Marketron

Closing the 2016 Political Year

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Leo Kivijarv, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Director of Research of PQ Media

As stated in our previous guest blog posts, this was a strange year given the Trump candidacy. He spent significantly lower on media advertising and marketing than previous presidential candidates on most media platforms, with the exceptions of digital, event marketing, promotional products, public relations & word-of-mouth. Continue reading “Closing the 2016 Political Year”

Radio’s sustaining presence
in American culture

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Ginny Morris, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Hubbard Radio, LLC

Radio, as an industry, will celebrate its “first” vibrant 100 years in 2020.  The country has seen the evolution of radio over that time from a nascent technology with few users to a pervasive and ubiquitous part of American culture. We all know radio’s history, right? The AM band dominated for decades before the FM band finally found its legs, and combined, the two continue to be a solid foundation for today’s ever-evolving “audio landscape.”

Our family has been in the broadcasting business since the early 20’s. My grandfather, Stanley E. Hubbard, started with one radio station: WAMD. In our company’s 90-or-so years we have never been more excited about the radio business. Audience levels are near an all-time high of 247.4MM people 12+ every week. Radio offers a richer experience for our listeners across our digital platforms and a more dynamic environment to help our advertising partners grow their businesses.

Continue reading “Radio’s sustaining presence
in American culture”

Ad Fraud Isn’t Possible
in Live Broadcast Radio

Studio microphone stand on background sign light ON AIR. 3d illustration

Throughout 2016, data became more and more important in advertising – finding out the who, what, where and why.  So what happens if the data you receive comes into question?  Articles like this one from Advertising Age and The New York Times only adds to that concern.

Continue reading “Ad Fraud Isn’t Possible
in Live Broadcast Radio”

Reporting from The Attribution
Accelerator – What You Need to Know

Conversion Rate Optimisation Icon. Business Concept. Isolated illustration.

Today’s post is courtesy of Jim Spaeth and Alice K. Sylvester of Sequent Partners.  This is a follow-up post on Multi-Touch Attribution.

The Attribution Accelerator conference, sponsored in part by the RAB on November 30, confirmed that the advertising industry has pinned high hopes to a new measure of media performance, Cross-Channel Attribution modeling.

Close to 300 marketers, agency, media and research providers looked at the in’s and out’s of attribution and its traditional forbearer, marketing mix models. Marketer representatives in attendance included: Unilever, Estee Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Weight Watchers and Citi.  The conference was designed to generate dialogue about Return On Investment measurement and hear what marketers have experienced and need.

If you think this is just another post on ROI, it’s not.  It’s about the future of planning what media is included in the plan…or not!

Continue reading “Reporting from The Attribution
Accelerator – What You Need to Know”

The Secret Formula to Great Radio Ads

radio

What makes a great radio ad?  Is there a magic formula or do you just have to have a gift?  In today’s post, some of radio’s great creative minds share their thoughts and approach to writing great radio ads.  Have you tried their approach in the past?  Please tell us what you think about their suggestions.

“Radio is one of the few remaining mediums with captive audiences. They can’t click away from you; they can’t skip ahead. While they are driving in their car, you own their attention,” said Chris Smith, Brand Creative Group Head from The Richards Group, as he was emphasizing radio’s continued relevance as a great storytelling mechanism despite all other advertising choices.

Continue reading “The Secret Formula to Great Radio Ads”

Watches, Bracelets and Rings – Oh My!

Jewelry on window display

You’ve all heard about radio’s incredible reach and its ability to create relevant imagery in a person’s mind.  Did you know that radio is great at selling shiny new objects, too?  Yes, it can help to sell watches, earrings, bracelets and rings – oh my! According to National Jeweler.com, the holiday sales are off to a strong start.

Continue reading “Watches, Bracelets and Rings – Oh My!”

Radio – Part of the Local Community

Multi Ethnic People Holding The Word Community

Radio, the top reach medium, provides news, traffic, music to the over 247 million listeners every week.  Radio delivers content that listeners want wherever and whenever they want it, but radio is also more than that.  Radio is part of the community.

