There are a few details about Google’s foray into radio advertising that make it sound like an idea worth trying.
Listen Up: Google Audio Ads
Google’s oft-stated desire to organize the world’s information meshes well with Clear Channel, which has managed to consolidate much of the US radio landscape under one umbrella. Together, they may make audio advertising for AdWords customers more appealing than people realize.
On the Google Consumer Packaged Goods blog, the company’s Corrine Perri provided an update on Google Audio Ads. She referenced their agreement with Clear Channel, one that provides a “portion of guaranteed, premium 30-second advertising inventory on 675 Clear Channel AM & FM stations.”
Clear Channel stations are all over the country. People spend a lot of time in their cars, where they are likely tuned in to one of those stations for a period of time. Perri provided some numbers that make Google’s Audio Ads program a more interesting proposition:
These Clear Channel Radio stations, when combined with our existing radio station partners, give our advertisers access to radio inventory on over 1600 top-rated radio stations throughout the country, with “Top 10” stations in 24 of the top 25 U.S. markets and coverage of over 99% of the U.S. population aged 12 and older (meaning 99% of people 12+ can tune in an hear one of our stations; Source: ACT1 / Arbitron).
Various options for targeting these ads, like location, day and time, demographics, and station type, make the product one a marketer should at least consider when building a campaign.
