Radio Lounge Articles RSS Feed

Radio Advertising Thoughts: Tying Traditional and Social Media Together

Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:00:00 GMT

The death of traditional media won’t happen on May 21^st, 2011, even if the world comes to an abrupt end, (and that is highly unlikely). The death of traditional media will happen when every ad person forgets that one media platform builds on another, and another, and another. Some of the biggest and best social media success stories have been built on the traditional media platform. Gary Vaynerchuk, in his book “The Thank You Economy”, gives great examples of how traditional and social can benefit the outcome, and how one advertiser missed an opportunity to turn a free product giveaway into a goldmine of customer love. Denny’s created a date with their consumer base during the 2010 Super Bowl, inviting viewers to drop by for a free Grand Slam Breakfast. Great spots, but Vaynerchuk says, why didn’t they tie in a Facebook aspect. Instead of just giving away a bunch of high calorie, artery clogging, but so tasty breakfasts, they could have as Gary puts is, “extended the conversation” with an offer for a free OJ in exchange for a ton of usable marketing material. Traditional media is not going away anytime soon. It will take agencies and advertisers that are smart enough to recognize that brand engagement is the way.

22-May-11 10:00 AM

Christmas Advertising - Real Deals?

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:00:00 GMT

If you’re a retailer, selling stuff this holiday season, you no doubt have wracked your brain trying to figure out how to outsmart your competition. Shoppers expect a deal, but just what kind of deals are working this season? In The Wall Street Journal, the article “Many Discounts, Few Deals” written by Carl Bialik, Elizabeth Holmes, and Ray A. Smith, takes a look at BOGO’s, Flash Sales, and other perks that shoppers eat up. Read it and you just might find the answer to having a successful sales season.

17-Dec-10 1:00 PM

Radio Advertising : Multi-Station Discount

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:00:00 GMT

As a media buyer for radio advertising, one must always be on the lookout for good deals when it comes to buying radio airtime. Over the next few months, I will share some of the secrets to getting great radio advertising rates and negotiating the best schedule possible.

Right now, I want to focus on something quite basic yet powerful when media buying time comes around - look for multi-station discounts. Multi-station buys are not just common nowaday, they have become almost the norm in this age of media consolidation. Station clusters may have two, three...up to eight stations in one market. Station management are usually trying to use the "cash-cow" station to drive sales on other stations within their cluster.

With that said...It is a commonly known fact that purchasing in volume helps lower prices. The same holds true for number of stations. If station KXXX is offering $300 per spot and KYYY is offering $300 per spot, and both are reaching effective segments of your potential customer (and both are owned by the same radio group), make a deal! For example, tell the station rep that you will increase your radio advertising expenditure (i.e. spend more money) with the group but will pay $200 per spot for KXXX and KYYY as a combo (or maybe even less if the media buyer has a figure in mind). More than likely the answer will be "OK!" You just cut your per spot rate by 33%. And that's just one way to make the most of your radio advertising dollar. A savvy media buyer will use many methods of negotiation to whittle down radio advertising rates to maximize a client's budget.

Are you thinking about radio advertising? Call Radio Lounge toll free to get your questions answered. 1-866-428-3469.

8-Oct-10 3:00 PM

Radio Advertising : What Are The Best Stations?

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:00:00 GMT

What radio stations should I run my advertising on?

A very common question heard here at Radio Lounge. One of the biggest strengths of radio advertising is that radio is a very targeted medium. Radio stations program content based upon their format. Different formats target different demographics. Want to reach women ages 35-44? An adult contemporary format might be your best choice. Men 18-34? Maybe sports talk or alternative rock stations would work best. Every radio station has a "sweet spot". This sweet spot is going to be the strongest demographic segment based upon Arbitron ratings. This is why it is very important to know your customer. What are their ages, income levels, hobbies, etc? This will allow you to fine tune your radio advertising efforts to reach the highest percentage of potential customers for the least amount of money. Once you have defined your best station matches, it will be time to determine cost efficiencies...

We will save that one for another article.

Are you thinking about radio advertising? Call Radio Lounge toll free to get your questions answered. 1-866-428-3469.

24-Sep-10 2:00 PM

Marketing Innovation

Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:45:00 GMT

Make a big splash, communicate continously, and get creative! Just a few examples noted in the article “Building a Marketing Strategy for Innovation Efforts”, by James Pasmantier for Blogging Innovation. This article is a great quick read on a topic that just might help your product or service. Check it out and let us know what you think.

