ClearChannel gets HipCricket with mobile effort
November 14, 2007
LOS ANGELES – ClearChannel Radio partnered with mobile specialist HipCricket to increase the radio broadcaster’s ROI measurability and to find new ways to reach listeners.
An audience of Mobile Marketing Forum attendees Nov. 14 heard a ClearChannel Radio executive explain her company’s latest mobile effort. ClearChannel Radio comprises an eight-station cluster with 6 million weekly listeners.
“Our goal was to provide flexibility, simplicity and measurability,” said Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of HipCricket, Los Angeles.
Mr. Hasen, along with Michele Laven, ClearChannel director of integrated marketing, spoke at the Mobile Marketing Forum in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.
The speakers outlined ways in which radio stations can benefit from integrating mobile initiatives into their marketing mix.
For example, a coffee and tea retailer worked with a ClearChannel’s Los Angeles station. The radio station ran commercials asking listeners to text bean to a shortcode if they wished to get a free cup of coffee. The outcome was 6,000 text entries.
Another example cited was Los Angeles’ famous 102.7 KIIS FM radio station, which was trying to promote its Wango Tango event.
Listeners were asked to text wango to a shortcode. In return, the consumer received a text back with information on a contest to win free tickets to Wango Tango. The outcome was 28,025 texts.
At the actual event, KIIS offered attendees the option of texting upgrade to try and win better seats.
In addition, attendees could also text a shout-out that scrolled across the bottom of the screens by the stage. The company said 7,672 people texted their shout-outs and 10,550 texted for an upgrade.
Integrating mobile into the mix allowed ClearChannel to sell ads via mobile and not just radio ads. HipCricket even educated the ClearChannel sales team – which was accustomed to broadcast ads – to be more knowledgeable on mobile and Internet ads.
The mobile campaign allowed ClearChannel to truly communicate with its listeners.
“Why wouldn’t we communicate with our listeners the same way they communicate with one another?” Ms. Laven said.