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More Promotion For Chrome As Browser War Heats Up

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 February 2010, 13:00 CST

In anticipation of a regulatory change that will make it easier for consumers to switch Web browsers, Google has taken the unusual step of using real-world advertising to promote its Chrome web browser in Europe, Reuters reported.

Google is now running a billboard and newspaper ad campaign for its Chrome browser in the streets and underground train stations of London, Paris and Amsterdam.

The European Union is set to implement its so-called browser ballot, which will allow users to actively select the program they will use to surf the Internet when they set up their computers.

Some say the move proves Google's increasing willingness to engage with traditional media, many of whom are upset at what they see as Google's profiting at their expense. But Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said the company wants to help publishers survive the transition online.

Chris Hayward, head of UK trading at media buyer ZenithOptimedia, said two years ago there was a Google way -- you either took it or left it.

"My personal opinion is that now they're becoming much more commercially sensitive," he told Reuters.

Microsoft proposed the browser ballot as part of a settlement of a European Union antitrust dispute that was initiated by Google and browser maker Opera.

In reference to Microsoft's Internet Explorer icon, analyst Ross Sandler of RBC said consumers think that the "e" on their desktop is synonymous with the Internet.

“That's a position that's very good for Microsoft and difficult for Google," he said.

But Google is trying to change consumer perceptions and mount a real challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the desktop computer by pushing its Chrome browser.

A Google spokesman said the company thinks browsers are the most important part of a computer.

"Our recent marketing campaign is a part of this overall investment in browsers, through which we hope to help make the Web faster, more useful and more secure," the spokesman said.

However, even though Chrome shows superior performance in many respects, such as speed of loading pages, it has failed to gain meaningful market share since it’s release over a year ago.

In fact, Chrome had just 5.2 percent of the global browser market in January, behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer at 62.2 percent and open-source Mozilla Firefox, which had 24.4 percent, according to NetMarketShare statistics published on Monday.

European users of Microsoft Windows, which runs nine out of ten of the world's PCs, will be given an explicit choice of 12 browsers when the measure takes effect in mid-March.

But some analysts are skeptical that it will significantly change consumer behavior.

Laura Martin, an analyst who covers Google at Soleil Media Metrics, said at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if Chrome comes pre-loaded on a computer or not, as consumers are fickle and change browsers easily.

But if Google hopes to succeed in creating a new Web-based operating system built on Chrome that could one day challenge Microsoft's Windows, Chrome’s increasing market share will be crucial to meeting that goal.

Analyst Sheri McLeish of IT research firm Forrester said it's very heated in the sense of wanting to try to gain customer loyalty through the whole range of products from the browser to the operating system to applications like email.

Last year, Google inked a deal with Sony to pre-install Chrome on certain computers in an effort to boost Chrome use.

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On the Net:

• Google Chrome

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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