Gordon Borrell, Norfolk-Virginia Beach GMs Offer Presentation On Radio's Digital Potential

Gordon Borrell

Five NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH GMs banded together last week and delivered a unified and very powerful message about radio’s place in an increasingly digital world to BORRELL ASSOCIATES CEO GORDON BORRELL, who used it to present the Navigating the New Media Landscape" seminar. The 40-minute presentation urged about 300 local advertisers to take another look at radio as the perfect complement to meeting digital goals.

GMs from iHEARTMEDIA, MAX MEDIA OF VIRGINIA, SINCLAIR BROADCASTING, SAGA COMMUNICATIONS and ENTERCOM approached BORRELL to craft a message about how competitors fit into the mix -- and not just radio.“To be completely honest,” I didn’t see a clear path for radio, and I wasn’t sure I could craft a positive message," BORRELL said.

However, after SAGA GM WAYNE LELAND handed him a thick file of research, “I spent two full days pouring through everything I could find,” he continued.  'Most of it was industry-tainted propaganda saying that radio was better than everything, including JESUS and sex.  But there were some gems -- some really solid research showing how radio generated affinities, just like social media, and that radio did an incredible job of driving digital action, including brand searches.”

The conclusion: BORRELL said radio should play a greater role in an advertiser’s overall marketing mix, and he gave the audience several examples of how, over decades, the smartest marketers have adjusted their dials to drive phenomenal growth. “It’s a dynamic, compelling story,” he said.  “Our industry is plagued by too many village idiots getting up on stage and calling digital advertising a fraud or claiming that radio is better than television, or that radio is all anyone needs.  Today’s advertiser sees right through that.  I think advertisers responded so well to the presentation because someone finally gave them a clear and undeniably fair message about radio.”

New Report For Small Business

BORRELL has also released a new study, “Digital Marketing Services Outlook: SMBs Learn the Cost of Managing Their "Own" Media.”

Companies will spend over five times as much on digital marketing services than they will on digital advertising -- costing them $501 billion this year. This report examines the results from the survey of more than 2,000 local advertisers and has uncovered some  insights about what the new marketing environment has done to these so-called SMBs.

In addition to what they spend on digital services, these smaller businesses spend an average of 27.9% of their ad budgets on digital media (including social media), and a further 11.3% specifically on mobile advertising. Three out of every five of the businesses surveyed use some form of digital marketing services.

Read the full report here.

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