Doug Edwards: Exposure Through Earned Media Was Better for Google Than Placing Ads

In Part 2 of our Media Beat interview with Doug Edwards, Google’s first director of consumer marketing and brand management and author of the book I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59, he talks about his job as publicity and marketing lead for the former startup company.

As time passed, Edwards says he came to realize that Google had a product that many, including journalists, could appreciate. In his view, the “branding” and “bonding” experience that comes with discovery was more valuable than placing an ad.

“We shouldn’t get in the way of that with advertising,” Edwards says.

He also talks about whether a startup needs a marketing leader, a question we’ve seen kicked around a bit lately.

Part 1: Doug Edwards: ‘Google Looks at Failure Like a Data Point’

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