insideradio · 2015. 6. 15. · radio. “but the application has to be more than just a place to...
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Entravision is building an app to unify Spanish radio. Entravision has experienced some of the strongest mobile revenue growth in the radio industry, accounting for one third of its digital billings. In the coming months, the Hispanic broadcaster will take a big step to grow its audience and sales with the launch of a single mobile app that will unite all of its radio stations and its affiliates. “We’re hoping to aggregate as many partners as possible under one app,” COO Jeff Liberman tells Inside Radio. “But the application has to be more than just a place to stream, it has to be a ‘second screen’ for radio.” That includes integrating social media, creating content specifically for the app, and building in features that people now expect, such as showing artist and song title. “It’s still in the development stage, but it won’t be branded under the Entravision name because we want our partners to feel they’re getting a fair shake,” Liberman says. The company is currently in talks with the owners of the roughly 400 stations under its Entravision Solutions rep firm and the growing Pulpo Audio Network umbrella. Entravision is also taking a hard look at its websites – Liberman questions whether radio is giving listeners a reason to find them on the web. Later this year the company plans to shift from a station website approach to building sites around specific personalities and shows.
Walmart asks its suppliers to change their marketing. In the months ahead, if you think you’re not hearing quite as many Walmart radio mentions as you once did, you’ll probably be right. But the retailer isn’t cutting back on its media spend. Instead it’s asking its suppliers to cut out their “available at Walmart” marketing messages and use the savings to lower their prices. The change was first reported by Bloomberg. “We believe that our suppliers’ best investment for our customers is an investment in price, not an investment in co-op advertising or a temporary discount,” Deisha Barnett, a spokeswoman for the retailer, told Bloomberg. But Barnett told Inside Radio its message was aimed at vendors, not media outlets. “We haven’t said that we are cutting back on media spend,” Barnett said. “The Bloomberg story is related to ad dollars from Walmart suppliers. We are continuing to market to our customers through a number of channels, radio included.” From January 1 through June 12, Walmart ran 105,322 spots on radio stations tracked by Media Monitors, ahead of Target (18,873) but trailing JC Penney (245,348). Last year Walmart was the top radio spender in the department and discount store category, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau, though it was outspent by Target during the holiday shopping season. The adjustment might be part of a larger philosophical change. Brian Monahan, Walmart’s VP of marketing, is also looking for sophisticated ways to save. The recently opened @WalmartLabs facility in Silicon Valley has over 2,000 tech employees putting analytics to online and offline retailing, Advertising Age reported.
Inside Radio expands editorial department. Inside Radio has promoted senior editor Paul Heine to managing editor, replacing Frank Saxe who elected to leave the publication to pursue other interests. Heine joined Inside Radio in 2009 after serving as executive editor of Radio & Records and Billboard Radio Monitor. Inside Radio has also expanded its editorial department with the addition of two seasoned media business journalists as contributors. P.J. Bednarski and Allison Romano will report radio industry news and trends for Inside Radio’s daily newsletter, its continuously updated website and other editorial products. Bednarksi has spent his entire career covering media, from when he was 22 in 1975 and the
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newspaper industry’s youngest TV critic at the Dayton Journal Herald. He’s been a critic and media writer at USA Today and the Chicago Sun-Times, editor of Electronic Media and executive editor of Broadcasting & Cable. In addition to his position at Inside Radio, Bednarksi is also the Online Video Daily columnist for MediaPost.com. Romano brings more than 15 years of experience in print and digital media. She worked for nearly 10 years on staff at Broadcasting & Cable, covering local TV, cable, broadcast networks and advertising. She also works as a blogger, social media manager and content manager and does voice-over work on local radio in her adopted hometown of Ithaca, NY. “We’re very fortunate to have Paul Heine step into the managing editor position, and are very happy to have two exceptional writers, PJ and Allison, join our staff,” Inside Radio president & publisher Gene McKay said. “Inside Radio has been the number one choice among radio industry executives for many years, and our goal is always to provide our readers with exceptional information, research and stories they won’t find anywhere else.” Why the Stanley Cup Finals aren’t playing on network radio. The National Hockey League has long been the Cinderella of major sports for media – pretty nice, but overlooked, with not much scoring. It has a sparse presence on network TV during the season and for the Stanley Cup Finals, no broadcast network radio at all, except in Canada, where hockey is the national game. If you want to listen to the Stanley Cup Finals, you can pay for it through a SiriusXM Radio subscription, or via streaming the games. Or move to Chicago or Tampa Bay, home to the opponents in this year’s finals. There are lots of reasons for the lack of U.S. interest. Hockey’s finals happen when the NBA’s season winds up with its own best of seven series, and smack dab in the middle of the baseball season. In many markets the dominant sports station is otherwise occupied with play-by-play commitments. “The Stanley Cup playoffs are more of a major event north of the border than here, especially when compared to the drama of LeBron James,” said David Pearlman, president of Pearlman Advisors, which works with sports and media companies. “Outside of Tampa and Chicago, I’m not sure most people on the street could name one of the players on those teams. So it’s not surprising that it’s not a top radio priority.” Pearlman believes that on radio, baseball play-by-play announcers have a relationship with listeners not unlike the one they have with their local radio morning show, in part because fans spend so much time listening to them. “Over time there is more engagement with the baseball announcer,” he says, than for other sports.
