The Radio Business Report recently held a 2010 Upfront Q&A with some of the bigger names in the agency world. One of the questions… How strong will streaming/digital media spend be in 2010? Here’s how each responded…
Goldwerger (TargetSpot CEO): “The streaming market is looking up. For one, radio buyers understand now that online listeners represent an important, growing segment of radio audience. But it’s not just growth that makes it a critical component of the marketing mix; unique features like precision targeting, measurement and analytics and helping buyers rise to the demand for increased accountability. The factors have fueled internet radio’s evolution from an ‘add-on’ to a critical component of the radio buy, and will continue to attract advertising dollars throughout the upfront and 2010.”
Warnecke (MediaCom Partner, Group Director): Streaming will continue to be a part of the audio mix - remember, there are still 235 MILLION weekly listeners to radio and some of those folks also listen online. Radio has also been shown to connect listeners with the web, so smart advertisers will connect with their consumers on air and online.
Mijatovic (Horizon Media VP, Managing Director of National Audio): Much stronger than 2009. Sellers have been working diligently in providing interesting solutions which in turn peaked agency/clients’ interest. Overall bringing more accountability to the overall audio buy. Excellent job on the part of the sellers.
Feinberg (President/Matt Feinberg Media): How strong is anyone’s guess, but it should continue to grow like most other things digital.
Swed Stone (US Director, National Radio Investment, OMD): Will grow significantly as it becomes more mainstream.
Casey (Associate Buying Director of National Radio, Zenithmedia): Definitely on the rise with advertisers who are familiar with the medium. The positive results of the Arbitron Edison research study certainly helped (audience doubling in last 4 years). More advertisers are dipping their toe in the water, so to speak.
Vasey (GroupM Senior Partner, Director of Radio): As the product offer continues to grow in digital media - I’d expect that our spend levels will increase.
Quick blurb from today’s Inside Radio further promotes the advantage radio stations have in the digital realm as no other traditional media has the number of online assets and opportunities. Enjoy…
Milestone: Local online tops traditional.
For the first time, digital media use exceeds that of radio, newspaper, television and other traditional media among small and medium-sized businesses. BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor study shows 77% of local businesses are doing some form of digital marketing. At the same time, traditional media usage slips to 69%.
Kelsey Group director of research Steve Marshall has been tracing the trend of digital replacing traditional media and the latest data is an “indicator of the broad shift to online platforms.” The firm says nearly four of every ten advertising and promotional dollars goes to digital, doubling last year’s level. Ability to track lead sources by counting clicks or emails is the biggest motivator.
The shift comes as local advertisers hold their marketing dollars tighter in hand. According to the study, they decreased spending on advertising and promotion over the last year by 24% from $2.7 billion to $2.1 billion.
BIA chief economist Mark Fratrik says, “There is some promise for radio and television stations.” He says many companies are already selling their station site as well as new city-based online destinations using their existing brand names and ability to cross-promote.
Sorry for the hiatus on the Fusion Blog… Will try to get back to some regular postings as there’s tons of good ideas and info to share. For example, Brandweek released an article last weekend highlighting the importance that the web plays in selling cars during tough times. Here are the highlights…
Web Key for Autos
June 20, 2009 -By Kenneth Hein from Brandweek
- For many consumers, skimping on a new car upgrade has created a lot of pent-up demand. While it’s unclear when buyers will be ready to buy autos en masse again, a new report from The Nielsen Co. suggests one of the best ways to reach them now is via online advertising, particularly video.
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The report, released this month, found many consumers were still looking, but just not buying during the first four months of the year. However, 12 percent of the U.S. population said they will probably or definitely buy a new car or truck during the next six months, per the 250,000 U.S. adults that make up the Nielsen MegaPanel. That was up slightly from 10 percent in the spring. Read more
Consumers are increasingly demanding that the brands they interact with are environmentally and socially responsible. According to Havas Media, globally, 79% would prefer to buy products from environmentally responsible companies. This burgeoning movement of conscious consumers isn’t found only in wealthy Western economies; consumers in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India are even more engaged than their peers in Europe and the U.S. Read more
Yesterday Arbitron and Edison Media Research released their 17th annual study entitled The Infinite Dial. The purpose of the study is to show how changing media habits and new technology impact radio listeners. Over the next few days the Fusion Blog will cover some tidbits of info from the full study. We’ll start with Internet Access:
- In the ten year span from 1999 to 2009, the percentage of 12+ Americans who have access to the internet has grown from 50% to 85%.
- While that’s clearly dramatic growth, perhaps a more interesting fact had to do with at-home internet access. Just 7 years ago, 78% of people who accessed the internet at home were using a dial-up connection. Today that number is just 15% with 82% now using a broadband connection.
-No wonder online audio and video use has grown so much. Speaking of which, we’ll cover online radio listening in The Infinite Dial Part 2 coming soon.
The latest in a series of annual studies (entitled The Infinite Dial) conducted by Arbitron and Edison Media Research shows that 17% of Americans 12+ listened to online radio in the past week. This is equal to an estimated 42 million people. The size of the weekly online radio audience has more than doubled since 2005!
Watch this blog for more info when the study is officially released on April 16th. Expect details on:
· The ongoing growth in iPods and MP3 players
· Social networking sites and their impact on consumers
· The growth in usage of online video
· The latest on satellite radio and HD Radio awareness
Studies of recessions dating to the 1920’s prove that marketing aggressively in a down economy can increase market share substantially more than during good times.
A top best practice in tough times is fiercely protecting your loyal customers, making Customer Retention Marketing more important today than ever. Put your customers at the heart of your business, and you build a competitive advantage that continues to grow after the economy recovers. Unfortunately, many marketers limit themselves to an outdated, simplistic, and less effective CRM approach. It’s time to usher in a 21st Century CRM that utilizes the most powerful strategies and tools available, and achieves great success in a weak marketplace.
Out with the Old CRM Approach!
Too often CRM programs consist only of outbound e-mail or direct mail. As more consumers become engaged with alternative communication channels, and less with e-mail, now is the time to upgrade CRM. For example, young people seldom use e-mail unless they have to, instead relying on social media (e.g., Facebook), text messaging or IM. (“You sent me an e-mail? I never check my e-mail,” say my teenage and college-age daughters.)
Keep the CRM mainstays — e-mail and direct mail — that have worked well, but augment your efforts by exploiting digital and social marketing opportunities, like digital tools (IM, widgets, etc.), mobile, and social media. The new CRM mix has many concurrent elements, such as social communities needing an e-mail blast to update members, or some e-mail requiring a social media approach that engages more personally.
Welcome to 21st Century CRM!
Here are 7 ways to seize the tremendous opportunity of 21st century CRM: Read more
Online video has transformed the communications landscape for business marketers. No inbound or outbound marketing effort can be considered complete without incorporating online video to drive branding, awareness, customer acquisition and loyalty.
Online video is one of the most powerful sales tools because of its ability to capture and engage audiences. Overall, online video campaigns perform better than text-only or standard graphic with text marketing. With its rich storytelling capabilities, online video can be applied across a variety of advertising, viral marketing, and corporate communications, bringing your marketing initiatives to life.
Source for blog: Brightcove March 2009 whitepaper
During the upcoming conference for the California Tourism industry, the digtial divisions of Entercom Sacramento and Entercom San Francisco will be recognized for their part in a very sophisticated digital campaign. The marketing elements for this digital only program utilized some of the latest technology and created a high-impact and successful campaign for Sonoma. You can see (and hear) some of the elements and get the background at http://sonoma.innovativeradio.com/
