With more than 59 million active weekly listeners, Pandora Internet Radio has staked its place as a sizable source of audio entertainment for American consumers.  Based on Pandora audience estimates, its listener-created stations would aggregate to make Pandora a Top 10-rated radio station in any given market.

So how can you take full advantage of this enormous advertising medium?

COMPLIMENT YOUR AUDIENCE – One of the simplest ways to leverage your message and score points with Pandora listeners is to compliment them on finding this amazing online jukebox.  Pandora listeners enjoy the radio stations they create and the resulting awesome mix of music that is played.  Show admiration for their resourcefulness and relate a comparable forward-thinking benefit of your product or service that might interest them.

TEST DIFFERENT CALLS TO ACTION – Any radio commercial can suggest you visit a store, make a phone call or go to a website.  Pandora invites online PC listeners to click their mouse RIGHT NOW to take advantage of special offers.  And with well over half of all Pandora listening via mobile devices, it makes sense to test “tap apps” that allow listeners to watch a video, receive an email or download a coupon simply by tapping their touch screens.

COPY SPLIT BY GENDER – Since you can place advertising buys on Pandora exclusively by gender, place a Men 25-54 buy and a Women 25-54 buy, rather than an Adults 25-54 buy.  Separate the men from the women and use two different creative approaches to sell the benefits of your brand.  Women may love the sleek lines and fuel efficiency of that new car.  Men may just want to hear it go “Vroom.”  Even a single line of copy, split by gender, can improve your overall ROI.

COPY SPLIT BY AGE – Taking that same example of a 25-54 radio buy, it’s safe to say that a 26-year old is motivated by different wants and needs than a 53-year old.  Craft different versions of your commercial to appeal to 20-, 30-, 40- and/or 50-somethings.  It might be as subtle as using different announcers to relate to each age segment.  Or it might be completely different versions of the same core message, crafted to use the lexicon and sound ambience most likely to resonate with each age group.

COPY SPLIT BY GEOGRAPHY – Pandora makes it possible to target down to the zip code (although individual zip code audience numbers are typically too small upon which to build a campaign).  Cluster zip codes to form efficient pockets of geography and customize messages with more relevance than a one-size-fits-all approach.  The retailer with five locations in a major market can promote individual locations in a five-mile radius of each location and eliminate remote zip code clusters unlikely to generate floor traffic.  You can also cluster zips to tailor your message by promoting specific products, features and benefits likely to trigger a buying response by members of different socio-economic groups.

This advanced level of audience targeting creates powerful advertising opportunities well beyond the capabilities of AM/FM radio and satellite.

Ready to find out how Pandora can help your brand?  CLICK HERE to have The Radio Agency assemble a test drive.  Vroom.

Mark Lipsky is the President and CEO of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above.Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com