Overview of AdSense for Audio

This overview describes the Google™ AdSense™ for Audio program and provides an introduction to the AdSense for Audio API.

Contents

1. What is AdSense for Audio?
2. What does the AdSense for Audio API do?
3. Why You Should Use the AdSense for Audio API
4. AdSense for Audio Terminology

What is AdSense for Audio?

Google AdSense for Audio is an advertising program that brings new advertisers and increased revenues to partner radio stations. The AdSense for Audio program does this by providing automated fulfillment of ads that are placed through the Google Audio Ads™ program. The AdSense for Audio program is similar to the web-based Google AdSense program: Google supplies ads and AdSense partners supply a venue for the ads. In the case of the AdSense program the ads are links to advertisers' websites and they appear on web pages; in the case of the AdSense for Audio program the ads are 30-second or 60-second audio files and they are broadcast on radio stations.

By enrolling in the AdSense for Audio program, radio stations can enhance their advertiser base and supplement their revenue stream at a very low cost because Google handles all of the sales work with advertisers, including contract negotiation, support, and billing. Radio stations have full control over the spots they make available to the AdSense for Audio program and they can approve or reject the audio ads that they air. In return, radio stations receive CPM-based ad rates that are based on their local Arbitron® ratings.

Any radio station can enroll in the AdSense for Audio program; however, radio stations must use a broadcast system that is AdSense for Audio compatible. To be AdSense for Audio compatible, a broadcast system must implement the AdSense for Audio API and pass the test criteria established by the AdSense for Audio development team.

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What does the AdSense for Audio API do?

The AdSense for Audio API is used primarily by broadcast system manufacturers that are enhancing the systems they offer to radio stations by adding support for the AdSense for Audio program. Specifically, the AdSense for Audio API provides a programming interface to a single web service called the BroadcasterService. By implementing the AdSense for Audio API from a broadcast system you can provide radio stations with:

• Automated delivery of air-ready commercials from the AdSense for Audio system.
• Complete control over which Google audio ads air.
• Real-time ad matching based on the spots that a radio station make available to the AdSense for Audio program.
• Real-time reporting of advertising schedules and revenue reports.
• Consistent revenues from a single source, with Google managing advertiser billings for all the ads it provides.

When the AdSense for Audio API is properly implemented in a broadcast system, the interaction between the broadcast system and the AdSense for Audio system is completely automated: that is, Google audio ads are delivered and broadcast with no interaction or input by radio station personnel. In addition, the AdSense for Audio API ensures that all communication between your broadcast system and the AdSense for Audio system is secured through an SSL connection (that is, HTTPS), and it ensures that all audio files are delivered with MD5 checksums that you can use to verify the integrity of the audio files.

The following figure shows the primary software components that control the flow of audio ads through the AdSense for Audio system from advertisers to radio listeners.

• Advertisers

  Advertisers create advertising campaigns through the Google Audio Ads program. Google Audio Ads is an online advertising program that provides advertisers an online interface to build, book, and manage radio advertising campaigns. Like the Google AdWords™ program, the Google Audio Ads program lowers the barrier to entry for radio advertisers by making radio advertising easy and understandable even for someone who has never bought radio advertising. With Google Audio Ads, advertisers compete in a real-time auction, or reserve inventory in advance through a reservation engine, wherein advertiser competition determines the rates at which spots are sold. The higher the demand, the higher the rate.

• Ads

  Audio ads are industry-standard 30-second or 60-second audio files. The files are WAV encoded MPEG2 files with a 44.1kMz sample rate. The files have also been volume normalized and pitch adjusted, with any leading and trailing silence removed. Advertisers use a simple web tool to upload audio files (known as creatives) to the Google Audio Ads system.

• AdSense for Audio System

  The AdSense for Audio system is part of the Google advertising infrastructure, and is responsible for storing audio ads, coordinating ad delivery to partner radio stations, and tracking the status of ads.

