By Alexandra Cameron

The conference celebrated its 100th Anniversary and kicked off highlighting the names behind timeless brands that have not stood still like RH Macy, Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Sam Walton.  This is one of the most credible conferences among the sea of corporate events geared for "marketers" and while expensive, I would rate the content valuable, the format well organized and focused. It was a high energy, well attended few days that had an undercurrent of "risk taking is back in vogue" and "social media is critical and not to be ignored but it is a tool not a solution, a platform not a strategy".

Presentations on day one alone ranged from Marc Pritchard Global Marketing Officer The Procter & Gamble Company, who set the tone and was highly compelling followed by, Marilyn Mersereau Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Cisco Systems, Inc. Mark Baynes Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer, Kellogg Company, Joseph V. Tripodi Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, Erin Nelson, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Dell, Inc. Karen Quintos, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Dell, Inc. Paul Krugman Op- Ed columnist The New York Times and Nobel Economics Prize Winner. The following two days had equally strong agendas but awards for the biggest "buzz" in presentation style and inspiration would have to go to Michael Francis Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Target Corporation, and my personal favorite, Cindy Gallop Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ifwerantheworld.com, who I would have to submit my own "Fandmiration" to as the unofficial Rock Star.

Check her out http://adage.com/ana2010/article?article_id=146546
 

One of best reasons that Radio consistently delivers for its advertisers is its ability to reach consumers wherever they are.  Radio’s portability allows New Yorkers to listen at home and away, and often at the moment that they are making important purchasing decisions.

Radio’s advertisers benefit regardless of where their message is heard.

·         At Home Listening:  An advertising message reaches a captive audience when its listeners hear that message at home.   The Radio is turned on and stays on and is heard for long periods of time.   A great way to get results is to deliver your message first thing in the morning and at the end of the day.

·         At Work Listening: What better location to reach a consumer than in the workplace as they plan their lunchtime errands and their after-work shopping and dining?  The Radio is often on all day long at the office.  Talk about a way to build frequency!

·         In Car Listening: Reaching consumers just before the point of purchase as they listen in their cars remains one of Radio’s greatest strengths.  Radio can deliver the last advertising message heard before they enter the store. Selling cars? Selling tires?  What better time to reach your prospective customers than while they are actually driving?   Isn’t a car just a Radio with four wheels?

In New York, almost 58% of the Radio listening is done away from home.  But look how that number varies by age, ethnicity and gender.
 

Chart A—New York Listening Location AQH Composition By Demographic

·         The majority of teen Radio listening is done at home (55.2%).  That’s in sharp contrast to adult listening.  Among Adults 18-34, 25-54 and 35-64, at-home listening accounts for only about a third of their Radio usage.   As the audience ages, the at-home audience increases, with nearly half of Persons 50+ listening occurring at home.

·         Among ethnic groups, the Hispanic population spends most of its time listening to Radio away from home, with almost 62% of its listening occurring somewhere outside of where they live. Listening by African-Americans and Others is more balanced between listening locations.

·         There even is a significant difference between male and female listening by location.  Far more female listening occurs at home (45.8% ) compared to male at-home listening (only 38.5%).

Listening location in New York also varies based on the time of day.

Chart  B—New York Listening Location AQH Composition By Daypart

·         At-home listening peaks in the mornings, as consumers begin their day by turning on their Radios. 

·         In middays and afternoon drive, listening shifts to out of home (in the office and in the car).

·         As consumers return home in the evening, at-home listening increases.

·         Listening location on the weekends is split almost evenly between home and away.

You may have noticed that in a PPM world, Arbitron no longer tells us specifically where a radio station’s away-from-home listening is occurring.  We’re only given a total away-from-home estimate.  Just because you can no longer quantify that listening is in car and in office certainly does not mean that it no longer exists. 

Ask your Radio representative to give you a listening location breakout for their station.  Consider tailoring your message to appeal specifically to the in-car listener in the afternoon, or the at-home listener in the morning.  The more you know about where your prospective customers are when they hear your commercial, the more effective your campaign will be.

A wrong advertising decision this holiday season could make or break your business.  There is just no room for error.   You’ve made the smart choice to use Radio.  What can you do to boost your confidence that each dollar you spend in our medium will be spent effectively?

It all starts with finding the right match.  That’s the match between your potential customers and the people that listen to the Radio stations you are considering as advertising partners.  Get it right and your odds of success just went up dramatically.  Miss the match and even the best message in the world may not bring enough customers through your door.  Plenty of listeners will hear your message.  Just not enough who have the greatest potential of being your customers.

While every Radio station isn’t right for every advertiser, every station is right for some advertiser.  Are the stations you are considering right for you?  How do you know?  Sure, the size of a station’s audience is important, but who are those listeners?  Do they look like your customers?  Will your commercial message reach the consumers who are most likely to need what you do or you sell?  Are you reinforcing your brand to your existing customers, or are you reaching out to new customers?

Most stations can do a very effective job of painting a picture of their audience.  Just ask them!  They can actually show you pictures of their listeners from station events.  They can use the latest Arbitron data to tell you how many people listen, as well as audience characteristics such as:

o   Age

o   Gender

o   Race

o   Socio-Economic Status (income, education, employment)

o   Geography

In today’s PPM world, it is more common to find several stations with identical ratings!  But while their audience size may be the same, it is critical to look at the composition of the different audiences.

Let’s use a simple example of two stations with the same AQH Rating.  As you can see below, one delivers the advertiser’s audience much closer than the other.

