Pandora (NYSE:P), embattled streaming music service in the U.S. announced that its audio inventory is now generally available for programmatic buying, giving advertisers the power to efficiently reach and engage with the largest set of ad-supported listeners in the U.S. Audio joins Pandora’s existing display and video solutions available for purchase programmatically. 

Pandora’s news marks a critical opportunity for advertisers to reach the largest addressable audience in the streaming audio space. Pandora owns the largest inventory of digital audio content in the U.S., and 92% of its audience is ad-supported — more than double the size of its competition.

“As the largest publisher of digital audio in the U.S., Pandora is uniquely equipped to meet the evolving needs of marketers now and in the future,” said John Trimble, Chief Revenue Officer of Pandora. “We’ve reached a significant tipping point in audio where automation, voice-activated technology and other innovations are bringing sweeping changes to the landscape — and as a result, the demand for effective Programmatic Audio is booming.”

Audio is worth a Thousand Words

Pandora’s audio programmatic solution was released in beta February 2018, and has been leveraged by more than twenty brand partners including P&G, Gatorade and Sony Pictures. Early results from programmatic audio promotion showed a significant return on ad spend and increases to in-store traffic.

“Marketers today can evoke an emotional connection with their audiences directly through sound,” said Gina Hardy, Head of Consumer & Athlete Engagement, Gatorade. “Thanks to the ability to access Pandora’s wealth of audio inventory, we’ve been able to tackle some of Gatorade’s most successful campaigns through programmatic buying and use quality audio ads to connect directly with our listeners while they enjoy the personalized music they love.”

The Programmatic Audio Marketplace is powered by AdsWizz’s AudioMax Supply Side Platform. Pandora’s acquisition of AdsWizz earlier this year further validates Pandora’s leadership in ad tech, making it more ready than ever to serve publishers and brands worldwide.

“Programmatic is a key reach vehicle and bringing digital audio into the mix is a great way to expand that reach,” said Craig Stimmel, who leads digital partnerships at P&G. “This addition will help take friction out of the system and enable real time optimization so our brands can more easily find their consumers while delivering maximum returns.”

“Our users are extremely engaged with our content, spending over 24 hours per month listening,” said Trimble. “By increasing our ad-supported offerings we are unlocking additional revenue streams and increasing Pandora’s monetization capabilities.”

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ABOUT PANDORA

Pandora is the world’s most powerful music discovery platform – a place where artists find their fans and listeners find music they love. We are driven by a single purpose: unleashing the infinite power of music by connecting artists and fans, whether through earbuds, car speakers, live on stage or anywhere fans want to experience it. Our team of highly trained musicologists analyze hundreds of attributes for each recording which powers our proprietary Music Genome Project®, delivering billions of hours of personalized music tailored to the tastes of each music listener, full of discovery, making artist/fan connections at unprecedented scale. Founded by musicians, Pandora empowers artists with valuable data and tools to help grow their careers and connect with their fans.