Category Archives: Radio

Internet access in your car

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It’s early days but it is here. And Mark Ramsey looks (not so very far) ahead at what it means for radio stations:

“In the world of mobile radio, our distribution is currently both universal and exclusive. But when “the box” belongs to a third party, we are assured of neither easy distribution nor universal access. The “box owners” will do what Apple does with iTunes: Yes, anyone can post a podcast. But a very few are “featured” while most are not. The “filters” control the value. And in this scenario you and I are no longer the filters.”

I think it’s just very hard for most radio folks to believe that their listeners would listen to another station if they could. If a market has three radio stations, one might be pop…another country…and one doing news/talk. The listening pie is nicely divided, everybody gets a pretty good slice.

When all cars have high-speed net access (and they will), your station won’t be one of a hand full of listening options, it will be one of hundreds.

Will your radio station be in every Ford?

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Ford Motor Company and Microsoft are expected to announce new “Windows Automotive” software called “Sync,” that will make it possible (easier?) to make hands-free cell phone calls and download music or receive email.

Chicken Little“If you can use your car to download music, you can also use it to stream music. And if you can stream music then you can do so from any number of music providers, not just your radio station.”

“What is YOUR group doing to be in front of this trend? What is YOUR group doing to be in every car in every way in 2007 and beyond? What content do you have that every Ford will want to stream?” — Mark Ramsey at Hear 2.0

If I were still a radio station program director, I might grab a program schedule and go through the day asking that question about each programming element. I think there will be lots of stuff folks in my local market will want to hear (news, weather, sports, etc) but they won’t want to make an appointment to listen to it. They’ll want to have it automatically downloaded to their cars so they can hear it when they want it. Podcasts.

Good look at the Google Ad Creation Marketplace

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Can Google Audio Ads be as easy and effesctive as Google AdWords? That was the question Donna Bogatin (Digital Markets) put to André Bergeron, owner/operator of Babble-On Recording Studios. She wanted “a radio production talent insider take” on how the Google Ad Creation Marketplace will impact the radio advertising industry. Bergeron seems to know what he’s talking about.

“Dollar-A-Holler Radio ads have been around forever. The local Hi-Fi Store owner could always go into the local station and bark off a series of sale prices in shrill tones that would annoy anyone within earshot. This would be no different, really. There is so much more to effective messaging, to branding, to understanding how people listen to the radio than simply writing down “for all your underwear needs” and handing it off to Johnny promo voice to record.

Part of why people can’t stand listening to the radio is the quality of the ads, they’re, by most estimations, shouted, boring, and insultingly simplistic, and, if there are a lot of them, it just magnifies the mind-numbing nature of them.”

I think that sentence really sums it up. That reality will ultimately prove to be The Big Problem for radio going forward. Shitty commercials in an era when we no longer have to listen to them in order to hear the news and music we want.

Andre Bergeron emails an additional thought:

“Throughout a programming day, the station dresses itself with a carefully crafted image using music, personalities, promotions, etc – to create “a brand”, if you will. Then a stopset comes on and it’s like the advertisers are allowed to dress the station in clown’s clothes, leisure suites or horizontal stripes.”

Results, not ears

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“Who cares if people are hearing the spots unless they’re hearing those spots and acting on them or unless their opinions and intentions are being altered in such fashion that the advertising expenditure is an investment rather than money out the window?

We need to get past the issue of whether or not listeners stay tuned through a break and focus instead on giving the advertiser what they’re paying for: Results, not ears.”

— Mark Ramsey

How Google Audio Ads work (PowerPoint slides)

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The folks at ZDNet’s Digital Markets have some PowerPoint slides that illustrates how Google Audio Ads work. And this from Voices.com:

“Google has positioned the Audio Ads system to serve both top-level advertisers, as well as the advertising agencies themselves. The graphic also shows 75% of the transactions coming from the agencies, and only 25% from independent advertisers. This is likely because advertising agencies already have media planning and media buying personnel, not to mention existing relationships with local and regional radio stations.”

The lables in the little blue rectangles are: Radio Stations, Networks and Rep Firms. Which suggests that advertisers will simply have another option for placing their ads on radio stations. And if Google can make it easier or cheaper or more effective (i.e. feedback, reports, etc)… they’ve added value to the process.

Clear Channel’s niche play online

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“The days of listening to two or three radio stations on a regular basis are long gone, a sign of the times Clear Channel is more than willing to acknowledge. In a direct nod to podcasts and satellite radio, the terrestrial leader is looking to expand its online reach by creating its own hyper-targeted programming for two of the most underserved niche audiences on the airwaves — Nascar fans and the gay community.” — AdAge.com

RadioSomebody(s) at Clear Channel has figured out “this Internet thing.” This article is worth a read.

