Google Eats Advertising For Breakfast

In another step to making itself self-aware, Google announced this week that it has spent the past year working with Publicis on "the sharing of proprietary technical knowledge, as well as insights about advertising and media planning and buying, and involves the exchange of personnel between the two companies," according to a news item from MediaPost titled, Publicis Keeps Friends Close, Frenemies Even Closer, Unveils Google ‘Collaboration’, this past Wednesday.

The announcement came during a press conference with Publics chief Maurice Levy and Google chief Eric Schmidt that took place this past Tuesday.

Google has already made strides into some of the traditional advertising channels (radio, television and print) by testing different business models and creative opportunities. While it might come as a shock to some, it makes perfect sense. As Google continues to grow, the true profits are coming from the Advertising and Marketing opportunities it can offer Brands. With all of this inventory in very different interactive channels, Google needs dynamic advertising with a keen eye on next-generation engagement.

If you think this is all some kind of PR spin, check out the final paragraph of the MediaPost article:

"Google has independently been recruiting Madison Avenue expertise at a rapid clip, hiring hundreds of former agency media planners, buyers and account planning executives to help build out a burgeoning advertising and media services organization. The company maintains that it is not interested in providing traditional agency services, but is making such moves to help agencies and their clients utilizes media more effectively and efficiently. But the blurry nature dividing Google’s capabilities – and market clout – with those of traditional advertising agencies, has led at least one industry chief, WPP‘s Martin Sorrell, to term Google the ad industry’s ‘frenemy.’"

Is this good for the Digital Marketing industry or bad?