In his role as director of emerging platforms, Mike Steib (BRITE 11 speaker) is working on a range of products and services offered by Google, from TV to mobile to e-commerce platforms.
Talking at a mobile technology panel session at paidContent Mobile, he reflected on how consumers will use mobile devices. "Apps are a bridge technology. The idea that in the early days of the internet that I would have downloaded Weather.com and then would have to upgrade each time, seems like an unnecessary step for a consumer. In the end, it all goes back to the singular web." On the mobile front he also told Mobilemarketer that, "The Holy Grail for local advertising is location-targeted coupons, and we’re building Google Offers to enable that, as well as click-to-call functionality for nearby businesses."
Steib is also championing Google TV Ads. By establishing a large cable and satellite partner-base, Google can now let users upload their own ad spots and bid on TV placements in the same way marketers have grown accustomed to creating search ads through AdWords. As Steib reported to Fast Company, "In the traditional model of TV ad sales, you make buying commitments months in advance. With our system, you can bid on spots up to the day before. We’ve also just introduced a feature that uses search. We’re only going to give you content contextually relevant to your brand. And all that takes minutes. The next day, you get a report back that tells you what spots ran, what audience was delivered, and how much of your budget was spent. You’re getting almost real-time data."
Mike Steib spoke at our BRITE ’11 Conference (March 2-3, 2011).