RadioGuruPdx

Two Kinds of ROI

 

We all know that advertisers are looking for ROI, "Return On Investment," when they choose a media mix, but they should also consider the marketing mix and its ability to achieve Real Observable impact. 

Historically, the value of return is measured in dollars and cents only, which can be misleading. Today, most consumers are not brand-loyal. The real challenge in advertising today is authentically changing perceptions and owning a share of mind. Jack Trout, World renowned marketing strategist and author of several classic marketing books explains in an interview, 

"What’s happening in the real world is the commoditization of things. In category after category analytics are becoming commoditized. The question is: How do you differentiate yourself? You need powerful differentiating ideas. Commoditization numbers are not doing an effective job of communicating.  They are not telling the story of their brand. You’ve got to get on Radio to tell your story.

Products all look the same, but they don’t have to sound alike."

A one-time purchase is not a real return on investment.

The 'quick-fix' is only an illusion of profitability. The "transactional approach" strategy commoditizes the product. The irony is that 80 percent of your business comes from repeat customers. In other words, building solid relationships is a long-term fruitful way of doing business now, and in the future. This "relational approach" reaps the largest rewards if your advertising strategy supports this business practice.  Read the differences between the two approaches here.

Radio Proves its Value When Measured with Traditional ROI

While measuring the success of a campaign, media should take into account perceptual changes due to clear strategic positioning, the truth is, many still just look at the bottom-line.

That is why Arbiton set out to measure Radio's fiscal impact in a marketing mix. In a recent article from Radio Ink Magazine, Carol Hanley wrote about how the new PPM system is collecting positive data on how Radio is directly impacting ROI. 

"Arbitron, along with partners Dial-Global and Premiere, undertook an extensive study to determine how Radio data can be enhanced to improve the modeling process. We spoke with modelers, advertisers, and agencies to identify best practices and how to design new model-ready data. We then worked with three leading modelers who compared the results using these new data with what they had used previously. The results were very encouraging.

Their research reveals that Radio hits home on both financial and perceptual ROI.

• Radio listeners remember the way commercials make them feel.
• Radio listeners seek out brands pre-shopping due to hearing them on the Radio. 
• Radio Listeners are loyal to brands for additional purchases.

Radio delivers sales and can create a movement that may not be about the immediate sale but will make a difference long-term. 

What kind of impact is your marketing campaign creating? Are your advertisements memorable?  Are customers telling everyone about you? Are you creating a story that the listener cannot forget? Increase both of your ROI's with a good Radio campaign. 

Download Arbitrons ROI Study Here

 

 

Generation Facebook: Friends or Strangers?

Generation Facebook has aimlessly gathered the masses away from true interaction. Many people use Facebook as a marketing tool, collecting hundreds, if not thousands, of "friends," then steer friends to "like" their page.  It's understandable that Facebook can be a marketing tool, but more research is showing that Facebook can be a dead end. If you think your going to create profitability through randomness, think again. Lasting bonds happen when you are near people, hear their voices, and feel their presence. With too many "friends" on Facebook, it's almost impossible to make yourself personal.

While Facebook "profiles" feature average folks like you and me. Facebook "pages" are designed for businesses and brands.  Most Facebook users spend seconds on a "page" unless it has innovative, funny, or exclusive content that allow a person to feel connected. In short, you have to give folks a reason to "like" you and "follow" you. This usually goes way beyond what Facebook can accomplish; it has to do with how you engage with people outside the social media area.

Traditional broadcast starts the conversation. 

That's where the glow of traditional media like Radio makes all the difference in strategy. Cricket Wireless proved this theory true with their "Wallet Drop" campaign. They weren't getting much traction on Facebook or Twitter but when they incorporated Radio and social media, a great marketing strategy was created. Deborah Jourdan, Sr. Director of Consumer Marketing for Cricket explains,"The buzz about the promotion was much greater when we went beyond our social media and web pages and incorporated radio partners." Download the case study to read more. 

Creating a familiar feeling will draw in your customers

Connection is more that just having a collection of names, real connection has to do with creating emotional relevance. Often overlooked by marketers, Radio's longevity has to do with its unique ability to emotionally resonate with listeners; it is this resonance that's a potent driver for getting people to act. Personal familiarity is much different than clicking a "share" button on a computer screen because the person sharing and the person receiving both take a passive emotional role.

Hearing a song or commercial on the Radio is a shared simultaneous real-time experience. Shared emotional experiences are what makes moments special, campaigns successful, and keeps marathon runs in business.

Advertisers with meaningful campaigns, and a relevant emotional message, will reach people directly with even just one Radio commercial. It's like having a megaphone and talking to a ready crowd. 

Americans maintain their love for Radio because of one simple truth:

People of every generation love knowing they are a part of something big.  The communal experience of hearing big ideas, music, laughter or news at the same time is the coveted feeling of belonging.

