• by Tom Hespos , June 1, 2004

Isn't this quote from yesterday's AdAge just precious?

"If Google can slice and dice [information]," said one b-to-b publishing executive, "and give highly qualified users to very targeted advertisers, then what do you need a trade publication for?"

Lemme see if I can shed some light on that. After all, even though I'm a marketer, I'm also a B2B consumer.

I do business with tons of vendors offering ad inventory, technology solutions and business services. Do I start my day by engaging in a series of Google searches to find information about my business? No. I start my day by reading trade publications. I usually start with the online publications that have newsletters that arrive in my Inbox every morning. After that, I usually go to trade press websites to gather news. Only after I've exhausted the usual list of valuable industry trade publications do I take advantage of search engines to find what I'm looking for. By that point, however, I usually have a good idea of what I'm searching for. And where do I learn what I need to be searching for in the first place? In most cases, it's trade publications.

Google won't kill B2B magazines under its current model. It's wise to examine the current competitive threat from Google and paid search in general, but the sky isn't falling just yet.

Before B2B consumers can search, they need to know what they need to know. In other words, I need to understand why it's important for me to know everything I can about, say, the latest advances in mobile marketing before I'd be compelled to do a search on it. I can't imagine the process is much different, whether you're a marketer wanting to know more about mobile marketing or an engineer wanting to know more about brushless motors. There needs to be a certain base level of awareness before paid search can be terribly effective.

To see what I'm getting at, do a search on Google for "PPC advertising." You'll recognize the Google ad in the first position. You might be familiar with iCrossing and its offering (#2 placement), but how many of you would be eager to do business with companies listed #3 through #10? I haven't seen any awareness advertising from any of these companies. I've not heard of them before, which raises red flags and makes me wonder whether or not they're legit outfits.

People need to know who you are and what you do before you're likely to do significant business with them. They need to know what to search for before they search at all. This is why Google won't kill B2B advertising just yet - it's a complement, not a replacement, for advertising in relevant trade publications.