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Apr. 23, 2007 at 9:40am Eastern by Barry Schwartz
Performics: "Business As Usual," Despite Google's Planned Purchase
Many have wondered if it's a conflict for Google to keep the search marketing-focused Performics division of DoubleClick as part of Google's planned DoubleClick acquisition, since it would seem odd for Google to own a firm with an interest in helping people rank well on Google.
Kris Jones of Pepperjam has the latest statement from Performics on the issue. Stuart Frankel, president of Performics, says there are no plans to change the business. The key part of his statement:
We have consistently and repeatedly communicated to our clients, publishers and employees that it is business as usual at Performics. Let me make this absolutely clear. We are not dissolving or shutting down or significantly altering the Performics business. To the contrary, we continue to actively build our core affiliate and search business units. In fact, we are currently recruiting for 25 open positions across all areas of Performics. In particular, our affiliate business has seen dramatic growth in 2007 and as a result, DoubleClick has accelerated its investment in this area of its business. We are a large supporter and participant in industry forums and we support an open and active dialogue regarding the affiliate marketing industry.
In Danny's postscript of Google To Acquire DoubleClick For $3.1 Billion, Danny agrees with Kris that he "fully expects to see Performics get sold off." Time will tell.
Postscript From Danny: Frankly, and with respect to Google, DoubleClick and Performics, the entire conflict Performics poses feels like an afterthought. I simply cannot see how Google thinks it will maintain running a search marketing firm. The responses I've seen so far suggest the conflicts have simply not been carefully thought out, and I feel it is almost a certainty that Performics will either significantly change or be sold off. I'm checking with the companies further on this.
Postscript 2: Google sent a statement:
They have built a strong business that is valued by their clients, and we will be evaluating all strategic alternatives for this business. We are committed to continuing to meet the needs of Performics clients, and we expect no interruption in service during this transition. Google has many important agency, SEM, and other partner relationships, and we continue to value those relationships.
This is the same listed in the FAQ on the planned DoubleClick purchase but a different statement than that FAQ originally had, where Google talked about having "no plans to dispose of it at this time."
DoubleClick said it had no comment other than:
Each company will continue to operate independently until close. We defer to Google since this is about post-close.
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By Barry Schwartz
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See Related Stories In: Google: Acquisitions, Google: Critics, SEM Industry: Acquisitions, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
I'm with Danny on this. No way Google keeps Performics as is. I'm not dismissing the possibility that they might keep some staff and "repurpose" them into activities that leverage their expertise in a way that doesn't present a conflict of interest for them, but it's much more likely that they just sell the unit outright. I've posted my thoughts on the deal and what it means for various parties here: http://closed-loop-marketing.com/blog/2007/04/26/title/.