The irrepressible Ben Shepherd asked on his blog today: ‘Can Google give mobile advertising the shot it needs in AU?’ He wrote in context of a vacant sales role at Google-owned AdMob in Australia (that I understand hasn’t been filled for around six months now).
How crucial is the sales representation to Google’s success in mobile? Well it depends on how they approach the challenge they will find themselves in.
If mobile media operates in a market, which I believe it is, then it is subject to rules of supply and demand.
Google, I think, is doing its job in terms of supply. In fact there is a glut of impressions and clicks available on AdMob that could satisfy a country with a population ten times Australia at reasonable costs per impact or action. Also the AdMob mobile ad formats are very good and not too far off the impossible-to-build-in-reality Apple iAds.
So – the real question is: where is the demand?
Agencies? No.
With a few exceptions, there is usually one pro-mobile person at each agency, mobile is not on the radar of media agency planners and buyers.
My guess is that a big part of Karim Temsamani’s job, as Head of Google Mobile, will be creating that demand by kicking down the doors of big marketing teams and getting them to demand it from their agencies.
They should.
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In related viewing – Business Spectator published a four-part interview with Karim Temsamani on their KGB video interview series today. There are no bombshells, admittedly he is new in the job after previously being head of Google Australia, but it is frustrating how politically correct Google personalities are becoming. Check it out anyway if you are curious.
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Links or references mentioned in this post:
- Talking Digital – ‘Can Google give mobile advertising the shot it needs in AU?’
- Business Spectator KGB.TV – Karim Temsamani
