Streaming Ads Increase Ad Recall and Ad Response

KCBQ & KPRZ streams LIVE 24/7!!

When used together with broadcast radio, streaming audio can improve the response rate and recall of advertising. That’s one of the key findings behind TargetSpot’s outstanding Ad Impact Study released last week at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. TargetSpot sells targeted streaming audio ads.

Their study claims that when an advertiser used broadcast radio and internet radio together, the campaign achieved a 3.5x higher ad response than broadcast alone.



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The ad recall of broadcast radio was most impacted by internet radio in the insurance, retail stores, financial services, telecommunications, and travel categories.



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The study reports that most (96%) listeners access internet radio on a desktop/laptop computer. Approximately half (45%) listen on a mobile/smartphone and 15% listen on tablet devices. Tablet listeners are the heaviest users of streaming media; 25% of those who listen on a tablet device tune in 4+ hours daily.

This is an important signal to broadcasters. A simple path to “heavy users” of audio would appear to be mobile and tablet compatible apps and streams.

Broadcasters that are providing integrated campaigns with streaming audio and broadcast spots should also be encouraged by this study. Streaming audio spots increased ad responses for broadcast campaigns and online ads alike.



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Four out of ten listeners to internet radio advertising have responded to an ad.

• 17% visited the company website
• 15% searched online for product information
• 13% clicked on an ad
• 10% became a fan / clicked “like” on a social network
• 10% became a fan / clicked “like” on a social network
• 7% sent e-mail or text to the company
• 5% called the company

The most likely action for a listener to take after hearing an internet radio ad is to visit the client’s website.

Internet-radio listeners are also influential, with over half saying that they tell friends, family, or co-workers about new products or services they like.



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This study sheds light on internet radio’s growth and viability as an ad delivery venue. I believe the most important takeaway from this study is that streaming delivers engaged heavy users. As much as this study points to the validity of internet-radio for advertising, it makes a case to broadcasters for continued strategic investment into mobile and tablet apps as well as multiple streaming options for desktop computers.

Adding internet radio to an over-the-air campaign more than triples ad response

Don't miss the boat!!

A new study provides ammo for sellers pitching internet radio to media buyers. Adding internet radio to a broadcast campaign elicits an ad response that’s 3.5 times greater than the response produced by a broadcast campaign on its own. That’s one of the top line findings from a second, separate TargetSpot-commissioned online study of ad effectiveness among 2,127 U.S. broadband households conducted by Parks Associates. By comparing ad recall and responses for broadcast radio listeners who don’t consume internet radio with those that do, the researchers make a strong case for the additive value of internet radio. For example, only 4% of those who recalled hearing a broadcast ad visited the advertised company’s website or searched online for product information. But the percentage jumped to 15% when an internet radio ad component was added. “Internet radio is effective on its own, as well as boosting the effectiveness of other mediums,” TargetSpot VP of marketing Amy Becker says. The study found the additive impact occurred across multiple categories. Adding internet radio ads doubled broadcast campaign recall for ads in the insurance, food and beverage and financial services categories, and tripled it for travel campaigns. Increases were lower for restaurants and automotive products. “This audience is highly engaged in the content and this engagement is driving recall and response well beyond the click,” Becker says. The percent of those who purchased a product or service at retail rose from 4% to 11%, those who became a fan or clicked “like” on a social network went from 0% to 8% and those who purchased a product or service online increased from 2% to 5%. TargetSpot execs will present the findings to ad agencies in New York tomorrow during a road show. Some results were also presented yesterday at the RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas

Stay ahead of the game!

Faster, Better and More

The trifecta of competition:

Faster than the other guy. Faster to the market, faster to respond, faster to get the user up to speed.

Better than the other guy. Better productivity, better story, better impact.

and More. More for your money. More choices. More care. More guts.

You have more competition than you did yesterday. I expect that trend will continue.

Wondering if you want to voice part of your commercial??

The Friday Poll Question for members of Radio Sales Café was a two-parter:

1) What percentage of your advertisers voice their own ads?
2) What are your thoughts on having clients doing their own voicework?

Some stations said "zero." Others reported that 15-20% or more of their clients did their own ads.

My answer was decidedly, and perhaps remarkably, on the high end: two-thirds of my top local clients voice all or most of their own commercials!

Of these, most read from scripts. They have been doing this for so many years that they're quite comfortable at the microphone.

