Google and Flu Trends

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Posted on 26th November 2008 by kkozlen in Marketing & Advertising

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On Tuesday, Google unveiled its newest product, Flu Trends. Flu Trends is a part of Google.org- the non-profit arm of the search giant. This new tool is based on the finding by Google that there is a significant relationship between people’s searches on flu-related queries and people actually suffering from flu symptoms.

Google states, “We compared our query counts with data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and found that some search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in various regions of the United States.”

Google Flu Trends site displays shows areas of the country labeled with flu activity anywhere from “minimal” to “intense.” Additionally, the site features an overall analysis of the United States flu activity level, a flu shot locator, a CDC flu prevention message, and links to recent news articles about the disease.

The bottom line behind the emergence of Google Flu Trends is proof that when someone has a need- they search for the solution on Google. When someone has the flu, they search their symptoms on Google. And now Google is responding to that need, before the need is even identified, by using its research and knowledge to show areas where the flu is most prominent, in just about as close to real-time as you can get.

We have always felt that when people have an immediate need for information or solutions to problems, their first instinct is to turn to Google.com and search for what it is they need. And usually, from that search, they’ll find the answers they’re looking for. Therein lies the value of search marketing – getting your message in front of users exactly when they’re looking for it.

Mobile Marketing Forum case studies

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Posted on 24th November 2008 by kkozlen in Marketing & Advertising

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I recently returned from the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum in San Diego. It was a great conference with a ton of great case studies. Over the next couple weeks I’ll share some of the interesting case studies I gathered from the conference.

One good case study was from an agency that did work for Shell Oil in Venezuela. The problem is that no one really cares what type of oil goes in their car, and usually go with whatever oil their mechanic recommends. Therefore, Shell wanted to target mechanics where people have their oil changed. They discovered that these mechanics used lower-end cell phones, but they were heavy text/SMS users. In order to establish an affinity with the brand, and educate these mechanics on their brand, Shell created a club for these professionals. They did on-product promotion and targeted locations through direct mail – getting mechanics to sign up for the club. By joining, they got a membership card, a hat, and instructions on how to participate in contests, games, etc. via mobile text/SMS. When mechanics signed up for the mobile section, they received monthly tips on products and services and could interact though contests and an “ask-an-expert” via text messaging. As a result, they were able to build a database and loyalty with over 5,000 influencers. They also created a group of engaged mechanics who interacted with the brand an average of once every 3 days.