This belonging is exactly the secret sauce that can take a social media campaign from hit or miss to a winning best practice in your business marketing and public relations strategy.

 

 

Are You Typical?

Let’s pretend I have a secret camera pointed at everyone that reads this. Raise your hand if you participate in any of the following, I'll calculate the results:

• How many of you use Twitter?
• How many of you have an iPad?
• How many of you have smartphones?
• What about an ipod or a Facebook profile?

I’m sure if you raised your hand you probably think the kind of media you use is quite typical. You probably think that the rest of the country is interacting with media in the same way you do. After all, you're on the internet reading this right now, and you probably consider yourself pretty savvy, and you are.

BUT most of America behaves different than you. YOU ARE NOT TYPICAL.

The typical American relies on core mass media: Radio and TV. Most people don't use all the fancy-shmancy new apps or gadgets. 

So why is it that people think the country is driven by Twitter, Facebook and smartphones? Two words: hype and propaganda. The digital world relies on publicity, and publicity doesn't equate to actual usage.  There is a vast misperception of what the masses are actually doing. 

For instance:

Only 18% of the population uses Twitter and of those even fewer engage regularly. And you'll be surprised to learn that 13% have a tablet (iPad), 45% have a smartphone and only 56% have a social media profile (having a profile doesn't mean they use it or engage with advertisers.)  

The truth is only TV and Radio reach a respectable 97% and 93% of the American population. These numbers are true for Portland and Seattle markets. Both are free and you don’t need an internet connection or smartphone to have access to broadcast, which make them even more valuable.

Every advertising venue has it place but you need to know where it lands in the typical American's life.

The chart below is good reference on Typical.

Link Station Assets for Better Frequency

 

Radio Ink posted an article reminding us about the power of a good media mix, which is something advertisers tend to take for granted when it comes to Radio.

In it, David Gifford writes on why advertisers must still use Radio as part of the overall media advertising mix for ad buys.

Here are some highlights:

• Media mix translates to adding more and different ad media to increase reach.  Overspending on reach, at the expense of driving commercial messages home repeatedly, represents the biggest mistake in advertising today. In short, reach doesn't mean anything without frequency.
• A proactive, Radio-driven media mix campaign includes using many platforms to connect with a consistent relationship-driven audience. Radio uniquely works well with digital connection points.  Advertisers increase frequecy and connection by linking station assets.
  
  
• Here is an example:  Run a robust spot radio schedule, activate promotions, and/or big event sponsorships, create buzz with texting and Twitter, give info with website tie-ins linked to prospects' websites, connect with direct mail to your listener database, point-of-purchase merchandising, and partnering with outdoor to help advertisers reach those active lifestyle consumers when they’re out shopping.

Read the full article here.

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Music and Digital Downloads: Radio’s Biggest Music Consumers Revealed

In a new study by The Media Audit  it shows that Dance Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR) listeners are the biggest consumers of CDs and digital music downloads.

According to the study, 42.8% of the format's weekly listeners frequently purchase CDs or download digital music.  Among all U.S. consumers, 27.7% frequently purchase CDs or download digital music. The figure represents more than 41 million consumers across The Media Audit's 81 measured markets.

Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR) ranked second in the study, with 42.4% of the format's weekly listeners who frequently purchase CDs or download digital music, followed by listeners of Rhythm & Blues-Urban (39.2%), Hot Adult Contemporary (38.3%), and Rock (36.4%). Frequent purchasers are defined as having purchased CDs or downloaded digital music within the past four weeks.

Among those who frequently purchase CDs and downloaded music, 49% are female, while 51% are male. Furthermore, 46.6% are between the ages of 25 and 44 and 67% are between the ages of 18 and 44 years. The same study reveals that frequent purchasers of CDs and downloaded music are 15% more likely to have a college degree and earn an average of $76,739 in household income. The figure is significantly higher when compared to the average household income of $64,316 for all U.S. adults.

Read the Full Article Here

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Compete to Be Unique

In battle there is only one winner, but in business there can be many. The game of business is not about beating the competition it's about emerging as the most unique choice. The question is what do you do that's distinctive and gives your clients a one-of-a-kind experience? 

The Harvard Business Review posted a blog, "Stop Competing to Be the Best," by Joan Magretta. The article suggests a different kind of competition: compete to be unique.

Joan says, “Focus on innovating to create superior value for your chosen customers, not on imitating and matching rivals. Give customers real choice and then price becomes only one competitive variable. But understand that doing this profitably means accepting limits and making tradeoffs — you can't meet every need of every customer. Nothing is more absurd — and yet more widespread — than the belief that somehow you can do exactly what everyone else is doing and yet end up with superior results."
 
She offers the arts as an example to prove this perspective: “There can be many good singers or actors — each outstanding and successful in a distinctive way. Each finds and creates an audience.” 

So the question beckons, what makes you unique? And how do you tell that to the market place? Your ability to create a unique and consistent brand in the minds of listeners is up to you. 