Continue reading “Radio – Part of the Local Community”

Let Radio Data Tell the Story

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Today’s post is courtesy of Maura Kautsky, VP Marketing NextRadio

I saw this funny quote the other day that couldn’t be timelier “Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed”.   And boy has that data evolved.   As you read from the previous blog, marketers are moving from big data to data attribution which provides insight into what receives credit for conversion.  Continue reading “Let Radio Data Tell the Story”

Don’t Take Radio for Granted

High angle studio portrait of the young girl lying on the white floor

Broadcast radio has many strengths.  It’s live and local.  You can tune in to hear your favorite songs, get the latest weather and traffic updates.  Maybe you turn it on just to keep you company or hear the play-by-play of the game. But radio also has other strengths that are often taken for granted, and even sometimes, overlooked.

Continue reading “Don’t Take Radio for Granted”

Marketing Measurement Evolves:
Why You Should Care About Multi-Touch Attribution

Conversion Rate Optimisation Icon. Business Concept.  Isolated illustration.

Today’s post is courtesy of Jim Spaeth and Alice K. Sylvester of Sequent Partners.

“ROI.” “ROI.” “ROI.” whined Jan Brady.

Ok, maybe not, but you can’t go too far these days without encountering the term Return on Investment. ROI performance is on everyone’s mind – auto dealers, big retailers, movie companies … all of radio’s advertisers.

But just as we wrapped our heads around the advanced math of econometric marketing mix models, the measurement world changed. Today, the venerable, powerful marketing mix models are considered too slow, too macro and too backwards-thinking for most marketers. They need tools that are more granular and more comprehensive – tools like they have in digital, where they can attribute sales to digital touchpoints and map a consumer’s journey from search to website to reviewers’ blogs to Facebook to Amazon.

Attribution modeling is leaving the digital ecosystem and will play a key role in cross-platform ROI analysis. It’s a very hot topic full of promise and right now, some bluster.

Continue reading “Marketing Measurement Evolves:
Why You Should Care About Multi-Touch Attribution”

Radio’s Place in the New Local Media
Advertising Marketplace

Driving on an empty road towards the setting sun and sunbeams to upcoming new 2017 year and leaving 2016 behind. Concept for success and passing time.

With only 9 weeks left before we bid farewell to 2016, we asked Mark Fratrik, Ph.D., SVP and Chief Economist with BIA/Kelsey to provide with us with radio’s outlook for 2017.

Where do local radio stations stand in the new local media advertising marketplace, especially compared to their traditional and online/digital competitors? According to the recently published 2017 BIA/Kelsey U.S Local Advertising Forecast, which provides a five year national forecast and 12 individual media forecasts, radio does reasonably well. The combination of online activities with the over-the-air advertising leads to a 10.5% share of the $148.8B local advertising pie in 2017.

Continue reading “Radio’s Place in the New Local Media
Advertising Marketplace”

Only 17 Days Left!

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In seventeen more days we’ll know who will be leading this country for the next four years.  As we approach November 8, there is still time for candidates to reach voters and particularly those that are still undecided.  Also, given the events that have occurred in the past few weeks, political advertising dollars have seen some shifts, but not with radio.

Continue reading “Only 17 Days Left!”

Scale. Storyteller. Relationships.

"Digital portable clock radio with red illuminated lcd display. Radio has a wooden body, metallic buttons and antenna. Isolated on white background."

These are the words that have been used to describe radio by some of the most widely recognized national brands and large advertising agencies.  During the 40th Annual Fall Broadcast Management Conference and the 16th Annual Power of Urban Radio Forum, speakers and panelists discussed radio’s strengths, future as well as what radio can do to help advertisers address their challenges.

Continue reading “Scale. Storyteller. Relationships.”

Radio Connects and Colors

technology and lifestyle concept: Hipster with beard and checked shirt holding a smartphone with radio app on the screen

Over 247 million people tune in to radio every week.  Their reason for tune-in varies; it may be to find out about the weather or to get traffic and transit updates.  Whatever the reason, they all have one thing in common – they listen because of the connection they have with the radio station and the personalities on that station.  During Advertising Week, radio’s ability to “provide a personal connection with listeners that no one else does” and “color a blank canvas” for sports fans was discussed during two separate sessions: “Let Us Entertain You” and “Huddle Up – Radio Sets the Score,” each moderated by RAB president and CEO Erica Farber.

