This morning, guest blogger and sales aficionado, Paul Jacobs, has a story about demographics, targeting, results – and radio. He’s on a roll, so enjoy.
Question of the day: What do Honda, Kraft, Swiss Miss, Hebrew National Hot Dogs, and Mclaren strollers all have in common?
Give up?
All these companies, and many others, recently sponsored or attended a conference designed to elevate the perception of fathers in the eyes of brands that have historically targeted mothers. The Dad 2.0 conference attracted more than 200 bloggers and media representatives, and symbolized something that we learned
quite clearly in our “Marketing To Men” research effort two years ago – marketers that ignore men do so at their own peril, because guys represent the one thing they crave – new customers.
The bloggers – and the clients represented at the conference – know what you know: advertisers and brands sell men short. And even when many brands target men, their creative often comes off as condescending, reducing fathers to a stereotype of bumbling, fumbling Homer Simpsons who live in mortal fear of changing a diaper (or dealing with the Marges in their lives).
The Dad 2.0 conference was covered by The New York Times. Their article is a great read that should be shared with all advertisers, because beyond the usual statistics that validate the value of men (Ex: In 2012, men spent an average of $36.26 at the grocery store per trip compared with $27.49 in 2004), the real story is how important it is for all formats and sellers who target males to do more than just sell metrics, ratings, and data. In order to truly move the needle, radio needs to start thinking strategically in order to get big brands that have historically targeted females to wake up and smell the dollars.
For radio, this means that the old playbook of selling spots based on ratings to media buyers isn’t going to be enough. For formats that are serving up hundreds of thousands of men to advertisers, reps need to go beyond traditional selling tactics, because they always come up short in the quest to grow business from grocery stores, malls, and even holding onto share from traditional strongholds like auto dealers. Radio needs to use all of the tools at its disposal, create a male marketing strategy, and utilize available research (just like they do down the hall in the programming department) if the industry is going to get serious about championing the true strength of the listening audience.
There is a radio tie-in to this story as well. When we launched the “Marketing To Men” initiative two years ago, there were many enthusiastic companies, but none more gung ho than Entercom. As you know, their portfolio includes a lot of Rock-based stations that traditionally do very well with the male species.
So as you read the Times’ article, you’ll run across a section that highlights a guy named Charlie Capen, a writer who posts blogs on “How To Be A Dad.” In real life, Charlie has a 3 year-old son and is an advocate for fathers in a variety of capacities.
Charlie’s created a series of videos for Kia targeted at his experience of being a father. They’re entertaining but they also send a strong message about the changing role of men. Equally as important, they demonstrate that advertisers are finally moving in this direction, but possibly not in the traditional spot-buying way. You won’t see these videos on television – they’re on YouTube – further proof that there’s an opportunity for radio stations to create different solutions and platforms in order to connect brands with their audience.
>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH CHARLIE CAPEN/KIA VIDEO<
Charlie is the son of Entercom Regional President Deborah Kane. She has long been a strong advocate on this issue, so as you can see, the acorn does not fall far from the tree. Congratulations to her, Charlie, and young Finn for telling an important story about the value of men to advertisers and marketers everywhere.
If radio is serious about growing its revenue in formats like Rock and Sports Radio, it is going to require a new attitude, approach, and solution set. The groundwork has been laid – the “Marketing To Men” study provided great data on the impact of men on purchasing decisions. And now many advertisers have shifted their demos to include men or they’ve created entire campaigns that target them (Tide, Old Navy, Frosted Flakes). Conferences like Dad 2.0 serve to validate this trend, and the bloggers and writers that attend them are sharing the word.
The old playbook won’t work. Let’s write a new one.
After a brief stint working for the William A. Robinson marketing services agency in Chicago, where he created campaigns for Philip Morris and Seagram's, Paul struck gold when he was hired as an Account Executive at WRIF-FM in Detroit. This experience launched his sales management career, and four years later, he became the General Sales Manager for KZEW-FM in Dallas, and ultimately, the General Manager for KHYI-FM, also in Dallas. He was lured home to run WDFX-FM in Detroit, before joining Jacobs Media as its General Manager in 1991.
Along with overseeing the day-to-day operations of Jacobs Media, Paul’s main contribution has been the addition of sales consulting services. As an expert in all Rock formats, Paul has made Jacobs Media clients’ untold amounts of money by aiding them in their understanding of how to sell, market, and position their formats via sales training seminars. He has conducted hundreds of client presentations on behalf of Jacobs Media clients, and has aided the Ford Motor Company and Procter & Gamble in improving their understanding of the youth market. Paul is a true "format champion" – someone who believes in the power of branding, and developing radio’s inherent assets.
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