AdWhores

I feel dirty saying anything against Google, but I am worried about my friends in the radio industry. Radio is ice cold and Google is red hot. I've written previously about how the radio industry should beware of geeks bearing gifts (i.e., online bidding for radio time). I'm happy the early experiments seem to please the terrestrial broadcasters participating in the Google initiative, but they are frankly hard put for good news these days. I believe if this thing catches on, it will do more damage than good. Let me make my case. The Google radio ad system reaches out to anyone who wants to advertise on radio. They bid for ads (and so far, I'm told, the ads are fairly compensated as a result of free market bidding). The advertiser doesn't know which station their ads will eventually wind up on. It's clean, cheap and cold -- just like the Internet. I see some radio groups getting excited about the Google ad bidding system -- AdWords. I agree with AdWords rival Bill Figenshu who thinks auctions are bad for radio rates. But what's unfortunate is no major radio broadcaster is as excited or actively involved in new initiatives for relationship selling. Only Google's way gets them revved up right now. To the extent that Google AdWords succeeds and radio takes the quick cash for unsold inventory, it is mortaging radio's future by delving deeper into an inherent Internet strategy and away from an inherent radio strategy -- personal selling. Watch this one. Within five years (maybe even sooner) there may be no going back. A number of years ago Clear Channel CEO Lowry Mays raised a stink when he said that radio was basically a vehicle for running commercials. Today no one seems to be raising a ruckus over Google's blatant attempt to turn radio into a commodity. I'm no fan of Mays, but if AdWords works, he will have turned out to be so right in ways even he couldn't have known back then.