Radio companies mine targeted audiences online for new advertising revenues

Canadian radio stations are starting to use new Internet analysis tools to mine online audiences for targeted promotions and additional advertising revenues. Astral Media Inc. and Corus Entertainment Inc. are using a web content management system and online audience tracking platform from Emmis Interactive, a subsidiary of U.S. radio and TV station operator Emmis Communications. The technology enables stations to organize their online content, such as polls, promotions, and columns written by on-air personalities, to better engage and target website visitors. “Radio’s unique opportunity is based on engagement,” Deborah Esayian, co-president and co-founder of Emmis Interactive, said in an interview. Radio stations traditionally have close ties to their audiences and their communities, and websites can be an extension of that, she said. “It plays on the fact that listeners hear an ad and want to engage with that advertiser,” she said. Online audience analysis allows the stations to tailor online promotions to advertisers seeking specific audiences. Martin Tremblay, Astral’s interactive content and sales manager of radio, said the Emmis software helps stations collect personal details from their audiences (such as age, sex, interests, etc.) when they sign up for web-based promotions like a chance to win concert tickets or a coupon for a discount on rail travel. Based on the information gleaned online, a station can identify its audience and any niche interests. Its audience may include, for example, a segment of about 1,000 males aged 18 to 34 who enjoy skiing and beer. The station can use that niche audience to sell a targeted promotion to a beer company and a ski resort and invite members of that audience to an after-ski party with discounted pints in the chalet. “If you ask a restaurant what their objective is from a campaign, they will probably not say, ‘I need a million people,’” Tremblay said. “What they probably need on a Tuesday night is 10 or 12 tables to be full. That’s where this tool is very efficient.” David Huszar, vice president of interactive and radio at Corus, said the web extends radio’s reach. “It used to be that radio always had a personal relationship, but the direct, one-to-one interaction was via the phone ,” he said. “Now, through the web, there are many more opportunities for direct engagement. People can learn about radio personalities through their blogs, and conversations that have to end on air can continue online ... The points of engagement have greatly increased by having a website, and that’s good for us, because radio really depends on this personal relationship with the audience.” Right now, many station websites have advertising that fails to connect with the audience, Esayian said. Radio broadcasts may be heard by a wide range of people, but station websites usually attract a core group of listeners. That means it’s even more important to ensure web content speaks to its primary audience, she said. “It’s not very good for fringe promos. You want stuff on the website that speaks very clearly to that audience,” Esayian said. But to benefit from web analytics technology, radio operators need a new sales structure. That includes new hires: sales professionals who understand the traditional radio medium as well as new opportunities online. Esayian said an ideal digital sales candidate would have started in radio but turned their interests to the web as the medium grew. The digital sales support staff would help traditional sales staff explain the benefits of a combined radio-web strategy to advertising customers, Esayian said. She said the web requires a different sales mentality, noting that companies should take their time to explore the different benefits and potential online promotions that work for different advertisers. Huszar said station operators also need buy-in from management to benefit from web-analysis tools. “You need commitment from senior management, wherever you are, and an understanding of what the opportunity is,” he said. “You need appropriate alignment throughout the organization so people are able to make decisions and provide the focus that’s required. “It’s a balancing act, because these revenue streams are so small,” he said, adding that it’s important to foster the fledgling online revenue stream as well as continue to support traditional revenue streams. Huszar said that, on average, less than five per cent of Canadian radio stations’ revenue comes from the web, but that’s likely to grow. “There’s more and more interest ,” he said. Tremblay said Astral’s online revenues have grown. “When we started, we were under the Canadian benchmark of about three to 3.5 per cent. Today ... we’re right on the average.” Esayian said, right now, only half of advertisers are ready to take advantage of online promotions. But Tremblay said more and more of Astral’s advertisers are asking about them. “A media company like ours would be challenged nowadays if we didn’t have an interactive offering,” Huszar added. Experts agree Canada’s radio market is relatively healthy compared to the U.S., and that there are seeds on the ground for more web-radio experiments north of the border. “I think we haven’t made some of the mistakes that the U.S. broadcasters did five years ago, with consolidation, networking and syndication, and getting away from the bread and butter of radio, which is local, and engaging with the community,” Tremblay said. news@thewirereport.ca

Radio companies mine targeted audiences online for new advertising revenues

Broadcast | February 11, 2011

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us