Innovation's co-founders; WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell; Nike's head of Innovation, Hannah Jones and our very own Susan Wojcicki.

We're living through a time of rapid change. As technology, culture and even democracy evolve, it's becoming clear that we must learn to adapt in the face of uncertainty.

At Google, we're doing this by working hard to help people and organisations take advantage of technology to fuel their own creativity.

What do you need to do differently to shape the future? Are you ready to be unrealistic? To do the unexpected? To act boldly? Where will you find inspiration, and who else will you inspire?

Read the fascinating articles in Think Quarterly and you'll find some of Google's secrets of innovation revealed, alongside cutting-edge insights from some of the world's brightest minds. Most of all, though, you'll find a series of questions, not answers. Think. Innovate. Think Innovation.

You should have a read at www.thinkquarterly.co.uk and let us know your thoughts @thinkquarterly.


Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager

Earlier this week, over 400 of the leading decision-makers, influencers and thinkers - representing 29 countries and 360 companies - came together for the sixth annual European Zeitgeist.

The two-day event focused on several topics driven by the issues and trends shaping the future. The event discussed themes such as the future of the EU, the ever more interactive nature of entertainment, managing extremism, the impact and importance of youths in society, and ways to be truly innovative.

Zeitgeist sessions featured a wide range of inspiring and accomplished speakers including George Osborne, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer; Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate; Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO and president of Lego Group; Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO of Publicis; Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil and One Drop, and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Here are a couple of highlights:

The founder & president of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Geoffrey Canada, shares his thoughts on how society can win the war on poverty.



Hear from our executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, as he asks us to consider what would happen if the internet was turned off.



To see more great, thought-provoking content from the event, please visit www.zeitgeistminds.com.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

At Google, we like to ask big questions. But we know we're not the only ones.

So we've created a new quarterly publication called Think Quarterly. It's a space to share thoughts and start a conversation - not about Google, but about business. It's a forum for smart people to discuss new and exciting ideas. We often send out e-mails to customers, however, we decided we wanted to do something a little bit different. We are always keen to consolidate views around the importance of data, tackle in a fun, quirky and different way.

The first issue is inspired by data and features pieces from the likes of Gapminder founder, Hans Rosling; Google chief economist, Hal Varian; and Vodafone CEO, Guy Laurence.

You should definitely check it out!

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager

Entertainment has always been at the forefront of digital marketing, and both consumer time and investment has grown through the recession.
The Google Think Entertainment event discussed how marketing and creative experts within the entertainment sector have got ahead in a slow down.

Videos from the event are now available:

Industry Trends - Will Page, Chief Economist, PRS

Google Live Product Update - Matthew 'Chewy' Trewhella, Product Management, Google UK

The Web is Video - Bruce Daisley, Head of YouTube and Display, Google UK

How packaged goods translate into the digital space - Keith Ramsdale, VP UK and Ireland, Electronic Arts


These videos along with others from the Think event series are available on our Think Channel on YouTube.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Last week, Google hosted the fifth annual European Zeitgeist.

The story of this year’s Zeitgeist is an extraordinary one. Thirty-six hours before the first speaker was due on stage, the event team faced a perfect storm of risks: potentially crippling BA strikes, political uncertainty in the UK, scandal in Indian cricket, disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, privacy challenges in Germany and, of course, a volcanic ash cloud floating over London! Despite all of this, the event was a huge success.

Over four hundred of the most influential business leaders and key visionaries from across Europe, came together to share their perspectives on technological innovation at the event in London.

They sought to answer the following questions:

• What have we learnt?

• How are we changing?

• Where are we heading?

Google welcomed a host of inspirational speakers including three Nobel prize winners: Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivered a brilliant opening keynote on ethics in business. Economist Daniel Kahneman revealed the secret to a happy life. And Chemist Kary Mullis told us how to send a frog two miles into space!

Beyond the Nobel laureates, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web went head to head with activists and academics on data privacy. The IPL’s Lalit Modi and BP’s Carl-Henric Svanberg discussed recent scandals and controversies. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, delivered a captivating and witty speech on the history of technology in our capital. And of course, our very own Eric and Larry engaged all with their own perspectives from Google.

