• September 23, 2008

Electronics big box store Best Buy and beer maker Beck's have signed on as the first marketers on as nascent iPhone advertising platform of Internet radio service Pandora Media.

Under the respective deals, Best Buy will be the exclusive advertiser on the Pandora service for the first 30 days (starting Monday) and Beck's for the next 30. Pandora Radio has proven to be one of the most popular free iPhone applications, with 1.1 million downloads since Apple launched its App Store July 11.

While developers of paid iPhone apps keep 70% of each sale, makers of free ones have to find other ways to monetize their creations. Drawing a mostly male audience with an average age of 36 via the iPhone, it seems only natural that Pandora would attract marketers pitching gadgets and beer.

Beck's is an existing Pandora advertiser. Other national advertisers for its flagship Web radio service include HP, Microsoft, Honda, Procter & Gamble, and Nike.

Pandora says its iPhone ad system has the ability to hyper-target audiences by various categories including gender, age, geographic location, music genre and daypart listening.--Mark Walsh