20-Sep-10 3:45 PM

Cemetary Marketing To Die For

Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Nobody, okay, maybe a few, really knows how to present death to potential customers. Many do it awkwardly, other’s create an advertising message that just lies there, but others have fun with the idea of death and burial. Especially to the owners of Cedar Hill in Hartford Connecticut. Check out the article "A Party To Die For" from the Wall St. Journal and note the video report on Cedar Hill and some others that know how event marketing that might be the ticket to those dearly beloved that are still with us.

7-Sep-10 2:00 PM

Radio Advertising : Nuturing Creativity

Ray Schilens - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:00:00 GMT

In the early 70’s at a radio station in Upstate New York, I proposed a better way of categorizing our commercials, which at that time were on carts (like an 8-track tape). I was the midday personality, not necessarily a management position. To my surprise the station put my system into use and thanked me with a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Pretty cool for a newly married guy making the big bucks in radio ($2.00 an hour at the time). My point here is that so many companies don’t listen to their employees. People at all levels of an organization have valid and valuable things to add to your business system. By ignoring them, or worse yet, by not listening when they speak up, guarantees that the company loses their buy-in and a potential for making things better. The article called “Ideacide: or 14 Ways to Kill an Idea”, written by Matthew E. May is worth the read. If you have a similar experience, share it with us.

6-Sep-10 9:00 AM

Radio Advertising : Your Nickname

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Consumers call the Chevrolet brand “Chevy”, Harley’s are “Hogs”, and National Public Radio is “NPR. So, does your company have a nickname? According to Al Ries, corporate nicknames are a good thing. In the article “Why Two Names Are Better Than One”, Ries says, like any consumer perception, you can’t force a nickname on your fans, it has to come from an emotional seed. With that said, I thought for a moment about our brand, Radio Lounge, and what our nickname might be. Any ideas?

2-Sep-10 2:00 PM

Back To School Advertising Effectiveness

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Yes, there are probably too many advertising awards competitions, but what the heck, why not run a competition for effective back to school ads, seems appropriate. We’ll, just in case you missed it, Kohl’s took the top spot for the creative effectiveness of its back to school blitz. Ace Metrix runs down the top ten in the Back To School Ad Class.

25-Aug-10 11:00 AM

K6A63R43QDFN

Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:00:00 GMT

K6A63R43QDFN

25-Aug-10 8:00 AM

Radio Advertising : Hispanic Markets

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 GMT

Radio Lounge provides a wide variety of creative and media buying services. Most advertisers think that buying your mainstream A/C’s and News/Talk stations are the only way to go. We always ask the question; what about foreign language radio. Especially in markets like Houston and Los Angeles, where Hispanics are a significant population mix. One in six US residents are Hispanic, and they are the second largest consumer market. In an Advertising Age article by Peter Francese, called “Hispanic Market Hits Tipping Point” you might find that your brand could benefit big time from exposure here. So some food for thought. Don’t overlook this growing population segment.

24-Aug-10 1:00 PM

Great Radio Advertising By Luke Sullivan

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Luke Sullivan, creative guru at GSDM Advertising in Austin, Texas is a good friend of The Advertising Show and of Radio Lounge. Author of the book Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Series) , I remember listening to Luke speak when I was an advertising grad student at The University of Texas at Austin. Amazing creative insight!

Luke is a fan of radio advertising. Likewise, we are a fan of Luke. Check out his recent blog entry about radio advertising titled Get Great At Writing Radio...

And his book is a necessity for anyone in the industry...

24-Aug-10 9:00 AM

Advertising Budgets - Who Is Spending?

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:45:00 GMT

Although 149 billion is a big number, it doesn’t include advertising budget trends in several of the brand categories you might think. And the forecast of a 1.1% increase overall is much better than the 12.3% decrease we saw last year. Retail numbers overall are up but brands like Target and Kohl’s are down. Pharmaceuticals are down just a bit but automotive is growing. So, it’s more of a cautious approach as we experience a quicker than expected recovery from the world’s worst drought in decades. Read the attached article “Laggards Amid The Ad Rebound” by Suzanne Vranica, and see where you fit into the overall picture.

23-Aug-10 11:45 AM

Radio Advertising Expands

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:00:00 GMT

According to a report in Inside Radio, web listening in cars will reach five million in just five short years. The good news for radio stations that are using the web effectively means a much broader audience, well beyond their own markets. For those stations that are just waking up, it means listener shares might be down to Internet success stories like Pandora. And may the best media win. Quick question. If you are thinking about making a car purchase in the near future, would you choose a web radio? And if so, how would it affect your listening habits in the car?