There are probably some NASCAR formats on the air but I’ve never heard one. And I sure don’t expect to hear a station programmed for the gay community. I think this is a brilliant move and would like to hear some of the stuff they produce.

In a very short time, Rock, Country, Easy Listening, News/Talk and similar formats will seem quaint and anachronistic.

I know what you’re thinking. Why not program for gay NASCAR drivers? Why indeed?

Update: Google Audio Ads

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From Inside AdWords blog: “Over the last year, we’ve been working hard to integrate the dMarc advertising platform into Google AdWords. We’re happy to announce that the integration is now complete and we’ve recently begun a U.S. beta test of Google Audio Ads with a small group of AdWords advertisers.”

If you haven’t been keeping up, here’s how Google describes their Audio Ads:

“Google Audio Ads brings efficiency, accountability, and enhanced ROI to radio advertising by providing advertisers with an online interface for creating and launching radio campaigns. You’ll be able to target your customers by location, station type, day of the week, and time of day. After the radio ads are run, you will be able to view online reports that tell you exactly when your ad played.”

A couple of days ago, Mark Ramsey (Hear 2.0) pointed us to an application page on the Google website.

Ad Specialist Application — Thank you for your interest in joining the Google Ad Creation Marketplace. We’re looking for some of the top audio ad specialists to join our Ad Creation Marketplace – a searchable directory of talent to help AdWords advertisers to create radio advertisements. For advertisers new to the radio space, or who are starting a new campaign, the Marketplace provides an invaluable starting point for finding the talent they need.

So, I decide to buy some Google Audio Ads. I search the Google Ad Creation Marketplace database for someone to write and produce my spot. We agree on a price. I send some copy. They email back an MP3 file. I’m off to the races. Maybe. Mr. Ramsey is skeptical and I confess I am too. But if it works… it could have a profound change on how advertiser buy and place ads.

Update: According to News.com, the radio ads are running in more than 260 metropolitan markets, covering about 87 percent of the country

“Is it time to give up on radio?”

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The sky is not falling!That’s one of the headlines in the latest issue of the StateNets newsletter. StateNets –formerly the National Association of State Radio Networks — is the marketing arm for most of the state radio networks in the country.

Jim Underwood of the Florida Radio Network wonders if it’s time to drop “radio” from their name.

“First of all, we are not really in the radio business, the broadcasting business or even the network radio broadcasting business. We are in the business of supplying information to people and charging clients a fee to include their message with that information.

We produce a lot of valuable, exclusive content about our states every day and we need to devise new ways to make that information available to people everywhere who may be interested in it. (We’re) working on software to make FRN – er rather maybe Florida Information Network – content available to websites of affiliates, then maybe newspapers. Why not supply State Government sites with the content?”

Such a rude question would have been considered heresy just a short time ago. Based on all that I’ve seen/heard, the future of state radio networks (including ours) is closely tied to that of the radio stations we serve. I’m convinced there are other markets for our content, but I still haven’t seen the business model that will replace –dollar for dollar– the revenue state networks have come to depend on. Stay tuned.

Clear Channel does deal with Reuters for web content

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Clear Channel Radio’s online division has announced that it will add news and video content from Reuters to its News on Demand service on CC Web sites.

“Clear Channel Radio’s News on Demand product combines on-demand video and text feeds from Reuters with CCR’s 24/7 coverage of breaking news, business/financial stories, entertainment news and human-interest features. The product also allows CCR stations to upload their own local news to their sites, giving both local and national news coverage from station sites on demand.”

I’d love to see exactly what “on demand” means but I can’t argue with the strategy. I hope more of our affiliates will get their online act together and inlcude our our state news and sports content on their sites. And I wonder where AP was/is in this mix. Too pricey perhaps? I’d love to hear more about this. SteveMays at Gmail dot com [Radio and Records]

Will we see “local” radio again?

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So Clear Channel is going to sell 400+ radio stations. Will these stations become more local? Mark Ramsey says it depends on who buys the stations and the “models of success” they try to follow:

1. Quality local talent with local connection and high entertainment value
2. Quality syndicated talent with high entertainment value
3. Low cost or no talent – regardless of its source (i.e., nothing matters but the music)

He concludes his post with the question: “Of those, which do you think is the toughest to achieve? And which is the cheapest?”

When I started in radio (1972), a lot of radio stations were still trying for #1. Not all of the local talent was “quality” and I’m not sure how “entertaining” we were. But syndicated programs were still a few years away and most communties weren’t ready to let you get away with juke box-ing the station.

But I think Ramsey sums up the options accurately and we’d see more station owners try #1 if #2 and #3 weren’t such attactive (short-term) options.