Tag Archives: advertising

Internet advertising closing in on radio

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The Internet will receive a greater share of global advertising spending this year than do outdoor outlets such as billboards, and it is set to overtake radio soon. That’s one of the findings in a report by ZenithOptimedia, a media planning and buying firm. The growth is being driven by smaller brands, which are turning to the Internet because it is relatively cheap and can target their markets effectively. (see The Long Tail) The company said it expected the spending share gap between the Internet and radio to narrow from 3.9 percentage points in 2005 to 0.7 in 2008. (Yahoo! News/Reuters)

If you understand how to market and sell online, this is not necessarily a bad thing. If you don’t… then pray that these are new dollars that won’t impact your sales.

Media Study: Radio Makes People Happy

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That’s one of the findings in a new study by the Radio Advertising Effectiveness Lab. Harris International surveyed more than 2,500 people between the ages of 18 and 54 in June and July. (MediaWeek)

Less Annoying“Fifty-five percent of respondents said radio was the medium most likely to improve their mood compared to the other three media studied. The findings were generally true across all ages, genders, and ethnic groups, but especially strong for African-Americans and Hispanics.”

“Advertising on radio was also found to be less annoying than on other media. Comparing Internet ads to radio ads, 45 percent of respondents said radio ads are “repeated too often,” compared to 53 percent who said the same about Internet ads; 24 percent said radio ads “appear at inconvenient moments,” while 60 percent said the same of Internet advertising.”

The simple truth is most radio stations just have too many commercials. And too many of those commercials have no relevance for me. Yes, I understand that they ALL have relevance for someone… but in an iPod world, that truth is no longer relevant. I have to stop now, I’m out of italics. [Thanks, Chuck]

Radio listeners don’t mind ads

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Mark Ramsey points to this Arbitron study that concludes radio listeners don’t tune out when commercials come on. And wonders about the implications:

“If listeners don’t mind spots then why should they mind mediocre songs? And what ARE they listening through the spots for?”

The whizzing sound you hear is thousands of radio sales reps emailing the Arbitron study back and forth.

Stalking the prospect. Shhhhh.

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Dear J:

Thanks for sending me the newspaper story about the big liquidation at Reagan Hyundai. It looks like a great opportunity to buy a pre-owned vehicle!

Wait a minute. I don’t think this is a real story at all! You know what this is? It’s a sales gimmick! But that can’t be right, it came with a hand written Post-It note. What the heck is going on here?

This is what direct mail marketing has come to. Can the marketing wizards at the car dealership really think I’m this stupid? Or, do they think this is insanely clever and assume I will, too. My guess is they weren’t shooting any higher than just getting some chump to open the envelope. (“He opened it! He opened it!”)

From the same bag of tricks:

At a recent sales training session for a national marketing group, one of the more popular tactics for getting appointments was a how-to on hiding your phone number from the prospect’s caller ID. That one has haunted me all week. If the prospect knows it’s me calling she won’t take my call. So I gotta sneak up on her. How about dressing up as the Culligan man and toting in a big bottle of water? Once in the office, drop the bottle and start your pitch.