socialmediocrity

Fictional character Jeeves is set to return to the UK following a relaunch of the Ask.com search engine, in it’s latest attempt to become anything more than an also-ran in the search market and challenge the dominance of Google.

But it is unclear what, beyond a cosmetic makeover, they are planning to offer users that will differentiate their service.

Gone is the pinstripe jacket for jeeves, in favour of a less-stuffy charcoal grey, and in comes a high-def 3D rendition of the character.

Unfortunately a large part of the recognition users may have had for the old Jeeves (83% according to research) will be wasted – the 3D image is so vastly different to the 2D cartoon version originally developed. What is clear is that, at roughly one-tenth the size of live.com (from Google.com/adplanner) they have someway to go to recover any ground whatsoever.

As part of the campaign, Ask are going to release pictures showing where Jeeves has been for the last three years. Whilst photo-sharing has become increasingly popular, I’m not convinced this alone will be the killer social media campaign it’s obviously intended to be.

Does anyone really care where Jeeves has been the last three years? I’ve been getting along fine without him, and I’m not sure I have time these days to indulge him. I have trouble enough wading through the vast array of photos available from real people I am now connected to.

I can’t help feeling that the search market is not driven by brands. Google have acheived their position largely through superior product and word-of-mouth. It has become embedded in the psyche of the web-user. It’s probably one of the most-successful viral-marketing stories ever, possibly better even than Hotmail, and yet Ask seem to think investment in brand is the answer to compete against one of the world’s largest and most popular brands.