Last month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, shared his vision for the day when a radio ad would personally address him, and his shopping needs. (See “Google targets GPS-based in-car personalized advertising” and “New Google Audio Ads: pay for placement set pricing, not auction?”)
That day is getting closer.
John Fullam, vice president and market manager for Greater Media Philadelphia, indicates that Google ads are being tested on Greater Media radio stations in Detroit, according to CNET reports:
Google contacted Greater Media a month or so ago and the two have since signed a one-year, nonexclusive contract, he said. Greater Media should be running ads by Google within the next 60 days, he added. Greater Media has 19 radio stations in its network, but Fullam said he did not know how many would be running Google ads.
As is typical of Google initiatives, the expectations for industry disruption are high.
Fullam shares his enthusiasm:
It gives advertisers enormous capabilities at the touch of a finger, capabilities that have never existed before for advertisers. Creating a whole new advertising base and delivering more measurable results is extremely encouraging for advertisers and radio.
Fullam’s enthusisam sounds similar to a Google pitch for Google AdSense for Radio.
How disruptive will Google’s work with dMarc Broadcasting actually be, however?
Google acquired dMarc because of its existing track record in the broadcast space. According to Google:
dMarc connects advertisers and agencies directly to radio stations with a robust advertising platform that automates everything from sales to scheduling, delivery and reports. This enables advertisers to, among others things, purchase and track their campaigns effectively — and significantly reduce the costs associated with processing broadcast ads.
According to dMarc, through its Scott Studios and Maestro automation systems, it is already working with "thousands of radio stations in the US and abroad."
Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, describes AdSense for Radio as “essentially the integration of the dMarc Console and management tools into our advertising network.” Schmidt discussed the status of its dMarc acquisition during last week’s Q2 earnings conference call:
The dMarc team itself is fully integrated. We’re expanding it both in engineering and sales..They’re on an integration schedule of about three months from now, so every week there are more milestones, and they’re working very hard. It’s very exciting.
Google needs to propel its excitement into an AdSense for Radio win. To date, Google’s diversification efforts have not met expectations.
