Google Maps Favorite Places is a unique marketing ploy by Google I’ve just been alerted to by a post on Techcrunch. In a nutshell, it’s a collection of favorite places around the world as told by famous people or “local experts” in their respective cities. Take for example, former United States Vice President Al Gore; he’s a big fan of The Maldives. Or how about professional beach volleyball player, Kerri Walsh; she loves the sand volleyball court in New York’s Central Park.
Each of these celebrity-endorsed favorite places has a real-world Google Maps marker placed on location, drawing attention to Google Maps and the location or business where the marker is placed. This is a great way for Google to draw attention to its mapping products and its local business listings as well. If I was a business owner with any type of famous connections, I’d be all over this one.
If Google wanted to take this promotional stunt further to promote its products, I’m sure it could. Why not place a QR code on each map marker so passersby could snap a picture and automatically be taken to a Google Maps for mobile download page? Maybe the company could push its Android operating system this way as well. The possibilities are endless really.
