Digital marketing roundtable debates Google’s move towards a desktop offering

The recent Digital Marketing Conversations podcast, hosted by Knexus’ Graeme Foux, examines the impact of the latest Google phone, the HTC Hero, and the company’s move towards its own desktop operating system, which was recently announced through its corporate blog.

The panel which includes Niall O’Malley, group account director of immediate future, Justin Rees from Leadpoint and Dusan Hamlin from Inside Mobile, debate the change in Google’s approach to transparency from a marketer’s perspective. In particular, a new theory is discussed about the possibility that Google will launch a third operating system in the near future following on from its mobile and desktop offerings.

Other topics discussed include Sapient Interactive’s UK Marketers and Social Media research, which reveals the confusion marketers are still experiencing regarding integrating social media into their marketing campaigns, and the recent announcement of the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe’s (IAB) mobile display advertising guidelines.

As discussions progress around these topics and the debate moves towards social media in marketing, the panel unanimously agrees that there is a general lack of social media understanding within marketing departments, and marketers need to think beyond traditional ‘reach and frequency’ benchmarks.

“The industry needs to reflect the fundamental change in the media by thinking about measurement in a new way. Quite frequently, we need to have frank conversations with brands in order to break down decade-old conventions, so that they can envisage a three- dimensional way of planning and measuring. Brands are slowly moving towards a more sophisticated ROI model which works over years, not months and factors in consumer trust from the start,” commented Niall O’Malley.

The participants also discuss the implications of the IAB’s recently released mobile advertising guidelines in further detail, where Dusan Hamlin from Inside Mobile said, “These guidelines will allow brand budget holders to start thinking about mobile advertising as a way to build brand awareness and recognition. This goes someway to what the advertising industry is asking for; a comprehensive guide that contains detailed recommendations about display ads and examples of best practice.”

The latest edition of the Knexus Digital Marketing Conversations podcast is available here: hwww.knexusgroup.com/view/1369/Digital-Marketing-Conversations-July

For more information please contact Ashmi Ahluwalia at Knexus on +44 (0) 845 838 5316 or at ashmi.ahluwalia@knexusgroup.com