Radio Advertising on the net

From: Ramon Ray <ramon_at_smallbiztechnology.com>
Date: Thu 27 Apr 2000 06:41:21 -0400

I OFTEN listen to the radio via the Internet (using
Yahoo's BroadCast.com) and enjoy it most of the time.
Sometimes the sound quality is not that great,
however, overall the experience is decent. I KNOW I'm
not alone, as in several of the talk radio shows I
listen to many of the callers tell the host "I'm
listening to you over the Internet" - one caller was
listening to a NYC radio station from the Middle East!

This presents a "problem" and a great opportunity for
the radio station and advertiser to find a solution to
deliver targeted advertisements to these audiences
also.

I know Broadcast.com does put in a small 30 second or
so ad before the streaming begins for their specific
radio program, however, after that initial ad then all
the advertising reverts back to the regular advertising
for the radio station...BUT there is a solution and
check this out..

(From Peppers and Rogers Group ezine)

THE INTERNET KILLED THE RADIO AD
By Don Peppers

No one thinks twice when the radio station they're
listening to advertises a local pizzeria or car
dealership. But as more stations move from bricks to
clicks (making their local broadcasts available
anytime, anywhere), it's going to be a bit
disconcerting -- and kind of fruitless -- for a Web
listener in Australia to hear an ad for tonight's
concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Where's
the value in that?

New technology from Lightningcast and competing startup
HiWire allows radio stations broadcasting live on the
Web to delete local ads and simultaneously replace
them with ads based on each listener's profile. All
you've got to do is provide your non-identifiable
personal information, such as zip code, gender, and
year of birth, to the Web site, and you'll get ads
that better suit you. "We want the listener to
essentially get the maximum value for his or her
listening," says Tom Des Jardins, CEO and CTO of
Lightningcast.

Think of these audio ads as targeted banner ads hitting
Internet radio. In fact, Jim Pavilack, co-founder of
HiWire, says his audio ads can trigger banner ads or
contest windows to pop up. But, Pavilack warns that
the cost of reaching 1,000 listeners is much higher for
targeted audio ads ($150) than for targeted banner
ads ($2 to $15). As the audio ads gain more popularity,
however, their costs should begin to come down.

Lightningcast leaves it up to its seven partner
Internet radio sites (stations such as
Cyberradio2000.com, Voquette.com and Discjockey.com,
which offer an assortment of broadcasts sorted by
musical genre) to collect information about their
listeners. HiWire has its own standalone software
player (basically an Internet radio tuner) with access
to hundreds of stations around the world. HiWire uses
"drip irrigation" -- asking a few questions at a time
-- to collect listener data. "As people become loyal
listeners, we invite them to share more about
themselves," Pavilack says.

It's too early to see any ROI from this technology, but
it seems to be a big hit with stations and customers.
HiWire says it already has distribution deals for its
standalone player with Dell and Hewlett-Packard, and
it just secured a partnership with giant ad firm Grey
Advertising. Lightningcast is looking towards the
future, too. Says Des Jardins: "We're not going to just
be doing streaming audio on desktop browsers -- we'll
be in home-stereo devices, MP3 players, and cell
phones, probably by the end of the summer." That
should be music to a lot of ears.

*To learn more about the author:
 http://www.1to1.com/services/bio-dp1.html

*Links: Lightningcast ( http://www.lightningcast.com )
        HiWire ( http://www.hiwire.com )


Ramon Ray, ramon_at_smallbiztechnology.com
Small biz tech analyst and consultant, http://www.smallbiztechnology.com
THE oasis of small business technology solutions and information





Received on Thu Apr 27 2000 - 05:41:21 CDT