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People tune in and listen and listen
to radio

Friends Friendship Portrait Togetherness Fun Concept

We look forward to each time Nielsen releases another quarterly issue of their Total Audience Report.  It provides the entire ad community with a perspective on shifts and changes in media usage.  But it is of no surprise that our interest is about radio’s usage.

The Q2 2016 Nielsen Total Audience Report noted that, in a three-year comparison, the number of radio stations that an adult tunes into has grown.  Radio delivers content, whether it is in the form of talk, news, sports or music, and listeners tune in to find it.  Based upon this report, the average number of radio stations tuned in by adults every month is 7.1.

Continue reading “People tune in and listen and listen
to radio”

Radio – A Diverse Medium Reaching a
Diverse Audience

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Rock, News/Talk, Urban AC, Spanish, Jazz, Gospel, Tejano. These are just some of the formats that run on stations across the country. Radio offers programming that reaches people of different age groups, interests, lifestyle and even language.

Radio listeners are passionate. They engage with their radio stations across all platforms and devices – whether it’s on-air, on a smartphone, via Facebook or twitter. And when it comes to reach and time spent with radio, ethnic audience usage is greater than the general market.

Continue reading “Radio – A Diverse Medium Reaching a
Diverse Audience”

New Targeting Capabilities Enhancing the Value of Digital and Broadcast Radio

Computer generated 3D title

Today’s blog is brought to you by: Scott Bender, Global Head of Publisher Strategy and Business Development, Prohaska Consulting

Much continues to be written about the growth of digital audio. By 2017, Digital Radio listenership will grow to 57.8% of the population, according to a recent study by eMarketer. Digital advertising dollars are steadily following and are projected to grow 24% next year.

With the growth of digital, new technologies are emerging. International Data Corporation (IDC), an American market research, analysis and advisory firm, reported that by 2020 roughly one of every five radio dollars, or about $4 billion, will be booked programmatically. The whitepaper prepared last year for the RAB by Prohaska Consulting defined programmatic as follows:
“Programmatic buying is the process of executing media buys in an automated fashion through digital platforms such as exchanges, trading desks, and demand-side platforms (DSPs). This is an alternative to the traditional use of manual RFPs, negotiations and insertion orders to purchase digital and other platforms.”*

Continue reading “New Targeting Capabilities Enhancing the Value of Digital and Broadcast Radio”

Thirsty? Listen to the Radio

Assorted Organic Craft Sodas with Cane Sugar

The click of a flip-top can. The fizzing when you open a screw top. These descriptions bring images to mind – and those images are unique and personal to the individual as they remind them of the beverage they connect with the most. Radio has a strong value proposition for this category – loyal listener connections that drive engagement, awareness and consumption.

As a top 20 category for radio, beverages increased spending by 9% in the first half of 2016 based on data from Miller Kaplan Arase, LLP. Growth within this category was attributed by some of the national soft drink, beer and distilled beverage advertisers, and specifically Coca-Cola (+87%), Anheuser-Busch (+150%) and Bacardi (+127%), to name a few. While these are all well-recognized brands, there are in fact other beverages that have a history just as long.

Continue reading “Thirsty? Listen to the Radio”

Radio and Social Media – A Perfect
Combination

Berlin, Germany - May 28, 2016: Apple iPhone 6s screen with social media applications Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Google, Youtube, Twitter, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumbl etc.

Radio is the original social medium. It’s always been the connector between the community and listener, and at the top of that connection is the radio personality who guides the conversation. But that connection also extends well beyond the broadcast. Naturally, it moves from traditional media to social media and back again.

Listeners are passionate about their radio stations, the on-air personalities on those stations that speak to them every day and the impact that radio has on their lives. And there’s no better proof than hearing directly from a radio listener. A recent piece in our “Matter of Fact” newsletter detailed just one listener’s story.

Continue reading “Radio and Social Media – A Perfect
Combination”