Stevenson was flown down to California from January 14-17 by one of Google’s Premiere Partners, WordStream, who specializes in digital marketing. The Regional Marketing Board placed in the top five in North America in Google AdWords growth during a WordStream contest in fall 2018, with a 25 percent improvement in click-through rate and an 11 percent uptick in quality scores. They were the only organization in Canada to place inside the top five.
Premiere Partners like WordStream are top-performing agencies that gain accreditation from Google as a result of numerous measures, which includes having trained specialists on staff who have passed Google exams, plus significant online spends and revenue growth. As a Premiere Partner, WordStream is given access to the Google staff and the campus for sessions like the one Stevenson attended.
“We got a full tour of the campus as well, where over 10,000 employees are working. It’s a lot like a university campus, really,” Stevenson pointed out. “I didn’t see slides and ping pong tables everywhere, but the buildings were definitely done in a way to create fun and interaction through common areas and they were just inspiring to be in and see. They do a lot to get you to stay on the campus to keep the work flowing, like bringing in mobile hair cutters, providing staff meals everywhere for free and even Google buses with wifi on them to take you home. As awesome as it was, I think I prefer my 10-minute commute here at home,” he jokes.