TargetSpot Debuts Mobile Ad Platform

People on Blackberries

TargetSpot, a leading Internet radio advertising network, is expanding into audio ad sales for digital audio content delivered to mobile devices, giving advertising clients access to much-sought-after listeners, including owners of iPhones and BlackBerry smartphones.

The new audio advertising offerings are being made available, in large part, through TargetSpot's partnership with Slacker, an online music service that has apps for iPhones, BlackBerry smartphones, and the new Android service from Google.

TargetSpot CEO Eyal Goldwerger noted that while Apple and Google have integrated graphic display ads into their mobile audio content distribution, TargetSpot is the first to offer audio ads, allowing advertisers to target listeners by the type of device, geographic location, and demographic characteristics.

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The new mobile ad service places TargetSpot at the intersection of two burgeoning ad medias: mobile and digital radio. According to several recent forecasts from eMarketer and Gartner, mobile advertising is expected to reach $1.56 billion by 2013, when ad-sponsored mobile apps will account for about one-quarter of the revenue for mobile app stores. Online radio revenue topped $440 million in 2009 and is expected to grow 20% to about $530 million in 2010.

Mobile apps bringing Internet radio to handheld devices have proven increasingly popular, with high download rates for apps from Pandora and Clear Channel Radio's "IHeartRadio." In January, Clear Channel announced that it sold all out all the ad inventory for IHeartRadio's mobile app before the middle of the month.

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