RadioActive Media : Marketing, Promotions and Advertising: Radio, Television, Magazine, Internet.

800-599-RADIO | Text DR Radio to 511-511 | 714-787-0101 International

By The RadioActive Media Team

In the May 2010 issue of Response Magazine Marc Jacobs, our Vice President of Business Operations was the featured author of Radio Waves.  The complete article is posted below.

The Powerful Combination of DR Radio and Text Messaging

DR radio advertising in conjunction with texting is an oilfield just waiting to be drilled and tapped. DR Radio with SMS gives companies the ability to catch the customer wherever they are. This is mobile marketing at its best! The consumers listen to radio wherever they go and their cell phones are ever-present, whether they are taking a walk in the park, at the market, the mall, driving or on a bus.

Returns are high and instantly measurable. Access is universal, clutter is minimal and conversion is tremendous. In many cases, ROI starts at 100% and tops 300%.

Text messaging lets advertisers immediately measure instant audience reaction. By doing so, the client enhances their own brand while increasing the number of advertising opportunities. A radio listener learns they can enter a contest by sending a text message to a branded text code address such “Text RADIO to 511-511.” Then the listener receives a storable sponsored verbal message, coupon or even a video.

Easier than a lengthy URL to a website, selecting a simple, memorable short code, such as 511-511 with an easy call-to-action code, such as PILLOW (“text PILLOW to 511-511”) makes the process better for the consumer and secures more responses.

The big added bonus is now the consumer is automatically opted-in for future messages and calls from the advertiser. Capturing the affluent consumer gets easier as well: satellite listeners, early adopters, provide the greatest response rates.

An online advertiser running a :60 radio text messaging campaign with spots every hour had 350-450 text message responses after 24 hours. Another hit the list of Top 10 Paid Apps on iTunes with this mobile media 1-2 punch of radio with SMS.

Results reporting is instantaneous. Real-Time Measurements include:

- Time and Programming
- User area codes
- Number of occurrences
- Coming soon: GPS Location

Real-time reporting means quick analysis and campaign refinement to constantly improve results. For example, when we learned that Thursday had the best results, we moved live reads to that day to further enhance those results. Campaigns continue to receive text messages even when the spots aren’t running. This shows that people would follow up days, if not weeks after they heard the spot.

The text message can be changed frequently to fine tune offers, discounts, coupons and even extend the promotion due to its success.  SMS is less expensive and more effective than phone routing for finding a franchise location nearest the mobile customer. Text messaging adds the flexibility of a dynamic promotional element where an offer and creative can quickly be changed without having to recreate a spot or reprint an ad.

Voting is another use and excellent way to engage an audience and for an advertiser to have a “personality” with potential consumers.  Each respondent receives a sponsored confirmation message.

Of course, it is not just text.  Pictures of the product, an audio message, a link to a website and/or a barcode for couponing can be part of the campaign.   Using video to describe the product, service or event adds a visual element to a radio campaign.

The growth of text messaging is explosive. Wireless penetration in the US has topped 89% according to CTIA.org; messages are over 3.5 billion/day (3x greater than 2007). Now that text messaging is gaining on email as the preferred means of daily international communication, according to a survey by Tekelec, the SMS option is one to add to every campaign.

Advertisers using mobile marketing today enjoy the benefits of low message and spam clutter and 97% response rates. What Adam Cahill, Hill Holiday, says make sense: “For years, the argument has been used that online ad spend should bear some close relationship to the amount of time consumers spend with the channel. The same logic would dictate that at some point in the next couple of years, 50 percent or more of all online spend should be targeted to mobile devices.” I agree it may not be practical to expect 50% budgets, but the growth and performance are here now.

The power of joining these two mobile media methods together to get traditional and instant direct response measurement for analysis and campaign refinement makes radio with text messaging a perfect pairing.

@radioactivemed

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800-599-RADIO | Text DR Radio to 511-511 | 714-787-0101 International

By the RadioActive Media Team

At RadioActive Media, our simple goal to constantly improve tracked results for our clients’ radio ad campaigns replaces planning formulas once a campaign starts.

Mathematical formulas can be helpful in starting the campaign planning process and as one of the measurement tools. We were recently having a discussion about the number of times a spot needs to be heard in order to produce the desired action (i.e. a sale, an inquiry, store traffic.)