Admittedly, I'm a fairly driven coach. I have no problem requiring repeated readings or "takes," until I have sufficient material to piece together an effective spot.

Former Los Angeles radio production whiz Blaine Parker, who now operates a boutique advertising agency/creative services company atop a mountain in Park City, UT, is adamant about the conditions under which he allows his clients to get near a mic. He says:

We're a general agency, and at the moment, we have two clients on radio. One of those clients is voicing his own commercials. The other client has testimonials. Both campaigns were produced exactly the same way: non-professional voice talent sitting behind a microphone, answering relevant questions about the business and what it means to be a customer. Then, those extemporaneous recordings are cherry picked and massaged to create glowing sound bites. When we know what the performer is saying via the magic of non-linear digital editing, we write announcer wraparounds.

That is just about the ONLY way we ever let clients voice their own commercials.

When you hand them a script and crack the mic, most clients' voice over sound like exactly what it is: amateur product. Sometimes, that can be endearing and work in their favor. Too often, it just sounds bad. If it must be done that way, there are simple tricks to directing them that make them sound much better. But overall, I try to never make a client read a script or carry the entire weight of the voice over on his shoulders. Whenever possible, I record him extemporaneously and pull out the nuggets. It's more real than anything we could ever write, and it presents the client in the best, most flattering light possible.

I would tend to agree with Blaine's approach: recording conversations and extracting the gold. It's time-consuming and painstaking, and a labor of love that typically results in an exceptional and effective commercial. This is the only technique I employ when creating testimonial campaigns, and it's a great way for an advertiser to tell his story, one nugget at a time.

Do my clients have the training and polish of voice actors? Of course not.

Nor is it important that they do.

In the context of a local market where they are known by many, what's important is that they come across as who-they-are, doing what-they-do, that they sound authentic and credible, and that the content of their communication meets their customers' needs. When all these factors line up, the results speak for themselves*.

Now, I don't disagree with Blaine's analysis for the most part, based on the fact that too many client-voiced commercials one hears seem to have been done hastily and without critical analysis. Whether due to a lack of education or training, a lack of time or effort, or a lack of concern, there's no good reason to settle for second-rate work. But the salesperson, producer and client must be of the same mind on this, each willing and able to invest the time and effort to persist until it's right.

Either do it well or don't do it at all.

It's interesting how attitudes toward client-voiced ads have changed over the past couple of decades. Today the practice is widely accepted. When I first started pushing for clients appearing in their own commercials back in the late 1970's, most radio programming and production people resented it as an incursion onto their sacred turf. Their attitude was not unlike what we encountered from the education establishment when the home-schooling movement began to gain some momentum in the late 1980's. These days, the accumulation of success stories has demonstrated the merit of both ideas.

Article featured in RAB Sales and Marketing.

How should you treat your best customers?

Here's what most businesses do with their best customers: They take the money.

The biggest fan of that Broadway show, the one who comes a lot and sits up front? She's paying three times what the person just three rows back paid.

That loyal Verizon customer, the one who hasn't traded in his phone and has a contract for six years running? He's generating far more profit than the guy who switches every time a contract expires and a better offer comes along.

Or consider the loyal customer of a local business. The business chooses to offer new customers a coupon for half off—but makes him pay full price...

If you define "best customer" as the customer who pays you the most, then I guess it's not surprising that the reflex instinct is to charge them more. After all, they're happy to pay.

But what if you define "best customer" as the person who brings you new customers through frequent referrals, and who sticks with you through thick and thin? That customer, I think, is worth far more than what she might pay you in any one transaction. In fact, if you think of that customer as your best marketer instead, it might change everything

Radio can deliver leads, but it can't deliver sales

I wonder if people in radio know that the wrap on Radio in DR circles is that radio can drive high volume of calls or leads but often radio leads hardly convert at a paltry level relative to TV and Online.

As an integrated direct response agency, Integrated Media Solutions has a unique purview. Our agency works with clients across all direct response media. This gives us perspective to review results across all media and make our optimization decisions based on what is based for the account, (in most cases, overall cost per acquisition or ROI). We are in a unique position in the market because we actually have expertise to assist our clients after the initial lead and all the way down the path to conversion.

Often a client or DR agency that has been too reliant on TV or Online is will quickly bail on a radio campaign that is not converting to sales even though the lead volume is there.

