Tuck School of Business Winter Quarter A 2022

Dartmouth College Professor Kevin Lane Keller

Strategic Brand Management

MID-TERM CASE (GOOGLE)

Name: Naman Chaudhary Section: 2 Date: 19 Jan

2022

1. What do people think of when they think of the Google brand? What does
Google stand for now?  How would you recommend that the Google brand be
positioned?

People think of the following things when they think of Goggle: ubiquity,
information, trust, easy-to-use, simple, unbiased, internet. Although the
revolution of internet and data started long back, most of the products
commercialized by companies have usually targeted the top 10-20% of the
world that have the means/purchasing power to be able to buy the products
and in turn make profits for the companies, however, Google started with a
product that did not target a particular segment and was available to all those
who had access to internet and a device. Therefore, Google limns an image of
‘made for all’ and the company, in its quest to provide data on almost anything
and everything at almost no cost, has helped people gain information/leverage
that were earlier unimaginable.

Currently, more people have access to mobile phones than have the access to
clean sanitation facilities and this gives a small peek into the sheer reach of the
company and shows why it earns the biggest chunk of its profits from Ads.
Although a huge percentage of population has access to internet, they do not
have the best understanding of it, a laborer working in the villages of India
does not understand the difference between the internet, server, search
engine, and browser and for this huge percentage of the population Google is
Internet. This reach of Google also gives an image of power to the company.

Now, Google does not only provide us relevant and timely information through
its search engine, but it has also created an ecosystem through its big pack of
products (from YouTube to Google Maps to Google docs) that makes all our
lives much easier. With people using an average of 3-4 Google products a day
and with at least, if not more, 6 Google apps on their mobile phones, they have
come to see Google as a reliable company.
 And, to further increase their market penetration, Google offers its services in
almost 150 different languages. This does not only help the company get
access to more data and added people to advertise to, but it also delivers an
image of Google caring for customers and making its products accessible for a
greater number of people.

For now, Google’s standing is very close to what it shares as its motto “Don’t
be evil”. It is perceived as a company that makes people’s lives easier and
makes products with the message of ‘made for all’.

Given all this presence and the access to a great amount of people’s everyday
lives, Google did come under scrutiny and that has made people more aware
about who gets access to their data and what they use it for. And, with more
and more companies using the same monetization strategy of selling their
customers’ data, people have also become more cautious, and Google should
keep this in consideration and draw their image as a company that can be
trusted by its customers. They could also take inspiration from Apple that has
taken some big steps to ensure the privacy of its users, and it also conveys this
message very clearly to its customers.

2. How would you evaluate the Google brand architecture? What is good and bad
about it?

Google does make use of a non-conventional brand architecture and with the
introduction of Alphabet they have tried to simplify it, for themselves and for
its customers. Now, all the hardware, finance, mobility companies are bundled
separately, and Google is a separate entity but even with this transition,
Google does create some confusion around how they have bundled all the
offerings.

Under Google’s 10 things work philosophy they preach “It’s best to do one
thing really, really, well” and currently Google might arguably be the biggest
consumer-facing tech brand giving so many offerings under the same brand. To
some extent, it is digestible that they can offer the search engine, Chrome
browser, Andriod OS, Gmail, GMaps, and Gdocs under the same umbrella as it
can be explained with their other preaching of “Focus on the user and all else
will follow” and all of those products help people get access to, create, and
share information seamlessly. But, fitting YouTube, Google Photos, Google Pay
into the same bundle does feel a little stretched.

But at the same time, it can also be argued that all those products connect with
one another and should be in the same bundle. For, e.g., Google Photos, docs,
sheets, slides, etc. all link back to Google Drive and when people have Google
docs to share information, they also need Google Meets to work efficiently and
similarly Google Pay makes it much easier for small businesses and even
general public to manage their financial transactions.

Therefore, although this brand architecture makes it difficult for Google to

differentiate or set a unique image for each of its new products, it does add to
their overall message of making the biggest impact and serving all.

3. What are key branding lessons that marketers can learn from the Google
story?

Lessons that marketers can learn from Google:

a. Not getting complacent: Google started as a search engine company and

became the best in that in a short period of time. However, even after
that success, they expanded their vision to become not just a search
engine company but a company that organizes information and makes it
accessible to all. And, in alignment with this mission they continued
launching successful products addressing many needs of its customers.
b. Pricing: the products do not always have to cost something to the
customers directly. Most of Google’s products provide access to
information in a free of cost fashion. Therefore, it set a precedent that
data is the new form of currency, and they can use that barter system to
trade the information or access to their customers to other companies in
exchange of money.
c. Not afraid to experiment and fail: With all its reach, power and
resources Google has failed badly in many of its initiatives, but has
continued to bring products that, at first, seem not related to the brand
but do end up fitting perfectly in the box.
d. Marketing strategy: the marketing strategy does not always have to
revolve around a single product, instead a company can have an
overarching image/belief and can fit most of its innovations under that
umbrella.
e. Internal vs External Marketing: As with many of the revered tech
companies, Google does not only have a strong brand because of the
products/value it delivers to its customers, but it also has a great image
for employing the best of minds.