Radio Lounge Articles RSS Feed

Radio Advertising : Your Nickname

M. Bruce Abbott — 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 — 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 — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:00:00 GMT

K6A63R43QDFN

25-Aug-10 8:00 AM

Radio Advertising : Hispanic Markets

M. Bruce Abbott — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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 — 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

Advertising In China? Rent A White Guy!

M. Bruce Abbott — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:00:00 GMT

And you’re saying, what the heck are we talking about. No, we’re not joking. According to an article in The Atlantic Monthly, firms are hiring fake businessmen in China to represent their brand at various social events. Why? Having foreigners in nice suits gives the company face. White guys with fair complexions and a nice suit can make $1000 bucks a week. You’ve got to read the article “Rent a White Guy” by Mitch Moxley.

8-Jul-10 8:00 AM

Radio Advertising : Geico

M. Bruce Abbott — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:00 GMT

You may not be able to match the advertising budget but hopefully you have the same mindset as Geico that; to get your brand out there radio continues to be a powerful force. According to Inside Radio, and Media Monitors, just last week, Geico ran more than 44,000 national radio spots. Right behind, The Home Depot. Do you have to dump that much into advertising to make it work. Not really, you just have to be smart enough to place your media and your message in front of the right audience. Want to know how much it might cost? Check out this link and see what radio advertising costs in your city.

6-Jul-10 11:00 AM

Radio Advertising : Overdeliver

M. Bruce Abbott — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Starbucks is known for its overpriced morning jolts of wake up juice, but if that’s all that Starbucks did to attract and grow its fan base, their appeal would dry up.

Starbucks loves its customers and continues to show the love in new and appealing ways. Like its new partnership with AT&T and Yahoo, detailed in the article below “Starbucks to Offer Free Wi-Fi at Most of Its Stores” from The Associated Press. And not just free Wi-Fi, how about custom content, free Wall Street Journal surfing, free downloads in i-Tunes and more. This is warm-fuzzy blanket stuff that wraps Starbucks drinks and treats into a sought after experience. So, think about your business and more importantly, your customers and what they might need to transform from regular users into raving fans, the kind of customer that recruits new customers. Delivering just the product doesn’t cut it anymore.

23-Jun-10 12:00 PM

Radio Advertising and Referrals

M. Bruce Abbott — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:00:00 GMT

We like to think of radio advertising as “word of mouth”, it just hits a lot more ears. We often suggest using existing customers as part of the commercial creative. Take those really believable and satisfied clients and let them tell their story. Notice we didn't mention actors. Use real customers. Look how effective the On-Star campaigns have been. People don’t care “how” it works, they just care that it does work. Once again, real stories and no silly ad fluff. Also, take those really satisfied customers and create a referral program around them. No one is as good of a representative for your business as a truly happy customer. Maybe even work your referral program into your radio advertising. Steve Strauss crafted the article called “Ask The Expert; Creating an Ongoing Business Referral Machine”, and it puts some powerful strategies together that your business might benefit from. Read it, do it, or as the shampoo bottle says “wash, rinse, repeat”.

18-Jun-10 1:00 PM

Radio Marketing : Be Ready

M. Bruce Abbott — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:00:00 GMT

We caution our clients, they’d better be ready when the ad campaign rolls, or they will be steamrolled by their campaign. Customers that want one of what you’re selling, expect to get it, when they’ve heard about on an advertising campaign. Tell customers they are out of luck, and the bad news travels fast. Having a website that isn’t ready to accept or fulfill customers orders, having a storefront that forgot to stock enough of the product, or even worse, forget to tell their employees about the promotion. Not being ready to advertise kills all momentum and gives the brand a black eye. Reading the article by Joseph Galante, called Groupon Coupons: The Small Business Challenge, we see that the company is traveling in dangerous territory and taking a few unsuspecting businesses down the rocky road. Good concept, absolutely, as long as their clients understand that the marketing might overwhelm their clients capacity. Bottom line, if you make a promise to a customer, you’d better be able to deliver on that promise.

16-Jun-10 2:00 PM

Radio Advertising and Referrals

Bruce Abbott — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:00:00 GMT

15-Jun-10 4:00 PM

Radio Advertising Resurrection

M. Bruce Abbott — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:00:00 GMT

Inside Radio is reporting that SNL Kagan, the company that integrates online research and data projection for the media and communications industry www.snl.com reports that radio will see a 6.9% increase over 2009. That’s a huge number, considering it is the largest annual increase since 2003. The radio industry has been fighting hard to bring back those numbers. For those considering radio advertising, they’re not giving it away, and it takes an agency with clout to get the numbers where they need to be.

15-Jun-10 4:00 PM