Google Going from Internet to Paper

I read a book a while ago about the importance of the positioning of the ads, be it at eye level, higher or lower, and the way the positioning on skyscrapers influences the targeted public in looking that product up. In the case at hand, as it can be viewed in the picture on the left, I'd say that the ad should be placed slightly below eye level, in order to maximize its impact. Without passing any judgment, various people working on the computer have the tendency to have a slightly hunched position; I know this first hand, I've been fighting this for about 7 years now.

Anyway, Google's idea is to go the extra mile and, despite its prior failure with the printed ads, to try this means of advertising, for both its Google Maps, at the same time helping the little businesses that have found their virtual place there. India is the second country where this idea has been put into practice, with UK coming in first when it comes to this. The difference between the two campaigns is that the Indian poster doesn't only show the marker, but it actually points to something on a Google Map. Unfortunately, I can't make out what it reads, so I don't know if the posters have been personalized for each and every small business, or if they are all just the same.

The message is also different from that on the UK campaign; now, it's "We are on the Internet. Find us on Google", instead of "We're famous, find us on Google Maps".

With India having one of the largest populations, the placing of the ads couldn't have been picked to be a better one, but at any rate, I don't think that Google did this out of need, although the owners of the small businesses might have attended this campaign; but for the Mountain View based company it's just playing and having a little fun. Something different from the every day Internet routine.