4-Aug-10 2:00 PM

Radio Advertising That "Sticks"

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Wouldn’t you have loved to be the person that came up with the idea of a Post-it Note? Believe it or not, that happened 30 years ago, and the brand lives on stronger than ever. To celebrate, the company will put up a billboard consisting of more than 100,000 Post-it Notes, and they are running some cool television spots that target home use. By the way, for those who think that putting your head in the sand and not spending on advertising during a recession is a smart move, the Post-it brand spent 2.9 million on advertising in 2009. Finally, if your name is Spencer Silver and you worked for 3M in 1967, we just want to say, thanks.

30-Jul-10 10:00 AM

Radio Productions and Multimedia on Your Blog

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:00:00 GMT

We do a ton of radio and television commercials , and we also take our creative capabilities beyond terrestrial limits. From sound design for theme parks to narrative e-learning online. Many of our clients have also asked for our help with developing audio and video for their websites. Technology today gives us the benefit of adding audio and video content without the downside of loading issues. I came across this article entitled “How to Add Multimedia to Your Blog”, written by Zachary Sniderman, who calls a website without multimedia, a cupcake without icing. He provides some good info on how you might benefit and why you might not need to outsource to get it done. Check it out.

27-Jul-10 3:00 PM

Business Lessons From A Lemonade Stand

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:00:00 GMT

Sometimes we just try too hard. We forget how simple things can make a profound difference in the creation and ultimate success of a brand. As children, many of us were budding entrepreneurs, and we succeeded in what we started out to do. With childlike attitudes though we soon found out that our business empire was getting in the way of more fun stuff, so we moved on. But here’s the good news. We got our first dose of how a business works and how marketing savvy caused us to actually make money. The article by Ann Handley, called “Seven Business Lessons From A Lemonade Stand”, really hits home. Let’s fast forward a few decades and see if your business stands up to the Lemonade Stand test.

20-Jul-10 1:00 PM

Radio Creative : Automotive Promotion

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Radio Lounge does not believe in copy-cat advertising, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t stretch into a more global approach to selling your products and services. We are constantly amazed by the dozens of automotive advertisers that use the same “screaming” formula over and over. In most cases, they have either read a book, got some bad advice from an industry colleague, or are just too afraid to take their radio creative to a next level. In Great Britain, Volvo has given potential buyers the opportunity to sit in their cars, while enjoying a classic movie, aka: drive in. Volvo asked interested parties to pay $40 to sit in the car. Here’s a clue of how on-target this promotion was. The first two screenings of Dirty Dancing and Grease were gone within thirty seconds of being available via the internet. Check out the article, “Volvo Parks Brits at the Drive-In Movie”, posted in Advertising Age, by Emma Hall. Time to wake up automotive advertisers, it isn’t the screaming, or the senseless offers that sells your cars, it’s getting creative and trying something new.

16-Jul-10 9:00 AM

Radio Advertising and Moms

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:00:00 GMT

Okay, most purchases are directed and decided upon by females. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car or a can of corn, females drive decisions. And it used to be that hitting a female demo with a radio advertising campaign was pretty textbook, but that is changing. In a Media Post news story by Sarah Mahoney there is a growth spurt in 35 plus moms of more than four million in just two years, and that group of influential’s 35 and under and more likely to buy green products. And if you thought moms were the stay at home type, think again. In the article, 62 percent worked full or part time jobs. Check out the article “New Rules of Mama Marketing: Older, Greener”. Think about your product or service and see where that puts mom in your purchase cycle.

14-Jul-10 2:00 PM

Best Radio Advertising Jingles

M. Bruce Abbott - noemail@radioloungeusa.com — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Advertisers many times tell us they want something catchy for their commercial. Jingle is usually the first word that pops out, because they don’t know how to describe catchy creative, which obviously has nothing to do with a jingle. Needless to say, jingles for decades have made their mark and created a lasting impression for consumers. Today, we’ve kind of gone away from the jingle category using new artists tunes for a campaign, or with bigger budgets, using mega artists to brand a product. By the way, the first jingle ever recorded was for Pepsi, back in 1939. You might remember, and can probably sing every word of the more recent classics. But the venerable jingle still has a lot of sticking power. In an article from Forbes.COM, Ken Bruno takes us through the “Best-Ever Advertising Jingles.

12-Jul-10 8:00 AM