Marketron

Radio Delivers For Local Businesses

 

Small businesses are thriving and looking at 2018 in a positive way, and radio is the perfect vehicle to help them meet their 2018 revenue expectations and goals. Each year BIA/Kelsey conducts Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM), a survey that tracks small-business advertising and marketing spending, buying preferences, and reported return on investment. Within the LCM, BIA/Kelsey also examines franchises. A franchisor licenses its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee.

In the past year, strong economic growth has led to an increase in spending by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and franchisees on advertising and marketing.

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Digital Integration Pays Big Dividends For Radio

Author: Dave Casper, RAB/SVP Digital

“Digital has been integrated into all facets of broadcast radio’s offering both in programming and sales, and the results are definitely paying off,” stated Erica Farber, President and CEO, RAB.  “As radio continues to provide integrated marketing solutions to its advertisers we expect to see continued growth.”

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Radio’s Influence on Music

Radio is the number one source for new music discovery. The raft of new technologies and devices are opening up new discovery methods, but also providing new ways for radio stations to deliver content – most notably via streaming. 37% of music listeners say that one of the things they like most about listening to traditional radio – and that adds to the enjoyment of the music – are the DJ’s (Nielsen Entertainment’s 2017 U.S. Music 360 Highlights).

According to the latest Nielsen Entertainment 2017 Music Year-End Report for the U.S., the surge in streaming continued throughout 2017, topping all forms of music consumption (Albums + Track Equivalents + On-Demand Audio streaming Equivalents). Streaming continued its leadership over downloads as the dominant music consumption platform of 2017, fueling the music industry’s overall volume growth of 12.5% year over year. The increase was led by a 58.7% increase in On-Demand Audio streams compared to 2016.

The addition of streaming data to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which both reflects and drives hit radio playlists, means that streaming is now playing an important part in determining which songs are played on radio. Radio programmers today are influenced by traction demonstrated by artists and songs performing well on streaming services.

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The Big Game and Radio

The practice of listening to the home town team on the radio and watching the game on TV is as alive and well today as it ever was. The connection formed between the radio broadcaster and the listener is extraordinary! This is a trusting relationship only radio can provide. This connection can drive sales and help to build your brand.

The big game is a big deal for radio stations and it is here next weekend! And you can bet everyone across the country will be tuning in to hear the Pats and Eagles play-by-play. Westwood One will cover the game nationally. Listeners coast-to-coast can hear the game called by their favorite announcers including Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason, and this year also includes Hall of Fame reporter Ed Werder. Local announcers in Boston and Philadelphia include WBZ’s Bob Socci and Scott Zolak, and WIP’s Merrill Reese and Mike Quick.

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The Power of a Sonic Brand

 

Ba da ba bah bah.  Bah ba da bah duh bum bum.  Ding ding ding ding ding.

That looks like gibberish or baby talk, but when you HEAR it, they are iconic brand audio signatures from McDonald’s, Farmer’s Insurance and T-Mobile.

There has been an exhaustive amount of research done over the past several decades on the power of sound and how it impacts moods, influences product sales, influences consumer spending, stimulates our brains, aids in healing, is reassuring, keeps us company and triggers all kinds of reactions.

According to Harvard Business Review research, the strategic use of sound can play an important role in positively differentiating a product or service, enhancing recall, creating preference, building trust, and even increasing sales.

At the end of 2017, Veritonic released an update to their groundbreaking audio logo index that objectively examines and measures the impact of audio signatures through their proprietary EchoTime™ technology that tracks emotions and engagement among an online panel of more than 1,000 targeted panelists.

Key findings from the study include:

  • Jingles increase success
  • Brand audio logos/cues enhance uniqueness of message
  • Clarity and focus on a product drives purchase intent
  • Multiple product mentions in a single spot diminishes impact
  • Emphasize your products, not the competition
  • Millennials respond more positively than older adults

So you see, a brand’s audio signature is incredibly valuable and should be leveraged in radio.  The sound of a narrator’s voice, the music featured in the commercial or a slogan can trigger an immediate consumer response and for new radio advertisers, perhaps they already have an audio asset that can be transformed for impactful radio.

For more information on Veritonic, the Audio Index methodology or to view the full executive summary, click here.

CES 2018 Las Vegas

 

Among the biggest stars at CES 2018 were the newest smart speakers and the latest skills they offer. With it comes many new opportunities for radio as audio, and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) devices like Alexa are influencing the way consumers are tapping into their favorite stations using these skills. The machine learning is improving the way we interact with the technology. So it’s no surprise that this year’s CES theme was AI! Everything is getting smarter due to data. As the devices get smarter, audio will play a larger role.

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