Google To Introduce Radio Automation This Week
Google in the coming weeks plans to open up a latest system to automate everyday tasks for radio broadcasters, beefing up an important piece of its radio-advertising product line.
Google Radio Automation, constructed from scratch, will be shown at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, which commences Friday in Las Vegas, with an exhibit floor opening on Monday.
The new-fangled system is the next generation of Google’s existing Maestro and SS32 products, which broadcasters use to automate a range of radio functions, such as slotting songs and ad spots and doing audio recording.
Radio automation is among one of the three main pieces of Google’s radio business. The other two are Google Audio Ads, which allows marketers build and control radio ad campaigns and AdSense for Audio, for radio stations that want to carry the ads.
Google, keen to expand beyond search engine ads, embarked on the radio advertising market almost two-and-a-half years ago when it bought dMarc. Google has 1,600 radio stations in its distribution network, and the program is open to U.S. advertisers via AdWords.
Google Radio Automation will unite the functional attributes of Maestro and SS32 and offer a slate of enhancements, such as an open software platform and a three-tier computing architecture.
Google’s attempts into non-Internet advertising, which also include TV and newspapers, are not likely to yield meaningful revenue for probably at least two more years, said industry analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence. “Google is probably taking a very long-term view with these projects,” he said.
Google has appeared particularly low-key, at least publicly, about its radio ad program, probably due to the bad press it got when the Steelberg brothers left. But there is no question the company is building up its program, Sterling said.
“I think Google, after some early setbacks, is moving under the radar with this a bit to build the distribution network,” Sterling added.
Google does not revealed the revenue its radio business generates, but Jim Woods, director of product management for Google Audio, said the company is just about ahead with its efforts, and convinced it can improve the way radio advertising works. “The big idea is that by improving the targetability of radio ads and bringing a new level of accountability and measurability, we can bring new advertisers to the radio industry,” Woods said.
Apart from Google’s many other software, Radio Automation is not provided as hosted software. Alternatively, it ships in a server called MK-14, which has as many as three removable SATA hard drives, hot-swappable power supplies and an Intel chipset that supports Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors.