Google Patent Advertising Taxi Ride Concept

The technology giants have yet again displayed their passion for innovation, being the first to patent an idea that could be extremely advantageous for businesses seeking sales. Google are ingenious when identifying and solving problems and floors in business success. Google offer the largest advertising platform there is and have discovered that there is a huge issue with advertising in general. Google has noticed that advertising can only work to an extent, planting seeds in the minds of consumers so they recognise brands, establishments and so on.  The issue that Google has detected is that people need to actually arrive at the environment in which the advertised service is being offered. On the back of this epiphany Google have patented the idea to offer customers a free or discounted taxi to the location of their advertisers. Algorithms would work out the customer's location, the best route and form of transport says Google. Gregory Roekens, chief technology officer at advertising company AMV BBDO, told the BBC: "This is trying to turn advertising into a utility and remove barriers for consumers. It's a really interesting idea." This is all very true. We are definitely enticed by offers but the reality of making our way to a venue far away does discourage us from attending. "Getting a potential customer to a business location in order to conduct a sale may be one of the most difficult tasks for a business or advertiser," Google says in its US patent for the "transportation-aware physical advertising conversions" system. Alex Kozloff, head of mobile at the Internet Advertising Bureau, told the BBC: "I think this sounds like a really interesting idea, but its success all depends on its execution and the consumer benefit." What do you think, would you take a ride in a Google taxi?