Google buys Wildfire for $250 million. What’s to worry?
August 1st, 2012 by Tim Greenhalgh
Google’s $250-million acquisition of marketing start-up Wildfire is good news for the tech market and the owners. So why am I worried?
First, the company website. Just try to find out the real detail of their propositions. It’s a shout-marketing website par excellence. “You want to know more? Call us.†Well, excuse me.
Wildfire’s value lies in its customers, such as Amazon and Sony. It provides them with software that links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and other social networks, allowing them to manage their online brand and presence.
Because of the Wildfire website, I do not know exactly how, where and when the products it is selling will work. Actually, it’s the ‘how’ that bugs me. I have a strong scent of old-school, one-way shouting in the Wildfire proposition – linking social with traditional advertising, online advertising and marketing but with the old push energies reinforced.
Listening, learning, engaging, sharing, giving – not sure I see these new imperatives for social marketing clearly in Google’s new child and there’s more than a hint that the ‘channel’ mentality has returned to online marketing.
Maybe Shel Israel is right – maybe we’re going backwards in marketing.
Tags: google, push marketing, shel israel, Wildfire