Google Branches Out By Selling Offline Print Ads

[bargainbloodhound]

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/silicon...533894.htm

The idea is to help advertisers gain exposure in the offline world at cheaper rates, or with less effort, than they otherwise could have.

How much cheaper will be the big factor in whether it succeeds.

[mandy]

Article on the new invite-only beta for Google publication ads

...Google Publication Ads. Currently in invite only beta testing, Google Publication Ads is new direction for Google, giving advertisers the power to place performance based (direct response) print ads in newspapers, magazines and other forms of print ads (list not yet made public by Google).

full article: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=2498

Google Publication Ads home page: https://adwords.google.com/publicationads/login

[mandy]

...Only one of 10 advertisers interviewed by BusinessWeek said their print ad performed well enough to recoup the money it cost. And eight of the 10 were unhappy enough with the results that they say they're unlikely to do further print advertising with Google.

The lackluster results came despite deep discounts in magazine ad rates. Some ad pages were sold by Google for as little as one-quarter of the listed ad rates at these magazines, according to information provided by participating advertisers. It raises the question: If most marketers are reluctant to re-up, despite Google and the magazines forgoing profits, can this endeavor become a moneymaker for all the parties involved?

full article: http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/051202/b3963130.html?.v=1

[bargainbloodhound]

...Only one of 10 advertisers interviewed by BusinessWeek said their print ad performed well enough to recoup the money it cost. And eight of the 10 were unhappy enough with the results that they say they're unlikely to do further print advertising with Google.

Besides Search and Adwords/AdSense have any of Google's side ventures actually been successful?  Froogle is fairly useless for attracting buyers, early indicators point to Microsoft's Fremont being a much more user friendly better thought out classifieds marketplace than Google Base, and the list goes on...Sometimes diversifying away from your core strengths isn't the best choice (especially if your stock price is in bubble land).

[jezebel]

Sometimes diversifying away from your core strengths isn't the best choice

There is a vast difference between Internet and print advertising.  Kill the project before you embarrass yourselves Google.