To watch all of these plus other highlights from the event, visit the Zeitgeist Europe 2010 channel on YouTube.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Beginning in April, Google, in partnership with the London Business School and the Daily Telegraph, launched the 'Survival of the Fastest' YouTube channel, the UK's first business advice channel on YouTube. 'Survival of the Fastest' is part of a wider campaign at Google to demonstrate the value of digital advertising and digital tools for UK businesses. Particularly in a downturn, we believe that companies who act quickly to incorporate digital into their everyday decision-making will be best positioned to discover changing consumer preferences, quickly implement those insights, and drive overall efficiency.

Since the site launched, we have received more than 90,000 video views, attracted more than 600 subscribers, and have uploaded 377 interviews with business executives and thought leaders across the UK. Our latest video compilation, 'How to start a business in the slowdown', was recently featured on the Daily Telegraph's website for entrepreneurs who are starting out or developing their own businesses.

We've selected here some of the latest clips that provide insights and tips specifically for planning marketing campaigns in the current business climate:

Bob Thacker - SVP, Marketing & Advertising - OfficeMax - The art of experimentation online
Peter Bazalgette - Director - YouGov - Improving market knowledge in a downturn
Andrew Walmsley - Founder - i-level - The Internet as a means of listening
Guy Levine - CEO - Web Marketing Advisor - Measuring the value of online strategy
Dan Goldstein - Assistant Professor of Marketing - London Business School - Can marketing help sustain competitive advantage in a recession?
Steve King - Global CEO - ZenithOptimedia - How does consumer behaviour differ in a downturn?

Visit the Survival of the Fastest channel and rate and comment on the videos to join the debate. We hope you find the clips thought-provoking!

Posted by Josh Woodward, UK Business Marketing Team

We recently held our annual Zeitgeist Europe 2009 event near London. Over four hundred of Europe's most forward-thinking innovators and visionaries met to share their perspectives on the trends shaping our world. Influential thought leaders across industry, technology, politics, publishing and the media, discussed, dissected and debated the trends that are defining the spirit of our times. We are pleased to be able to share all the videos from the event on YouTube featuring those whose daily decisions dramatically shape and drive these trends.

There are some great speakers including His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales; the British Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Rt Hon Lord Peter Mandelson; Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson; Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, Charlie Mayfield; Executive Producer of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin; Co-Chair of President Obama's panel for Technology, Innovation and Government Reform, Sonal Shah; and Chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.

Two sessions which we think might be of particular interest to you include 'Collaborative Creativity', which explores how technology and the masses have altered the creative process and how brands and creatives are evolving in line with the times, and 'New Frontiers', which explores what it takes to have an idea and make it a reality as well as how to overcome the obstacles in doing so.

Visit the Zeitgeist Europe 2009 YouTube channel and watch some inspiring talks.

Posted by Dom Elliott, Product Marketing Team

Google has launched the UK's first business advice channel on YouTube, Survival of the Fastest, in partnership with the Daily Telegraph and the London Business School.

The channel houses a collection of bitesized video insights and inspirational ideas from some of the best business brains in the UK. The channel has been featured by both the Daily Telegraph and Media Week. Contributors include Ogilvy UK Vice Chairman, Rory Sutherland; IAB Chief Executive, Guy Phillipson; Chief Executive of WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell; and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. We now have 120 videos; last week we launched 30 new videos and fresh content will be uploaded regularly.

On the 'Trends' tab, you will find a gadget called The Barometer. It uses Google search data to track how consumer confidence is changing in comparison with other key economic and social indicators that you can select. You can add this gadget to your iGoogle homepage.


With the launch of the channel, there will also be a series of events and webinars to help businesses speed up in the slowdown. If you would like to learn more about these events and receive email updates when new content is added to the channel, you can subscribe to Survival of the Fastest on the 'Join Us' tab.

We hope you will join this business community which is developing in the spirit of YouTube – rate videos, leave comments and offer up your own video responses. Visit the channel to hear what the experts have to say and participate to make your voice heard.

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team