Google: Guest or Gatecrasher?

The news this month that Google is partnering with industry association IAB Europe - and using TNS data - to launch a complex consumer information product for agencies and advertisers is the latest in a long line of announcements and rumours concerning the search giant’s involvement in research and analysis.

Google’s actions are always a subject of fascination to industry-watchers; and of alarm to incumbents. Google is and needs to be genre-busting: it’s obviously successful and it’s high-profile but its revenue generation, even with Adwords going well, doesn’t yet match its share price. It needs to turn momentum, expertise and awareness into money and in doing so it’s going to move into new sectors, ruffle feathers and tread on toes.

We are not the only sector worried by its intentions, but analysis is an obvious outlet for Google’s talents, and it’s a booming sector with long-term potential, as anyone must know who is familiar with the recent investments and acquisitions of a rather older technology giant, IBM.

If anything, the news is rather better of late, both for Google and for its potential rivals in the analysis sector. Google is making money, but it’s also espousing the idea of partnerships with companies already in the research and analysis business, rather than head-on competition – these include ongoing work with WPP, backing for a new GfK NOP panel, and friendlier relations with Nielsen, seen by some as the obvious target for Google’s move into the sector.

Worries will persist, however. Google is already proving very good at crossing into new areas - Android is really taking off, Chrome’s getting better and picking up share, and its office-style applications give it a foothold in the boom area of cloud computing. Is paid analytics ripe for Google takeover? There are two real tests:

The answer to the first is surely Yes - the main benefit of working with a market research specialist instead of doing-it-yourself has always been that a specialist knows how to gather the right data and how to use / interpret it, and it’s not all that different with web stats, especially once one realises they need to be combined with other sources to give a true picture. comScore has worked this one out - hybrid methodology is better than either of its components if used alone. It seems Google is working it out too; and all credit to them - and at present it’s choosing to use partner companies to provide the survey expertise, not just bring it in-house.

And the second question? Well, have we ever struggled convincing people of the value of our skills? Hmm. That could certainly be the thornier of the two.

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