Technology‚ Advertising and Radio

There was a large conference recently…the Association of National Advertisers met at the Ritz–Carlton in Orlando to share knowledge‚ questions and what’s working in this roller–coaster marketplace.

One thing they agreed on‚ no matter what the political leaning or what happens on November 4th:  Obama won as the marketer of the year for his ability to combine grass–roots marketing with a sophisticated media and Internet push.

One other thing they agreed on was that their advertising budgets are a day–to–day decision‚ based on the economy. These are businesses that typically spend deep in the 6 figures for their ad campaigns‚ much of it on radio and television. But that’s now up for review‚ based on the economy and what might or might not work.

The prevailing feeling is that Internet marketing‚ with its ability to reach‚ teach and close a deal nearly instantaneously‚ probably won’t be cut from the budget. If there’s a growth area in advertising over the next 12 months‚ it’s likely to be online.

Print‚ television and radio advertising‚ which are much more about branding and less about closing an immediate sale‚ are likely to bear the brunt of any budget cuts that the ANA members feel they need to make in the next year.

And that does make sense if you have a medium that can help you make a sale right away‚ rather than days or weeks from now‚ that should be where the ad dollars go‚ probably most of the time but certainly in difficult economic times.

There are some really interesting things on the horizon for terrestrial radio that should help boost the bottom line nicely. A major push is on to make FM signals available on cell phones‚ mp3 players and other portable technology‚ but this isn’t your Father’s FM. Listeners will be able to click on a song that they like and purchase and download it instantly. Can’t do that on those old transistor radios‚ can you? That will be a fun feature that many people will play with once or twice and some people will use all of the time‚ and it’ll be a small stream of cash for the station. Click–through revenue‚ anyone?

But even better where the bottom line is concerned is the new technology will be applied to advertisements‚ too‚ making a radio ad as interactive as an Internet banner ad. Listening to an ad for a new restaurant and want to see the menu? Click‚ and your cell phone will take you to their web page‚ where you might just get a 20% off coupon code‚ courtesy of the restaurant and the radio station‚ as a thank–you for clicking and an enticement for visiting.

Those guys at the ANA convention were understandably intrigued by that concept‚ which should roll out by fall of 2009.

Old–school information and entertainment like newspapers and radio have been in danger of being pushed aside as irrelevant in the mp3 / Blackberry / iPhone age. Don’t count out radio yet‚ though…there’s some good strategizing going on‚ and while we know that culture eats strategy for lunch‚ this strategy sounds like it could be just what culture is asking for.

Finally‚ it is technology that makes radio more relevant‚ not less. Sounds promising! And the companies that embrace the bleeding edge of marketing technology where advertising is concerned will be the ones who not only weather our current economic down–turn‚ but will flourish when the bulls start running again.

As always‚ if I can answer any questions for you or be of service to you‚ don’t hesitate to contact me.