Google turns 25 – adtech industry comments

Global search engine powerhouse and so much more, Google turned 25 years old today, an important milestone in the way the internet has come to dominate all our lives.

Aside from birthdays, though, there ARE other important dates looming, as the internet, advertisers and adtechs prepare for a cookieless future.

So we asked some of our regular industry voices for their take on the big G turning a quarter of a century old…

Geoffroy Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Ogury 

“With only 41% of advertisers being moderately aware of alternative targeting methods to cookies, the industry is in need of a major overhaul, with solutions to match the scale of the privacy challenge.

“While Google’s Privacy Sandbox aims to provide relief in the cookieless future, brands should be cautious about becoming overly reliant on one partner.

“Brands and media agencies should use the coming months as an opportunity to equip themselves with the right tools and partners that can support them, as another key date for Google is approaching: in less than six months, Google will begin its long-awaited deprecation of third-party cookies.”

Emma Lacey, SVP EMEA, Zefr

“Getting to 25 years old is no mean feat in tech, and Google has been able to achieve this milestone by focusing on innovation and staying ahead of the curve. How it will tackle the internet’s next epoch will be just as fascinating.”

“As arguably the pioneer of making user generated content discoverable online, it inevitably follows that Google needs to be serious when it comes to funding legitimate content and keeping users safe.

“With the amount of content online set to explode due to generative AI tools and new legislation like the Online Safety Bill incoming, it will need to leverage the best technologies to not only ensure it stays ahead, but also to hold other platforms to account.”

Tom Ollerton, Founder, Automated Creative

Google is getting old. As it celebrates reaching quarter of a century, it’s hard to imagine, or indeed remember, how we all accessed information before it existed. Yet, now the real revolution has begun.

“As brands, marketers, and indeed entire industries, grapple with the advent of AI, Google is doing the same. It famously declared ‘code red’ in response to the extraordinarily immediate impact of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and has since unveiled plans to weave AI into its smart engine.

“Meanwhile, for the rest of us, it may feel like a constant game of catch up.

“That said, there is the silver lining of a more democratised open web, with users less tethered to the major walled gardens.

“This is no bad thing. It’s time for the rest of us to provide the transparency and the trust that consumers have long been asking for and, increasingly, expect”.

Toby McAra, Chief Revenue Officer, Making Science

As it marks its 25th anniversary, Google shows no signs of resting on its laurels – evidenced in the developments announced at its recent Cloud Next summit.

“BigQuery’s previewed developments and Vertex AI’s increased capacity and supported languages mean Google’s Solution Suite will continue to make comprehensive data analysis accessible to marketers, giving them control of their campaigns.

“These developments will only further enhance the success our clients already see from leveraging Google’s growing suite of Cloud products, with brands such as hotel chain RIU already generating 230% increase in ROAS.

“For Google to lead AI innovation it needs compute power. Its A3, powered by NVIDIA, will ensure continued scalability, learnings and development. Doing this safely, with a focussed lens on security and privacy will be challenging, but key to ensuring its domination over the next 25 years.

David Spencer, Chief Technology Officer, Acceleration, a WPP company 

“Google has created an explosion of digital advertising potential for brands. Google Cloud, in particular, has proven to be a key technology for advertisers to navigate the shift to a privacy-centric digital landscape.

“It allows marketers access to cookieless measurements and behavioural and conversion modelling to increase ROI with better data-driven decisions.”

Continue reading in: Mediashotz