• by dave.b , Max Kalehoff , January 25, 2006

While participating in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) conference last week in Orlando, Florida, I caught one of General Motor's 30-second regional television ads for its Pontiac brand. Television ads often stimulate Internet search behavior by increasing brand awareness or sparking curiosity, as often demonstrated by Hitwise. But this GM spot was significant because it ended with an unusual call to action: "Don't take our word for it. Google Pontiac and discover for yourself." And the ad ended not with a URL or phone number for a local dealer, but an actual Google screenshot with Pontiac typed in. Yes, an actual screenshot!

While Google's experimentation in traditional advertising channels--like television, print and radio--is increasingly apparent, the "Google Pontiac" campaign is quite the opposite. It's among the most transparent efforts by a marketer to leverage search via highly connected television advertising. This is interesting for several reasons.

Look Out J.D. Power, There's A New Kid On the Block

First, GM's campaign implies tremendous authority and trust in the Google brand. It's almost as if Google is moving into the territory of J.D. Power & Associates as the ubiquitous barometer of customer satisfaction, so often plugged into automotive advertising. GM sales and marketing chief Mark LaNeve said in a recent Business Week article by David Kiley: "We're touting Google, frankly, because it stands for credibility and consumer empowerment, and we like the association."

I don't know exactly how many car shoppers turn to Google versus J.D. Power, or even Consumer Reports, but this will be an important trend to watch. At the least, GM is encouraging and educating car shoppers to supplement their car research with Internet search, and GM is citing the leading search brand as an independent, objective resource.

Validation of Consumer-Generated Media

While association with Google's credibility is understandable, no responsible brand manager would widely promote a search for his brand without some degree of confidence that the results will support the brand objectives. So what top natural results are generated by a standard Google Web query? On the day I wrote this column in Orlando, my search for "Pontiac" generated pages and pages of links and positive content created by both GM and especially consumers, in the form of fan forums, ratings sites and reference entries! We're talking not only about the official Pontiac.com, but enthusiast sites like Classicalpontiac.com, HighPerformancePontiac.com, PontiacPower.com and even Pontiac's Wikipedia.org entry. Interestingly, there were no obvious Pontiac paid search listings at the time, only those of competitors and dealers.

Considering a recent Intelliseek/Forrester study showing that recommendations from consumers and brand Web sites are the two most trusted forms of advertising, this sort of strategy can make a lot of sense: to capture shoppers with wider-reaching-but-less-trusted channels and then migrate them directly to other influential sources for deeper analysis and engagement. (Disclosure: VNU recently announced its intention to join my company, BuzzMetrics, and Intelliseek to create the "Nielsen BuzzMetrics" service.) Google Pontiac is an interesting case study, but it's also a huge deal because it categorically validates the increasing power and influence of consumer-generated media (or CGM) and the inextricable relationship with search and otherwise traditional advertising.

Reinforcement for Natural Search Optimization

A television-to-search strategy also could reinforce the brand's already-desirable natural search placement by promoting activity on the very sites that now rank so high. More traffic and consumer engagement equals more content, links and Google mojo. It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But a blatant television-to-search strategy also raises many questions. If this practice became prevalent, I'm curious how competitors in similar situations would respond, or adapt strategies for both natural and paid search. I wonder if competitors would even counter headon in television and other traditional channels.

There also are risks associated with heavily promoting a window into a vast, largely uncontrolled pool of commentary and other content. Such an affirmation to search and CGM necessitates even greater efforts to closely monitor and foster the communities and buzz that created the desired search-friendly content in the first place. But this innovative strategy is admirable--and the rewards could be immense, especially in a world where CGM are growing rapidly and becoming downright unavoidable.

Now Let's See the Ad, Please!

I encourage you to view one of the actual Google Pontiac ads courtesy of Karl Long, principal and founder of Florida-based search marketing agency Local Zing Inc. Karl captured this ad last week via DVR, and then posted it to his blog (http://localzing.com/blog/) along with great commentary about local-targeting opportunities.

What do you think about the Google Pontiac campaign? Are you familiar with any similar efforts by other marketers? I'm bet we'll see more of this in the future, especially by brands with great products and loyal customer evangelists.