Is Google becoming a major actor of the media research market? It enters this market with the help and legitimization of traditional research groups. Are they letting the fox into the henhouse? Are they opening up to new business? For Google, is this a question of diversification? Digital cultural hegemony? Or both?
Neutrality : Google is not media agnostic
- The Web is Google's native advertising market : search, mobile and display (Google publishes since May 2012 a report on "Display Business Trends" .
- Radio, press. Not finding ways to monetize them - for the time being - Google seems to have left these traditional markets. Nevertheless, BPA which wants to be "tag neutral" will work with Google Analytics tags (as well as Omniture SiteCatalyst, and Nielsen SiteCensus- which was until now the exclusive partner for online magazine audience measurement).
- TV. To the contrary of other traditionnal media, TV looks like a major target. Google needs a share of the television audience for YouTube, and Google TV. Moreover, Google needs to act before Facebook steals the show (cf. "Facebook's Great Advertising Expectations as TV's Risk Factors"). Digital Out Of Home, In-store marketing ? Soon, probably. Again, Facebook and Twitter are real threats for Google (cf. Social TV, MultiScreenTasking).
- No field work (no questionnaires, no pollsters, no interviews, etc.), no panel (recruitment, management). For companies like Google, media research is primarily "big data" business. Fundamental research (math, algorithms) is done at the center (US), applied statistics is handled in peripheral countries. (N.B. this is partly Nielsen's model).
- Google could become one of the first companies to carry out measurements, handle mediaplanning and sell advertising altogether on a big scale, eventually international. In the long run, its only serious competitor seeems to be Facebook.
