Delucchi Plus Infiltrates the Googleplex: Hilarity Ensues

According to the screen in the seat back in front of me, I’m just about crossing the California/Nevada border.  Where am I going?  Home.

Where am I coming from?  The Google All Stars Summit.

This year, Delucchi Plus was fortunate enough to send an envoy to the Summit. Google spared no expense (we flew coach – they spared many expenses) in getting us out to the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, more infamously known as “The Googleplex.”

This was a great chance for us to get exposure to new product offerings in Google’s ever-growing tool chest, as well as network with representatives from other agencies to swap business cards and keyword best practices.

Overall, it was a really great experience, and I can’t wait to go back next year.  I’d be lying, though, if I said that it was all roses and no thorns.  Delucchi Plus is all about transparency, so this seems like the perfect platform to give you all an honest appraisal of the summit.

The Good

• I was quickly reminded that it’s not just that Google has access to tons of data that makes them formidable, it’s that they know how to use it in clever ways. The lecture regarding Behavioral Economics was especially enlightening (Google used their own cafeterias to experiment with the best way to set out food in order to get their employees to eat healthier). These are the kind of things you can do when you’re a multi-billion dollar megacorporation with a lot of free time on your hands.
• Overall, it was a very reaffirming trip. Our Digital Team is top notch, and our best practices line up directly with all of Google’s primary recommendations.  Good news for our clients, too.
• I won’t bore you here with details of what Google is planning to do to support marketing agencies even further, but suffice it to say, the Digital Marketing Nerd inside me got very excited by many of the lectures and presentations.
• I hope you’re sitting while reading this, because they also talked at length about – gasp – cross-device conversions! Everybody knows how important mobile is in 2014, but it’s still kind of in the dark about the paths that users take online to actually convert; much of the data is theory crafting. Again, the Digital Marketing Nerd in me was utterly fascinated.
• The diversity was amazing. There were hundreds of people from agencies around the world, and I’d guestimate that roughly only a fourth of them were from the U.S.
• The swag was solid. You should see the sweet new Google Soccer Jerseys we were able to snag for the Delucchi Plus Digital Team.

The Bad

• Much of the conference revolved around eCommerce or web-based businesses (IE, tech start ups). While Google is still working on supporting businesses and marketing agencies understand how offline conversions tie in with online performance, it’s still very much the Wild West of digital marketing. I can’t blame them, though.  It’s a tough nut to crack.
• Google employees really love Google. I got a very weird cult vibe. Eventually, we started a tally for how many times we were asked, “Have you guys seen ‘The Internship?’” We lost count. We get it; Google’s a cool company. Get over it.

The Uncomfortable

• The time the tour guide said to a group of male digital marketers “That building over there is called The Honeyplex. We call it that because HR is there, and HR is all women. Get it? Honeys!” Yikes.
• The very awkward, very NSFW exchange that I had with the cashier at the Google Store. Please don’t ask.

At the end of the day, though, Google is not just a powerhouse of the Internet, they are the powerhouse of the Internet. It’s both validating and comforting to know that they’re willing to go to such lengths to support and empower Digital Agencies around the globe, helping us to better serve our clients.

Plus, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt their bottom line.