Stonewall Forever Online Monument Launch

Earlier this June we launched Stonewall forever to celebrate Pride Month and the history of LGBTQ+ people fighting for their rights and broader acceptance. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the history of Stonewall Inn, it is a gay bar located in Greenwich Village in New York City. Police frequently raided the bar and brutalized LGBTQ+ people during the late 20th century, specifically black trans women, often throwing them in jail. At the time, dressing in drag was criminalized and grounds for imprisonment. A “Three-Item Rule” was in place, which stated that if a person wore three or more items of clothing belonging to the opposite sex, it was basis to be brutalized and arrested. 

On June 28, 1969, a police raid began in the early morning at the Stonewall Inn. It was a tremendously violent event, and those at the bar fought back. A black trans woman, Marsha P. Johnson, made the first move by throwing a rock at the police. Sylvia Rivera, her close friend, followed behind, and a rebellion began. This riot was critical to the gay rights movement and is widely considered the most important event to fuel the gay liberation movement. It was both a physical rebellion and a social one whose influence spread around the country and encouraged others to fight back against the systems marginalizing them. Many lost their lives during this fight, and it is thanks to them that LGBTQ+ people have the rights that they do today.

This is why Stonewall Forever is such an important and necessary monument. It is a digital monument created by New York City’s own LGBTQ+ Community Center and was funded by a grant by Google. Google’s Creative Lab also volunteered its time to help the center bring the monument to life in honor of the 50th anniversary of the riots. In addition to the monument, we also launched a campaign called Pride Forever, which celebrates the history of Pride and all those who fought so that those today could live as their authentic selves. The benefit of this monument being online instead of physical is accessibility. Those from all over the world can access the monument without having to physically travel to Stonewall Inn.

It was an absolute honor for Google to have a part in this project, and to continue to advocate for and honor the LGBTQ+ community. Although so much has been done already, it is necessary to remember that we still have so far to go for complete equality, acceptance, and safety of the LGBTQ+ population. Google, of course, will continue to advocate for full equality and is inspired to do so. To access the monument, click here.

Google Announces Launch of New Learning Center

Recently, Google announced the launch of a new learning center located in New York City. The program is called, “Grow with Google,” and it provides workshops on resume building, digital skills training, online marketing, and more for small businesses, teachers, and individuals.

This announcement is both exciting and profoundly revolutionary to the way that education functions in our society. Built for anyone in New York, the learning center provides free workshops that enable and empower community members to tap the upside potential of the digital economy. Similar to the way Google provides a conduit to free and accessible information online, it is now  applying this approach to a physical education center.

To bring this idea to fruition, Google has partnered with several local organizations, including the New York Public Library, CUNY, Per Scholas, Goodwill, and the NY Chamber of Commerce.

The skills that this learning center aims to provide are imperative to prospering in today’s world. Personal marketing has become indispensable when searching for a job, networking, and even dating. Google aims to give individuals the tools to understand what effective personal marketing looks like via resume building workshops.

In terms of marketing for small businesses, it is critical to have a clean, emotive, and accurate online image to optimize marketing strategies. Online presence is essential for companies attempting to grow their customer base.

The launch of this new learning center will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the future of technology education and innovation, giving more individuals and businesses the skills and understanding to maximize their online influence. Click here for the original article on the launch:

https://abc7ny.com/community-events/google-opens-free-nyc-learning-center-to-help-teach-technology/5239392/

A Winning Playbook for Automated Marketing

As technology has evolved, so too have the shopping habits of the modern customer. With an endless slew of reviews, images and video demonstrations constantly on hand, many of today’s consumers no longer casually graze on a diet of store window offerings and impulse buys. Instead, armed to the teeth with keywords and search engines, they open their browsers and join the hunt for the perfect catch, that premier purchase: the one product with an ideal price and incomparable features.

Immersed in the tangle of (often contradictory) opinions and product advice online, even the most knowledgeable customers may wander into unhelpful territory. As marketers, the goal is to guide buyers as they peruse the untamed jungles of cyberspace. It’s key to provide the tools they need to find their path. Singularly powerful among those tools is machine learning, a concept that top brands tailor to automatically connect customers with the messaging they want to see, at the moment they want to see it.

Marketers who earn real results using machine learning and automated ads keep in mind a few rules of thumb when building and deploying digital campaigns.

Prioritize Growth

The specifics of what machine learning algorithms are optimized to complete can mean the difference between breakaway success and bankruptcy. Concentrating not on immediate ROI, but long-term results, is key; for example, by using custom intent audiences to draw in YouTube viewers searching financial terms on Google, e-investment firm Betterment recouped their ad spend six times over, while also achieving a 245% increase in brand-related Google searches. Taking a comprehensive approach to machine learning will generally lead to better outcomes than a strategy based around short-term efficiency. Another example: a machine learning algorithm that prioritizes action around completed purchases—those made online, in-store, or over the phone—may be more likely to deliver actionable ads than an algorithm optimized only for online information requests.

Attract High-Value Customers

It’s tempting to assume that customers with expensive tastes are those driving sales long-term, but in many cases, this just isn’t true. Often, customers may make modest purchases, but do so consistently over time. In all things (and especially purchasing habits) the pareto principle holds. Most marketers are aware that the overwhelming bulk of sales, 80%, are generated by only 20% of customers; these are the customers that automated solutions should be tailored to satisfy.  Acquiring high-value buyers and maximizing their customer lifetime value (CLV) should take precedence when allocating resources, including machine learning.

Don’t Neglect Creative

Many would argue that the internet is already overstuffed with automated marketing; in this case, the ads that succeed will be those capable of eliciting the most human response. Forging connections out of raw emotion has always been the hallmark of effective media. Fortunately, we now have machine learning tools that harness creativity to develop meaningful marketing. Google’s responsive search ads function allows creators to enter numerous headlines and descriptions, which are then tested to determine which combination performs best. Similarly, using Youtube’s Director Mix tool, marketers can harness machine learning to deploy a variety of video, voice-overs, stills and other ad types in patterns customized to suit specific viewer bases.

Advertisers who managed to craft a strong automated ad strategy started by applying these basic principles. Implementing strong creative to ensure that high-value customers are satisfied, while also branching out via a growth-oriented approach creates a solid foundation from which to establish campaigns that fulfill the potential of machine learning.