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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By Steve Pollak

There has been much written about digital radio from technological and political points of view. I am concerned with two groups; the listeners of radio and radio advertisers.

Digital radio is offered in four distinct ways:

DAB Digital Radio (also known as Digital Audio Broadcasting) – Primarily in use in the UK and Europe to Canada

High Definition (HD) – Selected by the FCC for use in the USA.

Digital Radio Mondiale (DRB) – New standard to replace AM broadcasting.

Satellite Radio Broadcasting – No geographical boundaries

All four technologies provide better quality sound and are comparable to CD quality for the listener. All four provide the enhanced technologies of scrolling program information, song titles, artist names, and the like. All four technologies can carry data alongside the audio. Imagine text and video to be transmitted with the audio providing new ways to connect with the listener.

What are the differences?

Satellite radio has the programming and the radio personalities and no terrestrial boundaries. In other words, it is literally everywhere a satellite signal can be picked up. The way that digital radio works is the same as AM and FM stations work now. In fact with your digital desktop or car radio you do not have an AM tuner, FM tuner or added digital tuner. Your radio automatically switches from analog to digital and digital to analog depending on the signals and boundaries.

Better Quality Signal is Better for All

Similar to the enhanced quality of video and audio with digital TV, digital radio’s sound is greatly improved. This is good for all radio.

Ahead of the Curve

At RadioActive Media we are already incorporating the future of data alongside the audio through our Radio Text Messaging (RTM) campaigns. Radio is the mobile advertising medium. Mobile advertising is positioned to be one of the fastest growing media vehicles. Combining these two powerful resources is game changing.  We like game changing.

By The RadioActive Media Team

Radio offers so many advantages over other media for advertising, but sometimes advertisers forget some important things about radio advertising. This is the first of a series in which we will expound on each of these common mistakes.

Give it enough time

Advertisers never give enough time to their advertising schedule. Most figure if they don’t see results in 4 or 5 weeks, it’s not working. WRONG! Give your schedule at least 13 weeks to work. Listeners can hear your spot anywhere from 3 to 10 times before they take action. If your schedule is too short in length, you may miss an opportunity to reach someone at just the right time. Prepare to be on the air for a minimum of 13 weeks and your response will increase.

Give It Enough Time: Make a Commitment to Your DR Radio Campaign – Common Mistake #1

Hit the right target market

Now that you have your 13 week commitment, make sure you are on the right stations. I know that sounds simple, but your favorite radio station may not be the right audience for your product. Make sure your target audience is the audience that listens to that station.

Finding the Right Radio Station for Your Product – Common Mistake #2

Run the right amount of spots

Again, it sounds simple, but you want to make sure you are running enough spots to reach your target audience. You want to create the right frequency to get response. If you know that your prospects take six times to respond to your ad, make sure you have enough frequency in your schedule to get that response.

Creating Enough Frequency – Common Mistake #3

Create engaging copy

You are not advertising on TV; you are advertising on radio, so paint a picture and have copy that engages the listener. Change it up frequently; don’t let it get stale. People respond to different things and you want to get the most response out of your audience. Also, you will want to have a simple phone number to remember or text to and an easy website to direct people to. Your audience may not be able to write your number or website down immediately so you want it to be something that they will remember easily.

Create engaging copy – Common Mistake #4

Track your response results and make changes

When you track your responses, you’ll know what time slots are working best for you. Then you can make adjustments to your schedule to get the best results. Don’t be afraid to change things up.

Radio advertising can give you the best bang for your buck. Just remember to keep these things in mind. Radio isn’t strange or difficult, but you can’t think of it in the same way you think of television.

Tracking Results of your Radio Direct Response Campaign and Making Changes – Common Mistake #5

@radioactivemed