I google, You google, the world googles; but only with the help of internet. The search engine giants who have never given a damn to market itself in mass media seems to do it now.

After being banned in China, Google has now turned to India to strengthen its brand. After launching The Internet Bus project from Chennai to give people a chance to experience the internet firsthand, they have now targeted Nagpur and Ahmedabad.

This advertisement appeared in the Ahmedabad edition of the Times of India (one of the leading daily) print edition. Yes the hard copy newspaper that we read daily in the morning. Google occupied around a quarter of a page for this ad.

This advertisement appeared in the Nagpur edition of the Times of India print edition. Again occupying around a quarter of a page.

Its interesting to note that Google is venturing into the print media with very targeted advertisements for two unique cities. Unique because neither of them are metros nor are they tech savvy. Though Ahmedabad is commercially more advanced than Nagpur, but the main point is how many people are using internet in these cities.

Maybe Google, thinks that these two cities are emerging and hence plans to create awareness before setting their foot here. Vibhushan analyzes and share his thoughts @ Google’s entrance into the mass media.

Its premature to say whether or not Google achieved any ROI from this ad campaign. But what interests me is that if Google wanted to target only two cities, then why didn’t they advertise in the leading dailies of those cities. By selecting The Times of India, which is one of the leading national daily and may not be too popular in those cities, didn’t Google goof up?

Maybe time will provide better answers and help in realizing what exactly Google is up to. Or may be even Mr. Shailesh Rao can provide some insight about his intentions for the India market.