Every brand is engaging in some type of influencer activation today. Your approach was very strategic and holistic: collaborating with both product and marketing in a seemingly organic way. Tell us about the collaboration with Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. How do you measure the effect of the story?

What’s unique about our ongoing relationship with John and Chrissy is that it’s grown over time as we’ve gotten to better understand how we can play in each other’s spaces in a way that’s natural for both parties. That’s really where the magic lies - when you get to tell real and authentic stories that resonate with your audience and can strike the delicate balance of brand and celebrity voice. What started out as shooting the first-ever music video on a Pixel phone for John Legend’s song, “A Good Night,” grew into a larger partnership that featured he and Chrissy in our “Make Google Do It” campaign, which garnered millions of views on YT, and ultimately the launch of John’s voice on the Google Assistant as our first celeb cameo. As a result of these activations, we’ve seen a positive impact on brand awareness, conversation volume, and sentiment, and an increase in brand interest outside of our typical Google fanbase on social media.

Every brand is engaging in some type of influencer activation today. Your approach was very strategic and holistic: collaborating with both product and marketing in a seemingly organic way. Tell us about the collaboration with Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. How do you measure the effect of the story?

What’s unique about our ongoing relationship with John and Chrissy is that it’s grown over time as we’ve gotten to better understand how we can play in each other’s spaces in a way that’s natural for both parties. That’s really where the magic lies - when you get to tell real and authentic stories that resonate with your audience and can strike the delicate balance of brand and celebrity voice. What started out as shooting the first-ever music video on a Pixel phone for John Legend’s song, “A Good Night,” grew into a larger partnership that featured he and Chrissy in our “Make Google Do It” campaign, which garnered millions of views on YT, and ultimately the launch of John’s voice on the Google Assistant as our first celeb cameo. As a result of these activations, we’ve seen a positive impact on brand awareness, conversation volume, and sentiment, and an increase in brand interest outside of our typical Google fanbase on social media. 

"As a result of these activations, we’ve seen a positive impact on brand awareness, conversation volume, and sentiment, and an increase in brand interest outside of our typical Google fanbase on social media."

"As a result of these activations, we’ve seen a positive impact on brand awareness, conversation volume, and sentiment, and an increase in brand interest outside of our typical Google fanbase on social media."

The “supply” of quality authentic influencers is not infinite, but the demand is growing wildly, as every brand manager needs an “influencer strategy.” Your approach was obviously very unique, but what can others learn from your experience?

Authenticity should reign supreme whenever you’re working with talent. You need to ask yourself the question, why are they a credible voice for your brand specifically and what are the strongest, most mutually beneficial ways to work together? If there’s no authentic tie-in with your brand, audiences will sniff that out immediately. 

The “supply” of quality authentic influencers is not infinite, but the demand is growing wildly, as every brand manager needs an “influencer strategy.” Your approach was obviously very unique, but what can others learn from your experience?

Authenticity should reign supreme whenever you’re working with talent. You need to ask yourself the question, why are they a credible voice for your brand specifically and what are the strongest, most mutually beneficial ways to work together? If there’s no authentic tie-in with your brand, audiences will sniff that out immediately. 

As you look out at your strategic objectives and Google’s business in 2020, what’s most exciting for you? What are you seeing in the larger ecosystem that you’re passionate about, and want to engage in, creatively or strategically?

I’m most excited about developing a more robust measurement framework next year so we can better prove the direct impact of our celebrity partnerships on our business. It’s been challenging to create one cohesive methodology to track the impact of celeb vs non-celeb campaigns, especially since each one tends to vary and touch on different Google products we’re marketing across disparate channels (social, digital, TV, OOH, etc.). Also, many of our products are apps that we offer for free, so we’re not always driving retail sales, which adds another layer to measuring success. I hope that once we crack this, we’ll be able to scale our model out to other partners and develop even more exciting collaborations down the line.

As you look out at your strategic objectives and Google’s business in 2020, what’s most exciting for you? What are you seeing in the larger ecosystem that you’re passionate about, and want to engage in, creatively or strategically?

I’m most excited about developing a more robust measurement framework next year so we can better prove the direct impact of our celeb partnerships on our business. It’s been challenging to create one cohesive methodology to track the impact of celeb vs non-celeb campaigns, especially since each one tends to vary and touch on different Google products we’re marketing across disparate channels (social, digital, TV, OOH, and etc.).  Also, many of our products are apps that we offer for free, so we’re not always driving retail sales, which adds another layer to measuring success. I hope that once we crack this, we’ll be able to scale our model out to other partners and develop even more exciting collaborations down the line.

QUICK FACTS & STATS

QUICK FACTS & STATS