High lead or call volume is an indication that listeners heard your message, raised their hands and said “This offer applies to me and I am interested.” The challenge for marketers, agencies and stations is to take a deep dive into exactly why these interested consumers aren’t converting and create solutions to improve results.

At our agency we recently had an example of a DR radio client in the financial services area who was savvy enough to work with us on a careful analysis of their hand-raisers before abandoning the entire radio medium…but not before an initial gut reaction of distress!

Our client began a radio campaign received over 1,000 calls during their first month. This was excellent! In fact, the cost per call was lower than what they had seen from TV.

However, by the end of the month we saw that over 50% of the calls they received lasted less than 12 seconds. The client naturally asked why exactly they should pay to generate calls when half the calls don't even connect.

Rather than abandon the campaign entirely we decided ask a question...why were these callers hanging up? And we asked the callers themselves.

Using the caller’s phone number captured when they called our 800 number we reached out to a small sample of these short callers (about 30 callers).

The first interesting thing was that we were able to speak to about 80% of the callers. And for the most part they were happy to hear from us. When we asked what happened to their call the most common response was that they had dialed the number on their cell phone and then hung up quickly in order to save the number on their phone.

In this case the solution was clear: make an outbound call effort to those “short” callers. This allowed them to maximize the calls they got and increase overall conversion from calls.

It also points out the need and opportunity to find alternative tracking mechanisms for radio campaigns. For instance, perhaps marketers could consider using SMS Text to capture the response. You could offer to text back the phone number via text to the consumers. An opted in text campaign allows you to capture the “hand raisers” and create multiple follow up texts to take the respondent all the way through the sales funnel.

Call abandonment rates at 50% are not typical issues TV focused marketers. Ultimately the great strength of Radio –its mobility - can also make advertising more challenging for DR clients in day and age of ubiquitous cell phones and smartphones. Yet radio continues to drive high volume of quality respondents.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BRAND: 10 THINGS TO TRY IN 2011

By Shawn Parr, CEO of Bulldog Drummond (BulldogDrumond.com)

BE COURAGEOUS, OFTEN

Take bold steps to stand out from the crowd. Reflect on 2010 and look at what you did well, and what you could have done differently. Take courageous steps to help your brand stand out in 2011.

REVISIT AND REFINE YOUR PURPOSE

Take the time to look back at your mission and vision and ask if you were living it in 2010. Look for places to bring it to life with your team and explore whether you need to refine it. Remember: the words aren’t set in stone. If they’re not resonating, rewrite and revise!

SHUT UP AND LISTEN

Make sure you ask your team for feedback, ideas and suggestions. Listen to your consumers and pay attention to research.

FIND AN ENEMY

An enemy gives you and your team something to push against, something to challenge. An enemy inspires passion! This year, define a clear enemy and rally your team. It could be a competitor, a trend or an element of your internal culture. No matter what it is, create a plan to beat it, share the mission with your team and go forth!

STRETCH AND SET SOME BIG GOALS

Set at least one wild and audacious goal for 2011, something you’ve never tried before. Outline the goal, share it with your team and challenge them to play their part in achieving it. Just don’t forget to celebrate the small victories and successes on the journey.

BUILD A PASSIONATE AND ENGAGED TEAM

Your most valuable resource is your people. This year, weed out those don’t contribute and aren’t engaged. Replace them with active, passionate and energized people who will make a true difference to the rest of your team and your brand.

INJECT FUN INTO THE EVERYDAY

Start doing small things that make your employees happy. A monthly massage for a those who have put in extra hours or a weekly potluck for the team.

PLAN FOR LEARNING

Create a program that allows your team to take classes. Host a “learning lunch” monthly with guest speakers.

MAKE FRIENDS WITH OTHER BRANDS

This year, chart a “circle of love,” identifying brands with similar values that you’d like to partner with in 2011. Set one member of your team with a potential relationship and have them explore how to collaborate. You’ll be surprised by the results, even just the initial conversations you’ll have about your own brand.

SAY THANK YOU AND SHOW THAT YOU REALLY MEAN IT

And, lastly, do what your mother told you! Thanking people goes a long way to creating valued and appreciated fans, both internally and externally.

To view this article in it's entirety or to learn more about San Diego's branding guru Shawn Parr follow this link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/03/san-diego-branding-guru-knows-what-sells/