Building relevance around a company that was changing the internet.
Spain & Latin America · 2003–2007
Positioning, communications and public affairs during a defining period of Google's international expansion.
The launch began long before the founders arrived.
Before the production work began, TACTICA worked with Miguel de Reina and directly with Mountain View to frame Madrid as more than the launch of Google in Spain. The opportunity was to position it as Google speaking in Spanish, with relevance extending across the Spanish-speaking world. That broader perspective also helped build the case for Larry Page and Sergey Brin to attend together, giving the launch a significance that went well beyond the size of the Spanish market alone.
From mid-July, TACTICA had been working with Google’s local team on the preparation of the Spanish launch, coordinating the many elements required to bring it together. The work ranged from venue sourcing, guest list development, invitations and RSVP management to content preparation, supplier sourcing and negotiation, catering, event staff, goodie bags, production and on-site event management.
More than a launch event.
The founders’ visit extended well beyond the official launch of Google in Spain. The day began at Instituto de Empresa, where Larry Page and Sergey Brin received honorary MBAs, followed by a private lunch with leading Spanish business figures. The official launch presentation took place that afternoon, bringing together media, agencies and advertisers.
Among those attending the Instituto de Empresa ceremony were senior representatives of some of Spain’s leading IBEX 35 companies, bringing Google’s founders into direct contact with the country’s business leadership.
At the time, Google Spain was still a very small operation. Miguel de Reina, its first employee and Country Manager, was leading a local team of only two or three people. The founders could create extraordinary attention around the launch, but the strategy also had to establish who would represent Google once they had left Madrid. The media sequencing was therefore designed to make the most of Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s presence around the launch, while positioning de Reina as Google’s visible local voice from the following day onwards.
It was a combined effort by Google’s local team, IE and TACTICA, designed to introduce Google not simply as a search engine, but as a company becoming increasingly relevant to business, media and the emerging digital economy.
Miguel de Reina, Google Spain Country Manager, with Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Fabio Selmoni, Google’s European Sales Director, during Google’s official launch in Spain.
Eduardo De Santis, Chairman Gold Mercury International, with Larry Page, Google co-founder, Claudio Navarro, CEO of TACTICA, and Sergey Brin Google co-founder, during the launch of Google in Spain in 2003.
Larry Page with Natasha De Santis, President of TACTICA, and Gumersindo Lafuente, then Director of ElMundo.es, during a live digital encounter with the newspaper’s readers on the day Google launched in Spain.
Relevance had to be built beyond the media.
That meant working with institutions, opinion leaders, partners and other stakeholders whose understanding of Google mattered as much as press coverage. TACTICA helped create the relationships and contexts in which Google could be understood not simply as a technology company, but as a new force shaping information, business and culture.
The visit generated extensive national media coverage, valued at more than €1 million at the time.
Google was becoming much more than a search engine.
Between 2003 and 2007, TACTICA worked across Spain and Latin America during a period in which Google was rapidly expanding its products, visibility and influence. The challenge was not simply to generate awareness, but to build relevance, credibility and understanding around a company whose role in everyday life was changing fast.
That regional dimension became part of the day-to-day media work. As Google launched new products and communicated other company developments, TACTICA managed the Spanish-language media distribution directly, routinely including leading outlets across Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, as well as the wider US Hispanic media market. Extending that reach became a consistent part of how TACTICA approached the work, increasing the relevance and impact of each announcement across the Spanish-speaking world.
A trusted local partner on the ground.
For several years, TACTICA served as a trusted partner on the ground in Spain, while supporting Google’s Spanish-language communications across Latin America. The work spanned media relations, institutional engagement, protocol and international executive activity. When senior executives came to Spain, the brief often extended well beyond conventional communications, managing their presence, relationships, agendas and whatever was needed on the ground.
Operating through the quiet period.
Google’s 2004 IPO created an unusual communications environment. While regulatory restrictions sharply limited what could be said about the offering, the company itself did not stop moving. Products and services continued to launch, media interest intensified and the day-to-day communications operation had to continue.
TACTICA worked within that tension, managing incoming media requests, supporting ongoing launches and coordinating with Google’s international teams while constantly distinguishing between what could be discussed, what had to be declined and where communications could continue normally.
The work moved with the company.
As Google expanded through new products, services and markets, TACTICA worked across both communications and launch execution, supporting the introduction of initiatives including Gmail, AdWords, Google News, Google Enterprise, Google Books, Google Local, Google Maps and Google Earth, among others. Key launches were delivered as collaborative efforts, with TACTICA coordinating communications, production and the different partners involved.
Many of these products were not simply new features to announce. They were changing how people searched, communicated, navigated, advertised and accessed information. The communications challenge was therefore to explain not only what Google was launching, but why each new service mattered and how it fitted into a company whose role in everyday life was expanding rapidly.
As Google grew, so did the complexity around it.
As the company’s influence expanded, communications increasingly moved beyond product launches into broader corporate and reputational territory. TACTICA worked closely with Google’s local and European teams to navigate that growing complexity in Spain, combining media relations, public affairs and local judgement.
Google Earth opened another kind of conversation.
When Google Earth was recognised by the Sociedad Geográfica Española in 2006, John Hanke travelled to Madrid to receive the award. TACTICA coordinated his local participation and media agenda around the visit.
At the same ceremony, Sylvia Earle challenged Hanke on what Google Earth was still missing: the oceans.
Later that evening, TACTICA arranged a private dinner with John Hanke and Sylvia Earle, allowing the conversation to continue in a more informal setting
TACTICA was there to witness one of those rare moments when a simple question opens up a much bigger possibility.
It was a special moment: witnessing the beginnings of what would later become Ocean in Google Earth.