Week of May 25, 2009

More On Pandora

Friday, May 29, 2009

Pandora has launched its new premium service, Pandora One, which gives users access to a new desktop allocation, higher quality audio and, of course, a service without ads on the player on in the audio stream. Pandora One subscribers will also have access to the ad-free premium service through the iPhone app, although the audio quality will not be as good as what you get from the desktop app.

Pandora currently has an estimated 10 million users of its website, along with 5 million using the iPhone app and 1 million accessing the service through the new Blackberry app. Pandora has also announced that they will have an app for the new Palm Pre when it's launched in early June.

On the ad side, Pandora also has started a new contexted, music-based advertising initiative. They've been streaming music from the new Dave Matthews Band album, wrapped around a sponsor message from Brita water filters, to listeners who have created a Dave Matthews station. Look for this type of artist-focused sponsorship on Pandora to grow quickly.

Pandora's new Freemium Model

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The ad-supported music experience takes another twist as Pandora has launched a new Freemium model. The new premium service, Pandora One, costs $36/year and is ad free. There are no ads on the premium site or in the audio stream. In addition, premium users get access to a new desktop application So you don't have to keep your web browser open to listen), 192 Kbps streaming audio (the highest quality of any online service) a customized player and extended streaming timeout (now 5 hours instead of 1).

This new service is in addition to the ad-supported model that has been the backbone of business model. Pandora started to add a limited number of in-audio ads earlier this year, which has helped boost the bottom line. According to TechCrunch, Pandora is on track to gross $40 million dollars this year.

Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Tank

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mobile phone sales are not immune to the economic downturn. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, total mobile phone shipments for Q1 2009 dropped by 15.8% when compared to the same period in 2008 (from 290.8 million to 244.8 million). North America bucked the trends as sales in both the US and Canada inched up. However, it was a different story in the rest of the world. The one bright spot was that smartphone sales increased by about 4%, with growth in North America, Europe and Asia (notably, excluding Japan).

Every one of the top 5 mobile phone vendors recorded drop when compared with a year ago:

1. Nokia - 13.9%

2. Samsung - 0.9%

3. LG - 7.4%

4. Motorola - 46.4%

Sales Synergy

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Product Placement and Integrated Marketing are two of the most well-known synergies between content and commercials. A couple of new moves demonstrate how these things can work for the benefit of product and

The Geico Cavemen will appear in the new 3 Doors Down video for the song "Let Me Be Myself." The band approached Geico about the idea, since they felt that the song related to the Cavemen's experience, as shown in the Geico advertising. The synergy comes from the music video being edited into 2 30-second spots for Geico, one of which shows the Cavemen bowling.

Pepsi is 15 specially-produced retro TV spots on Hulu in various 70s and 80s TV shows available on the popular video site. The spots are for a new drink, "Pepsi Throwback, which has just been launched. The throwback spots will air on shows like Hill Street Blues, Battlestar Galactica and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.