Social networking may be grabbing the focus of digital agencies in the Americas and Europe, but don’t write-off online radio advertising. That’s the message from the on-demand social radio pioneers at Pandora as they boost their online adsales teams.
Pandora has played a key role in the world of on-demand social internet radio. The corporate history is littered with major challenges about rights and the notions of ‘broadcast’ media, but the radio station weathered the storm and earned both respect from music lovers and social media strategists.
And now they’re earning a good few dollars from the ad industry. This month’s announcements about increased sales staff in New York and Chicago may feel like small steps from a small online media player, but as audiences switch out of traditional radio, Pandora and iTunes are providing the models they’re tuning into.
For Pandora it’s about multi-platform advertising solutions. Although their focus is on the US regional and national markets, we’d expect to see the model broaden within the next 18 months and become much more international again.
By taking on ex-agency and news publisher heavyweights (Universal McCann, Fox and NY Times are among the sources of the latest key hires), it’s clear that the niche radio network has plans that are anything but niche.
John Trimble – Chief Revenue Officer of Pandora – is clear that the positioning is towards smartphone access in wireless markets. “We are scaling our ad solutions and sales team to meet with demand, and we welcome the experience and talent that each of these new executives will bring to their respective roles. They will further our mission to connect brands of all sizes with consumers, by leveraging the visual and audio advertising capabilities Pandora offers on web, mobile, connected consumer electronics and in automobiles via smartphones.”