Let Radio Data Tell the Story

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.  As fellow marketers, we have come to expect all marketing channels to provide granular data like we get from digital.  So where does that leave broadcast radio?  As they say, timing is everything. The industry is ready to deliver this data, and NextRadio provides the solution.

So how does NextRadio work?  It starts with the smartphone and a little thing inside it called the FM Chip.  When the FM Chip is turned on, not only can the individual listen to local radio without using much data or battery life, radio owners can track that phone using its Google ID and location.  NextRadio can report when someone is listening to radio, what station, if they are looking at the app, and what they did after they heard an ad.  And there is more!  NextRadio can share with advertisers if the consumer interacted with the in-app ad to purchase or find the nearest location, and NextRadio can share if they visited the store around the time the radio ad played.  NextRadio is providing data at a device level for terrestrial radio exposure like you have never seen before.

For example, we can share with you a day in the life of a listener. So let’s call our listener ‘Mike’ for storytelling. We can tell you a bit more about Mike than just his listening habits (Does that sound like Big Brother? Don’t worry NextRadio doesn’t ever know a listener’s name, only their Google ID): which stores Mike visited, where he lives and works, where he stopped to eat, and his demographic profile. This is data that broadcast radio has never been able to provide to its advertisers before, and it’s why NextRadio will be an integral part of the future of radio measurement.

Radio’s biggest value is that collectively all stations reach 91% of the population over the age of 12.   And when you add on the fact that NextRadio can now provide data that helps grow the Return on Investment of broadcast radio, it supports radio’s ability to reach and convert consumers.

It is clear that data attribution has become table stakes, according to IDS Connect, “78 percent of marketers are committed to deploying cross-channel attribution within the next two years”.  With the help of NextRadio, the industry can provide advertisers with listening, interaction and demographic data that are new and valuable for the radio industry and advertisers.