Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Radio. According to Merriam-Webster, radio is “the wireless transmission and reception of electric impulses or signals by means of electromagnetic waves.” At the Radio Advertising Bureau, these are just some of the words we use to define and describe radio: mass, personal, engaging, live, local, interactive, informative, entertaining. And yes, there are many more that can be used as we celebrate radio.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
As states across the country locked down, it created massive shifts in behaviors and routines. We’ve all read about studies that have analyzed the shifts and the overall mood by people across the country. One thing was evident among all these studies – people are missing what they did every day.
Contributor: Gabriel Soto, Manager of Research, Edison Research
Under the current climate of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to disseminate information to various communities effectively. Often overlooked, African-American and Hispanic communities can benefit with a few insights into each group’s media consumption.
Continue reading “Reaching Black and Hispanic Populations through Radio and
Other Media”
Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB
“There’s something about the spirit of radio. It helps us all to know each other better and gives us a sense of purpose and community in a time where we need those things more than ever.”
– Adam Grant, Creative Director, AKQA (abridged).
Historically speaking, in periods of great challenge, truly there is no more important medium than local radio. In uncertain and unpredictable times, broadcast radio has proven that it is the backbone of the country’s information distribution system, with increased listening among consumers across all of its platforms.
Continue reading “The Spirit of Radio – Connecting in Times of Business Unusual”
Contributor: Laura Ivey, Director of Research, Edison Research
The most telling image from The Infinite Dial 2020 presentation is a screenshot of our presenters, Edison Research SVP Tom Webster and Triton Digital President of Market Development John Rosso, leading the webcast with over 1,500 attendees from their respective homes. No one could have anticipated that our setup would be driven by social distancing precautions. Now seems like a most appropriate time to talk about the most recent findings on the “infinite dial” of podcasting, digital, audio, radio and social media that connect us all.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Cancellations, social distancing, empty streets, working from home, virtual classes – this has become the new norm for many of us. We are all anxiously waiting to get back to how it used to be. In the interim, there is one thing that everyone can count on. Radio. It’s On.
Continue reading “Radio. It’s On!”
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Artificial intelligence. Autonomous vehicles. Robotic pets. It is easy to become enamored with technology and the latest gadgets, because they provide us with something that we didn’t know we needed or wanted. However we have also seen some technology or gadgets that some thought would be the next hottest thing, fizzle out.
Despite these tech advances, people today still use and appreciate the value of Radio. At its core, Radio remains relevant and prevalent, regardless of the device or platform used to tune in.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
During RAB’s team coverage of CES 2020, John Holdridge of Fullscreen, a social content company, believes that there is a pending social recession. He said that people may “optimize their time for their health and well-being, there may be a point of turn-off for social.” How can eliminating social media be beneficial to a person’s health and well-being? According to a survey sponsored by the Cigna Health Insurance Company, loneliness is at an all-time high and triggered using social media. On the other hand, some studies have pointed to audio and voice as an aid to battle loneliness.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
February is Black History Month, also known as African American Month. It celebrates and recognizes the roles that African Americans have played in shaping U.S. history. Originally established as Black History Week by American historian Carter G. Woodson, it was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1976.
As consumers, African Americans have a buying power of $1.3 trillion and are 47.8 million strong. They are socially active – as end-users as well as influencers. They also spend more time with media across devices – specifically radio, than the U.S. population in general.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Once viewed as an event for techies, CES has radically evolved. CES 2020 was not about consumer electronics, it was about the consumer experience. Technology is shifting everything. It is driving brand transformation and enhancing the experience for consumers, while also having an impact on everything they do – banking, cooking, shopping and raising families.
Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP/Business Development, RAB
As we leave one decade to enter another, we couldn’t be prouder of the progress that radio has made to continuously deliver first-class and relevant content to listeners any way they wish to consume it. Among consumers today, audio is hot and radio is hotter. Advertisers from Main Street to Wall Street are tapping into radio’s incredible power and unique attributes. Why? Because radio is emotionally engaging, personal and measurable with the ability to deliver ad messages in a safe and receptive environment.
