MF Article - BIG Shareholders go guarantor for revenue growth. Is it sustainable?, page-109

It's possible what you're saying. I work with SMEs so my first hand experience is they are annoyed by Google and FB adds, anecdotally they don't see much ROI. It's been sold to them you get data, you get insights, we target your adds etc but often they just don't see the return in bottom line sales in any meaningful way. Add blockers are becoming more common, reducing the effectiveness of their targeted claims (less so in Aus yet, but its starting to show signs of being material in the US).

BIG is partnering with Zeta (which aims to take on FB and Google in the analytics / marketing place by offering alternative ways to market to customers), is about to launch an App where SME's will have their video's they paid for included, can promote directly to customers etc who we hope will be engaged by the deals and incentives to leave video reviews.

I agree FB and Google could go down this path but right now I see the Google offering as simply a classified system with the option to add a video. Yes they may morph this into something more integrated, create more of an ecosystem around this etc. What's in it for Google though realistically? Their business is to sell adds. If they create a beefed up classified business based on video how will they make money? Asking every business to pay to be listed? Promote advertised companies to the detriment of other businesses? It's actually not as easy for them as you think. Each option has the potential to kill other parts of their revenue.

Truth be told, I don't think any one product will capture the entire market. As we know businesses advertise on Google and FB etc and there's nothing stopping them paying BIG for a video (Google and FB don't do on the ground work) by someone who will visit their business, talk with the owner and get additional visibility of their business for free into a app ecosystem that they don't have to pay for.

If anything I think BIG is more of a business for a big player to buy IF it can execute. But that's my opinion and a far cry what this thread is about.