Marketron

Get Ready for 2023

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

The holiday haze has finally lifted, and routines are back in full swing. Some folks are talking about a “dry” January or working on those resolutions they made. January is a month when people regroup and reset for the year ahead.

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Radio’s Resolution – A Champion for The Community

Contributor: Fleur Voruz, Senior Director, Programs (Media), Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

As a new year begins, this is a time to reflect on the health of our businesses.

Fundamental to this checkup is applauding the meaningful work that defines a business’ culture. Frequently, cause-connected partnerships set local radio stations apart in their communities increasing positive listener sentiment, fostering employee engagement and generating business value.

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Radio and That ‘Just Right’ Feeling

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

“Ahhhh, this chair is just right.” Goldilocks knew exactly what was comfortable to her. How many of us have understood that statement whenever we looked at, sat in or laid on a piece of furniture or bedding?

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The Three Holidays of America Under Inflation

Contributors: Maxine Gurevich, SVP/Cultural Intelligence and Steve Grant, SVP/Human Intelligence, Horizon Media

While the National Retail Federation reports that the 2021 holiday sales grew 14.1% from 2020 to $887B, inflation’s historic high will mean a different shopping season for 2022. Our data shows that 69% of all people are concerned or very concerned with inflation’s effect on their overall finances. But like much in the contemporary U.S. landscape, inequality and division are affecting the holiday retail season – people are experiencing three entirely different holidays depending on psychological reactions to inflation.

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The Local Podcast Opportunity

Contributor: Steve Goldstein, founder and CEO, Amplifi Media

When you think of podcasting, it is almost always about national podcasts. That appears to be changing. The next wave of podcasting growth is coming from locally-focused content. While the early days of local podcasting were populated with hobbyists, a larger ecosystem is now brewing with TV stations, newspapers, and outside companies coming into the space. Several radio groups, with plenty of radio stations, have robust national podcast efforts, but in general, modest effort has gone toward creating and selling local podcasts.

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Bank on Radio

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

Today’s economic environment is causing Americans to view examine their finances and the institutions they use for savings. According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2022 Planning and Progress study, the average amount of savings dropped from $73,000 in 2021 to $62,000.

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Radio Drives CBD Purchases

Author: Victor Texcucano, Content Coordinator, RAB

We’re living in a new era – an era where medical cannabis is legal in 39 states and its recreational use is legal in 19. Did you ever think we’d be here? Public opinion has evolved on cannabis, though some still are wary of it. The good news is that there may be a product that brings the health benefits of cannabis without the adverse side effects many associate with it.

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Raising the Volume on Radio Creative

Experts discuss what it takes to create great radio ads.

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

“The beauty of a creative field like advertising is that you are always learning,” says Mark Gross, co-founder and chief creative officer at Highdive Advertising. Gross is the real genius behind the iconic Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” campaign. “Great ideas are a team effort,” Gross says, reflecting on that campaign. “Great ideas for radio aren’t always great ideas for other [media] and you never really know when you have an award-winning idea on your hands.”

For more than 30 years, the Radio Mercury Awards, produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau, have celebrated creativity in radio with hundreds of chief creative officers from a range of agencies and brands listening, discussing, and collaborating to ultimately identify and award the best audio campaigns and radio commercials. Here, a select group of those celebrated professionals share guidance, inspiring campaigns, and best practices for raising the volume on radio creative.

How to Train Others to Create Great Audio

Creating an unforgettable ad requires creativity and a mind for solving business problems; creating unforgettable and effective radio requires a passion for the craft. “While there are things you can train people for as far as craft, there are also things that, as a writer, you need to work on yourself,” says John Fiebke, head of copy at FCB Chicago. “Becoming a great writer requires falling in love with language – and love requires obsession.”

Teaching how to create, regardless of media, is grounded in inspiration, and every creative professional interviewed for this story agrees that when it comes to radio, the first step toward finding inspiration is to listen. Erik Fahrenkopf, creative director at Wieden + Kennedy, inspires his team with examples of the smartest, funniest, and most unexpected radio campaigns he has ever heard. He encourages them to “nerd out” on spots they love and to analyze why they like them.

“Radio,” says Aldo Quevedo, CEO and creative chairman at BeautifulBeast, “is the best way to exercise the craft and push beyond visual crutches.” His advice to writers is to outline the story, turn an ordinary situation into something interesting, invent characters that are central to the story, and see where it goes.

