Ad-Stimulated Moments of Truth Explored in Marketing eBook From Google Exec

According to The New York Times, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth is a new eBook by Jim Lecinski, Google’s Managing Director of US Sales & Service.

In a phone interview with the Times, Mr. Lecinski explained that the title is a play on a phrase that is beloved by Procter & Gamble, “the first moment of truth,” which refers to the few seconds that a shopper looks at, and considers buying, a product on a store shelf.

The “zero moment of truth” is so named because it takes place after an ad for a product stimulates interest in it and before the possible visit to the store to buy it, Mr. Lecinski said.

“Consumers are researching by reading reviews and ratings, asking friends in a social network,” he added. “What the book shows is that this collection of activities is almost as important as the stimulus or the point of purchase.”