Traditional media is so easy to bash, and radio has its share of bashers. I hope that through the posts of this blog – now celebrating its 7th year – you’ve come to know us as strong supporters of the medium. But we’re always hoping for better. We are definitely core supporters of broadcast radio, while we also act as agent provocateurs. That’s because there are days when radio needs a hug, and others when it needs a kick in the ass.
Today’s post is about the former. And the cool thing is that the kudos and love don’t come from a radio insider, but instead, a respected member of the advertising community.
Antony Young is the CEO of Mindshare, a WPP media strategy agency. This is a guy with a great sense of the value and power of both traditional and new media. And in a recent piece for AdAge Mediaworks, Antony crafted an elevator pitch for radio – as if it were a startup media channel. He listed six remarkable values that radio offers.
Called “How to Package Traditional Media to New-Age Marketers,” he cited the following strong suits that radio features:
1. A powerful mobile medium – Noting that radio is available on almost every mobile device (this is a bit of a stretch because smartphones and web surfing have a way to go), Antony notes that mobile is a magnet for that desirable young audience (except those who listen to Alternative stations) – a strong demo for fast food, cars, sports, and retail.
2. Drives word of mouth – Antony talks about how personalities and DJs have credibility that stimulates participation and engagement.
3. Hyper-local targeting – While global websites try to make this claim, radio’s local focus is a true asset, allowing advertisers to laser-focus their marketing dollars.
4. Delivers across multiple platforms – Antony notes that radio is on-air, online, and mobile. You could also add social media and on-site, too.
5. Provides scalable campaigns – As Antony explains it, radio has a reach of almost 300 million “uniques” nationally. (That’s more than Facebook in the U.S., and far surpasses Pandora.)
6. A viable revenue model – Here’s the fun stuff: He refers to radio’s “free-content, ad supported model” that is preferable to the paid subscription option. This is also a comment we heard from an auto executive at CES in January when talking about radio’s potential on the dashboard of the future. Additionally, advertisers can control their messaging, but radio provides custom integration, as well as endorsements by trusted personalities.
I would add a few assets to Antony’s list:
7. Simplicity – Radio doesn’t require a user manual or a learning curve. And radios don’t require boot-up time nor do they get viruses. Radios turn on instantly and can be operated by an 8 or an 80 year-old.
8. Provides consumer-generated content and interactivity – From listeners requesting songs to offering opinions, radio is interactive.
9. Features “eye contact” – Digital and social meet-ups can be meaningful, but nothing is more resonant than visually connecting with a trusted, revered personality. And radio provides the ability to meet a favorite DJ or personality. As we see from the political arena, advertising is important but the personal bond is invaluable.
10. Reliability – During power outages or other natural disasters, radio is the dependable source that consumers can count on when cell towers and other networks go down.
11. Charity – Has any other medium done more for local charities and people in need than radio? Whether it’s a natural disaster or a need in local communities, radio is there, year after year.
This is an impressive list of radio strengths, and Antony’s article should be tacked up on cubicles and offices throughout the radio industry as reminders of the medium’s core strengths.
Without a doubt, radio needs to innovate, grow, and simply do better in order to compete with the challenges ahead. But we also cannot lose sight of the strengths and attributes the industry brings to the table.
From buyers to pundits to media critics to even people who make their living from radio, there is often too much fault-finding and not enough chest pounding. A little swagger would do the industry some good.
And if Antony and I have missed some key radio assets, don’t hesitate to comment.
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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In response to:
#7. Simplicity – Not anymore with HD radios. HD radios require boot-up time. Also, these radios have been known to simply crash. Tuning is very kludgy, so it is far from the simplicity of pure analog radios. Also, I believe that when the signals are lost to silence on the HD channels, that retuning to the HD1 channels is required. There is even a Youtube video on how to operate/tune HD radios:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfPvqA7sJ8
#10. Reliability – The HD Radio exciters are reportedly very unreliable and frequently need to be sent back for repairs. Reportedly, the AM-HD exciters have a memory leak in the software, that requires periodic rebooting. So much for reliability. Listeners, such as in the mid-west rural areas, have probably given up listening to some of their favorite AM radio stations due to adjacent-channel IBOC hash. Out-of-town AM radio broadcasts can be an invaluable source of information concerning incoming, hazardous weather forecasts. In times of emergencies, such as Katrina, this can be an invaluable source of information (I believe this actually occured as cell phone towers went down).
AM radio should be declared a National Treasure, as it has existed since 1920, with the forced removal of HD Radio/IBOC from all AM radio stations.
Greg, thanks for the consistent comments. This post really wasn’t about HD Radio, but yes, it’s a part of the overall radio conversation. AM radio may be perceived as a national treasure, but it also has its share of problems. And most owners of AM stations would probably tell you that these properties are highly endangered as we watch their shares all but disaappear when an FM station signs on with simulcasted content.
“playing to your strengths” is no new idea, but “radio” seems too often to have forgotten that, in terms of using them to move and flex the muscle across platforms and wherever those “fish” are! By the way ANTONY YOUNG’S “BRAND MEDIA STRATEGY:Integrated Communications Planning in the Digital Era” is a good read too.
Antony is a great writer and gets right to the point. I thought his article was a free PR “makeover” for radio. Thanks for commenting, Lee.