The radio industry has played a remarkable job of catch-up during the past few years, making its content more accessible on many different platforms and access points. From streaming to mobile apps to on-demand content, stations and the personalities that define them are moving more content to digital with each passing day.
So why does radio often come up short when it comes to appreciation and love from critics, both the professionals and the ones we call friends, neighbors, and even certain family members?
There are two big speed bumps impeding radio’s march to digital – and they are both self-inflicted.
The first is our own reluctance to promote these digital touch points. Concerns that meters will be lost to consumers who turn to streams, apps, and other platforms often serve as impediments to clearly and consistently getting the word out about these valuable areas.
Hopefully, the Nielsen Era – still very undefined for everyone in the radio industry – will usher in a new wave of thinking that will allow for combined metrics from multiple digital sources. In this way, we’ll have a better sense of radio’s true reach and engagement, and advertisers will be able to better utilize (and pay for) radio’s digital footprint.
As Greater Media’s Peter Smyth points out in his new “Corner Office” think piece, “Some day in the not too distant future, ratings will contain online radio stations such as Pandora, Spotify and iTunes Radio as well as podcasts like Adam Carolla, Ricky Gervais and Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me from NPR. We can no longer come to work believing that our rivals are the stations down the street; now we will see the true scale of competitors for our audiences’ attention. That may scare some radio people, but it does not scare me; the truth is that we have been competing with internet audio for some time now, regardless of what Arbitron rules have said about the listening universe.”
And as Smyth notes, integrating online with on-air is an important first step in aligning the metrics with the realities of consumer behavior. Too many have worked too hard for too long and have spent too much money not to have this usage counted.
But the second piece of the puzzle focuses on radio’s ability to communicate these assets to its listening audience. At a recent Public Radio Program Directors convention in Atlanta, I was joined by NPR vet Todd Mundt, The Current’s Jim McGuinn, and Roxanne Roberts, Wait, Wait panelist and columnist for The Washington Post.
While both Mundt and McGuinn presented some compelling arguments supporting radio’s rapid movement into the digital ecoscape, Roxanne reminded everyone in the room that the audience moves at different speeds. And thinking specifically about her own personal experiences, she noted that if a station “took me by the hand” and showed her the basics of using new digital tools and platforms, helping consumers adjussst to new platforms would be smoother, more comfortable, and ultimately more successful.
She speaks for many people – especially those in the Boomer category – who have made the leap to smartphones, tablets, and Facebook, but still need some guidance about the best ways in which to connect with their old friends – their favorite radio stations.
So often, broadcasters take for granted that everyone in the audience knows how to use their mobile app, access their stream, or download their podcasts or on-demand programming. But while radio has invested in those platforms, it has typically done very little to teach listeners how, when, and where to make the best use of them.
I recently ran across a web article from The Christian Science Monitor – “10 Essential iOS7 Tips and Tricks” that was all about helping me best use my updated iPhone. (It turns out there are several similar pieces from a variety of different sources and publications.) And you have to wonder why Apple doesn’t simply provide this information themselves about their operating systems, their phones, their tablets, and their other products. While the nature of the web allows us to research these things with a few clicks of the mouse or touchpad, who really has the time to do this? And as Roxanne asked, why don’t brands make it easier for us to enjoy their content or their devices, rather than having to Zen it out or rely on Wikis for help?
How difficult is this to do and doesn’t it make sense to help consumers make the leap to your new platforms and assets?
Consider this video Kenny Chesney put together when he launched his own “No Shoes Radio” a few years back. It’s personal, it’s Kenny himself, and it’s an easy walk-through of a feature-laden app so that it’s easier for the user to see what Kenny was thinking when he and his team designed the app. It’s probably a minute or two longer than it needs to be (PPM and Twitter forces shortened attention spans for these guides), but it’s a simple, direct reflection of who the guy is and what his app is about.
>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH KENNY CHESNEY VIDEO<
As we’ve learned from our trips to CES, a simple walk-through from the people who create “connected car” systems or mobile apps helps make this technology come alive. It engages you and makes you want to try various features.
Radio cannot take anything for granted in 2013, whether it’s the “connected car,” mobile apps, streaming, or podcasts. We have made amazing progress in building new ways for consumers to enjoy our content.
Now let’s connect the dots.
Peter Smyth, along with 45 other professionals from the worlds of automotive, advertising, and radio, will be speaking at DASH, October 23-24, at the Westin in the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. For more information on DASH, please click here.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Radio has done an excellent job of updating the availability of its product on different platforms, but a much less impressive job of updating the actual product – which may be the reason for the lack of love from critics. Radio sounds very much as like it did 15 years ago – but with less research, attention, localism and marketing support.
Imagine if Banana Republic or PacSun had updated, easy to navigate, slick looking websites but sold the same styles clothes they did 15 years ago, but using cheaper materials? What if GM or Ford streamlined the sales process, made it uber-consumer friendly but sold 1998 model cars?
While I applaud radio’s considerable work to make itself available on multiple digital platforms, the lack of significant presence of any of them in PPM numbers suggests that such has been necessary but not sufficient.
Look at what the American Auto industry has done in the past 5 years to re-imagine itself and persuade people to buy new cars in a miserable economy and compare that to what radio has done to just get them to stay for free.
What are radio’s top 5 product enhancements/improvements in the past 5 years?
You are right to question innovations – or the lack of them – on the radio side. But I think a case could be made that in the area of mobile (and I’m not just saying this because of jacAPPS), integration of radio content on individual mobile applications or on bigger platforms like iHeart and TuneIn are innovative. The fact that radio looks and sounds like it did 15 years ago is a double-edged sword. And I’m your side of the ledger on this one. While there’s a certain comfort to a medium that is reminiscent of the one we grew up with, the need to change it up, integrate new angles, entertainment, and audience involvement has been spotty and very station to station.
The fact that little of radio’s efforts shows up in PPM, however, has everything to do with how radio’s digital assets are measured – or aren’t. And to some degree, that partially explains – not an excuse – the lack of innovation. When digital efforts cannot be accurately measured and subsequently monetized, it become a tougher sell.
You’ve hit one some of radio inherent problems, Bob, and I hope to hear from others who are competing in this space. Thanks for writing.