Pandora Offers Ads That Reach Only Listeners in Cars

Pandora Media Inc. is offering advertisers the ability to inject ads into its Web-based radio service that only users in vehicles can hear.

The aim of the Oakland, Calif.-based company is to tap into traditional radio advertising, a market it estimates at $15 billion per year in the U.S. alone.

Pandora is available in about 130 vehicle models and more than twice that number of aftermarket in-car entertainment systems. The company claims about 4 million users, who like the service's ability to tailor playlists to each listener's taste and play them on as many as 100 customized "stations" accessible on smart phones, in vehicles and through home audio systems.

Among advertisers to sign up for 15- and 30-second spots on the new Pandora service are BP, Ford, State Farm, Taco Bell and Ford Motor Co., according to the company.