Traditional radio has long been a strong force for direct response advertising.  Now, Pandora and others like it are changing the way we listen to music. And even though Pandora is still in its infancy phase, it’s hard to say how things will look once the winds really start to pick up.

Let’s break it down. Traditional radio is what most listeners are used to. We hear it in our cars, homes, work, stores, doctor’s offices, and well, you get my point. Listeners have developed bonds with their favorite radio stations and the personalities on those stations. Traditional radio is something that we are comfortable with; it’s a part of American history.  The down side is that there is limited listener interaction to influence programming. Commercials often command less-than-full attention.  And the ubiquity of cell phones in has turned our nation’s drivers into a fleet of chat-and-steer consumers.

Then comes Pandora, to not only change the way we listen to Radio, but how we interact with it.  When there was only traditional radio, your favorite jam came on and you would turn up the volume and call your best friend so they can listen to it as well. It’s different with Pandora; because we no longer rely on the disc jockey to choose our songs for us. With Pandora we program the music and then share it with our friends and family on facebook and twitter.

Advertisers are noticing the shift in listening patterns and are asking for Pandora – and other streaming radio services – by name.  And with good reason.  Listeners are often more engaged with Pandora. They’re able to rate, share and comment about songs.  This gives the advertiser a better chance of their ad being heard and heeding a call to action.

Even when there is no engagement, the screen may be minimized, but the audio ads play (and cannot be skipped). But perhaps the most important benefit of Pandora – and others like it – is its ability to track. The impressions are out of this world and actually can compete with television when targeting a wide range of consumers.

What I see is a new way of listening to Radio. I believe that we will have two types of Radio as we do with TV. One will be on on-demand, where we can pick and choose what we want to listen to when we want to listen to it. The other is live radio, which you can listen to on traditional radios. However you will be able to pick up where you left off, as you do with iHeart Radio. With live radio you can listen to all the Clear Channel stations, whether it is in your vehicle, mobile device or iPad. So, to answer the question, yes I believe the two can work together in Harmony.

Marquis McCoy is a Media Planner / Buyer at The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above. Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com