Google launches rare ad campaign to sell more apps

In a surprising deviation from their typical marketing ploys, Google has opted to go old school in their latest efforts to turn IT companies on to adopting their cloud computing applications: billboards. That’s right, the revolutionary technological giant is purchasing billboard space in four major American cities: Boston, New York, San Francisco and Chicago. The advertising campaign has been dubbed as “Go Google” and is seen by many industry watchers as an attempt to squelch some of the buzz surround Microsoft’s pending release of the newest version of Microsoft Office Suite in early 2010.

In recent years, Google has released a wide variety of business applications, ranging from Google Calendar and Google Documents to Gmail, all of which boast a functionality that many argue is on par with Microsoft’s products. These programs function as cloud computing programs, meaning that there is no software required for the user to purchase or install in order to utilize the programs. Instead, Google’s applications run inside a regular internet browser window. Files can be stored online and shared with other team members in real time with ease. Google boasts that nearly 2 million businesses have already made the switch to using Google apps.

However, most companies have been slow to adopt the new Google applications in their business office environments. One of the major concerns is that workers will cease to have access to any of these applications or their files during times that access to the internet is down. Others harp on the $50 a year charge for the Google Premiere package, an option which eliminates advertising and allows domain wide sharing of information under a domain name of the company’s choosing. Google’s latest advertising campaign is likely an attempt to make their applications seem less exotic to hesitant businesses through the decidedly pedestrian mode of advertising through city billboards. Google also encourages individuals who are fans of their applications to recommend adoption of the programs to their employers and IT departments. Whether the majority of businesses are ready to make the leap into cloud based computing remains to be seen.