Google's Big Marketing Push Pays Off for its Pixel Phone Over Holiday

Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Pixel phone was advertised everywhere this holiday and that aggressive marketing push produced a decent debut quarter for the smartphone, the first high-end device Google made itself, according to analysts and industry insiders. The early traction came at a cost though; the online search juggernaut more than doubled its TV ad budget over the holidays to push Pixel and its new Home speaker, according to one research firm.
As quoted in the press release:

Pixel devices accounted for 12.3 percent of phone activations with Verizon Communications Inc., the device’s initial wireless carrier in the U.S., according to a survey of fifty Verizon stores by telecommunications research firm Wave7. There weren’t enough devices at several outlets, the survey also found. Verizon declined to comment.
Investment bank Evercore ISI patched together the Wave7 data to estimate that Google shipped 552,000 Pixel phones in the fourth quarter. Evercore pegged revenue from those sales at $386 million for the quarter. The bank also estimated initial sales of 500,000 units for Google Home, the $129 intelligent speaker meant to rival Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo.

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