• Want to learn how to find out what works and doesn't work in advertising today? 
   
• Interested in finding out master techniques in marketing strategy and Radio media buying?
   
• Go to www.JustOneWins.com 

 

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Groupon? Nope. Group-off.

Slate magazine recently ran their article, "Ding, Dong The Deal is Dead," in their earnings report section regarding Groupon's poor business model. It looks like Groupon was a causality of the internet's new shiny object syndrome. People thought that because it was new and looked snazzy it might work, but it's still failing to produce value for both the clients and for themselves. 

Rakesh Agrawal, an analyst and journalist who spent many years working in the local advertising business, writes, "Groupon was riding high because its most important constituency—the small businesses who slashed their prices to entice Groupon’s customers—was getting ripped off. When Groupon runs a deal with a local business, it demands very unfavorable terms. First, the merchant is asked to substantially reduce his prices. Then he has to agree to give Groupon a huge split—often 50 percent—of the tiny amount that he does make from each Groupon sale. For instance, if my fast-food shack normally sells a burger-and-shake combo for $10, Groupon will want me to offer it for $5, and then take half of the $5 sale—so I’ve just sold $10 of merchandise for $2.50."

The lesson is to be wary of the fast buck from a new internet formula. Take a good look at what you're getting  yourself into and remember that newer doesn't always mean better. 

***

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Wait, What? Radio Listenership Bigger than Ever?

In the last year more than 600,000 new people started listening to Radio again.

Is it because broadcast airwaves have a secret transmission about the end of the world? Are Millennials finally a little bored with Pandora? Maybe it's because Radio offers a connection that social media does not, like real people, live on the air. 

Whatever the case, the facts are in: 93 Percent of Americans still listen to Broadcast Radio.  

In a June 13 article, Digital Media News highlighted the significant growth in new listeners who have tuned in to radio in the past year. The publication quoted the latest Arbitron RADAR report, which stated that the growth was spurred by the 18-34 age demographic. The article suggested that this continued growth and maintenance in listenership (at 93% of persons aged 12 and over) can be attributed to radio’s “convenience and ease of use.” To read the article, click “Seriously? 93 Percent of Americans Still Listen to Broadcast Radio.”

Pacific NW is #5 of Top 10 Cat Markets in Northwest

Pacific Northwest Cat Owners 2012 from Melissa Kunde 

How do cat owners in the Portland Metro and Seattle-Tacoma area spent their media day? With Radio and Internet.

If you're in the pet care business Radio is a strong and cost-effective way to move your share of voice and your bottom-line. A new Media Audit study on pet ownership reveals that five of the top ten markets for cat ownership are in the Northwest section of the country. According to the 81 market study, Eugene, Oregon ranks as the top market for cat ownership with nearly half the market (49.1%) who own a cat. The figure is more than double when compared to the general U.S. population, in which 23.8% own a cat.  The national figure represents more than 35 million people across. It is estimated that nearly $58 billion was spent by U.S. consumers on the pet industry in 2011, with advertising spending reaching historic heights in 2009 and 2010.

Consering the average yearly cost of owning a cat is around $600 to $900, there is much to be gained in Radio advertising. Cat lovers spend hundreds in cat food, cat litter, and cat toys, as well as having veterinarian services. When a cat reaches seven years of age, vet costs usually increase due to a yearly blood-screening test, changes in food and additional medical costs to treat conditions such as arthritis, or diabetes, which may develop in the older cat.

The Media Audit Annual Consumer Buying Power provides valuable consumer intelligence that allows local media, and media buyers, to compare the amount spent annually on items such as pet food, pets, supplies, medicine, and pet services by different media audiences, thus allowing advertisers to identify which media can provide the best return on investment.

For more information on this study, or for more information on the Annual Consumer Buying Power Reports, contact The Media Audit.

 

Facebook Fail

In a recent article in eMarketer we got the low down on the problem with Facebook advertising: no one pays attention to them. In a May 2012 poll by the Associated Press (AP) and CNBC, 83% of Facebook users in the USA hardly ever, or never, clicked on online ads or sponsored content when using Facebook. 

Although Facebook still has a lot of daily engagement, people don't stay on one page for very long and move quickly from page to page. They aren't interested in the ads. Getting a consumer to click through a brand website is difficult.

Consumers don't like to leave the Facebook environment. “A very common thing for a lot of advertisers is when they try to direct users off of Facebook, they find that their conversion rates are considerably lower than if they try to keep them within the Facebook environment,” says Chad Warren, senior manager of social media product marketing at Adobe.

In contrast, Radio holds more than 92% of it's lead-in audience during commercial breaks without turning the dial. This dispels the myth that people turn the dial when a commercial comes on.  

Let's remember that Radio increases website traffic by 52%, which means using Radio to drive traffic to your Facebook fan page, or to your personal website, is the way to go. Radio starts the conversation, which then leads clients to more direct clicks.