Is Google taking sharing too far?

Advertising | Behaviour | Marketing | Social Media

23 October 2013

Kate Size | Thursday 24th October 2013

Forget Google Places, the new thing is Google faces.
Yes, your face could appear in advertising through Google.

How does this happen?

Well
it is largely connected to Google’s +1 function, which currently allows
Google Plus account holders to “like” a place, restaurant or product/
service. Similar to Pinterest, the information is stored in a central
location and you can gain access at a later date to everything you’ve
+1’d.
Google calls it, Shared Endorsements.

A master plan has
been devised to intertwine this information with advertising. For
example, if you have +1’d Nordburger (awesome new burger restaurant at
Norwood) and left a kind comment about their staff, you may see your
face and review appear under an ad for Nordburger. Spooky!

Where can your mug shot or comment end up?
Hot
on the tail or recent changes to Facebook’s privacy setting (refer last
weeks blog) Let’s remember that Google is connected to several other
Google offspring’s such as your Gmail messages, Google + photos, You
Tube videos and Google + contacts list. Google justifies the decision;

“We
want to give you- and your friends and connections – the most useful
information. Recommendations from people you know can really help”

It
does beg the question, is this really helpful? To your average
consumer, maybe not, however, as a business, you may consider the
following;

Google ads reach around 1 billion users worldwide. This
new advertising angle using a persons face and review is credible (Even
if the end user doesn’t know that person). As we can all appreciate,
people are likely to “listen” to others who they can identify with.

Just another way Google chips away at personalising their product to the benefit of advertisers and ultimately businesses.

What if you don’t want to be the next poster boy or girl?
The
good news is that you do have some control over your face popping up in
front of millions of users. The way to control who sees what you’ve +
1’d or reviewed is in your “Shared Endorsement” setting.

If you
don’t want Google to utilise your information you will need to click the
Google+ tab on the left sidebar to bring up the options. From here,
select settings then ‘Off’, for shared endorsements.

Mark November 11 2013 in your diaries.

What This Looks Like in Practice

For example, when working with Great Southern RV, the focus wasn’t simply creating more ads. The strategy centred on positioning their caravans and motorhomes around a clear lifestyle promise – the freedom to travel and explore Australia on your terms. That clarity shaped campaigns, show promotions and social content that resonated strongly with buyers already dreaming about the road.

With St Patrick’s Technical College, the challenge wasn’t marketing activity – it was perception. By repositioning the brand to highlight the strength of vocational pathways and industry partnerships, the messaging shifted from “alternative education” to a powerful career pathway, changing how the college is seen by parents and students.

And for Succoris Psychology, the work went beyond promotion. It involved clarifying how the brand speaks to both clients and clinicians across multiple clinics, creating a structure that supports long-term growth rather than just short-term marketing activity.

In each case, the goal wasn’t simply “more marketing”. It was better-aligned marketing built on clear strategy.

The Pitstop Approach

At Pitstop Marketing, we believe marketing should be a growth engine for the business, not just a collection of activities.

That’s why we focus first on understanding the commercial goals, the audience and the positioning — and then build marketing that supports those foundations.

If you want your marketing to stop feeling like guesswork, get in touch. We want to work with businesses who want to grow.