Interactive Marketing

The word 'radio', in older times, meant some traditional or terrestrial station whose transmission was carried via large towers on AM and FM bands. It was a small box run on electricity or battery and was often thought of as a primary source of entertainment and information. However, times have changed and so has the radio. Human beings have moved ahead and technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since then. These factors have almost made the concept of orthodox radio an outdated.

However, it would be wrong to say that they have become obsolete. In fact, with the advancement of technology, the old radios have taken a new avatar - a new medium through which it can be transmitted to larger masses at once - a medium, which is probably more popular than any other. This new breed of broadcasting system, known as Internet radio, has emerged.

During the mid-nineties, Real-Networks came up with an online streaming system called RealAudio. This was probably one of the earliest versions of streaming audio sources. However, plenty of portals soon followed its trails. Technology evolved, newer ideas were put in and the new concept was launched. These portals allowed hundreds of web-casters to host their new virtual radio stations. Now these stations started getting various names such as net and web-radio, web-casting etc.

Presently there are thousands of Internet stations to choose from. These stations offer a wide variety of broadcasting. They include channels for talk shows, streaming music, women's issues, sports updates and commentary, political issues and almost everything under the sun. A complete entertainment package as they have become, all that is required to listen to these channels is a computer with a fast Internet access. Most of these web-casting systems enable anybody to host a channel.

Another very important aspect of the Internet radio is its effective advertising system. The advertisings are just like the ones used for them of the previous generation, but definitely more powerful. The ads have more precise targeting opportunities and the advertisers can know the exact number of impressions delivered. These ads often combine audio ads with synchronized banners and buttons to maximize visibility and retain attention.

Thus we can see that the new Internet radio not only allows the same entertainment provided by its predecessors, but also offers a lot more services quite easily. These have probably resulted in the growth of the Internet radio within quite a short time span. According to some statistics, Over 50% of Internet users make use of streaming media and the proportion of Americans who have listened to stations online has nearly quadrupled in three years. Moreover, since Americans are observed to be spending less time with TV and print and more time on the Internet, the Internet radio is fast becoming a highly compelling advertising target. These facts clearly suggest that a new age in broadcasting and transmission, i.e. the age of the Internet radio, has arrived!