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In the Age of Outcome, Radio Has Some Great Stories to Tell

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP Business Development, RAB

At a recent MediaPost conference, one of the panelists responded to a question posed to him by stating that we have left the “exposure age” and we are now in the “age of outcome.” He further expressed his opinion that marketers, agencies and all media must continue to evolve to measure outcome in robust, transparent, statistically significant ways.

Data helps us reveal insights and craft stories of real outcome that enable advertisers to create relevant messaging for their audiences – messaging that will ultimately equate to high value touches with their consumers.

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Radio’s Connection – On-air and Socially, Counts.

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.

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Radio’s Employed Audience: A True Competitive Advantage

Author: Andrew Curran, President and COO, DMR/Interactive

BIA Advisory Services reports that in 2017, revenue for AM/FM radio  “experienced a 0.2% drop from 2016 to end the year at $13.87 billion.”

This lackluster performance took place as consumer confidence was the highest it had been since 2000 and unemployment was its lowest, helping fuel a stock market boom.

Compounding the issue, BIA lists radio as the 5th most significant local advertising platform, behind direct mail, television, newspapers and mobile.

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Audio is Booming – Turn Up Your
Radio Strategy

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.

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Radio Strategy”

Radio: Still the One

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.

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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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Radio: Consumers’ Weekly Leader


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.

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2017 – It’s Been An Incredible Year

It’s incredible to believe that 2017 is coming to a close.  The year just seemed to fly by.

There were so many events that took place around the world this past year and many of these events left a mark in the world of pop culture.  Similar to events that shaped pop culture, there were events that shaped and influenced how radio is perceived. Continue reading “2017 – It’s Been An Incredible Year”

Dining During the Holidays

By now, the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping is reaching a crescendo for many of us.  With aching backs and feet from all the window shopping for ideas to shopping in-store, there is nothing better than sitting down for a good meal.

There are numerous dining options for consumers – from quick-serve to fast casual to sit-down restaurants.  With all of these options, enticing their taste buds can be a difficult challenge.  How do you reach consumers that are on-the-go or right before they are about to shop?  With radio, of course.

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Radio Can Help With What Ails You

The passing of Black Friday and Cyber Monday marks the advent of all things holiday – songs, shopping, gift giving, visiting, entertaining and stress. Yes, holiday stress syndrome is a real thing.

The stress of the holiday season can cause people to get sick with a cold, virus or just feeling run down. According to a recent article on MSN, more people go to the emergency room during the holidays than any other time of the year. With all of the running around that traditionally occurs during this season, consumers will find themselves under the weather — leading to visits to their local doctor.

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Holidays Start with Radio

Thanksgiving’s arrival marks the start of the holiday season and the sounds of holiday music can be heard on the streets, at retail and on the radio, and that’s in part because holiday music is known to improve one’s mental spirits.  Whether it be the positive memories that arise from hearing many of the classic songs or the simple spirit of the season, holiday music gets us in the celebratory mood.

Approximately 240 AM/FM radio stations across the country flip formats to all-holiday music immediately after Thanksgiving. Some start even earlier and the impact of holiday music listening has numerous positive effects of holiday shopping.

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Jewelry Retailers Shine with Radio

During this time of the year, consumers are thinking about gift ideas for their loved ones.  According to a November survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics™, jewelry is on the top ten list of gifts that will be given this year.  It is also one of the gifts that consumers want to receive – 22% of respondents want jewelry as a gift.

Who are these jewelry gift givers?  According to 2017 GfK/MRI data, adults 18+ who purchased a fine jewelry item as a gift for someone else, 81% listen to AM/FM radio. Among those adults who purchased fine jewelry for themselves, 78% are AM/FM radio listeners.

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Radio – A Medium for All Seasons

With the arrival of Fall, a shift began.  Stores have long been prepped displaying décor for fall holidays and Halloween.  Sadly, it is just a matter of time before holiday ornaments and decorations are available for purchase as well.

Although some of the things that people do may change with the start of new seasons, there are other things that won’t – like listening to the radio.

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Take a Break with Radio

Labor Day – While its origins are based on the creation of a day to celebrate and honor the work of trade and labor organizations, it means something very different today. Labor Day is considered a day of rest and unofficially marks the end of summer, barbecues, days at the beach and summer sports.

Labor Day and every day, radio will be there to entertain, inform and keep listeners company. Radio will be tuned in in-car to provide weather and traffic details. Radio will be present at barbecues, parties and family reunions, providing music and entertainment.

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Reaching Sports Fans with Radio

Sports fans are amazing!  They will go to an event to watch “their” team play – whether it is 102 degrees or 2 degrees – they are there.  They identify with their teams and according to research on the subject, one professor of psychological and brain sciences was quoted as saying: “A huge part of who they are, where they derive a lot of their positive and negative affect, is from what their team is doing.”

Sports fans are very similar to radio listeners.  Both groups have strong emotional connections with the person or persons they are tuned in to.  So when you combine a sports fan that is also an avid radio listener, it’s a powerful combination.

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An Important Audio Device

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous audio and portable audio devices that allowed listeners to take their content with them wherever they went.  On July 27, an announcement was made that may have surprised some people – Apple revealed that it was discontinuing the iPod nano and shuffle.  These two products should receive some recognition because they made audio history and forever changed how people take audio with them.

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Radio speaks to the “Middle Child”

Whether you read ad industry trades, online or print news, there are always articles referencing millennial influences or changes impacting boomers. However, there is very little attention paid to Generation X, which Pew Research referred to as the ‘middle child’ in a 2014 article. Sandwiched between two larger generations, Gen Xers who in 2017 are somewhere between the ages of 38-52, are a much smaller group in size and therefore are often overlooked by marketers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Generation X spends more per household annually than any other generation – approximately $67K which is almost $20K more than what millennials spend. Additionally, they have the highest household income compared to the other generations.

So how do you reach this often over-looked and valuable generation? With broadcast radio — of course.

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Attention Back-to-School Shoppers

It’s time to get ready and get shopping for Back-to-School (B2S).  If you think it’s too early to reach those consumers, think again.  According to Deloitte’s 2017 Back-to-School survey, 71% of B2S shopping occurs during an eight-week period – July through August.

As the medium used closest to the moment of purchase, radio can help influence where they can get the best deals.  According to this same Deloitte survey, consumers are shifting from shopping at larger department stores and specialty channels to mass merchants and off-price venues.   Additionally, 20% of the respondents had not yet decided if they would shop in-store or online and “might be persuaded by targeted promotional efforts.”

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Dynamic and Interactive

That’s what radio is – dynamic and interactive.  So shouldn’t a website dedicated to providing all of the stats, data, research and information about radio be that way too?  Introducing the new dynamic and interactive Why Radio micro-site — an easier to navigate, extensive radio marketing and research guide.

OK, so this blog is supposed to be about sharing information and not filled with commercials according to the rules of blogging.  Well, rules were made to be broken, weren’t they?

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Celebrate with Radio

July 4th.  On this day 271 years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed. In commemorating the occasion, we celebrate our collective patriotism and most importantly, remember all those who have and continue to protect and serve our country.

During this holiday like so many others, radio stations across the country will celebrate, honor and recognize those who have served and continue to serve – both overseas and in our communities.   Radio as a live and local medium has the ability to bring listeners of like minds, passions, interests and lifestyles together.  Radio celebrates with its listeners every day.

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