White Box World

When Sir Martin Sorrell, one of the world’s top marketing gurus, says “The medium is becoming more important than the message”, it’s time to sit up and take notice. He is, of course, referring to the phenomenal impact that online marketing has had on the commercial world, revolutionising the way companies connect with customers. Graphic and classified ads play a part, but the clear victor in the war for online dollars is search – offering paid-for positions in results lists and giving businesses a direct line to millions of people hungry for goods, services and information.

Over the last five years, the ubiquitous white box has come to play a central role in a vast range of activities – from researching a business proposal to finding the nearest pizza parlour. The explosion of price comparison sites has, in my view, created a lucrative and lasting market that simply wouldn’t have been possible without search. Search’s place is brilliantly summed up by thought leader John Battelle in his evocative phrase “the database of our intentions” – reflecting its impact not simply on commerce but on many aspects of our lives today.

In the USA alone, figures from eMarketer reveal that 155 million people – half the population – used search in 2007. Spending on search advertising increased by 27% to each €6.2bn, some 75% of which is estimated to have gone to Google. In these pages, we examine the central position of Google and look at other key topics in the world of search, including the role of the marketing agency and the rise of mobile and social search. The contributions come not only from Sir Martin Sorrell and John Battelle but also leading figures from Google, Yahoo! and the independent sector – including mobile search pioneer, Taptu, one of several 3i investments in the sector. The ideas included here are simply the tip of the iceberg. To hear more, visit our media microsite, where you can select from a series of thought-provoking podcasts, at http://media.3i.com 

Or just type “3i media sector” into your search engine…