Google Acquisition of DoubleClick Would Be Data Powerhouse

Will everyone have to do business with Google? It could be given the observation of the editor in chief at TMCnet.com, who argues that the combination provides the data necessary for expansive behavioral targeting of ads. Google has the search histories of a huge portion of Internet users, to say nothing of email contents (Gmail), shopping (Froogle), and desktop contents (desktop version of Google). DoubleClick cookies give a history of browsing for an equally large portion of online users. Combine the two, and there's enough data to profile a huge number of people through their online activities and, theoretically, to create staggeringly effective ad campaigns.

At the same time, let's consider an important limitation of viewing this as the marketing silver bullet. Say that you could use this information to push your company's wares. What if the products stink? All the marketing will do is help put you out of business faster than ever before. What if your customers find out that you're prying into every corner of their lives? They might react badly and go to your competitor. What if your target market is in a geographic region that doesn't have the high rates of adult Internet useage as in North America? And you'd still have to determine that online ads actually create business for you and aren't touted as one of those important "brand building" exercises that never manage to prove their financial worth. So the need for ability, skill, and, most importantly, hard work work in marketing aren't about to go away.