dMarc radio ad founders leave Google

Apparently things aren't going so well for Google and its foray into radio advertising. Chad and Ryan Steelberg, brothers and founders of radio advertising company dMarc, have left the search giant a little more than one year after Google acquired it, the company confirmed on Friday.

Google announced in January 2006 that it was purchasing Newport Beach, Calif.-based dMarc for $102 million in cash, plus the possibility of an additional $1.13 billion if revenue targets were met. Google began testing its Audio Ads program for radio, using the dMarc technology, late last year.

However, dMarc is affiliated with only about 700 stations, not enough to provide adequate inventory to meet the revenue targets, according to MediaPost Publications, which first reported the news. In addition, the company has struggled to improve the quality of the inventory, most of which is low-value remnant inventory that tends to sell for cheap at the last minute, and Google didn't want to invest in the necessary sales force to recruit and train customers which hindered the unit's ability to reach the revenue targets, the article said.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on those claims or discuss why the Steelbergs left. "Google is committed to the audio business," he said in an e-mail. "We will continue to gather feedback during the Audio Ads beta test and are happy with the progress to date. We remain focused on delivering value to the radio industry as we continue to expand radio station inventory and enhance the product so that it's ready for all advertisers."