Google on Friday said it will work with Robynn & Kendy, one of Hong Kong’s fastest rising girl groups, to live broadcast their concert by its new feature Google+ Hangouts On Air – a free group video chatting service which can turn individual into self media and make public broadcast worldwide. The girl group’s fans will be able to watch the show at 8pm on Sunday by checking "Enable Hangouts On Air" in Robynn & Kendy’s official Google+ page. It will be the first Hangouts On Air show Google rolls out with musicians in Hong Kong.
Ever since launching Google+ in June last year, the search giant has been launching at least one new feature a day, according to Ryan Hayward, Product Marketing Manager for Google. More than 170 million people have upgraded to Google+ and over one million Google+ Pages have been created.
Hangouts On Air was introduced to a limited number of broadcasters last year by Google, enabling them to go live with friends and fans around the world. The company rolled out the feature worldwide on 7 May, letting its members to broadcast their conversations in front of global audience.
The launch of Hangouts On Air brings a new way for brands to interact with consumers. Prestigious brands such as McDonald’s, Uniqlo, HTC, Toyota, Malaysia Airline have been exploring the new marketing platform to launch campaigns and connect with fans. McDonald’s in January launched the "Las Vegas Burger" in Japan by broadcasting a taste test via Google+ Hangouts. Toyota also used Hangouts feature to let bloggers have live conversation with chief engineer.
There have been over one million brand pages on Google+ since its debut and most of the top brands have already joined the social network. The rollout of the feature gives Google a competitive edge against its archrival Facebook by introducing a platform for brands to have real-time face-to-face interaction with consumers and get fast feedback. The internet Titan does not only aim to build Google+ a social network but the social spine across all Google products.
To watch how Toyota uses Hangouts, click the video below.