Yes, we know -- what else is new? But in the last 48 hours, the search giant has launched no fewer than three separate initiatives to increase its customer base around the world.
Let's start with the niftiest: YouTube has announced a partnership with the International Olympic Committee to post professional-produced clips of the upcoming Olympic games in countries around the world. You won't see them in the United States, of course, because NBC has the exclusive domestic broadcast rights. But wherever the IOC hasn't negotiated an exclusive broadcasting agreement (think India, Africa, South Korea, etc.), YouTube will offer what may be the best, most recent sports broadcasts available, every day. This obviously offers the IOC more exposure for the games, but Google's angle may be even more clever. As Motley Fool notes, advertisers have been reluctant to buy ads on YouTube, as they're dismayed by the amateurish quality of the average video clip. This deal gives Google a chance to rebrand YouTube as a site for professional, sophisticated video worthy of advertising support. In addition, the deal will expand YouTube's brand recognition in foreign markets, which already account for half of Google's annual revenue.
In more prosaic news, Google has launched a new project to help advertisers discover what people are searching for, when they're searching for it, and where. The company has offered similar products before, but the new tool, dubbed Google Insights for Search, allows advertisers an easy, accessible means to discover what web users around the world are most hungry to stare at, and match their ads accordingly. Finally, Google has rolled out an updated version of its Google Search Appliance, a hardware tool for companies and government agencies to internally store electronic documents and search them with Google algorithms. The new device is the size of a pizza box and can hold ten million documents at a time.
So in the last two days, Google has announced plans to deepen its presence in search advertising, executive software, and the international video advertising market. That's a lotta midnight oil.
Comments