"The current economic downturn has altered people’s lifestyles and spending habits. Things people did without giving it a second thought are now not being done at all. These changes have affected the relative influence of different advertising mediums. While Radio is a valuable advertising medium in good economic times, its value explodes during difficult economic times.

Radio Is Free and Popular

"There are 16.9 million New Yorkers over the age of 6. Of these consumers, 15.7 million of them listen to New York Market Radio each week. That’s a 93% penetration rate. This rate is unachievable by most other media.

And, New York Market Radio holds its audience throughout the weekdays and into the weekends. During morning drive (Mon-Fri 6am-10am), 11.2 million (66%) New York consumers listen to the Radio. Although New Yorkers get busier during the day, more than 12.2 million (73%) New York consumers are still listening in middays (Mon-Fri 10am-3pm). In the afternoon (Mon-Fri 3pm-7pm), Radio listening increases to over 12.6 million consumers

"Radio is immediate, and, with our product, every minute of every summer day is a good time to remind people how good Ben & Jerry's ice cream is." That's one of the reasons Radio was the ideal medium when Ben & Jerry's decided to launch a summer ad campaign targeting 18-34-year-olds with a dual message, according to Bob Ellis, director of client service at Black Rocket Euro RSCG, B&J's San Francisco-based agency.

In addition to immediacy, Ellis says, "Radio has broad reach and affordable, targeted frequency versus other local media." The medium also enables Ben & Jerry's to remind young listeners that "we're as devoted to their community as we are committed to making the best ice cream. We're hitting on both cylinders, so, naturally, drivetime Radio made a whole lot of sense."

"Research," he continues, "shows that this group [18-34] is a frequent purchaser of premium ice cream products, yet has little brand loyalty. This seemed like an opportunity for us to try to bring them into our core with some new flavors that skew slightly younger such as Kaberry Kaboom with Pop Rocks and Concession Obsession."

In order to transmit this double-sided message in a way listeners could relate, Black Rocket created the "freezer fairies", characters that probably would not have worked in any other medium. "The freezer fairies," explains Ellis, "are mysterious and magic. Fact is, there is a freezer fairy in all of us, so Radio is the most democratic medium in the sense that it can empower us all. A visual medium would provide a more tangible and, thus, limiting, frame of reference. Radio gives us the best opportunity to introduce the freezer fairies, establish local relevance and tie in local retail locations as well as local community service projects."

Results for the campaign will be measured, rationally, by traffic in scoop shops and sales at participating retailers; an emotional measurement will be the freezer fairies' ability to increase "random acts of kindness." The latter seems already to be happening. "If the number of letters we've received nominating nice people to be ‘deputy freezer fairies' is any indication," says Ellis, "the campaign is a hit in local communities." The Radio advertising, which began Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day, is airing in several major markets, including New York, on stations that target the 18-34 demo. "

"

“Can you tell us which one of these kids have tried drugs?” . . . “Ok, see if you can tell which one of your son’s friends has tried drugs.” . . .  “See if you can tell which one of these kids likes to get high.” . . .  “It’s sad, but one of the following kids does drugs.  Can you tell which one?”

 Radio was selected by the Metropolitan Life Foundation to ask the above questions and provide some answers for parents and caregivers.  The campaign, in collaboration with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, began in April in 13 markets including New York.  The target was parents and caregivers with children between the ages of 9 and 13.  Each 60-second commercial focused on a separate parenting skill:  instilling responsibility in your child; listening to your child; knowing who your child’s friends are; and the importance of supervised after-school activities.

 The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with MLF funding, also launched a new online, interactive version of the campaign on their website (www.drugfreeamerica.org).  Website visitors will be able to listen to one of the campaign’s Radio messages, view related print ads and download copies of How to be a Better Parent. 

"

"Intimacy and emotion are characteristics not normally associated with pasta. But those attributes are what caused New World Pasta to select local Radio as the sole medium for  a long-term ‘top-of-mind reminder' campaign for its venerable Ronzoni pasta brand.

"Radio," explains Robert Skollar, executive vice president/executive creative director at GreyWorldwide, Ronzoni's ad agency, "is much more intimate than other media. It helps develop a personal relationship with the brand." And local Radio's 60-second length, adds Gina Sclafani, vice president/associate creative director, "gives you the time to do something wonderful -- it's storytelling that draws you in."

The ‘stories', in the Ronzoni commercials, are told by an Italian-American man who recalls the brand's heritage -- "Sunday dinner at Grandma's . . . Wall-to-wall Ronzoni pasta with more shapes than you can shake a wooden spoon at . . . Fridays, linguine with clam sauce . . . Sundays, lasagne." The campaign, which began February 12 in New York and other northeastern markets, is scheduled to run at least through the end of September, and Radio's production flexibility will enable the agency to create additional storylines in the same milieu.

There has been positive reaction from the marketplace and the trade, according to Kenneth Dowling, senior vice president/account management. Adds Stephen H. Vesce, vice president of marketing at New World Pasta: "Our customers are excited about the program because it increases store traffic. Retailers place a high value on Radio because it is the last medium to reach consumers on their way to shop. Ninety-two percent of grocery shoppers listen to Radio when driving to shop. It provides a more immediate return than traditional equity media."

The commercials have also been produced in 30-second versions, which will enable Ronzoni to partner with retailers via 30-30s -- 30 seconds for the Ronzoni branding message and 30 seconds for the retailer's own message. The campaign is airing on four to five stations in the New York market, selected for their ability to reach women and adults, 25-54. One of the goals, says Dowling, is to raise awareness of the Ronzoni brand among the younger end of that demo. "