Google wants me to be a Billionaire

So Google wants me to be a billionaire. Yes!!!

Even in my humble home in Las Pinas, I received a Google AdWords free voucher worth 1,500 pesos (approx. US$ 34.00) last week. It came in a letter envelope that had "Prioritaire" written on it and a "Hurry! Open before September 30, 2010" in red borders. Honestly, being a digital marketer, I thought for a second I was being headhunted. haha!

AdWords Voucher

OK, so Google is doing the "online-to-offline-and-back" strategy with a direct mailer. Why do I find this a bit weird? It's in this day and age of double-opt-ins and social media that these dudes are employing this type of marketing. Admittedly, I find this brilliant and forthcoming, too.

Marketing will always be, err...marketing. Having been in advertising for 20 years, I have seen it all. We almost always go full circle in our marketing campaigns. So I'm not surprised Google has done this ploy.

It's simple. It's direct to the point. It's a bravissimo move.

You get a letter from Google. Wow! You get a PhP 1,500 voucher. Double Wow! But wait, there's more. You get a chance to be a billionaire by enrolling your business in AdWords!

Where does the simple brilliance of Google come into play? You need to pay a one-time non-refundable fee of 300 pesos. Oh, there's more. The minimum payment should be 600 pesos. So if you're a first-time or trial-AdWorder, you already contributed 600 pesos to the dudes at Goggle. A free voucher is still what it is -- a free voucher. Guess what? You're made to try advertising on space they own anyway. And there's no printing cost like newspapers or magazines, right? So cost to them is nil.

Be a Billionaire!

Did I enroll on AdWords for the heck of it? Yeah I did. I was a willing victim. I wanted to test-drive this in the Philippines and sort of advertise my expertise on business development and social media consulting. Of course, I asked my wife's permission to be an idiot. She gave her blessings. :)

I'm listening to the Travis McCoy song "Billionaire" as I write this piece. I'll be tracking my progress for about a month if I'm hitting the right buttons. I'm a positive guy. If Sergey Brin and Larry Page can be billionaires via Google, why can't I?

"I wanna be a billionaire, so freakin' bad."