Brands and radio: Spot-on with mobile marketing

October 29, 2008

Hipcricket CEO Ivan Braiker becoming president of Augme as a result of the deal

By Ivan Braiker

For a century, commercial radio's audience has been an important element of any brand's marketing mix. Unfortunately, radio's model -- driven by "spots" -- has been in the decline as it competes with new media.

However, since the launch of television, radio has had to overcome challenges from nascent media -- from television and 8-track players to mobile devices -- and survived.

Now, smart brand marketers are combining old and new media for a potent one-two punch: mobile marketing and commercial radio.

The Radio Advertising Bureau reports that in June 2008, national and local radio revenues were down 9 percent versus June 2007, a trend that has yet to find a bottom.

Yet radio reaches 235 million Americans every week, or 93 percent of the population, according to the RAB. Radio's audience is still there. But making money off of it is a different story.

Radio still relies on the live spot as a major component of its promotional mix. Even as the value of the traditional radio spot wanes, radio reaches an audience that brands can't ignore.

Radio absolutely owns two major captive audiences -- people behind the wheel and at work -- and can foster a sense of loyalty and belonging that would rival any social networking site.

Radio has always offered a unique connection to listeners, and that hasn't changed.

What has changed is the way in which listeners respond and interact with the station, its personalities and their friends and it's a way that can benefit brands, too.

By matching the latest medium, mobile, with the most venerable medium, radio, brands can tap into this loyalty.

Mobile embrace
Mobile technologies are the one bright spot on radio balance sheets: non-spot revenue, loosely defined as any sort of revenue unrelated to traditional commercial "spots."

According to RAB president/CEO Jeff Haley, "The majority of non-spot revenue is coming from stations' online efforts, and we expect this to continue accelerating as more and more stations expand their online offerings."

In June, non-spot revenue (also called "off air" revenue) was up 10 percent year-over-year.

The RAB's latest projections call for non-spot revenue to hit $2 billion by the end of 2008, nearly a year ahead of the RAB's previous timeline projections.

For radio stations, mobile marketing creates unique one-to-one relationships for a medium built on the one-to-many concept.

Now, stations can create opt-in loyalty clubs that can also serve as marketing databases. This can be used by the station as a valuable commodity for its brand partners by offering a ready-made list of target individuals who have opted in to receive relevant advertisements and marketing messages via their mobile phones.

High school mobile
Hundreds of radio stations are already embracing mobile marketing for themselves and their brand partners with great success.

Power 96 FM (WPOW) in Miami, FL. recently conducted a "High School Spirit" contest which garnered 4,161,644 text messaging votes over a matter of weeks.

The station also nearly doubled its mobile marketing database, with listeners opting in to receive future promotions from Power 96.

A Beasley station in Philadelphia recently drew a quarter-million texts for a concert promotion. The numbers are impressive, both as audiences they can deliver to sponsors and as a renewable resource for future campaigns.

Stations that are embracing mobile are increasing revenues and relevance. They are engaging their audience and bringing further value to their opted-in listeners through offers and other promotions, and they are sharing this value with their sponsors.

Maybe video killed radio's star, and other new media stomped on its grave, but mobile is helping it shine again.

Ivan Braiker is co-founder and CEO of HipCricket Inc., a mobile marketing software and services company in Kirkland, WA. Reach him at .