Google Just Wants To Be Friends

Google has been trying to play nice with advertising agencies since March. At last year’s 4A’s, Google’s President-Advertising and Commerce, North AmericaTim Armstrong made it clear he wanted to extend his hand to the ad world.

As an extension of this heart felt desire, Armstrong has been sending his teams out to agencies in a further attempt to be BFF with the ad world. Leo Burnett had their play date featured in the New York Times on Monday. Google gave out candy. Google showed off their technology. Staffers sat on Google bean bags.

You see, advertising agencies are still relevant. Some of them may be obstinate or clunky (um, McCann?), but everyone still needs us. As the Times said:

“Google could avoid ad agencies when it sold only search advertising, where it is dominant. But now that it has a wider set of products in more areas – including social media and virtual reality – it finds that it must work harder to drum up business, particularly because of the lingering hard feelings.”

Peter S. Fader, a Wharton School professor, gave Google a nod:

“-they’re almost like a virus, going to work their way into specific agencies and replace the DNA of those agencies with a more analytic orientation while trying to maintain some of the client relationships.”

More analytics wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but I’ll pass on the Google tchotchkes, thanks. I am however, looking forward to that new browser you guys are gonna start pushing. Chrommmmme. Sounds so good.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting this Thursday, February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Michael Brito (Edelman Digital), and Tim Devane (bitly). Register now.