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As the saying goes, opinions are like assholes; everyone has one. But not Google's executive suite these days. When Google restructured itself as the "Alphabet" holding company, the visionary IoT and science projects were moved out of Google division, and Indian-born Sundar Pichai was named CEO of the core Google company which handles search, Android, YouTube, and all the other high-volume IT stuff. And that's a good thing, according to a couple ex-Googlers interviewed by Re/code: "All the assholes have left" ; Pichai apparently has a rare blend of hard and soft skills.
At Google, this guy has moved upstairs. And apparently having a CEO who was a brilliant entrepreneur but also a complete jerk was hardly unique to Google, Steve Jobs being the canonical example among tech CEOs. We've recently learned about the way Jeff Bezos runs Amazon. An obvious question from these examples is, can an ambitious tech company rule the universe without being run by assholes?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Monday October 26 2015, @08:14AM
I really, genuinely do not understand the economics of marketing. Specifically: does it really pay off? Do people actually buy some product just because it has be splashed in their faces? Or is this all a mass hallucination by business people?
- I do understand that there is some value in "brand awareness" campaigns, however, such campaigns work to make a positive impression. Exactly what in-your-face web advertising does not provide.
- I also understand presenting someone with a link to buy a widget, when they are shopping for widgets. But web advertising doesn't do this either, because most of it is presented to people who are not actively shopping. The pages of a search engine is about the only place this makes any sense.
Is anyone aware of an actual, neutral study that shows whether or not online advertising actually pays off?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 26 2015, @09:05AM
Like yourself, I'm certain that some advertising is necessary. If no one has ever heard of my widget making company, then no one is going to put my widget on store shelves, and no one is going to buy my widget. But, where DO the economies become efficient?
Kellogg's for instance, could cut their advertising by 95%, since they are so well known already, and their brands would continue to sell forever. Kellogg's advertising almost certainly drives the price of their products up by 25%. Wasted money, IMHO.
(Score: 2) by Non Sequor on Monday October 26 2015, @01:04PM
Someone has to remind people that there are cereals other than the new chia seed and acai berry crunch or whatever.
Companies have assets and collectively society derives some benefits from those assets. At what point should the supply chain and production facilities for a cereal be shut down? Does promoting the cereal more actively change that point?
Everything in society is bargained to some extent and advertising reflects an aspect of that.
Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 26 2015, @06:11PM
I'm pondering this same question, although for a different reason. I'm just starting a company with a software product in a market that has more complex products than mine, while mine is meant to provide simpler services which covers most peoples basic needs (Why pay 60 dollars every year for something you only need 10% of?). I'm a software tester by trade and have a fair amount of skill in software development, but no experience in marketing. I looked into advertising using Google and it turns out they offer a price per day for X number clicks, rather than X number of page views. It turns out for 5-10 dollars a day ($150-$300 a month) I can get *1* click a day! For 50-60 dollars a day ($1500-$1800 a month) I can get 5-6 clicks a day. I may still try it out, but these sorts of prices are crazy in my mind. Since not every click will translate out to be a sale, I'm not sure how someone without deep pockets can properly market a product. If anyone has experience in this, I'd love to hear of it.
(Score: 1) by termigator on Monday October 26 2015, @11:44PM
Advertising does work. Almost everyone will say they are not affected by ads, but they are. Yes, there are those that are very critical and not easily influenced by marketing and advertising, but for the vast majority, advertising does influence the products and services they choose.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=effects+of+advertising&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart [google.com]
Where the real debate is what is most effective for the cost, and the answer likely varies on what is being sold. What works for cereal is different for what works for political candidate, maybe ;)