Quick, draw the icon for Google’s Chrome browser. It’s got a bunch of primary colors, but that’s all I can remember about it without looking at it. Most people have never seen it, or even know what Chrome is. (It is Google’s browser). Google wants to change all that with a viral marketing campaign.
It is asking people to submit videos showing creative ways to build the Chrome icon. It will pull the best one together into a final reel presumably. Here is where you can submit your videos until July 22 and see what else has been submitted.
But just getting the early Chrome to lend a hand with marketing by spreading videos around the Web is indicative of Google’s marketing philosophy overall. This is not a Bing-style marketing blitz on TV and everywhere else. Although, Google is not above running ads on TV anymore. Browsers are a new market for Google where it still has practically zero mindshare. And it will try to get that mindshare any way it can, both on TV and on the Web.
I wonder which set of ads will be more effective.
uh, you’re wrong”This is not a Bing-style marketing blitz on TV and everywhere else.”
Google has a chrome TV commercial. They also spent 25 million in marketing in 1st quarter.
“Google Analytics, a free product that allows online publishers to gather statistics about visitors to their sites, was used on 81 of the top 100 sites. Cookies from the advertising company DoubleClick, which is owned by Google, were present on 70 of those sites. When combining trackers from those two services, Google had a presence on 92 of the top 100 sites.”
“in a sample of nearly 400,000 Web domains, Google’s presence remained high, at 88 percent”
( http://bits.blo...rfers-in-study/ )
oh and the logo is a ripoff of a pokeball, its really lame. ie logo is way better
I never comment, but the Pokeball reference had me dieing in laughter
lay off the coffee there bud
Oh man! You’re right. I just noticed it now! LOL.
Reminds me of Simon Says (http://upload.w...iginalSimon.jpg) …but then again, I’m old school.
There was an assignment back in school to build a Flash-based game. I made a Flash Simon Says.
Somebody should do that for the Chrome Logo. (not me, that assignment was a headache).
I don’t get it why don’t they just pass a law requiring everyone to download it?
That’s what they do in China?
Sure everybody \download it/ but that doesn’t necessarily mean install and USE it, just to download it constitutes a success in terms of advertising results.
Here’s a related example of the power of Google: last year when I was working in market research and one of the projects was about communications and a telecom provider, some of the supplementary questions were about computer usage online and broadband (remember this was when the Google browser was just a rumour) and the number of people said that they used the Google browser – which didn’t exist since they were mixing it up with the Google-powered search box in Firefox and IE…. and still people named it as the browser they used.
That’s brand power!
Here is my submission: http://www.yout...h?v=ORb0VaqW_9M
LOL, 5-stars!!
wowowowowow
lol lol lol
Good one !!!
lol.
I see no reason to make a video after seeing Gabe’s submission.
Game over!
WTF YOU DIDN’T EVEN MAK-Oh right…
really cool one!
*ahem*
GOOGLE! I CHOOOSE YOU!!!!
*throws Chromieball*
*chromieball explodes in light and a giant… uh… damnit. Webkit needs a furry animal mascot….
Whoopy doo.
It’s a damn simon says.
too much free time… they have there @ google.
http://twitter-...zz.blogspot.com
There are great websites and projects out there that need coverage. But you guys write about every single fart that google or twitter let slip.
Google Chrome is my first browser. It is better than IE and Firefox.
I love Chrome and I love Bing search to. I hate Google, they are so yesterday…
this is why i dont let my cats use the computer
I can see how the Google Chrome logo is so unrecognizable. Look at how many things it looks like… http://www.russ...ogo-looks-like/
whatever wins this contest will have to be better than the first chrome commercial with the chrome logo bouncing around like in pong. That commercial would mean nothing to you, unless you already knew what Chrome was. Heck, I knew what Chrome was and it still didn’t make sense to me. So how would it get people who haven’t heard of chrome to install it? google, stick to your day job. smart move here.
Why is everyone hating on TechCrunch all the time? If you think it’s so bad, why do you keep visiting and commenting?
People like having something to whinge about
The Chrome icon is too much like the VisualStudio icon when shrunk down to 16×16 on the task bar. I’m constantly clicking on the wrong one. But it’ll be better under Windows 7 with bigger icons in the taskbar. I still wish both MS and Google would stop with the “4 primary colors” theme already. Pick a color and stick with it, we’re not in kindergarten anymore.
Yea, I agree with Drew that it looks too much like the old “simon says game” from the 1970’s (google image it).
http://chrome-h...hrome-logo2.jpg
marissa mayer: the weighted average will be unstoppable.
they should at least offer some sort of a prize for the best submissions. Cheap bastards.
I think it’s amazing how quickly Chrome has spread compared to the early days of Firefox a few years ago. I’m not sure I get the need to push it as much as they are since it is the fastest browser out there, but hey, this is a great campaign, I wish them well.
Actually, Firefox grew considerably faster than Chrome in its first year.
Firefox had about 9% of the global market usage share at the end of its first year. Chrome is on track to maybe do 3-4% by the end of its first year.
See here how much steeper Firefox’s growth curve was than Chrome’s.
Um… isn’t that because Firefox simply converted a bunch of Mozilla users?
Any kind of marketing, viral or other wise, can’t turn a bad logo into a good logo. I’ve never quite understood why Google chose such an arbitrary and forgettable logo design to brand their browser. It’s so generic it barely qualifies as a logo.
Well, green is actually *not* a primary color.
But anyway, the logo is kinda dumb for ONE reason — the name “Chrome” and the logo don’t friggin match!!!
What exactly is Chrome-ish about this logo??? When I think “chrome” I’m thinking T-2 or 50’s car bumpers or whatever.
Granted, the whole “chrome” look might be a tad-bit dated… but hey, that’s the name they chose!!!
Their logo is a complete crap. It’s totally unrecognizable, too busy, and just plain unattractive.
It is recognizable but not with Google people remember it as a pokeball plain and simple Google should have seen that coming when they created the damn icon; I wouldn’t be surprised if people at Google that work on Chrome don’t call it a pokeball.
Everytime someone gets on one of my computers and cant find a the IE or Firefox icons they always ask how do they get on the internet I just click the pokeball they all know what it is.
Google Japan did make a TV commercial for Chrome, so I guess this is really an extension of that to the international Google. I think it’s part of a new way of marketing, where the public is now involved in their marketing efforts.
Maybe they should avoid making icons that looks like MS ones (yes I know it’s G. colors).
i like chrome browser
I, too, think their Chrome logo isn’t too memorable. It also lacks the relative simplicity of other Google brand logos.
We should not, however, underestimate the power of viral marketing, especially with videos. Any small business owner should consider a similar marketing approach, using all the free resources he can, like putting up a promotional video for free on AdWido.