by Rupal Parekh, Advertising Age
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Groupon may not need Google to grow. But it does need some good, old-fashioned advertising.
With a swift talk-to-the-($6 billion)-hand, Groupon turned down an acquisition offer from Google. But as it eyes more global markets and aims to connect with a wider swath of consumers — while also fending off mounting competition from the likes of Living Social and other daily-deal clones — Groupon is turning to Madison Avenue.
In the coming weeks, expect to see the social e-commerce trailblazer make its foray onto TV, including pregame spots in the Feb. 6 broadcast of Super Bowl XLV. You would have seen Groupon in the big game, according to two industry executives, but it was shut out: that inventory, which nets as much as $3 million a pop from advertisers, had sold out by October.
Groupon has been ramping up by quietly tapping a variety of agencies to handle various marketing duties. It’s expected to partner with MDC Partners’ Crispin Porter & Bogusky for traditional advertising, and, considering that shop’s reel of creepy (Burger) Kings, talking mannequins and Volkswagen Beetles, Groupon appears to have no intention of playing it safe.
It has also added a media agency of record in Publicis Groupe’s Starcom. Over the Christmas holidays Groupon CEO Andrew Mason sent a note to cable networks alerting them to the new relationship. And last month, Groupon tapped Havas-owned Euro RSCG, Chicago, for help with customer-relationship marketing strategies, a move that Groupon Director of Marketing John Becvar last month said was part of an effort to “test different programs with our growing base of Groupon subscribers.”
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