Digital Media Buzz > In Search of Branding: Is It Google, Yahoo or Bing?

In Search of Branding: Is It Google, Yahoo or Bing?

By Sheila Shayon

Three competing search engines.

Three distinctly different campaigns.

But one thing is for sure - the competition in the search landscape is heating up. According to Adam J. Broitman, partner and ringleader of circ.us, “This is a very interesting space to be advertising in; seeing as how it is still relatively new. The fact is, search is becoming an increasingly important utility in our lives; like electric or gas. Sure, you see ads for ConEd and GE, but they are largely public perception ads; this approach will not work in the search game.”

A briefest of overviews:

Google
Most consistent format; short videos around 31 seconds. No VO Tag Line - just the graphic, ‘Search on.’ Generally search-based videos that are clean, clever and succinct.

Broitman continues, “I have not been very impressed with many of the ads for search engines out there, because many of them skip one of the most important elements - searching. Google has done the best job so far … two ads by Google that are less pragmatic, but capture the essence of simplicity; something that Google has cornered the market on. While these ads are not for Google Search, Google will ultimately be in a better position to win the search game if their browser is more widely used.”

Gabriel Stricker, head of Search Communications for Google, (the only one of the three brands queried who responded), says there are two key distinguishing points in Google’s search “plank.”

First: “The goal of the ’search on’ videos is to connect users with the specific benefits of our products and features. We focus on concrete, practical results a user will get. In our videos, we show that if a user types in a query like a flight number, they’ll also get the flight status.”

Second: “We only show products and services available to the consumer right now - not available soon, but now. We try to avoid giving ‘pre-announcements’ on products.”

Drew Neisser, CEO, Renegade, strongly favors Google.  “Google’s campaign is vastly superior. It uses their search tool to tell a story that is compelling and even believable. We all have been on Google searches that evolve from stage to stage. The Google campaign is a simple demonstration of why people Google and why Google is the category leader.”

Bing
Their TAG LINE (Voiced) sums it up: ‘Find the cure @ bing.com. It’s not just a search engine, it’s Bing, the decision engine from Microsoft.’

“Both the Bing and Yahoo campaigns try way too hard. The Bing campaign is entertaining but ultimately dismissible providing neither a rational or emotional reason to try Bing. That said, Microsoft spent so much money that they were able to get people to try Bing and it has gained share. I would love to see their cost per acquisition totals - my guess is that these new customers came at a steep price,” Neisser comments.

The official first launch ad and second ad from Bing:

Launch:

#2 Commercial (Cure for Search Overload Syndrome)
“In stark opposition, Bing has decided to confuse people by calling their engine a decision engine,” Broitman comments. “As you can see, the tone is much different than Google; it is much less friendly.”

Yahoo
No format consistency. Biggest campaign to date: It’s Y!ou bring back the yodel campaign:

Neisser’s comment on Yahoo: “As for the Yahoo ads, for a moment I thought we were back in the big production days of the 80’s. This kind of global fiesta ad does nothing for me. Sure it is pretty to watch but it is simply eye candy. Yahoo is an interactive brand - where’s the interactivity in the ad? Where’s the compelling reason to get involved. The irony is that they say ‘you’ is what makes Yahoo special but there is no way for ‘you’ to participate in the campaign. The Yahoo campaign is a monologue not a dialogue.”

According to media guru, Shelly Palmer, host of Digital Life with Shelly Palmer, and MediaBytes:

“Google does not advertise. Yahoo! and Bing do. Bing is getting some traction, but they are really paying for it. Yahoo! sends so many mixed messages, I can’t imagine that their advertising works at all. Ask 100 people the following question: What is _______?

Google: Search Engine

Bing: Decision (search) Engine

Yahoo!: … portal? (has anyone used that word in 10 years?)”

Dissecting whose brand campaign is better is a messy affair, mostly because Google, Yahoo and Bing are exeprts in search — not brand advertising.

According to the Nielsen Co., data gathered from June to October puts Google first in top 10 online Web brands, with Yahoo! and Bing trailing behind, respectively.

At the end of the day — Google has the edge. “Google is the only brand of the three that has a clear understanding of who it is and how people use it,” Nessier says. “Google is a substantive brand while Bing and Yahoo come across as fluff.”

“Anecdotally,” Google’s Stricker says, “our ‘Search On’ campaign has resulted in users sending in their own personal stories. One person actually wrote of having a heart attack and typing in a query about heart attack symptoms. All these individual stories have informed our campaign.”

Imitation being the highest form of flattery, Stricker referrs to the recent ersatz mash-up, ‘Is Tiger Feeling Lucky Today,’ from SlateV.com:

So help us out here. Please send your comments and examples of your favorite viral campaigns among the three to comments@digitalmediabuzz.com, and we’ll post the best ones in a compilation video on our site.

Sheila Shayon is president/founder of Third Eye Media, third-eyemedia.com, multimedia production with core competencies in broadband production, creative design and execution, and social media. Shayon has several decades of multimedia experience working for companies like Time Warner Cable and Home Box Office.