TargetSpot will deliver in-stream audio ads to CBS Radio stations available on the Radio.com, AOL Radio and Yahoo Music iPhone applications.

Currently only available on iPhones, the applications have been downloaded more than 14 million times. The Nielsen Co. found that 45 percent of Android and iPhone users have streamed music or mobile radio within a 30-day period, highlighting the opportunity for brands to be right their where consumers are.

?As listening behavior evolves we want to ensure that TargetSpot's network is there with solutions for marketers looking to reach their audiences no matter where they are listening, at work, in their cars, on the treadmill, or walking down the street,? said Eyal Goldwerger, CEO of TargetSpot, New York.

?Audio is a format native to mobile so this is a natural way to reach consumers, literally to speak to them, while they are listening,? he said. ?Additionally, audio is impactful and penetrating, even while consumers are doing other things. 

?This is especially relevant for mobile as consumers listen while they drive, or are otherwise on the move ? they are generally not looking at their screens, but can still hear the messaging.?

TargetSpot?s goal is to provide advertisers with critical mass.  CBS Radio, AOL Radio, Yahoo Music and Radio.com are all strong brands with loyal audiences, making great partners with which to augment the TargetSpot mobile offering.

This news comes on the heels of $8 million in funding that TargetSpot received recently, led by Fred Wilson and Union Square Ventures

Proof is in the pudding
Arbitron's 2010 The Infinite Dial report showed that 40 percent of young Americans ages 12-24 would listen to radio on their mobile devices and a significant percentage are looking forward to listening to Internet radio in their cars using mobile technology.

Audio is a new category for mobile advertising. This is very exciting as it provides marketers with a new option for reaching their audience how and where they are consuming content.

Audio advertising is another tool for publishers to monetize their sites and to continue to allow consumers to receive free content.

The expansion of audio advertising into mobile enables advertisers to apply the benefits of audio ads ? consumers' emotional connection to the content and high level of engagement ? to a new medium.

AOL Radio, Yahoo Music and Radio.com
AOL Radio, Yahoo Music and Radio.com applications feature a combined 600-plus radio stations spanning more than 25 genres of music and 130 radio stations from across the U.S.

Listeners have access to hundreds of music stations plus a variety of popular news, sports and talk stations, including those from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta such as 1010WINS, KROQ and WFAN.

The mobile applications allow users to add presets for instant access to their favorite songs, tag favorite stations and songs for easy access later, detect location to provide the nearest CBS Radio station, share stations with their friends and find songs they have listened to recently.

TargetSpot will deliver in-stream ads within the mobile applications.

Using the TargetSpot network, advertisers can target mobile radio listeners based upon a variety of factors including geography, time of day and personal listening preferences.

?Richer media, like digital audio, will explode on mobile in 2011,? Mr. Goldwerger said. ?Mobile will have new outlets in 2011, such as in-car, iPad, tablets and new ad formats that complement use of these products will follow. 

?Audio is perfectly suited for this evolution,? he said. ?Audio ads can easily speak to the consumer while they are engaged in another activity, such as driving or exercising, and they can also easily leverage the technologies that mobile devices facilitate, such as geo targeted ads calling out a particular offer in the Gap as you are walking by and serving up a coupon or click to call accompaniment."