Yet Radio seems poised to make a comeback, as savvy marketers are working with broadcasters to apply new tools to leverage the medium's unique strengths and develop integrated, cross-channel campaigns with an unprecedented degree of measurability.
Of course, old-fashioned broadcast Radio still reaches an astonishing audience -- more than 92 percent of Americans in a given week, according to Arbitron.
"There's a belief that Radio is a dying traditional medium; the broadcast industry feels beaten up," says Barry Berman, president of CRN, a Radio marketing company based in Hamden, Conn., that works with Microsoft, Unilever, and other companies. "But the reach is still enormous. It's the first medium people hear each day -- and the last heard on the way to the store."
Answers for accountability
Radio also affords uniquely powerful affinity relationships, with each station's regular audience representing a self-selected community of potential consumers with shared tastes, preferences, and attitudes.
"Radio is able to target by demographic, gender, and/or interest groups via talk, sports, country, or rock stations," says Keith Levy, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch InBev. "It helps to deliver a brand's message and drive promotions and retail execution, through live remotes, sponsorships, and testimonials."
Stations are also increasingly able to help marketers leverage these relationships by funneling listeners online to engage in surveys, contests, e-mail newsletters, and other promotional opportunities -- all of which can be used to measure ROI.
"We have a large national database that marketers can engage with and piggyback on those affinity-based relationships -- not just demographic, but behavioral data," says Mike Agovino, chief operating officer for Triton Media Group, a Los Angeles firm that manages digital services for more than 4,200 affiliate stations. "It answers advertisers' need for accountability."
Some advertisers are choosing Radio in combination with a related online strategy. "We don't do a Radio buy unless we have good inventory on the station's Web site," says Don Dixon, director of local marketing, sponsorship, and promotion for AutoTrader.com, based in Atlanta, Ga. "We see Radio as a promotional medium. Our product is a Web site, so when people go online to a station's site for a promotion, they're halfway there."
The nature of on-air advertising is also changing. Although Radio spots have been relatively immune to the "DVR effect," marketers are looking past lengthy ad pods and turning to disc jockeys' position as influencer to pitch product. "You can't look at Radio as simply a place to put commercials," says Berman. "We created a Radio version of product placement where the announcer will ask another DJ for a piece of Wrigley's gum. Getting a DJ to talk about a product on air, from a production perspective, costs nothing."
Digital transformation
New digital formats for Radio, such as satellite and online Radio, are also proving transformative for the medium as a whole. About 42 million listeners tune in to online Radio each week, according to Arbitron, either through streamed "terrestrial" broadcasts or Internet-only stations. Unlike broadcast audiences, which are often assumed to be in their cars or listening passively, the listener of online Radio is at work and in "lean forward" mode: active at a computer, poised to click on a promotion.
By measuring listeners' IP addresses (coupled with opt-in survey data), companies such as Ando Media are helping advertisers target ads with a high degree of specificity. Advertisers then watch in real time to see exactly how many people are listening, as well as how many clickthroughs and purchases result. "If I listen to KROQ in the car, that's probably a few minutes," says Patrick Reynolds, chief marketing officer at Ando Media, based in Quincy, Mass. "When someone streams that station, the average session is more than 2.5 hours long. And that's an uninterrupted stream."
Agovino points out that advertisers have been slow to recognize the dramatic spike in the size and participation of the digital Radio audience. "It's a world that right now is exploding in usage by the audience -- but not in participation by the advertisers," he says. "Maybe that is because it doesn't have a logical home in many advertising agencies. Is it digital or is it audio? It's both."
New approaches to creative
Mobile digital devices also represent new opportunities; iPods and Microsoft Zunes both have the ability to receive digitally enhanced FM transmissions, and the potential to send ad data back to stations. "We're in the infancy of Interactivity in Radio," says Jeff Haley, president of the Radio Advertising Bureau. "You can already buy songs through the Radio with the right devices. That same technology can be leveraged for advertisers, which could use it to get people to click for a coupon or a podcast."
Satellite and HD Radio, too, are helping marketers hone in on new communities of listeners. "Satellite Radio has been a good consumer connection tool for us," says Levy. "Consumers who identify with cooking can hear beer-and-food pairings described by Martha Stewart. This medium is less about total reach and more about connection."
The shift toward digital distribution requires new approaches to creative, say experts. "Online is different from terrestrial Radio, and the creative should be different," Agovino says. Key considerations: a spot broadcast on an online Radio station should have an associated visual element for the station's Web site, and online ads might tinker with different lengths or styles. The good news is, no matter how much you experiment, you'll have the numbers within seconds to determine what works.
"It's like walking into a chef's kitchen with thousands of ingredients," says Mark Lipsky, president and CEO of Radio Direct Response, a Radio-only agency based in Media, Pa. "We ask our clients, what is the one thing you want a consumer to do after they hear your message -- and how will you measure that? Radio is alive and well. More than ever, stations are willing to be held accountable. It's not just about selling space and then their job is done. It has to work."
(Source: ANA Advertiser, 10/01/09)