• Inventory Management System

  The Inventory Management System (IMS) is also part of the Google advertising infrastructure, and is responsible for managing the allocation of audio ads to radio stations. The IMS runs continuously with end-of-day processing every night around 9:00 PM (station time), and handles ad forecasting, ad pricing, and campaign optimization for the AdSense for Audio system.

• BroadcasterService

  The BroadcasterService web service, also part of the Google advertising infrastructure, provides a programming interface that broadcast systems can use to access the AdSense for Audio system. The BroadcasterService web service provides the operations and data objects that make up the AdSense for Audio API. By programmatically accessing the BroadcasterService web service, broadcast systems can notify the AdSense for Audio system about available (unsold) commercial inventory (known as designated inventory), obtain audio ads to fill the available inventory, and report real-time ad status to the AdSense for Audio system.

• Broadcast Management Console

  The Broadcast Management Console is a simple web application that radio stations use to manage their participation in the AdSense for Audio program. Radio stations can use the Broadcast Management Console to register themselves on the AdSense for Audio network, obtain a network access token and a station identifier, and review advertising campaigns.

• Broadcast System

  The broadcast system is part of the radio station's infrastructure. To use the AdSense for Audio API, a broadcast system must provide the scheduling and play-out of locally trafficked ads. For example, a radio automation system that is responsible for merging the traffic log (ad schedule) with the music log (music schedule) and managing the broadcast of audio files is usually a good candidate for the AdSense for Audio API. Traffic systems that are tightly integrated with automation systems are also candidates for the AdSense for Audio API.

• Radio Listeners

  The audience for audio ads spans all demographic segments across all commercial station types in the United States.

From a messaging standpoint, the broadcast system uses the AdSense for Audio API to control the delivery of audio ads to a radio station. During a typical daily traffic cycle a broadcast system uses the AdSense for Audio API to do the following:

• Publish designated inventory. The broadcast system notifies the AdSense for Audio system about available inventory that can be filled with Google audio ads (this is referred to as designated inventory). This notification usually occurs after a radio station's traffic log has closed, which is typically around 4:00 PM (station time) the day before the designated inventory is scheduled to air or on a Friday before a weekend.
• Identify claimed (reserved) inventory. The broadcast system receives a message from the AdSense for Audio system identifying the designated inventory Google is claiming (reserving) for audio ads.
• Acquire ads for claimed inventory. The broadcast system requests ads for the inventory that Google has claimed. Because Google has the right to fill claimed inventory up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled broadcast time, the broadcast system makes numerous requests for ads throughout the broadcast day. When the AdSense for Audio system responds to a given request with a "final" status, then the broadcast system no longer needs to request an ad for that claimed inventory.
• Report ad status. The broadcast system notifies the AdSense for Audio system when an ad is ready to air, when the ad starts to air, and whether the ad played in its entirety or failed to play.

Although the AdSense for Audio API provides a programming interface for automating the delivery of audio ads to a broadcast system, it does not provide all of the functionality that a broadcast system must support in order to be certified as AdSense for Audio compatible. For example, the AdSense for Audio API does not provide a means for identifying designated inventory in a traffic log, and it does not provide a means for scheduling claimed inventory in the daily log. These tasks (and others) are outside the scope of the AdSense for Audio API but still need to be incorporated into your broadcast system.

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Why You Should Use the AdSense for Audio API

The AdSense for Audio API can benefit any organization that is developing, enhancing, or upgrading broadcast systems that are related to the scheduling and play-out of radio ads. This includes OEM system manufacturers, independent software firms, and some broadcast company IT departments. By implementing the AdSense for Audio API within your broadcast system you gain:

• Competitive advantage. AdSense for Audio can help differentiate your broadcast system from competing products that do not support Google audio ads.
• Technical innovation. AdSense for Audio is relatively new and is powered by Google's industry-proven and trusted AdSense technology.
• Marketing leverage. AdSense for Audio transforms your broadcast system from a perceived cost center into a real revenue center. It also helps expand your customer's advertiser base and helps increase their revenue streams.
• Customer satisfaction. AdSense is a proven advertising model and has millions of satisfied customers. AdSense for Audio uses the same advertising model and provides the same high level of customer satisfaction.

