Apple Hires Ad Sales Executive for iTunes Radio International

Apple has lured away another executive, this time to build the team that will go after the radio advertising audience, AdAge reports. Michael Pallad was the executive VP of sales at Cumulus Media before joining Apple on December 2, where he will oversee worldwide ad sales for iTunes Radio.

According to information obtained by AdAge, Michael Palled has spent the last week at the company’s Cupertino headquarters to “get oriented”, people familiar with the matter say.

“To have someone at the helm with that much experience and connections [Mr. Pallad] must have and the knowledge he would bring to the party, it will only help to continue to make the case for [iTunes Radio] as a viable alternative or a considered part of the mix given the volume of streaming audio consumed,” DigitasLBi senior VP-media Adam Shlachter said.

Since its launch, iTunes Radio has had several exclusive launch advertisers, such as Nissan, Pepsi, and Procter & Gamble, but these agreements are about to expire as the year ends. For next year, Apple is after long-term deals, as it is reportedly after signing 12-month agreements. These would be worth at least $1 million per deal.

Those who listen to iTunes Radio have already experienced how Apple advertising works. The fate of future deals, however, depends on how effective the original deals have been. The good news for Apple is that first impressions from advertisers are good: speaking with AdAge, Nissan’s chief marketing officer, Phil O’Connor, said that iTunes Radio ads performed better than expected.

When Tim Cook took to the stage back in October, he announced that the freshly launched iTunes Radio had attracted 20 million people in the US, who listened to 1 billion songs.