• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 7, 2008

Jangl, which lets people connect via phone and text-messaging without exchanging actual numbers, has begun selling advertising on its service targeted to social networks.

The startup's VoIP-based calling service is already distributed across 80 million profiles on social sites including Facebook, Bebo and Plentyoffish, with about 1 million users. Jangl's widget lets users talk or text for free via PC or mobile devices through assigned phone numbers.

Now, the company has started monetizing the service by adding "pre-roll" audio ads and short SMS text ads to calls and text-messages. Advertising will be geared to the 16- to-24-year-old demographic that flock to popular social networks and can't do without mobile devices.

"Right now, they're toggling between the keyboard and the handset, with one eye on each screen and no room to listen to the radio or look at magazines or anything like that," said Aaron Burcell, vice president of marketing at Jangl.

To ramp up its new JanglMedia business, the company is working with ad network Pudding Media for ad-serving and with Ogilvy's Digital Innovation Group to help generate interest among leading brands. Jangl plans to name additional agencies working with the company in the next few weeks.

Marketers testing the Jangl audio and text ads so far include Sony, Lionsgate Films, Paramount Pictures and Papa John's Pizza. The audio ads run 8 to 10 seconds after a call is initiated, but stop as soon as a call is connected. Eventually, the ads will give users the option of learning more information about products or promotions via text-message from sponsors.

In addition to demographically, advertisers will be able to target messages by location, keywords (for text), and by category.

Burcell added that the audio ads will typically carry a CPM of $10, while the 30-character text ads would have a higher rate at $30 to $60 depending on the campaign.

"It's very expensive because there's not much of it," he said. "And it's very attractive to advertisers because it's hard to reach these 16- to-24-year-old customers."

While Jangl began as a fee-based offering on dating sites such as Match.com and Find A Friend, the subscription model won't fly on social networking sites where users have come to expect services for free. "I can't think of single subscription-based service that would work in social networks right now," said Burcell.

On Facebook, where about 500,000 members have installed Jangl's widget, people can opt to receive communications through the site's newsfeed or directly to their mobile device.

Jangl has received $9 million in ventured funding to date from investors including Cardinal Venture Capital, Labrador Ventures and Storm Ventures.