St. Louis Radio: Pandora Takes Aim At Local Stations

There’s a reason why advertising on Pandora in recent months has seemed much more recognizable to St. Louis-area listeners of the internet music service, according to stltoday.com.

In March, Pandora hired local sales staff in St. Louis as part of its strategy to court local advertisers, and it’s had success out of the gate landing customers. Don Brown Chevrolet, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis University and Panera Bread Co. are just a few of the advertisers that have booked ads on Pandora so far this year.

Oakland, Calif.-based Pandora first embarked on the local market strategy in 2011, beginning with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and New York. It’s spent the past two years expanding its sales staff nationwide.

St. Louis is one of 30 markets in which Pandora has hired sales staff as it seeks to compete head-to-head with local radio stations for ad dollars. Its regional sales staff of 60 employees nationwide is growing, and Pandora plans on ultimately having an office in each of the top 50 radio markets.

The advertising push, according to analysts, is a big opportunity for Pandora — and a challenge to local radio stations.

Rich Tullo

“Radio is a very unusual media form in that most of its revenue comes from the local market,” said Rich Tullo, director of research at New York brokerage Albert Fried & Co. “The ad rates are higher because it’s local. Ultimately, it will take dollars away from other radio stations.”

Pandora currently employs two sales staff members in the St. Louis region and a client services employee. Pandora is searching for office space in Clayton to grow to as many as eight employees here and should have a location selected by the end of the year, said regional vice president Gabe Tartaglia, who oversees the company’s sales offices in the central part of the country.

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