Google Has A Plan For The Next 'Couple Hundred Billion' In Revenue

It's not news that Google is developing big data products to help advertisers analyze the performance of their campaigns. But what Google believes is the potential size of that market may surprise you: a couple hundred billion dollars, according to Morgan Stanley analysts Scott Devitt, Jordan Monahan and Nishant Verma.


This year Google introduced "Brand Lift in Adwords," a product that polls consumers to see if they actually remembered the ads they saw; and "Active GRP," a measurement that allows Google advertisers to compare their results directly to TV campaigns on a gross ratings point basis (that's the standard measure of reach for TV audiences).

Both products challenge advertisers to examine the billions they throw at TV or other traditional media and compare it to the results they see online. Google has gotten so big — it booked $50 billion in annual revenue in 2012 — that it needs to find new markets in the billions of dollars to continue moving the sales needle. Small markets just won't do. TV, of course, is the biggest single sanctuary for advertiser dollars. Hence the measurement push.