NEW YORK - A Pandora executive at the 2011 Mobile Marketing Forum said that millions of people engage with its radio service throughout the day and mobile has changed the way the company interacts with its users.

During the ?Pandora Everywhere: Engaging Consumers Across Multiple Devices? session, the executive discussed how the company?s overall strategy has evolved. Additionally, he discussed how consumers are increasingly listening to Pandora throughout the day, whether they are cooking, driving or multitasking.

?Consumers, just on their own, made Pandora portable anytime, anywhere,? said Tim Westergren, founder/chief strategy officer at Pandora. ?We launched the iPhone app in the summer of 2008 and that completely changed the industry and the trajectory of Pandora.

?Pandora is the only app on the top five major smartphone platforms,? he said. ?The entire music industry is focused on radio play.

Importance of mobile
According to Mr. Westergren, mobile is a fundamentally more powerful platform for advertisers and marketers.

?What mobile devices have allowed us to do is let us connect with and speak to a consumer throughout the day,? Mr. Westergren said. ?You can learn where your consumer is and find how to have a conversation with them throughout the different types of technology they are using throughout the day.

?They?re consuming the audio experience on different devices and you have to be aware of that,? he said.

The executive said that advertisers and marketers can use the Pandora platform to engage with consumers and target them in the best way.

Mr. Westergren pointed to Whole Foods as a good example.

The company advertised on the Pandora platform a while back and used audio and video mobile advertisements to drive consumers in-store, as well as engage with them in a new and interactive way.
Whole Foods targeted by gender, device and location to reach consumers.

?It was a very effective campaign and a good illustration of how radio, as an advertising marketing medium, is being changed dramatically,? Mr. Westergren said.

In addition to Whole Foods, a majority of brands are seeing a big opportunity with advertising on Pandora?s mobile platforms.

Millions of users listen to Pandora daily and that?s a vast majority of consumers that companies can target and build a relationship with.

Companies such as LivingSocial, Taco Bell, Target, Soap.com and Dove have advertised on Pandora with audio, video and mobile banner ads.

?Music is a funny category because on one hand, it?s profoundly social, but not everyone wants to open up their CD collection for everyone to see,? he said. ?We do think about that a lot.?

Mobile monetization
As far as monetizing its radio service, Mr. Westergren said that the company is content at where they are and their business model is not going to change.

?Pandora is an advertising supported business as radio has been for decades,? Mr. Westergren said. ?We have a decent subscription business as well where consumers can get rid of advertising.

?We don?t see that fundamentally changing,? he said. ?A lot of people find this hard to believe, but 80 percent of the music you listen to is on radio.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York