Continue reading “Radio’s Top 10 to Usher in 2020”
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
“What’s today’s weather forecast?” Did you know that is one of the top requests on smart speakers by their owners? Personally, that’s a question I ask my smart speaker daily. In fact, I often find myself wanting to ask that question out loud – even when I am away from home.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Today, consumers have a multitude of audio options to choose from — broadcast, satellite, pure-plays and podcasts — across a multitude of devices. In other words, audio has never been hotter.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Radio is an extension of every part of us. It’s our ears that listen. It’s our fingers that touch the dial or app. It’s our eyes when we want to know the traffic. It’s our heart when we hear the songs that we grew up with, and it’s our soul when we hear of any devastation in a local community.
Radio is an incredible force and impacts listeners like no other medium does. A look at some of the figures that pertain to radio helps to both quantify and qualify radio as a powerful medium.
Smart speakers are quickly becoming commonplace in the homes. In fact, a recently released study by Edison Research done in partnership with NPR stated 18% of all Americans 18+ own a smart speaker. These audio playback devices feature voice activated digital tasks and can operate as home automation hubs. Serving as a central information source for users, these devices are most importantly providing easy access to listen to one’s favorite radio station.
Erica Farber is the President & CEO of the RAB and in this edition she speaks with Tom Webster, Senior VP for Edison Research. They discuss some interesting findings from the study covering such topics as ownership and usage data, media behavior interests and activities, and purchasing and advertising attitudes of smart speaker owners.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Author: Fred Jacobs, President, Jacobs Media.
Since its inception, social media has been a much-discussed digital platform – especially in radio circles. The low cost of entry, the ease of interaction and its widespread popularity has made for a great opportunity for radio brands to connect with audiences in ways that were once not even possible.
In recent weeks, we’re learning more about the true toll of social media networks on our privacy and personal information. If we didn’t realize it before, we do now: there’s a cost to social media. Mark Zuckerberg did not provide us with a conduit to our friends, families, and listeners as a public service. He’s been monetizing our data. And we’ve been gladly checking off the “accept terms and conditions” box as we scroll through our news feeds.
Continue reading “Radio’s Connection – On-air and Socially, Counts.”
Author: Jateen Parekh, CTO and Co-Founder, Jelli.
Digital has transformed advertising in the last few years but audio as a medium has been left behind. Jateen Parekh, the CTO and co-founder at Jelli, shared his thoughts on the matter in an Adweek article entitled “Brands Need to Join the 21st Century and Tap Into Radio Advertising.”
In his piece, Jateen points to the fact that radio is a massive market – bigger than TV – that marketers have largely ignored, primarily because of the medium’s particular challenges.
Continue reading “Audio is Booming – Turn Up Your
Radio Strategy”
There is little doubt that we are in a golden age of media overall, as content is available everywhere and across all devices. Yet, according to Nielsen’s second quarter 2017 Comparable Metrics Report, radio remains the top way to reach consumers across all media platforms – 93% A18+. And radio also provides advertisers with effective digital opportunities to compliment and extend its large over-the-air audience. Such as: streaming, on-demand podcasts, HD radio, NextRadio, and pure plays… the list continues to expand. Radio’s social media websites provide advertisers with new ways to relate to the enthusiastic radio audience. As smart marketers, we must look ahead to understand these drivers of change and signals of progress to navigate forward. The media landscape is vast, complex with technology changing the way consumer’s engage with media and radio remains the best way to reach consumers across demographics.
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:
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.
2018 is now in full swing, and with so many retrospective articles across publications it is also a great time to take a new look at media comparisons. 2017 seemed to be the year for digital and social media as seen in so many articles.
However, figures in other research publications and newsletters painted a very different image.
