Transparent Advertising
Posted by Pat Kitano at 4/16/2007 10:27 PM 
Categories: Social Media, Disintermediation, Transparency
Categories: Social Media, Disintermediation, Transparency
Based on an inquiry from John Harper about whether it's now possible to place ads on Clear Channel radio networks via an online Google Adwords for Audio interface, I checked the status. Google is now registering potential customers for Google Audio Ads. They are also signing up radio stations with Adsense for Audio to sell their excess inventory.
I thought about how effective radio advertising would be for Realtors, after all, the mortgage broker ads are ubiquitous on California radio. In the mass media, radio is the medium that addresses the community... it has personalities and captures a stickier audience than television (how many radio stations do you program in your car?). Radio advertising might be typified as the "long tail" to TV's big head. Local suburban radio might work best as a branding vehicle for Realtors - it's the smaller stations that generally have more inventory for sale than big market radio and broker offices or agents don't need exposure beyond their community.
I perused blogger analysis of the Google / Clear Channel and the Google / Double Click deal, and didn't see any comments on how both deals conceptually disintermediate the media buyers and the ad agencies, two powerful lobby-like institutions that control America's corporate marketing. Transparent advertising by business principals who use their own business knowledge and marketing skills may be just as effective as hiring marketing consultants or ad agencies. Google is catalyzing the long tail in media advertising and it's refreshing for the entrepreneurial real estate agent.
Technorati Tags: transparency, disintermediation, google, clear channel, doubleclick, advertising, banner ads, radio ads, new media, media buyers advertising agencies
Hi Pat,
Radio is a great advertising medium but it takes bucks and more bucks and more again to do it right. It doesn't matter whether one is in a small market or large. It's a business that must be repeated by flights over various time blocks. Most people are in their cars during drive-time and that is the prime ad sales rate. A couple of ads is throwing money into the wind. Frequency is the medium and the medium is the message (pardon my play on McLuhan). The Google/Doubleclick/Clear Channel deal will require advertisers to have decent budgets. All advertising takes decent budgets to really work.
Radio is a great targeting medium if one has the budget and time to do it. Clear Channel has a well earned reputation within the radio industry and it isn't pretty or nice. I advise Realtors to stick to blogs and build audience that way. Radio is expensive. Blogs are not. Along with The Medium being the Message,cost must be factored. If someone has a big ego and big wallet, then let them try it. It will be impossible to measure.
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