In an indication of its bigger move towards direct advertising sales, Google has poached L’Oreal CMO Mark Speichert.
Reported by Re/code today, the move will place Speichert directly under another ex-consumer-goods marketer, former Procter and Gamble president Kirk Perry, who heads Google’s Global Client and Agency Solutions. This division reports directly to Google’s chief business officer Nikesh Arora.
Google has traditionally built its huge revenues on the back of programmatic ads, but with industry hires such as Speichert and Perry, it’s signalling intentions to directly court bigger brands, for longer, targeted ad campaigns. In addition to the banner campaigns we see on Google’s search pages, we could see advertising on other Google channels, such as Google+ and we’re already seeing plenty of brand outreach on YouTube.
Google confirmed as much in a letter it sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in December, outlining its plans to start advertising on anything with an internet connection, including autos, wearables and home appliances. If that’s truly the case, it’ll be good to CPG marketers like Speichert and Perry at hand to evangelize the channels to their huge network of brands.