A ratings slap shot for Stanley Cup Finals flagship stations. Tribune news-talk “Radio 720” WGN, Chicago is carrying the Stanley Cup Finals game on air and streaming the game over its website and app. In Tampa, iHeartMedia talker WFLA (970) has the games, which are also available via the iHeartRadio streaming app. If radio listenership is anywhere near what the games are doing on TV in those markets, it’s been a bonanza for those flagship stations. In Chicago, Game 1 got a whopping 28 Nielsen TV rating, a 22.6 for Game 2 and a 24 rating for Game 3. In Tampa, TV ratings were a 17.9 for Game 1, 15.1 for Game 2 and 13.20 for Game 3. Still, these playoffs, which will last at least through tonight, have been the strongest ever for TV. The first game was seen by an average of 5.5 million viewers. The second game did even better, seen by 6.6 million, the second highest in NHL history. A Tampa newspaper pointed out that when the Tampa Bay Lightning played in the Stanley Cup in 2004 nationwide the final attracted an average of 3.3 million fans. So far, this year, the national audience is nearly double that. “In the pecking order of sports, baseball and football are much larger audience draws than basketball and hockey,” Pearlman Advisors president David Pearlman said. But that popularity poll is a little different in Chicago. Last year, Scarborough Research reported the Blackhawks were the city’s second most popular, behind the NFL’s Bears.
New technology aims to make radio ‘clickable.’ Deepening its partnership with Westwood One, audio recognition company SoundHound has rolled out SoundHound for radio. The companies say the new mobile ad platform gives stations a new way to interact with listeners, brands and advertisers. Used by Westwood One since 2013, it marks the SoundHound’s first availability to local stations. When a listener “SoundHounds” the station – that is holds their phone up to a speaker playing a participating station – the results appear in a station-branded page that can display content, a contest, a coupon or other ways to engage with the audio. It’s seen as a easy to give broadcasters interactivity similar to that of internet radio. Stations control the graphics, logos, and links to advertisers that appear when audio is soundhounded by a listener.
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SoundHound has been downloaded by more than 100 million U.S. radio listeners. Westwood One says it will give participating stations access to real-time analytics to track campaign results. SoundHound VP/GM Katie McMahon says the technology “makes it possible for stations to keep the connection they have built with listeners” by engaging with them on their mobile device, thus making radio “clickable.” The product rollout builds on an earlier partnership between the two companies under which Westwood One hosts and play-by-play announcers encourage listeners to access additional content by using the app. The key to such integrations is said to be delivering something of tangible value to the audience. SoundHound competitor Shazam partnered earlier with Sun Broadcast Group to syndicate Shazam for Radio, which also allows stations to create interactive content for advertisers and listeners.
Radio Disney to launch country-formatted brand extension this fall. With country music’s popularity growing among tweens and teens, the Mouse House is getting in on the action. Radio Disney will launch a country-formatted extension of its national radio network this fall, targeting families with a multi-platform country music-focused radio network. The channel launch will coincide with November’s 2015 CMA Awards and will live on the Radio Disney mobile app and on yet-undisclosed third party digital platforms. Disney says the 24/7 network will feature chart-bound young artists and today’s biggest country hits. Music videos, in-studio interviews and performances will be part of the package. Radio Disney VP of programming/GM Phil Guerini used Friday’s CMA Fest in Nashville to announce the new channel, flanked by three of the genre’s youngest rising stars: Hunter Hayes, Maddie & Tae and Kelsea Ballerini. Like all things Disney, the new channel will be family friendly. Guerini says it will “expand upon the engaging content we successfully deliver through Radio Disney’s multi-platform network.” Months before launch the new channel is already getting buy-in from the artist community. “It’s so cool to get a new generation and a new group of ears on my music…and all of the awesome music coming out of Nashville,” singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini said in a press release announcing the channel. “I think it will be great for the format, it’s been great for me, and I’m hopeful to do more with them in the future.”
