Google is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Globally a large number of countries use Google for their search engine needs and also online application and products such as Google drive or Gmail. In Russia Google is second among search engine websites, and is currently losing out to Russian based search engine Yandex. According to Bloomberg News Yandex has 62% of the Russian market compared to the 27% percent that Google occupies. Social network Vkontakte (which oddly resembles Facebook) a Russian based social media site currently is more popular than Facebook and adds 130,000 users a day according to George Loubushkin a Vkontakte spokesperson.
Google aims to become relevant in Russian by putting on a free concert with YouTube, featuring the YouTube Awards. Google has amassed a number of resources during its existence and one of them is in combination with YouTube. A number of things drew Google to users YouTube in Russian. Russian currently has a $96 Million market for online video advertising compared to the U.S. 4$ billion budget. Google can afford it and not spend as much compared to the United States and also internet companies can charge more for professionally produced content as many Russian artists have their own channel on the site where they show ads and get a portion of the revenue.
Google employed this marketing strategy because it is cost effect with the potential to supply a service that not only they could benefit from but so could the users. YouTube is currently the largest online video service in Russian with 50 million users. Like many other internet companies the greatest opponent to them is music and video piracy services. In a document reported by International Intellectual Property Alliance Vkontakte is Russia’s “largest single distributor of infringing music." Piracy is highly regarded in Russian compared to other countries that look down upon it. Google aims to use YouTube as a marketing tool to exhibit the medium of YouTube as an option for online music and media content. Through events like the YouTube Awards and other music events broadcasting on and through YouTube, Google hopes to attract Russia’s band populations to post songs on their site.
Google may not be as relevant yet in Russia but it is making a number of efforts to become more relevant than it currently is. To provide a service that may steer other from not only a different source but a source that is looked downed upon by a number of countries. The one greatest thing that Google uses to appeal to Russian bands that Vkontakte does not provide, it is a user hit count says Igor Lobanov, leader of alternative-rock band Slot in Russia.