21st Century Medium

Radio has tremendous added-value for advertisers who have access to consumers across a multimedia

Lesson

Radio is now an audio-visual medium.

Along with the evolution of radio, which has extended to interactivity between stations and their websites, the added value to the advertiser has increased significantly. Ryan Till, chief operations officer for Primedia Broadcasting, says digital now offers radio many avenues to interact.

Internet strategist Anice Hassim of Immedia, a media consultancy company that represents Jacaranda 94.2, East Coast Radio, YFM and Video Vision, says that as online and mobile media have matured they have begun to displace many traditional media types from their dominance. “In historical terms this is not unusual, but the new medium tends to displace the medium that came before, for example, television displacing print as mass communication.” Radio stations have to embrace technology in order to take themselves to the next life phase, according to Till, who says the trick is to choose interactive platforms that represent what you’re already known for. “So you don’t suddenly start selling books online just because you can, but if you do a lot of book reviews on your station this would make sense,” he says.

Jacaranda 94.2 CEO, Alan Khan, says radio is no longer simply an audio medium but rather an audio-visual platform. He listed examples citing SMS, podcasts and blogs. Additional interactive platforms as listed by Primedia are online and mobile websites, classified sections, promotions entry (including SMS, email, web and fax) and listener communities such as Club VIP. Website interactivity innovations on Jacaranda are that advertisers can post a competition on the website and those wanting to build databases can do so through the online applications. Interestingly, Hassim stresses that radio is the one and only traditional media type that can and does co-exist with new media effectively. “Over the years radio has evolved robustly and to many, in unseen ways, but the truth is that video did not kill the radio star and neither will Youtube.”

Interest Peaks & Dips

Pippa Cohen, sales manager for Kfm and Cape Talk and John Walls, agency manager Cape Town, say that when they are running a promotion on the radio, there is a big spike in the number of visitors to their website, and when they don’t actively push people to the site, statistics fall off significantly.

Khan agrees and says on Jacaranda’s ‘Pay Your Bills’ campaign the station received in excess of 100 000 entries. On the Just Plain Breakfast show, a prank song called ‘Waai Now Bob’ was downloaded more than 100 000 times and a Vernon Koekemoer song downloaded more than 70 000 times.

In June when Durban experienced particularly bad weather, East Coast had pictures and videos of the flooding and devastation, listener journalism on-air and thousands of visits to the website. “Over 50 000 visits hit the website on that day to follow the story and it took three days for traffic to settle down to normal,” says Hassim.

One of the most read blogs in the country, irrespective of category, is East Coast’s Newswatch. East Coast Radio came out tops in this year’s South African Blog Awards, walking away with five awards out of a total six nominations. “A quick look at how online and radio work together in a crisis offers a clear demonstration of how audiences are enjoying and consuming both,” notes Hassim.

Adding Value

Cohen and Walls say that through digital media the number of platforms on which their audience can consume the Kfm brand is increased. For the advertiser, they say this means richer,= more diverse and infinitely more flexible campaigns. “At Primedia, everything that happens on the radio stations is cross-promoted and extended to online. Thus advertisers have a whole host of benefits and are no longer restricted to a 30 second message on-air. Additional and detailed information can be displayed online in the form of advertorial, special offers or terms and conditions (compulsory for certain categories of advertiser). Logos and product packs can also be displayed, adding a strong visual element to their overall campaign.”

Another benefit for advertisers, according to Khan, is the assurance of visibility online where links/downloads to competitions/websites are provided. Cornia Spamer of 5fm says when advertisers carry their radio advert over onto the station’s website, the benefit is its visual component, where consumers can see the product and even test it out online. She says the amount of information advertisers can expose the consumer to is much higher. “You can discuss the product in-depth and invite comments. It is also accessible to all and not just the listener who is able to get through on the phone line,” says Spamer.

While the station websites are not designed to be list generators, Cohen and Walls say they offer the option of including an opt-in box and provide this list of entries to the advertiser to communicate with directly. “We keep a record and supply clients with the website impressions, total and unique entries to their competitions, making campaigns measurable.”

Hassim stresses that a radio web audience are of very high quality – all of them are educated, in a job (discounting the small number who may be students), and have disposable income. “The very nature of the medium selects out a desirable consumer. The right radio partner can deliver exponential value to you on your marketing budget and without sacrificing what has been radio’s traditional weak spot – the lack of visual.

Radio today is the glue that binds an increasingly on the move world make it a true 21st century medium,” he concludes.