Google purchases DoubleClick, makes deal with ClearChannel

In case anybody still had doubts about Google's advertising ambitions, they announced a few deals over the past several days that will put them to rest once and for all. First, in an effort to solidify their position as the preeminent Internet ad engine (and to piss off Microsoft, I'm sure), Google plans to acquire DoubleClick for an insane $3.1 billion. Combined with today's news of a massive deal with Clear Channel to sell radio ads on their 1,650 US stations, and hot on the heels of a recent deal with EchoStar to sell trackable TV ads, the search giant is doing everything possible to diversify into other areas, since Internet search advertising still made up well over 90% of their revenues last year.

However, all is not roses for the do-no-evil company. First off, it's unclear whether the DoubleClick deal will go through (though to be honest I'd be surprised if it didn't). Microsoft, AT&T and maybe some others are already lobbying the State Department suggesting that Google's acquisition could give them an unfair advantage. While the notion of Microsoft calling somebody else monopolistic and anti-competitive is ironic (and that's putting it kindly), the suggestion is worth considering. Google already collects a huge amount of personal information from its search engine and affiliate advertising systems, and augmenting that with DoubleClick's technology could make things worse. How bizarre would it be to see Bill Gates and Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, showing up on the front cover of the Times together? I tried to come up with a pithy good-vs-evil metaphor to describe it, but I don't care for either of them very much, so my best one-liner involved Satan and a slightly less-evil Satan (which really isn't very compelling).

Meanwhile, both Google and DoubleClick have been experimenting with in-store media for well over a year, and of course Clear Channel is on an outdoor electronic billboard construction boom. Consequently, the consolidation of power here is something we need to be watching very closely. While I'm sure that the TV, radio and Internet advertising folks are much more nervous about this than we digital signage folk are (oddly, the small size of our market is a benefit in this case), companies that want to stay competitive will need a steady stream of market-centric innovations to stay relevant.

Tags: Google, DoubleClick, Clear Channel, retail media