Google's Acquisition of Wildfire Apps
/Official news came out recently that Wildfire Apps is now part of the Google family. This is one of those acquisitions where I see wins across the board, including...
- Good for Google: The Wildfire platform should enable Google to extend its PPC revenue stream into social and regain access to the significant amount of traffic that social platforms have syphoned away from traditional search in the past few years.
- Good for Marketers: Single-source control of traditional PPC and social channels will enable a holistic set of data points and the enhanced ability to measure Social ROI. At a time when the ROAS of traditional PPC is leveling off, this could be a big win for agencies. I'm also expecting more accurate tracking of assisted conversions (that pass through social) from within Google Analytics.
- Good for Brands: The Wildfire acquisition will help Google to break down our current walls between social activity and search activity. This in turn helps brands to become more relevant at appropriate times. In cooperation with their agencies, brands will have a unique opportunity to be present at the right time and right place in a consumer's digital experience.
- Good for Consumers: I predict tight integration between Wildfire Apps and Google Offers. From a consumer POV, I really like the no-money-down approach to Google Offers (especially vs. the Groupon model), and Wildfire will help to bring that into social channels. Figure in Google/Android's awareness of location, context, and personal interests and I think consumers might soon enjoy consistently meaningful offers -- like we do from Amazon-- but for the real world that we walk and drive through each day.
In addition to these points, this acquisition could become an important tipping point in Google's current social foray. For starters, Wildfire Apps has an enormous presence in Facebook, and it could become something of a trojan horse between the two platforms by providing Google with many of the Facebook insights that it has been denied in the past few years. More important, however, are the synergies that I see between Google+ pages, Google Offers, Google Wallet, and Wildfire Apps. I think that Google is on the brink of assembling all of the ingredients for true "social commerce". I'll share that vision in my next post.
Where do you see the threats and opportunities of Google and Wildfire Apps? Please share in the comments below.
Where do you see the threats and opportunities of Google and Wildfire Apps? Please share in the comments below.