Google appears to be the most aggressive in reaching out to campaigns, suggesting that the Web giant thinks online politics may be approaching the point at which the company can make money from it.
"There's probably a lot less than they think initially, but Google plays for the long term and they're smart to be there," said Phil Noble, founder of PoliticsOnline, a site that provides Internet tools and strategies for campaigns. "The Internet and politics is a revolution, and Google and these guys are not going to lead the revolution, but they don't want to get shot in the back either."
Google isn't in it just for the campaign spending, Schrage said.
"Relative to all of the dollars in advertising, I don't think political advertising is going to be particularly profound in the foreseeable future," he said. The company hopes to learn from how campaigns use Google's tools and simply wants to help the democratic process, Schrage added.
Most of the Internet activity already generated by the slew of 2008 presidential contenders is at little cost.
"We have an official channel at YouTube. We have official social networking platforms at MySpace and Facebook," said Christian Ferry, national e-campaign director for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "I think that the stuff that's really having the most impact is the free services that those groups provide."
Campaigns spent about $12 million on online advertising in the 2004 presidential campaign, a tiny amount compared with the $1.6 billion they allocated to TV ads, said Michael A. Bassik, vice president of Internet strategy for MSCH Partners, an online political marketing firm.
But campaign spending overall is shooting up. The amount spent on all political races in 2004 -- about $4 billion -- is expected to more than double in 2008. And just as many major companies are doing, political campaigns are expected to shift more of their ad dollars to the Web.
Google wants to be ready when that happens.
For the first time, it was a major sponsor of an annual conference for political consultants and Internet activists run by George Washington University.
Google signs were everywhere during the two-day event this month. A Google Lounge with lava lamps and rock music offered attendees free use of half a dozen Web-connected laptops. Schrage delivered the keynote address. And at its seminar for consultants, "Making the Most of Google in 2008," the company offered, next to the free travel coffee mugs, copies of a two-page "Google Product Guide for Politics."
"The Google network allows you to do very interesting things with targeting, with messaging, etc., in a way that you could never pull off with a 30-second TV spot," Derek Kuhl, who is leading a New York-based political sales team that will have three or four people, told the group.
The consultants scribbled notes as they sipped coffee, then peppered the Google employees with questions, seeking details such as the average length of videos on YouTube and the length of the approval process to buy ads on search results.
"They were out essentially selling a product: Use us," David Haase, a consultant with Mindshare Interactive Campaigns in Washington, said afterward. "They're trying to become the gold standard."
jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com
