Ingenio Deal Puts Pay-per-Call Ads on Podcasts

Pay-per-call ad platform Ingenio has signed a deal to serve audio ads on the Podbridge podcast network.

The agreement will let Podbridge serve performance-based audio ads into podcasts produced by such content providers as Bloomberg Radio and Clear Channel. Ingenio will be able to offer advertisers on its proprietary network the ability to reach customers directly within highly targeted podcasts.

Consumers will select premium Podbridge content on the podcaster’s Web site. Clicking on “Get podcast” will install a small iTunes plug-in. Meanwhile, users will answer four short questions that provide basic anonymous information, including one question qualifying location for geo-targeting.

The pay-per-call model will mean that advertisers only pay when listeners call them for a transaction or more information about their products and services. It’s a business model that Ingenio and other providers have deployed in search marketing and in mobile directory services, with particular success among local businesses too small for traditional Web advertising or service-oriented firms that prefer relating with customers over the phone rather than on an Internet site.

The Podbridge deal represents a new channel through which pay-per-call ads can reach a highly qualified audience, according to Marc Barach, chief marketing officer for Ingenio. “It’s a hybrid environment,” he said. “Sometimes you listen to a podcast on your desktop, with a phone nearby. Other times you put it onto your MP3 device and take it with you. But the overlap of iPod and cell phone ownership is well over 90%, so it’s like radio in that once you’ve finished listening you can follow the ad path and contact that advertiser.”

He added that once the program launches later this month, the partners will watch closely to learn more specifically how users engage with the ads. The first advertisers are expected to come from the financial and travel sectors.