While that process can be frustrating, if not downright scary, Wendy Mayes, creative director and writer at Plot Twist Creativity, suggests it’s just the starting point to learning how to write for audio content. “Go to work with a dozen concepts before writing a 30- or 60-second spot,” she says. “Make sure it sounds solid as an idea before filling out the spot. Then once it is written, plan on re-writing it over and over and over until every single part of it works.”

Dissecting the Best of the Best

When asked about the best radio creative he’s ever heard, Fahrenkopf from Wieden + Kennedy points to Bud Light’s Radio Mercury Award Best in Show–winning “Real American Heroes” campaign. Highdive Advertising’s Gross, who created the campaign, says what made it so special was how the writing immediately painted a picture for the listener. As soon as the announcer says “Mr. Bowling Shoe Giver Outter,” Gross says, the listener gets it.

When Josh Grossberg, executive creative director at McCann Health, was asked about the best radio creative of all time, he likened it to identifying the best dessert because there are limitless answers. However, he says it’s hard to beat the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s campaign created by Devito/Verdi. “The second it starts, you’re immediately in the world of horse racing,” he says. Instead of simply being told how exciting it can be, “[the ad] made you feel it,” Grossman adds.

Chris Smith, principal and chief creative officer of Plot Twist Creativity, points to Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man” as another iconic campaign. “The writing … made me envious,” he says. “I found myself repeating the lines all the time. To me, lines are 85 percent of what you’ve got, and it doesn’t have nearly as much weight in any other medium.”

But for Smith, it was the Motel 6 “We’ll Leave the Light On” campaign that perhaps had the most influence. “It is why I decided to do this for a living,” he says. Prior to founding Plot Twist Creativity, Smith spent 22 years at the Richards Group where he was a creative director working on the Motel 6 account. Thirty-six years later, the campaign, famously voiced by Tom Bodett, is at its core unchanged, but it’s unique and refreshed executions are still as relevant as ever.

Creating the Theater of the Mind

“Radio requires more imagination than almost any other medium. You’re trying to make other minds imagine a world that’s not actually there. With static image-based executions, it’s all there. You see what you get,” FCB Chicago’s Fiebke says. “When the mind is triggered by sound, it imagines something far more amazing than what any affordable video special effect is capable of.” This may be why radio and audio creative, with some exceptions, is often the last box to be checked by brands and their agency partners — it’s difficult to do, and there is no special visual effect to hide behind.

But Quevedo of BeautifulBeast advises brands to lean into that challenge and start with radio when developing campaign work. Dedicate time to the work and create with an understanding that the message will be consumed when people are doing other things, he says. Make it hard to ignore, he emphasizes, and all other media will fall into place.

Plot Twist Creativity’s Mayes makes a similar point to Fiebke’s and Quevedo’s: “Whether it’s radio, podcasts, in-store announcements, or a guy with a microphone and a sandwich board, it needs to be entertaining and grab the listener’s attention within seconds,” she says. “There are no visuals to rely on, so what a person hears needs to make an impact. Don’t wait for a slow build. Entertain from the beginning.”

recent neuroscience study conducted by Alter Agents for Audacy reinforces what Mayes and many of the other experts are saying: In measuring immersion, which the study defines as attention plus emotional connection, before, during, and after hearing a radio commercial with frequency over time, the study shows that the best radio commercials hook the listener from the beginning. Spots with high rates of immersion did a great job of explaining “What’s in it for the customer?” and carrying that message through to the end, the study found.

Creating a spot that builds an entire world for the reader and still drives home the brand’s key message takes a deceptively large amount of work. Editing, the experts say, is key.

“Edit mercilessly,” says Robin Fitzgerald, chief creative officer at BBDO Atlanta. “Cut lines and words, even though you hate to do it. You need to give the idea room to come to life.”

CLICK HERE FOR TIPS TO CREATE GREAT AUDIO.

Political Media Buying 2022: Where is Maxwell Smart When You Need Him as 2022 Political Landscape in Chaos! Part Two – Political Media Buying to Reach $10.2 Billion in 2022

Contributor: Leo Kivijarv, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Director of Research of PQ Media

Since 2012, PQ Media has been offering opinions and data to the Radio Advertising Bureau during federal elections, and PQ Media has been publishing political media buying estimates since the 2004 elections, with 2022 being the 10th election cycle analyzed. This is part two of our analysis.

