Tag Archives: advertising

Google Audio: About Your Ad form

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In another lifetime I wrote radio “spots.” A lot of ’em. So please feel free to skip this “shop talk” post.

TechCrunch is getting reports from advertisers that Google Audio Ads have been added as an option to their Adwords accounts. Interesting to see the data collected  with the “About Your Ad” form (Goal of ad; target customer; key messages; call to action; etc.).

And this from the comments on the post: “I’ve been using Audio Ads for months now. I like how you can listen to the actual snippet of your ad being played on the station. I don’t like how you can’t choose a specific radio station, only the type of format and DMA.”

Wonder how they’re getting the mini-air check? I can see how advertisers would love that.

Bonus link: “Analysts Peek Into Google’s Pitch to Radio” (Radio World)

“Child-safe and Disney-friendly”

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“the future of any audio entertainment that is financed by advertisers is a future where the content is child-safe and Disney-friendly – a future specifically monitored by agents with agendas to ensure that the inoffensive, the harmless, and the docile float to the top of what’s “acceptable.” – Mark Ramsey (Hear 2.0)

Which only means that we’ll have to pay for the good stuff.

Commercial radio…without commercials

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“Facing increasing competition from satellite radio and iPods, Clear Channel Communications is trying something radically different at a commercial radio station in Texas: getting rid of the commercials.

As of today, KZPS in Dallas — on the dial at 92.5 FM or online at lonestar925.com — will no longer run traditional 30- or 60-second advertisements. Instead, advertisers sponsor an hour of programming, during which a D.J. will promote its product conversationally in what the company calls integration.” — New York Times

Google will sell ads on Clear Channel

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Google has broken into radio with a multi-year advertising sales agreement with the largest U.S. broadcaster, Clear Channel Radio. Clear Channel said it has agreed for Google to sell a guaranteed portion of the 30-second spots available on its 675 radio stations in top U.S. markets, in a bid to expand the universe of local radio advertisers to Google’s online buyers.

A Clear Channel executive said Google has access to less than 5% of the radio broadcaster’s overall inventory of advertising air time. The U.S. radio industry generates $20 billion in annual sales. [USAToday]

Google Audio looking better to radio groups

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“Google is finding some friends. There are plenty of critics of Google’s foray into radio — but we’re slowly seeing some group heads come out and say there may be a place for the Internet giant in radio sales. Regent tested the service in two markets and CEO Bill Stakelin says they sold “a tremendous amount of inventory” and the results “far exceeded our expectations.” He says the issue that remains to be worked out is pricing.

While Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan says “if Google has the advertiser that we’re never going to call on at rates that make sense … then it’s business that we want to take.” Smulyan says Google’s efforts are especially welcome in “transactional” markets like New York and L.A. where radio has done a “marginal job” at attracting new advertisers.

Meanwhile — Border Media Partners CEO Tom Castro says many folks are focusing on HD and streaming. But the real technological breakthrough will come on the sales side. Castro says “it’s not very sexy — but it’s where we are going to make a lot of money in the future.” — INSIDE RADIO report from the Kagan Radio-TV Summit:

March Madness stats, YouTube deal

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“As of 4 p.m. on the first day of the NCAA tournament, CBS Sportsline said it had logged 1.5 million visits and 800,000 registrations to March Madness on Demand, the site’s free live video service. Just before the tip off of the Maryland-Davidson game, 189,000 users were waiting in line to watch the game live. Impressive. Meanwhile, CBS cut another deal with YouTube, this time to stream March Madness highlights on the site. The section is sponsored by Pontiac, which is also sponsoring coverage on the air.” — Lost Remote

Write for your audience

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KATGI’m a big fan of the Keith and the Girl podcast. If you have never listened you can skip this post because it probably won’t make any sense. Keith is a sort-of stand-up comic who shoots the shit with his girlfriend, Chemda, for an hour every day. Explicit content. Not for sissies. I love the show.

I finally got around to visiting the “Support” page on their website and discovered some very effective ad copy. For example:

“Blockbuster gives you sissy cuts of movies and claims you didn’t return your film. Netflix gives you the dirtiest version available and gives you the benefit of the doubt. Blockbuster doesn’t believe the holocaust happened. Netflix has all the holocaust movies. Netflix has never let us down. Blockbuster raped my grandmother. (You can rent those tapes through Netflix.)”

I would be very surprised if Keith did not write this copy. Clearly his style. This copy is effective because it is –in the context of their podcast– real. This is the way Keith and Chemda talk. This is what their listeners expect from them. Attitude.

I’m not sure some ad agency wonk could write this. And if they tried, it somehow would not sound legit. And I’ll bet you a hot oil back rub that Keith and Chemda insist on writing the copy. They get that Madison Avenue bullshit would not work on their site.