Frequency is part of the GRP equation: Reach X Frequency = Gross Rating Points which is a mathematical formula.  Pure, easy to calculate and is used in most media plans and calculated on most media buys.  The concept is good, however the execution may be somewhat flawed and here is why.

1. Computer formulas have generalized the process of media buying:

- In order to have actual reach and frequency calculations, true duplication needs to be accounted for in the buy.

- The formularized version may use duplication tables, which makes all talk radio equal.  Some Tier 1 radio personalities would disagree because audience composition may be different.

2.  Mathematical formulas do not take into account the advertised product or service:

- Once or twice in a lifetime purchase (such as a home) versus multiple purchases of DVDs.

- Big ticket items such as solar panels versus small ticket items such as movie tickets.

- The influence endorsements by a radio personality have on the potential consumer.

3.  Product/category life cycle:

- New category?  Before the iPhone we didn’t have apps. More exposures are needed to explain new inventions first, prior to actually buying.

- New product/service in an existing category?  Consumers understand the category, however as a new market entry, a brand name building campaign is more appropriate and should still be tied to performance-driven elements.

- Existing category and existing product?  Maintenance schedules are often recommended in this scenario but may be affected by changes in the competitive landscape.

4.  Cross media campaigns and the new technologies:

- Most formulas are media specific such as radio exclusively or TV.

- Social media has certainly had an influence on purchasing behavior.

- Mobile media is game changing.

Finally, we come to the consumers themselves.  There is always a certain amount of folks who have already made the decision to purchase an iPhone, as an example.  They are just waiting for the new version, their next paycheck or their maybe even their tax return.  In any event, the decision is not will they buy; It is when they will buy and from whom.  Solar panels are a bigger ticket item and still relatively new to market. The decision cycle may take more time and more research on the part of the consumer.

In our opinion, results do not come from formulas.   Results come from experience, testing and most of all tracking and fine-tuning the campaign every step of the way.

Contact Jeff Pollak at 800/599-RADIO (7234) and we can discuss the many ways we can design a results-orientated campaign.

@radioactivemed

The purpose of the program: to find information about DR programs (and the frequency of any alerts)
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Text STOP to cancel alerts
Text HELP for information
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800-599-RADIO | Text DR Radio to 511-511 | 714-787-0101 International

By RadioActive Media Team

Do you deal with vendors and manufacturers?  Have you ever asked your vendors and manufacturers about participating in a cooperative advertising program?

At RadioActive Media we have and we can assist you in planning a co-op advertising campaign.

Cooperative advertising is a cost-effective way for the manufacturer who does not sell directly to the consumer to support those companies that have that all-important direct relationship with the customer.  Without the direct-to-consumer companies, manufacturers would need to take over that role and spend advertising dollars.

Solar panel installation companies are a great example.  Most solar panel installation companies install solar panels manufactured by others after buying the materials from that manufacturer.  It is fairly obvious that we are talking about a symbiotic relationship, so why shouldn’t that relationship continue through the marketing and advertising portions of your respective businesses?

Here are some examples of co-op advertising:

1. Manufacturer advertises their products and tags the end of the radio commercial with a specific retail business, “Call ABC Solar Installation for great deals on our solar panels.”
2. Solar Panel Installation Company runs radio ads that promote their company’s great installation process and mentions several top manufacturing companies in which to choose (or rotates the manufacturers).
3. Solar Panel Installation Company runs radio ads that promote their company’s great installation process and mentions one manufacturer exclusively.
4. Solar Panel Installation Company runs radio ads that include text messaging for discounts on solar panels by a specific manufacturer.

Financial agreements should be clear. The split in advertising costs should be based on the percent of value received.  In example #1, the manufacturer is clearly receiving the most value.  In example #2, the manufacturer receives less individual value.  In the third example, the relationship is quite even in structure and mutual in promoting each other’s businesses. The fourth example incorporates mobile media providing a visual component including both companies’ logos with a call to action.

At RadioActive Media, we can create exciting campaigns benefiting all parties and include mobile media for point of purchase discounts.  We include tracking capabilities to improve performance and maximize results.

Contact Jeff Pollak at 800/599-RADIO (7234) and we can discuss the potential co-op advertising has for your business.

@radioactivemed

The purpose of the program: to find information about DR programs (and the frequency of any alerts)
Message and data rates may apply
Text STOP to cancel alerts
Text HELP for information
A statement of privacy disclosure