Advertising in music services, and ad technologies that power it.
adStream is a journal of ad-stalking and interesting commercial sightings in online audio services. In Pandora, Promoted Stations are sponsored playlists branded by advertisers, and co-created with Pandora’s curation experts. The program launched in May with several advertising partners, but the sponsored stations are difficult to find. We found one. Continue Reading
RAIN CEO Jennifer lane looks at SmartReach Digital, a full-service digital agency formed by Entercom, one of the largest broadcasters in the U.S., and staffed with a team of experienced digital marketers. The idea is new and innovative to radio, but one that has taken hold with newspapers, tv, and other locally driven media outlets. Continue Reading
Jay Green, previously the National Account Director at PodcastOne, has joined AdLarge as VP, Digital Sales and Content Partnerships. Before PodcastOne, Green spent 12 years at Dial Global, in research and strategic operation roles. Continue Reading
When we read that Feature.FM would be supplying sponsored music to 8tracks, we took the opportunity to catch up with David Porter, 8tracks founder and CEO, to discuss that deal and native advertising generally. Our conversatijon also went into data science and user personalization. Continue Reading
Pandora’s workmanlike earnings call conveyed the impression of offhand dominance in the field, but after-hours investors sent the stock careening down a steep slope, off 12% in early evening trading.
The company met financial expectations, but lowered guidance for the current quarter (Jul – Sep). Perhaps more influential to trigger-happy investors were the audience metrics, which showed no audience growth. There was expansion of listening hours, however, emphasized by CEO Brian McAndrews as the more important key in the revenue equation. Continue Reading
Business software company Marketron today announced the addition of location-based advertising to its suite of monetization products. Location-based advertising addresses the dominant trend in digital listening, which is the migration of consumers to mobile environments. An eMarketer study this month concluded that mobile advertising will surpass traditional radio advertising revenue this year. Continue Reading
Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio is partnering with ad-tech provider AdsWizz to create “unique and integrated digital advertising capabilities,” it was announced this morning. The partnership will enhance ad insertion and targeting across a wide scope of brands and content — over 840 Clear Channel radio stations that stream live webcasts on the iHeart platform. Continue Reading
During Pandora’s development of its advertising model, we have tracked the development of its local sales organization spread across dozens of city markets. With less publicity, Pandora is also building an in-house creative advertising team that works with agencies and advertisers to build customized messages, programs, and productions to connect brands with targeted groups of listeners. The effort leverages a combination of media creativity and data knowledge.
To get a better picture of how this works, and some examples, we spoke with Heidi Browning, Pandora’s SVP of Strategic Solutions. She works with chief marketing officers and ad agencies on ideas for what she calls “innovative ad experiences.” Continue Reading
At a recent neighborhood potluck someone asked me about my business. As usual, once I started talking about online audio, everyone at the table identified with Pandora. After a discussion of the types of stations they like to listen to on Pandora, one person mentioned the problem they’ve been having of hearing the same two ads over and over whenever they listen. Continue Reading
In-stream advertising has taken leaps forward in the last year, both in technology and advertiser demand. There are in-stream audio messaging, voice activated ads, geo-fenced and zip code targeted campaigns, branded playlists and sponsored downloads. These innovations, and questions of building ad models that encourage asdvertisers to invest with confidence, will be placed in a bright spotlight at RAIN Summit Indy, September 9 at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading
Pandora is projected to gain overall digital ad share, but it’s still going to hold less than 1 percent of the market. For the digital space, Pandora is expected to increase from 0.34 share in 2012 to hit 0.52 percent this year. While small growth is expected overall, Pandora is likely to lose ground in mobile ad share. Continue Reading
The latest report in our journal of ad-stalking in music services. We spotted a funny mash-up of a wine club and a wakefulness drug. Also, t-Mobile continues its intensive marketing to online listeners of its recently announced data-free music streaming. Continue Reading