A new opportunity for SMEs

Does Google's recent move to allow keyword bidding on all terms typed into its search I think it does.

Whilst entering a brand name into a search engines is very likely to indicate a strong predeliction for that brand's products, it also makes a good starting point for research online. You are saying, "I'd like something like that brand's product, but I'm open to suggestions". If the alternative doesn't match up, then the keyword sponsor is wasting their money; if it does, then the consumer gets what they want, probably for less.

But before you get too excited, a word of warning; it will be expensive to compete, especially as you will lose out on the brands to relevancy (you can't use the brand name in your advert) and you will be working hard to pry away loyal customers. So you'd better make sure your offering is well targeted to that brand's customers and is compelling enough to make them make the switch. Otherwise you could face a large bill for unprofitable clicks.