Cindy McCaffrey, Google’s vice president of corporate marketing, is leaving the technology company, the first top executive to depart after the IPO. McCaffrey has been chugging away at the P.R. business for 20 years, including gigs at Apple Computer, E*TRADE and the 3DO Company. And that’s after starting a career as a journalist. She’s been at Google more than five years, which means that, post-IPO, she can comfortably go off and do nothing. And that’s apparently what she intends to do for now.
McCaffrey shaped Google’s low-key marketing approach, rejecting a high-profile campaign in the company’s early years in favor of word-of-mouth marketing, colleague Matt Marshall says. “Remember, (then interim marketing V.P.) Scott Epstein brought in some high-powered advertising experts and proposed a massive advertising campaign in late 1999. McCaffrey, siding with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, rejected that approach, saying they’d rather spend their money on developing the best product, which would be the best way of generating publicity. That was a significant step for two reasons. First, because everyone else around them at the time was spending millions on ads. Second, because other search engines (think Excite, et al) had successfully pursued such ad strategies to get a leap ahead of the competition.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
11 Trackbacks
5:05 am
Threadwatch.org said:
Google Loses Top PR Exec - Cindy McCaffrey Quits
Cindy McCaffrey, who’s a bit dishy from the look of her Google Profile is quitting the mighty G
Responsible for Googles low-key PR over the last 5yrs s
7:46 am
Media Guerrilla said:
Google Marketing VP is Leaving
Cindy McCaffrey, Google’s VP of corporate marketing, has confirmed she’s leaving the company. Matt and a few other Voce colleagues had the opportunity to work with Cindy on some PR projects in Google’s early years, and while we have since
9:38 am
Search Engine Watch Blog said:
Marketing Head Cindy McCaffrey Leaving Google
Forget PageRank. If Google had a secret weapon (or two or three) to count toward its incredible successes, Cindy McCaffrey was a key part of the arsenal. And now, according to SiliconBeat, she’s departing: McCaffrey leaving Google. McCaffrey, vice…
1:18 pm
Platinax Internet News said:
Cindy McCaffrey leaves Google
Cindy McCaffrey, leader of Google’s corporate marketing efforts, with responsibility for corporate communications as well as marketing of Google’s products and services to consumers and business customers, is reportedly leaving the company. The story i…
3:08 pm
Google Dirson said:
Primer directivo que abandona Google tras Salida a Bolsa
Cindy McCaffrey ha sido, durante los �ltimos cinco a�os, la m�xima responsable de m�rketing en Google y una de las principales defensoras de la promoci�n ‘boca a boca’.
3:19 pm
John Battelle's Searchblog said:
Cindy - An Appreciation
Now that the news is out that Cindy McAffrey is leaving Google, I can post an appreciation. I first met Cindy when I was a cub reporter for MacWeek in 1987. She handled PR for a portion of Apple, and it was my job to try to get anything I could on the…
7:19 pm
Search Engine Guide said:
McCaffrey leaving Google
Source: SiliconBeat - Cindy McCaffrey, Google’s vice president of corporate marketing, is leaving the technology company, the first top executive to depart after the IPO….
11:57 am
ResearchBuzz said:
Cindy McCaffrey is Leaving Google
According to SiliconBeat, Google’s vice president of corporate marketing, Cindy McCaffrey, is leaving Google. I communicated a lot with Cindy in Google’s early years. She was always very straight up…
5:33 pm
Professional-PM Project Management said:
Cindy McCaffrey Marketing Guru leaving Google
Cindy McCaffrey Marketing Guru leaving Google
5:34 pm
Professional-PM Project Management said:
Cindy McCaffrey Marketing Guru leaving Google
Cindy McCaffrey Marketing Guru leaving Google
11:49 pm
PR Fuel - A Service of eReleases said:
Is Google About To Ratchet Up The Marketing Engine?
My pals at The New York Post report that Google may tap Crispin Porter + Bogusky as its ad agency of record. Why? Who knows. I don’t see the point in spending any money on marketing at this point, but…