Barely six months old, Google’s Print Ads program seems to have passed its early tests with flying colors. Newspapers such as the New York Times and Seattle Times tell AdAge that the program they started with Google last fall along with about 100 other local newspapers to sell excess inventory in an online auction has produced significant revenue.  With Google representing 900 radio stations in a similar effort, Google’s local media ad program seems ready from primetime – that is, the $68 billion local TV ad market.
TV executives are watching how Google’s Print Ads program was able to, for example, generate six-figure, incremental income at the Seattle Times. Both that paper and the NYT credited Google with finding new sources of revenue from online companies that wouldn’t have bought ads in local media otherwise. One example: online health insurance company eHealth. A marketing director for the company says that eHealth had avoided print for five years, but bought ads in local newspapers after becoming aware of Google’s program. EHealth spent $100,000 on newspaper ads in 12 markets including Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Chicago. The company said it found the program made it easy to modify and place bids on ads. The ability to track web traffic as a result from the ads was another plus and eHealth now plans to raise their spending with the program.
Radio stations participating in Google’s local ad program also report being pleased with the faster billing process, a system that hasn’t developed much over the past few decades. While some express some trepidation over being in-bed with an internet company – the general feeling is online media is eroding terrestrial radio’s value – they’re finding it hard to argue with the prospect of getting revenue that would otherwise pass them by. So how can local TV resist?
Related:
—Dealmakers Summit: My Q&A With Tom Phillips of Google
—Google’s Print Ad Auction Ending Next Month; Plans For Expansion