Source: The Wall Street Journal

Source: BBC News

Radio has long been recognized as the theater of the mind but more and more it is becoming an interactive medium. New interactive technologies are opening up new and possibly fruitful opportunities for radio stations – but they also require a fresh new approach for salespeople.

Today selling radio also includes online sponsorships, videos, text messaging, online streams, podcasts, display ads, etc. One size fits all packages are not the way to go when you have so many new weapons in your arsenal. To be successful, account executives must create custom solutions that both benefit their clients and the radio station they represent. The perfect ad buy not only brings in fresh new revenue but also drives traffic to the on-air product and reinforces the power of your station.

First you must evaluate your client’s needs and then figure out the best way to achieve an effective campaign that uses only the appropriate technologies. Selling a complicated technology-rich ad campaign to a client that would be more than happy with a simple spot buy creates a lot of unnecessary work with the possibility of scaring the client off. Technology sales work best with clients looking for something new and exciting. The car dealer looking for a fresh way to highlight the latest hybrids on their lot, the clothing store that wants to dress your morning show up in the latest fashions and have them do a pose-off, the coffee shop that wants to use text messaging to give away free coffees to your listeners, etc.

Thinking outside the box is a great way to impress your clients and can get them excited about working with you. But don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Always check with your technical staff to make sure what you want to pitch is possible. If not, your technical staff should be able to give you alternatives that may be even better. You certainly don’t want to get a client excited only to pull the carpet out from under them.

Another important aspect of the technology sale is how you present it. Having the right attitude and dressing sharply can be undermined by handing your client a proposal that looks like someone with minimal design skills created it in Microsoft Word in five minutes. This simple detail can send a very negative message to your client. It says that even though you look sharp on the surface, the product you’re selling may be less than professional. Consider having a designer on staff or outsource your promotional materials to design professionals. This will ensure your station looks like the cutting edge, technology savvy radio station it is.

Lastly, don’t cannibalize your on-air product just because you have shiny new toys to pitch. Selling clients technologies for half the price of an on-air buy is not a good idea. Make your clients happy but don’t lose focus on the bottom line. If your client is happy on-air and that means more money than selling them a technology campaign then don’t remake the wheel.

In this technological age the average person expects more from every medium, make sure your radio station is ready to deliver and reap the rewards.

–Tom Stark, Partner, RadioGlue. tom@radioglue.com – 732.416.0900
Let RadioGlue help you with your new technology initiatives. Contact Tom for more information.

With music and content available almost everywhere, how does the radio industry compete? The average person, with little effort, can receive a huge variety of music, talk, and information on their computers, mobile phone, GPS devices, and now through their car stereos. Blaupunkt and miRoamer will be announcing a new car radio that will not only receive AM and FM radio, but also connect to thousands of internet radio stations. Should the radio industry be concerned or are the multitude of devices and technologies too confusing for the average person?

The radio industry should be a little concerned and definitely keep an eye on emerging technologies that are becoming easier to use and more intuitive for the average person. Radio still has some big advantages over technologies that serve a mass audience. One of the biggest is location. Local content tapping into local pride and, of course, local advertisers is huge. Local DJs, talk hosts, and news personalities covering a listener’s backyard is very compelling and relatable. It will be very difficult for an online station to deliver fun banter about local happenings.

Also in radio’s favor, is a recent study by Paragon Media Strategies that reported an increase in radio listening by 14 to 24 year olds over the last few years. Even with 10,000 songs on your iPod, there is still a thirst for new music and local information.

The radio industry shouldn’t lose too much sleep right now but it should keep an eye on these new technologies and be prepared to evolve. To quote a Chinese proverb: “When the wind rises, some people build walls. Others build windmills.”

–Tom Stark, Partner, RadioGlue. tom@radioglue.com – 732.416.0900
Let RadioGlue help you with your new technology initiatives. Contact Tom for more information.

Source: TechCrunch

Source: TechCrunch

What is radio going to look like in the future? There are a lot of opinions, both positive and negative. One strong possibility is that radio is going evolve into something new and exciting – something beyond terrestrial and satellite. A new breed of smartphones are on the streets and shaking things up, including radio. Are you ready for Radio 2.0?

With T-Mobile launching it’s iPhone-like G1 based on Google’s Android software, more mobile music applications will be in the hands of the general public. This new breed of smartphones are intuitive and feature rich. It doesn’t take the average person very long to learn how to navigate and use many of the powerful features these devices provide, including music related apps that are a very popular application category. With Pandora, Last.fm, and the ability to access a multitude of radio station’s streams, more and more people are finding that radio transmissions aren’t the only way to get the music they like. Smartphones still have issues with connection speeds, battery life, etc. but eventually these issues will be worked out.

This is just the beginning of the mobile revolution. These devices are already fairly powerful little computers. They aren’t going to replace your desktop or laptop yet but they are making some rather large strides in that direction.

In light of this technology the HD radio push may be trumped when automakers and car stereo makers allow their components to receive audio via WiFi or Bluetooth signals from mobile phones and MP3 players. It will become more common for automakers and GPS companies to supply updated local traffic and weather reports through their GPS units. News will be supplied by services such as CNN Mobile news from your mobile phone to your car stereo. Unless the RIAA finds a way to shoot itself in the foot again, there will be a ton of options for music and talk content.

Where do terrestrial broadcasters fit into this new technology? Many people will still want a local/community connection with the content they listen to. Local issues and topics with personalities that have a connection to their community will be more important than ever. In order to stay relevant, stations should embrace this new technology and use it as an additional revenue source. Listeners are going to expect online streams, SMS texting, and mobile content – just as they now expect a station to have a Web site.

How do these devices play into ratings? They should be counted the same way your online stream is counted now. This technology also creates a great opportunity for Arbitron to hook up with mobile companies and create an application for one or multiple devices that will work like the Portable People Meters. People carry their mobile phones everywhere and they wouldn’t have to carry a second device like the PPM.

All this new technology may sound overwhelming but it can also be an opportunity to reach out and connect with your audience in ways you may never have thought of. You can be with your listeners everywhere they go. They can take your station from home to their car into the office back to the car and home again. They will text in their song requests, to win tickets, and text or call to give you their opinions. They can buy the song you just played instantly through the mobile web. Of course you will get a portion of that sale. This is not the death of radio…this is an opportunity. Embrace Radio 2.0.

–Tom Stark, Partner, RadioGlue. tom@radioglue.com – 732.416.0900
Let RadioGlue help you with your new technology initiatives. Contact Tom for more information.

Source: iTnews

Source: Macworld

Source: Wired