Fusion Blog

It’s become common for those of us who work in radio to see other mediums “piling on” and perpetuating the myth that radio is in trouble. So it was very refreshing to see some “good pub” for a change. Enjoy.

From MediaPost.com…

You heard it here first: Radio is the wave of the future.

Caroline Krediet, Feb 18, 2009

I’m in the minority on this one. All the buzz in advertising is over Facebook, Twitter and social media. Yet radio technology is burgeoning. The appointment audio of the podcast is catching on, and satellite radio, HD radio and streaming mobile radio are all gaining interest and audience. So, too, is Internet radio: according to research firm American Media Services, 38% of adults surveyed six months ago said they expected to listen to radio on the Internet at some point in the future; more recently, the figure was 48%.

Listening to President Obama’s inauguration speech again on YouTube recently got me thinking about stirring orations. Because I’m a Brit, naturally Winston Churchill’s 1940 “Fight them on the Beaches” speech to the House of Commons came to mind. Even today, when I listen to it via a scratchy YouTube recording, I am struck by radio’s power as a storytelling medium. I can’t help but wonder: In our visual age, have we lost the art of audio communication?

I’ve long been a believer in radio.

After nine years in this business (and 20-odd as an avid radio listener), some of my favorite effective brand communication has come over the airwaves. Read more

comScore - which tracks internet activity and trends - just released its 2008 Year in Review and radio station websites are among the top growth categories in terms of unique visitors - up 30% in fact over the previous year. Although they didn’t mention the details in the study I believe this growth is due to two very specific things… Read more

From today’s Radio Business Report… A recent study suggests that businesses advertising on the radio need to be more competitive with their message in order to get the most out of their ad dollars.  Infosurv, Inc. recently completed gathering data for the first research study to evaluate consumer recall of phone numbers vs. web site addresses in radio ads, and their online behaviors once on an advertiser’s website.

Results suggest that in radio ad, consumers have a 33 - 86% higher recall rate of vanity phone numbers than they do of an advertiser’s URL.  And, an overall 45% higher recall of the memorable phone numbers than URLs in various traditional advertising formats, including radio, outdoor, and print. Key findings include:

*   Advertisers Will Benefit by Providing Both a URL and a Vanity 800 Number in Ads. Based on recall rates and consumers proclivity to first research an advertiser’s competition, it is essential for companies to include a memorable phone number in addition to their URL in advertising campaigns for optimal lead generation. Read more