Google's advertisers are always pushing to broaden their advertising options in effective ways. The latest avenue that Google have chosen to go down is radio - a seemingly great opportunity to further their advertising revenue. Google started laying down plans to integrate with the online radio advertising platform at the beginning of the year when they bought dMarc Broadcasting. DMarc connect advertisers and agencies directly to radio stations with robust advertising platforms that automate everything from sales to scheduling, delivery and reports. This enables advertisers to, among others things, purchase and track their campaigns effectively, as well as significantly reduce the costs associated with processing broadcast ads. The purchase came with a $102 million price tag and allowed Google to immediately start testing Audio Ads for a select group of its AdWords advertisers.
The new product, 'Google Audio Ads' in beta form, is close to being launched and Google have said that the system will be able to target customers by location, station type, day of the week, and time of day.
Google plans to extend targeted, measurable advertising to the broadcast space, and the engineers and executives at Google are currently working to seamlessly integrate the dMarc technologies and operations in order to offer AdWords advertisers a broad suite of digital broadcast options.
Google spokesman Michael Mayzel spoke out recently, stating that Google were on track to officially launch 'Google Audio Ads in 2006'. And with only a few weeks of the year left, it is hoped that Google will make the announcement soon.
Google are already pitching Google Audio Ads to advertisers; national and local advertisers and agencies can gain fast, customized access to thousands of stations through Google's digital, automated platform and receive real-time information as campaigns air.
The steps are as follows:
- Station inventory management system and studio log.
- Google links electronically with stations to search for inventory that fits advertiser criteria.
- Inventory is paired with advertiser requests.
- Google delivers automated order to radio station and reserves inventory
Google have posted guidelines for audio ad creation on their web site.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has taken a special personal interest in the Google dMarc Broadcasting radio play. He claims that Google's 'targeted, measurable advertising' via car radio will steer him in the right direction when "he needs a pair of pants" - or so he hopes! Schmidt believes that when people are listening to the radio in their car, radio ads should personally address them about their particular needs. For example, in Schmidt's case, while driving past a clothing store, a radio ad should remind him that he needs a pair of pants and instruct him to turn left at the upcoming clothing store.
Note to UK readers: Schmidt is talking about "pants" in the American sense, meaning "trousers" - not underpants!
