."
Kenshoo Cloudvertizing enables
"geographic targeting by going beyond physical locations and into physical sciences." An API feed from the Total Biological Service (Total BS) lets Kenshoo clients tap into a patent-pending algorithm
to serve up 24-hour, 3-day and 10-day forecasts. Marketers can use the data to determine the optimal level of coverage incorporating key metrics like Cloud Travel Route (CTR) and Cumulus Per Cirrus
(CPC). I little geeky, but it seems to work.
Select customers in London and San Francisco, where cloud density is highest, have been testing the product. The precipitation for this
innovation was the industry trend toward hyperlocal targeting and location-based advertising.
What do you think? Does your company have a product launched on April Fool's Day? Tell us about
it in the comments section.