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Political Media Buying 2022: Where is Maxwell Smart When You Need Him as 2022 Political Landscape in Chaos! Political Media Buying to Reach $10.2 Billion in 2022

Contributor: Leo Kivijarv, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Director of Research of PQ Media

Overview: Bring Down the Cone of Silence

Since 2012, PQ Media has been offering opinions and data to the Radio Advertising Bureau during federal elections, and PQ Media has been publishing political media buying estimates since the 2004 elections, with 2022 being the 10th election cycle analyzed. We’ve never experienced any election like 2022, as the narrative changes every month. Since February, we’ve revised our spending predictions at least a half-dozen times due to the unpredictability of this election coupled with unprecedented fundraising.

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New Data Demonstrates Radio Listeners Have High Purchase Intent, Making It an Attractive Channel for Local Advertisers

Contributor: Mallory Bouslog, Senior Account Executive, Marketron

The refrain in many circles is that nobody listens to radio anymore. With so many channels providing audio content, broadcast radio is no longer the only option. However, it still dominates ad-supported listening time, holding 75% of audiences, while Pandora’s and Spotify’s ad-supported options receive 10%, according to the Edison Research “Share of Ear” Q2 2022.

That’s a great data point for radio ad sellers but not the only one that can attract local advertisers. Research also suggests that radio listeners have higher purchase intent. It’s a point to make when re-engaging customers or talking to new ones who need more understanding of the power of radio.

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Healthcare Ads on Radio: What’s Working Best

Contributor: Rick Kestenbaum, General Manager, AnalyticOwl

Healthcare is always a top-of-mind concern for consumers, and radio has proven to be an effective way to reach and motivate consumers. According to Scarborough’s USA+ 2022 Release, 85% of chiropractic patients are radio listeners, 85% of optometry patients tune in weekly, and 84% of dental patients are weekly radio listeners.

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Radio Reaches Pet Owners

Author: Victor Texcucano, Content Coordinator, RAB

Pets are loyal companions, protectors and even mood boosters, according to WebMD, which says pets can stave off depression, lower blood pressure and boost immunity.

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Wining and Dining – Appetizing Opportunities with Radio

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

When it comes to summer heat, there’s only one thing better than a cold beverage – having a cold beverage with a good meal out. Those meals taste better because there isn’t the need to clean up the kitchen. 

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Boost Results and Revenue by Pitching Full-Funnel Ads to Local Advertisers

Contributor: Christian Kligora, SVP Customer Success/Marketron

The buying funnel, I’ll admit, is a jargony type of term. It’s one that many of your advertisers may have sparse knowledge of. What they do know is that they need to get in front of the right audiences at the right time. Even those with awareness realize the funnel is complicated and no longer linear. Many things impact when and how people make purchases from businesses.

As a trusted marketing professional to your clients, they depend on you to provide some education on the funnel and explain the importance of addressing every step to engage, attract and convert customers.

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Reach Foodies with Radio

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

After a few years of limited personal interaction, consumers are hungry. They are hungry for social events, gatherings and the experience of food outside of their homes. All consumers have truly become “foodies.”

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Radio Works to Drive Business and Brand Growth

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB

Radio can help brands and businesses grow in a number of ways. Whether the goal is to drive awareness, traffic, or sales, radio can be a key player in a brand’s media plan. In fact, according to a 2020 iHeartMedia survey, radio is the No. 1 trusted medium in the U.S., with 75 percent of respondents saying they trust radio for the information and entertainment it delivers.

Through a Radio Works series of online, members-only events, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) has taken a deep dive into more than 18 categories of business, including healthcare, automotive, retail, and restaurants, among others. While each category is unique, one thing remains consistent across the board: radio can be an effective way to drive business and brand growth.

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Farms – A Growth Opportunity

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

When most people hear about local businesses, the first thing that comes to mind are the brick-and-mortar locations that sell goods or offer services. While that may be true, there is another business that is not based as much on hard goods or services, but items that are served and eaten in homes. The business in reference is farming.

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Radio Bridges the Gap for Dentists

Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB

Kissing a frog, being in a roomful of snakes or using a dirty toilet. Those are just a few of the things that people would rather experience than going to the dentist, according to DentaVox.

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We Are All Ears – Radio and Audio Trends from the 2022 Radio Mercury Awards

Author: Madison Wright, Associate Producer, Radio Mercury Awards

After two years of virtual awards events, on Thursday, June 9, radio and advertising creatives gathered at Sony Hall and others gathered virtually to celebrate the winners of the 31st annual Radio Mercury Awards. Produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau, it is the only awards competition that exclusively honors creativity in radio and audio since its creation in 1992. Approximately 20,000 commercials have competed for close to $3.6 million in prizes.

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