Google Entrepreneurial Juggernaut

Google Case Study

1. What is targeted advertising?  Targeted advertising is a type of advertising where advertisements are placed online or in print designed to reach a specific consumer audience based on various traits such as demographics, psychographics, and behavioral patterns. (Hartley)
2. How was it revolutionizing the advertising industry?  It offered a major opportunity for advertisers who were confronted with spending their marketing dollars on what turned out to be uninterested consumers.  Advertisers also benefited through the ranking relevance of their ads that helped them to determine how often their ads were clicked through by a user or customer.  The results they could gather would influence the sale and pricing of ads.  (Hartley)
3. How is this affecting newspapers and TV?  The newspaper and TV industries have lost billions when advertising budgets shifted to a less costly form of advertising such as the Internet.  (Hartley)
4. Is targeted advertising desirable for all firms?  Target advertising has been one of the most lucrative and effective ways for a company to make money online.  Almost any company or service could benefit from a targeted advertising campaign using the right technology and knowledgeable staff who understands how to best use the data that they collect from their customers.  (Hartley)
5. What are the various directions for innovation to take?  Separating yourself from your competition is never easy and one of the best ways to do so is to become more innovative than your competitor.  Google became a major force in the industry by creating a search engine for the Internet.  The key to innovation is to invest in research and development so companies can continue to build new products and services while improving on their current ones. (Hartley)
6. Can a mature firm in a stagnant industry pursue Innovation?  How successful is this likely to be? Yes they can but there may be a smaller degree of success due to the challenges within a stagnant industry.  A firm that still has to advertise and market their products and services in a stagnant industry must continue to find alternatives to beat their competition while looking into other strategies that can separate themselves from their competition.  (Hartley)
7. Would you describe Google as a happy ship?  I believe that Google is a happy ship because they continually dominate their market year after year and pour money into research and development that keeps them ahead of their competition.  (Google)
8. Is a happy ship always the most efficient and innovative?  Why or why not? I believe that a happy ship is a company that continually improves on their efficiencies and innovation strategies.  Google’s competitors may be efficient and innovative but may lack the money, manpower or strategies that can make them more productive and profitable.  (Google)
9. Do you think Google’s drive for great growth faces serious obstacles?  If so, how might it overcome them?  I think that Google’s drive for great growth does not face serious obstacles because they are constantly investing in new concepts and technology that will help them to grow in areas where others may not see opportunities.  (Hartley)
10. On balance, do you think Google has a serious public relations problem?  One of the areas that I think Google has a serious public relations problem is that it is next to impossible to communicate with Google on a one-on-one basis.  There seems to be a disconnect between them and me as a consumer. (Hartley)
11. What is a strategic window of opportunity?  What kind of firms are most likely to discover such a window?  A strategic window of opportunity is a temporary period where a company uses their best effort to successfully compete in an existing or new market.  Technology companies seem to be the most likely to discover such a window, like Google, or they buy companies that have already discovered the window.  (Bondarenko)
12. As a Google stockholder, should you be worried if the Microsoft merger with Yahoo goes through?  Why or why not?  Is there anything Google can do to prevent it?  Yahoo and Microsoft have had a tough time competing with Google over the years and if the companies merge it may be a while before they begin to understand how to best work with each other toward a common goal.  There is very little that Google can do except to continue to be more innovative than their competition. (Hartley)

REFERENCE

"About Google." About Google. Web. 8 Feb. 2015. .

Bondarenko, Alexander. "Strategic Window of Opportunities for Organizations and Individuals, Taking into Account the Actual Events at the Macro Level (country and World)." Web log post. Linked in. Pulse, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2015. .