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PromoSuite VP/Sales Rachel Field: "If sales, programming and promotions are all working together towards two common goals - to make money while resonating with the station's brand - summer events can provide a huge boost to radio."
July 11, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. So for digital tactics to be effective at all, stations need to actually offer friction-free, modern ways of listening to their content. They need to of course have a stream on a mobile-friendly website or app, but they also need to offer content in the podcast/on-demand model that is completely separate from someone's on-air shift
- Radio Rally Point was created by DMR/Interactive and All Access to shine a spotlight on the power of AM/FM radio. In this edition, DMR/Interactive Pres. Andrew Curran catches up with PromoSuite VP/Sales Rachel Field.
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Contesting and on-air giveaways are baked into radio's DNA. Whether it's a $25 gift card or a brand new car, listeners love to win. What makes radio so good at incorporating contesting into the listening experience?
Rachel: Radio offers a unique opportunity to integrate brands into on-air content. Great air talent builds a long-term bond of trust with their listeners, and their recommendations and seal of approval are important. So when a jock is giving away tickets, a gift card, or whatever else it might be, they're giving an implicit endorsement of that brand.
Compared to other methods of product integration -- celebrity endorsements, social influencer posts, product placement in film and TV -- radio has a level of authenticity that doesn't feel put-on. Concert tickets are on-format, restaurant gift cards are local, even a car is still coming from the local dealer. There's a lot of marketing power there, and it's certainly been effective for many decades!
For every station promotion, there are a lot of behind-the-scene details that go into the execution. What are some things that you've seen stations do that really stand out?
Rachel: Organization and expedience are so important in executing any sort of promotion, event, or really … almost anything in business. There are never enough people to do everything that needs to be done, and many staff members are overseeing multiple stations and multiple jobs -- and for a growing number of companies, part of the team isn't even in-market.
That's where organization, digitizing, and automating really become essential. The most effective stations don't rely on people being physically present to give their approval, sign off on something, or execute their piece of the job.
You work with a wide variety of groups and markets, which gives you a unique perspective on radio. How's radio doing?
Rachel: Keeping in mind that I'm not looking at balance sheets and profit/loss statements, I think radio has regained some of its lost groove. For many years, the vibe on the convention circuit was a little doom-and-gloom as we all came to accept the fact that there was intense competition for consumers' attention. Listeners began to have more sources of entertainment than ever before, and never again would families gather around the radio to tune in to the latest serial drama.
Fortunately, the industry has shown incredible resilience and the attitude has brightened. Rather than simply longing for past glory and just trying to understand technology and radio's new reality, our industry has begun to dig deeper to understand why listeners are consuming other sources of audio content and why advertisers are directing dollars to these sources. The industry's best minds are working toward ways of using these findings to their advantage as radio remains very unique in its legacy, in the fact that it's free and it's local (sometimes only in perception, but perception is reality!).
On an interactive side, how are digital tools driving revenue and complementing radio's core on-air product?
The jury is still out. The data measuring the amount of AM/FM listening vs. streaming/audio-on-demand clearly shows that digital tools aren't driving the on-air product effectively. The singular goal of a radio station shouldn't be to have someone tune a radio dial to hear their station; it should be to have as many people listening, in whatever way suits their lifestyle or location. This is an area where iHeartRadio has done a phenomenal job. Their app provides listeners with access to any station they want -- regardless of location -- across mobile devices, digital dash, television and Alexa. Obviously that type of approach isn't possible for independent or mid-sized operators, but the idea that “digital” is going to drive “on-air” is missing the point.
Potential listeners who might respond to digital tactics often have distinct psychographic differences from people who will listen on-air. We all know they tend to skew younger, but that's not the key difference. It's their comfort with technology in general. They're more likely to have a Sonos system or an Alexa at home. They're more likely to actually understand how to find and listen to a podcast. They're more likely to use their phone as their primary Internet-enabled device, and may not even own a personal computer outside of the one they use at work.
So for digital tactics to be effective at all, stations need to actually offer friction-free, modern ways of listening to their content. They need to of course have a stream on a mobile-friendly website or app, but they also need to offer content in the podcast/on-demand model that is completely separate from someone's on-air shift.
Summer's a great time to connect with listeners at events. How should stations maximize their efforts?
Rachel: You're right. Summer is the perfect time to get out in the local community and connect with listeners in memorable ways. The key is to always stay on-brand. Whether it's a major concert, a simple van appearance, a live remote or a street team member giving away T-shirts on the beach, it's important to connect listeners back to your brand. Obviously, it's the major events that drive the headlines. But I'm always proud to hear how radio continues to find creative ways of connecting local businesses with their listeners, while not making it seem like a chore. As an example, I heard about a Promotion Dir. whose PD wanted him to find a way to plug the new night jock and whose top AE needed him to literally giveaway french fries from a popular fast-food chain.
The idea? Every night at 7p the station's street team would randomly show up at one of the restaurants and surprise customers with gift packs (including station goodies and fries). The street team would pay it off by calling in to the new night jock and having one of the winners introduce the #1 song. If sales, programming and promotions are all working together towards two common goals - to make money while resonating with the station's brand – summer events can provide a huge boost to radio.
Have a suggestion for someone you'd like to see featured in Radio Rally Point? Email your suggestion to DMR/Interactive.
Thanks for reading and working each day to drive radio forward.
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