Google is solidly entrenched as one of the big names in the world of advertising. In fact, the search engine is already firmly leading the way in the realm of online advertising and is constantly looking for even more lucrative outlets for their advertising customers.
According to Google's vice president of advertising sales, Tim Armstrong, "Google is committed to exploring new ways to extend targeted, measurable advertising to other forms of media". This certainly seems true, as Google has dabbled in magazine advertising with small scale trials since 2005, and also launched an offline test with 50 newspaper publishers in November of last year.
Since Google's acquisition of dMarc Broadcasting in early 2006 for $102 million, there has been additional speculation as to the future direction of their advertising strategies. With the incorporation of dMarc into the already established Google AdWords system, which allows advertisers to buy automated advertising online, the stage has been set for Google to branch out into supplying radio advertising as well as advertising on the internet.
Last month, bigmouthmedia reported that Google Inc announced the completion of its widely anticipated new radio advertising system. It also started with a limited test of the system, which allows customers to buy ads via its online ad-buying system to be distributed on the radio.
In an official statement, Google said:
"We're happy to announce that the integration is now complete and we've recently begun a U.S. beta test of Google Audio Ads with a small group of AdWords advertisers."
The US tests of these Google Audio Ads has so far included over 700 different radio stations which provide coverage of more than 200 metropolitan regions.
In a research report for JPMorgan Chase, Imran Khan wrote, "We believe this acquisition provides further evidence that Google is serious about extending its AdWords platform beyond Internet media." He further stated, "We believe Google's efforts to extend its advertising model into traditional media could pay off over the longer term."
Analysts are also predicting that Google will make investments to advertise with local television channels and business papers, making them a one-stop shop for all types of ad sales rather than simply a medium for cost-per-click advertising.
While Google has not yet stated when the radio tests will be opened up to the public, there have been industry murmurings of a possible deal between Google and CBS.
According to Tim Hanlon of Denuo, "It makes sense that the radio industry would be experimenting with alternate ways to squeeze more value out of their advertising inventory."
Although no deal has so far been announced, this collaboration would provide almost 150 new radio station outlets to Google advertisers, further expanding Google's access to the major markets as well as boosting the potential revenue stream and audience figures for CBS.
