Marvin Chow Led Google to Become an Authority in Purpose

Between a global social movement that raised the stakes around racial equity and the harrowing peak of the pandemic, the last year has made clear that a perfunctory approach to purpose-driven marketing is no longer going to cut it. With these wake-up calls in mind, Google vp of global marketing Marvin Chow has emerged as a leading voice in modeling a new approach to cause marketing, one that engages with big societal issues in a sincere and impactful manner. “I’ve experienced the renewing energy that comes from being jolted out of autopilot,” Chow, one of our 2021 Adweek 50 recipients, says. “This experience has given us an incredible invitation—if not mandate—to burn it down and start again at first principles. Embracing that willingness to rethink everything is inspiring for me, personally, and for the team.” Stepping up during tough times Chow has spearheaded campaigns that weave communication around vaccinations, sustainability or diversity into emotion-driven projects that show off Google’s capabilities, without either message feeling as if it was shoehorned. Amid the pandemic, Google lent its homepages and other big soapboxes to help spread the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's “Do the Five” quarantine educational campaign. And when Covid-19 vaccinations reached widespread availability, Chow’s team created a poignant spot called "Get Back to What You Love,” which celebrated the return to a modicum of normalcy while simultaneously encouraging vaccination. “When we pair this purpose with our product innovation, we can empower users at a profound scale,” Chow says. “As hope for a vaccine turned toward reality, I was humbled by the role Google could play in empowering people with the factual information—via our product—and the emotional inspiration—via our marketing—to get vaccinated and back to what you love.” Meanwhile, as the nation’s attention turned to societal racial disparities in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests following the police killing of George Floyd, Google rolled out a feature that highlighted Black- and Latinx-owned businesses across its maps tool and search results. And when a spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders was making headlines earlier this year, the company channeled around $11 million in cash and grants to more than 35 organizations supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The latter effort hit especially close to home for Chow, who has spent years advocating for the Asian American community in a personal capacity through organizations like Gold House, a nonprofit that supports Asian American and Pacific Islander founders and creatives. Bing Chen, president and co-founder of Gold House, says Chow's contributions to the wider #StopAsianHate movement struck a deeper chord than some other marketing efforts, thanks to Chow's deep personal investment in the issue. "Marvin continually shows why he’s a trusted authority in the marketing and multicultural communities," Chen says. "While many have pointed to quick PSAs to address the record-high attacks, Marvin and his team incisively peeled deeper into some of the systemic issues that caused the outbreak: misportrayals in media, a shortage of economic empowerment and lack of mass awareness." Tapping into trends In all of these campaigns, Chow and his team have married a human-driven approach with a keen eye for parsing the vast troves of data that come with being one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Chow’s team at Google watched the societal upheaval in recent months play out in Google search trends—terms like “workout at home” and “delivery restaurants near me” gave way to “how to write a resignation letter” and “how to donate.” It allowed the company a more nuanced understanding of cultural trends and the national mood. I’ve experienced the renewing energy that comes from being jolted out of autopilot.Marvin Chow, vp of global marketing, Google Forrester analyst Collin Colburn says the data component has helped Google unify its marketing approach across its b-to-b and consumer-facing strategies in recent years, with an emphasis on the issues analytics show consumers and buyers care about. "They’re using contextual and pertinent messaging to better connect with potential buyers," Colburn says. "On the [consumer] side, it’s been a lot around how Google makes your life better and simpler, reinforcing the brand’s perception." The data has revealed that people are thinking about their actions more than ever in terms of the collective good of society. And there is a firmer expectation that brands will do the same, according to Chow. The next generation of successful marketers will see this type of purpose as so ingrained in everything they do that the missions of their respective brands will become inseparable from societal causes, he says. In doing so, Chow notes that brands will also have to become less afraid of angering certain segments of the population in the name of taking stands, as Ben and Jerry’s and Nike did with their support for Palestine and Colin Kaepernick, respectively. “Tomorrow’s best marketers will be more self-aware, more status quo-challenging and more transformation-driving than ever before,” Chow says. “Their impact will be defined by the heart, mind and soul they devote to their craft. Meaning, we’re building toward a field of experts who embody the critical balance of human empathy, analytical rigor and a deep sense of responsibility to better the world through their brands' actions.” Check out all of our 2021 Adweek 50 honorees here.

The Adweek 50

How Marvin Chow's Efforts Made Google an Authority in Purpose Marketing

The vp of global marketing believes in a 'burn it down and start again' approach

Patrick Kulp

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Patrick Kulp