In addition, Google has proven the benefits of AdSense for Audio compatibility with its own automation products—Maestro™ and SS32™. What's more, the future of Google's third-generation radio automation system—Google Radio Automation— is founded on the AdSense for Audio API and its promise to bring new advertisers and increased revenues to broadcast radio.

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AdSense for Audio Terminology

Air log

A log produced by a radio automation system that shows what a station actually broadcast and at what time. The air log is typically reconciled against both the traffic log and the program log to determine the accuracy of what was broadcast in relation to what was scheduled.

Broadcast Management Console

A web application that enables radio stations to manage their participation in the AdSense for Audio program. Radio stations can use the Broadcast Management Console to approve advertising campaigns, obtain network access tokens, and register on the AdSense for Audio network.

BroadcasterService

The web service that you use to integrate AdSense for Audio into your broadcast system. The BroadcasterService web service provides the operations and data objects that make up the AdSense for Audio API.

Broadcast system

A programmable software system responsible for the play-out and scheduling of a radio station's broadcast audio. A common example is a radio automation system (RAS).

Cart

A radio industry term for an audio file that has been converted into the broadcast format required for a specific broadcast system. AdSense for Audio provides normalized broadcast quality audio through the AdSense for Audio API, which a compatible broadcast system must then use to create a cart.

Claimed inventory

Designated inventory that has been published to the AdSense for Audio system and has been claimed (reserved) for a Google audio ad. See designated inventory.

Designated inventory

A 30-second or 60-second unit of advertising (or many such units) that has been marked or tagged as being available for a Google audio ad. When a radio station notifies the AdSense for Audio system about designated inventory, the AdSense for Audio system may claim the designated inventory, which will later be filled by a Google audio ad.

Google AdSense

An advertising program that provides Google ads to web publishers. The ads come from Google's AdWords inventory and are matched to the content of the publisher's website. Publishers are usually paid through revenue sharing.

Google AdSense for Audio

An advertising program that provides Google audio ads to radio stations. The ads come from Google Audio Ads campaigns and are electronically delivered to radio stations through an automated system.

Google Audio Ads

A Google advertising program that helps advertisers create, launch, and track radio advertising campaigns.

Inventory Management System (IMS)

The system responsible for managing the allocation of AdSense for Audio ads to AdSense for Audio partner stations. The IMS also handles forecasting, auctioning, and campaign optimization for the AdSense for Audio system.

Log

A chronological list of events (ads and music) that are scheduled to be broadcast for a given day. The log is also known as a log file or log data file.

Merge utility

A software program that combines the traffic log and the music log into a single log. This is usually part of the radio automation system, but in some cases it is a standalone program.

Program log

A log produced by a programming system containing a station's scheduled broadcast content.

Radio Automation System

A software program that manages a radio station's broadcast schedule and plays the scheduled ads and music. Sometimes a radio automation system includes hardware as well as software. Maestro and SS32 are examples of radio automation systems. A radio automation system is a type of broadcast system.

Schedule log

The combined traffic and program logs that contains the broadcast schedule for a given day. The schedule log is typically created by a merge utility and is used by a station's radio automation system.

Spot

A period of time (usually 30 seconds) in a broadcast schedule that has either been sold to an advertiser or is available for purchase by an advertiser. See designated inventory.

Traffic

The act of scheduling advertising spots or ads in a radio station's playlist. Also, the department in a radio station that is responsible for scheduling ads and invoicing advertisers.

Traffic log

A log produced by a traffic system containing locally scheduled ads and unsold inventory.

Traffic system

A software program that schedules ads and invoices advertisers. Sometimes the traffic system is part of the radio automation system.

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