From websites, to videos and recently in print, Google is now focusing on radio. The news is that Google is on a hiring spree of radio sales people and stepped up its investments significantly to grab a market share in the $20 billion dollar radio industry.
According to Michael Mayzel, Google spokesperson, Google will begin a public test of Google Audio Ads program by the end of this year, which is in about just over a month from now if not earlier. In the program, advertisers will be able to go online and sign up for targeted radio ads just like AdWords in websites.
Google sent signals about its seriousness in the radio ad biz when it agreed to pay over a billion dollars (subject to performance) earlier this year in January for DMarc Broadcasting that connects advertisers to radio stations through an automated advertising system.
Google boss Eric Schmidt has said investment in radio advertising could grow over time to include up to 1,000 Google employees in not only ad sales, but engineering and operations as well. Therefore, this current recruitment drive and stepped up investments are in line with Google’s audio designs that it started making over a year back.
Now that Google is stepping on the gas in the radio segment, companies like Clear Channel (which controls about 20% of local radio industry revenue) must be having some sleepless nights. However, they declined to comment on recent speculations that Google might bid for a stake in the company.
History has proved that if Google sets its eyes on something, it goes on to achieve it. After having an almost free run in the online ads sales where Google’s nearest competitors like Yahoo! are lagging far behind, it is well on the course to become the numero uno ad sales company in all sorts of media - print, audio, video. However, that is still some distance away.
By the way, Google always travel in breakneck speed, don’t they?
