Google Opts For Word-Of-Mouth News Announcement (Again)

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

With news that Google has just announced the next step in its plan to take-over the world , one tech sector at a time, it seems like an apt moment to highlight how it does PR/marketing.

For those who haven’t heard, Google plans to dominate the mobile-phone market in the form of a new, Google-branded handset and the first comprehensive Google phone service with unlimited free calls.

This unprecedented move means Google will control everything from the software in phones to the services used to make calls and surf the web.  Interestingly, Google has again decided to take the opposite approach to a company like Apple and not make a massive sing and dance about the announcement. Instead, Google let word-of-mouth dictate the launch, much like it has done with Google Wave and Google Social Search.

You could argue that Google is so big it doesn’t need to shout from the rooftops, which would be a valid point; however, it is a great example of how a ‘soft’ launch can be very effective if the right people pick it up.

From a purely tech perspective, worrying times lie ahead not only for its existing rivals, but also for others like Skype, mobile handset manufacturers, mobile providers and many more in related tech sectors. Potentially, in just a few years time (or even sooner), everyone could be using a Google phone as it doesn’t charge for calls or texts and this would mean Google could name its price for advertising as they would monopolise the market place.