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eMarketer expects Pandora to see growth in overall digital ad share, decline in mobile for 2014

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

adStream: Competitive ads

Should radio and Internet radio platforms run ads for competitors? In the battle for “share of ear,” this is a question we have examined from a number of angles. During our recent ad-stalking, we spotted Google advertising its streaming service (Google Play All Access) on Pandora. the call to action lifted us right out of Pandora into Google. Continue Reading

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Radio’s digital marketing opportunities: a RAIN Summit Indy focus (and conversation with Gordon Borrell)

On September 9, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, RAIN Summit Indy will spotlight and break out an emerging topic: how local radio stations can expand their businesses beyond the single revenue stream of ad sales, via marketing and providing digital services to local businesses.

RAIN spoke with Gordon Borrell about the opportunity for radio to develop this new, high-potential business line. Continue Reading

Mobile advertising will surpass radio and print this year

New research from eMarketer proclaims that a shift to mobile helps define the largest growth in total media ad spending since 2004. Total media spending will reach $180-billion in 2014, according to the research projection — that’s a 5.3% boost from 2013. Starting this year, mobile advertising will surpass radio ad revenue, newspaper ad spends, and magazine advertising. Continue Reading

The business of podcasts: conversation with Adam Sachs, new Midroll Media CEO

Two weeks ago podcast production and distribution company Earwolf merged with The Midroll, a podcast advertising agency spawned from Earwolf’s monetization efforts, to form Midroll Media. RAIN spoke with new Midroll Media CEO Adam Sachs about the merger’s values, how podcast ads are sold, and the future of on-demand talk programming. Continue Reading

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Seattle radio station lowers ad load to Internet-radio level

One of the key differentiators of streaming music and online radio is relatively low “spot load” — the amount of commercial time in a hour — compared to broadcast radio. A terrestrial station in Seattle is creating broadcast buzz today with an announcement that it will dramatically reduce its commercial load, approaching the level of Internet radio. It’s called “The 2 Minute Promise.” Continue Reading

adStream: McDonalds “Think With Your Mouth” campaign

adStream is a journal of ad-spottings in online music services that highlight how commercials (audio and visual) can be an integrated part of the online listening experience.

We noted that the McDonalds “Think With Your Mouth” campaign for Big Mac sandwiches won an award at Cannes Lions this year, and we have been spotting the digital placements in streaming music services, including iHeartRadio. Continue Reading

adStream: Spotify to pitch video sponsorships of entire playlists

At RAIN Summit NYC in February, Gary Liu, Global Head of Industry Development at Spotify, suggested a novel advertising strategy during a panel session. Liu speculated that music-service listeners might be willing to play ads on demand, in order to clear out advertising for an extended stretch of uninterrupted music listening. There were some chuckles in the audience over that, but a report in AdAge indicates that Spotify will pitch a similar idea to advertisers at this week’s Cannes Lions festival. Continue Reading