i3 - January/February 2016 - 92

CM s

OF THE FUTURE

LISA GEVELBER
vice president of marketing, Google

feel like I'm the luckiest
marketer in the world,"
says Lisa Gevelber,
vice president of mar-

keting at Google. "Part of my
job is to help marketers all
over the world understand
consumer behavior and then
use the latest integrative
storytelling techniques and
technology to make sure

"Marketers don't need to be taught about empathy.
What's new is this combination of data and technology
adding to that empathy in storytelling, which ensures that
people get the right story for them in the right moment."
One of Google's most obvious storytelling vehicles
is YouTube. Gevelber says it's a great measure of how
consumers engage with brands online. "YouTube is an
amazing compass on what's happening in the world in so
many ways. We looked at the top 10 videos on YouTube
in 2014-four out of 10 of them were actually ads," says
Gevelber.

CONNECTING CONSUMERS

we're meeting consumers

"Things like 'Always #LikeAGirl' are a particularly great
example. My two daughters came home and talked
about that concept before I even had a chance to
expose it to them. They get 'Like a Girl.' They
know what it means. It's important to them,"
It turns out that they're on their phones.
Gevelber explains.
"The consumer shift to mobile is happening
Gevelber also notes that consumers are
so much faster than any of us were ready
An alternate title
telling their own brand stories on Youfor. Our point of view is there are basically
for 'CMO' in the future:
Tube with haul videos, unboxing videos,
two things that marketers need to do in this
and even sneaker pickup videos. In fact,
mobile world. And that is, be there and be
Chief Customer
product review videos span more than a
useful."
Officer
million YouTube channels, and in 2015, U.S.
Gevelber gives an example from Sephora.
YouTube viewers spent more than 60 million
"They saw people in their stores holding
hours watching unboxing take place.
a product in one hand and their phone in
"We are actually working on quite a few things
the other. They discovered two real consumer
to make YouTube more shoppable," says Gevelber.
needs in the aisle. One was, people were looking for
"Because consumers are engaging with these types of
reviews. And the other was people were trying to rememvideos, it's natural that they want the merchandise that
ber what shade of makeup they bought last time. So
they see-we're just trying to make it super easy for them
Sephora built right into their app both product reviews
to get it."
and purchase history.
Google, of course, is about more than mobile ads or
"And then they did more than that. They used our
YouTube videos. It's the company that's building a future of
search ad targeting to reach people who were in the vicinautomated vehicles, robots and other moonshots. Gevelber
ity of their stores, to bring them into the store."
says that kind of innovation relates directly to her work.
"At its core it's all about technology to make people's
TELL A STORY
daily lives better, whether it's putting the answers to your
hardest questions at your fingertips with search or helping
For Gevelber, the Sephora story is emblematic of how
you get where you need to go right now with Google Maps
technology is enabling storytelling in ways that were not
and Waze or helping my father-in-law who can no longer
possible before. "This whole idea that you can customize
drive get where he needs to go with a self-driving car," says
and the technology makes it so easy for you to be there
Gevelber. "It all comes back to using technology to make
and be useful in the moment is really new. When you get
people's daily lives better. It's all connected."
it right, it's magical," Gevelber explains.

where they are in today's digital age."

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

http://www.Google.com

i3 - January/February 2016

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