Pandora and Ford Trucks collaborate on branded country channel. Pandora and Ford are joining forces to create a branded country music channel aimed at the intersection of Ford F-Series truck customers and country fans. Country Built is hosted by songwriter Otis Gibbs and features a mix of country music, narrated stories and interviews. Programming will trace country’s roots and impact on American culture. The launch is part of a growing trend by broadcast and pureplay webcasters to use digital audio platforms to give clients their own branded channels and programs. Entravision, iHeartMedia and CBS Radio have created custom web channels for Macy’s, Walmart, Pepsi, Toyota, Wendy’s and other brands. Pandora previously worked with Toyota to create the “Toyota Sessions” channel featuring work from emerging artists, including live tracks and exclusive interviews. Pandora has also created channels for such major brands as Nike, Gatorade and Motel 6. With Country Built, Pandora and Ford see commonalties between their audiences. “Generations of country music have played on the radios of Ford F-Series pickups over the past 60 years, and we built a station that celebrates both the heritage and vibrant present of country music,” said Lars Murray, SVP of Pandora’s Music Makers Group. The channel will run through the end of the year.
Sacramento rocker KZAP is coming back, this time as a low-power FM. More than 20 years after it signed off, iconic California rocker KZAP is staging a comeback as a low-power FM. The new “K-ZAP 99.3” will debut July 4 as a non-profit, community-focused station in Sacramento and will live stream on k-zap.org. Its new call letters will be KZHP-LP, as the KZAP calls now belong to a classic hits station in Chico, CA. Across the country, community groups have been taking advantage of LPFM licenses to launch stations that target specific groups. But “K-ZAP 99.3” is taking a slightly different tact, using the low-power model to revive its popular “free form” format. The new non-commercial station will rely on donations, grants and underwriting and plans to have three minutes per hour for sponsored breaks. Several former DJs are involved with the new station, including Dennis Newhall and Tom Cale. The original KZAP aired from 1968 to 1992.
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By Gordon Borrell
The media landscape is changing to the point of almost being unrecognizable. But one thing still holds true: Radio is still a good buy.We’ve heard that from many advertisers in our survey of 7,228 local businesses. It’s inexpensive and very effective in driving digital traffic, so it continues to be in favor. In fact, twice as many advertisers plan to increase their spending on radio over the next 12 months than had planned to do so five years ago.
But before I’m accused of being too much of a cheerleader for radio, I really do need to sound the alarm. Our survey, taken in January - May of this year, also had one troubling stat: 37% of the SMBs we surveyed said they didn’t plan to buy any radio advertising. Five years ago it was 23% won’t buy radio.
Radio is in the same leaky boat as all traditional media – struggling to stay afloat in the great digital storm. The increasing numbers of “won’t buy” this year for all media – including online – leads me to believe that SMBs are firming up their opinions about what doesn’t work. Given that the average SMB buys five different types of media in a given year, this process begins to look like a thinning out of the weakest.
Who will the successors be? I think it will be companies that have established solid, fully staffed digital agencies. That’s where the money is. Businesses spend five times more money on digital services than they do on all advertising.
And all they need is a marketing expert to show them how it works, and the megaphone of radio to amplify the effect.
To learn more about what SMBs are spending in your market: CLICK HERE >>
>> Download the Industry Report which includes a 45 minute webinar with lead analysts: “Local Advertising Hits a Tipping Point, Jun ‘15”
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Oregon’s 2014 Radio Station of the Year, News Talk 860 KPAM, and sister station Sunny 1550, are seeking Portland’s next great radio Account Executive. If you know how to build long-term relationships with small to mid-size business owners, care about bringing results to those businesses, and can do it without ratings, then KPAM and Sunny could be your next home. The successful candidate will be motivated with high integrity and a strong desire to win and make a good living. Experience in broadcast media sales is necessary. KPAM and Sunny are two locally-owned radio stations offering excellent benefits and above average compensation plans in an employee focused environment. We are an equal opportunity employer. Please send resume to our GSM: [email protected]. No phone calls please. E.O.E.