The Google brand has been built largely through word of mouth - recommendations from friends and the almost obsessive media coverage of the company. Hardly a day goes by without Google's name being splattered across television, radio, magazines, newspapers and, of course, the Internet. That gives the company even more clout with advertisers and even less reason to advertise itself.

What would happen to Google if it stopped accepting advertising dollars? The company has reportedly sold more than $30 billion in advertising since 2001, but has never spent very much money on advertising itself. Is there a message here for marketing executives?

Back in the dot.com bubble, companies spent themselves out of business by taking out expensive advertising at the Super Bowl or other high-profile channels. Today, companies like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace are able to grow into multi-billion dollar valuations with little or no advertising. Their rise is due to the media relations activities which have helped to generate the plethora of media coverage that they continue to receive.

According to Google marketing chief David Lawee, "We are at an inflection point that could radically change the way marketing is done." He asserts that happy users are worth infinitely more than any good-will advertising might buy.