Sunday, November 06, 2005

Should WalMart Be Afraid Of Google?

The simple answer... YES.

This is a great story. I've highlighted the goodies. An online advertising company that now threatens numerous Fortune 500 companies. Who said the Internet was a just a fad?

From Tuscaloosa news Google is striking fear into companies

1. There is one company that even Wal-Mart eyes warily these days: Google, a seven-year-old business in a seemingly distant industry

2. The worry is that by making information available everywhere, Google might soon be able to tell Wal-Mart shoppers if better bargains are available nearby

3. Companies that even a year ago did not see themselves as competing with Google are beginning to view the company with some angst - mixed with admiration.

Heres the paragraph that got my eye.



Cellphone makers, for example, are looking at the concept of a "shopping phone" with a camera that can read product bar codes. The phone could connect to databases and search services and, aided by satellite technology, reveal that the flat-screen TV model in front of you is $200 cheaper at a store five miles away.

"We see this huge power moving to the edge - to consumers - in this Google environment," said Lou Steinberg, chief technology officer of Symbol Technologies, which supplies bar-code scanners to retailers


Pondering Primate readers are sick of hearing it, but I think the "next Google" is an application that makes physical world products Internet accessable and puts the consumer in control. Google is THE search engine for the PC.

The "next Google" is an application for mobile information that uses the physical world.

A barcode and a mobile phone turns a WalMart into an Amazon, an eBay, a Froogle. The barcode reading cellphone turns the limited physical boundaries of any store into limitless boundaries of the Internet.

Want to know how that's done?

4. George E. Murphy, senior vice president of global marketing for Chrysler, said Chrysler buys ads on 3,000 keywords a day on the big search sites

3000 keywords a day? Add that expense to the endless magazine, TV ads they put out. My guess is Chrysler is waiting for Google to tell them how to leverage those.

Here's a clue to the advertising and marketing guys at Chrysler. The little line you place on every ad that says "for more info go to www.chrysler.com/2006/car " is a waste of space.

Do you want to know how to get print/TV ad viewers to your website? It's easy.

It's sad to see old businesses that haven't figured out how to adapt to the Internet. These powerful companies are helpless in reaching Internet users. They act as though their hands are tied and "buying keywords" is the holy grail.

Where is the creativity with advertising and capitalism?

5. Google, the reigning giant of Web search, could extend its economic reach in the next few years as more people get high-speed Internet service and cellphones become full-fledged search tools

"Google is certainly a potential competitor," said Bill Smith, the chief technology officer of BellSouth.

My suggestion to these Fortune 500 companies is this. You better find a way to interact with your customer on the mobile, and soon. You have a second chance with this new medium, don't blow it.

If you're creative and provide a relevant application for the mobile, there will be NO NEED to use Google for mobile advertising.

The only question is who will introduce this first, brands or Google?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to be honest...your latest PP post brings a huge smile to my face as an owner of NEOM. It's only a matter of time. :0)

Anonymous said...

Whoever is first to link up with Neomedia Technology and make their debut......

Awesome blog....! Thanks~!