Should Your Business Advertise on the Radio?

by Scott Howard | Sep 8, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

The question for today is:

Should your business advertise on the radio?

The answer is:

A qualified Yes.

Now that may not be the answer you were expecting from the General Sales Manager of the Most Listened to Radio Station in town, WOWO.

You thought I’d say:

Definitely Yes, every business needs to advertise on the radio.

I know that there are people in my position that would say that because they believe any dollar is a good dollar.

I take a different approach here at WOWO. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago when I said that the focus of me and my sales team is to get results for the businesses that advertise with WOWO.

We want to partner with you if it makes financial sense for your business.

We want to come up with an agreeable and reasonable Return On Investment formula before we agree to take your money and but you on the radio.

I admit, that’s not always possible. One of my favorite radio advertising partners hates the idea of tracking and measuring the return on investment. They simply want to believe it’s working and because of the style of advertising campaign I designed for them, our listeners are vocal enough to let their sales team and their service techs that they listen to WOWO. That confirmation gets back to the owners and that’s why they believe in WOWO for their advertising.

Borrell Associates shared another survey last month that talked about business owners plans for using radio in the future and part of their report mentioned the value of having conversations with local advertising people:

How do they buy those ads? Three-quarters say via emailing with a sales rep compared to 55% who say they meet with salespeople in person or talk to them by phone. Nevertheless, Borrell says three in four said they like having the option of having a face-to-face meeting with sales reps.

That is more than just being sociable. The survey data suggests that local businesses have a lot more respect for local reps than those selling national advertising. Three quarters of those surveyed said they find local reps more knowledgeable and 70% said local reps are a good source of marketing intelligence.

“Local advertisers see local media reps as knowledgeable resources who care about their business,” says the report. “They may not always help advertisers save money but they bring value in other ways.”

Comparing specifically radio advertising sales people with others, here’s what business owners said:

And as earlier reported by Inside Radio, the perception of radio sellers as expert marketers is higher than it is for any other type of sales rep, and the perception of digital savvy of radio reps is now also the highest. When buyers were asked, which sales reps are considered savvy about marketing, radio topped all other forms of traditional media.

Advertising sales reps who worked for broadcast TV, cable TV, newspapers, and direct mail all ranked significantly lower. Radio people are also at the top of the survey to be considered digitally savvy.

When I took over as the General Sales Manager at WOWO Radio last year, I had a couple of radio experts on my team and a couple of guys who had experience in advertising or sales but not broadcasting yet. Now, 20 months later, everyone is becoming an expert with coaching, mentoring and a true heart for doing what is best for the businesses we work with.

Want to know more, contact me: Scott@WOWO.com

Not All Radio Listeners Are Equal

by Scott Howard | Sep 1, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

I’ve got a few decades of media and marketing experience and I hunger to learn more and more.

So this summer I was catching up on my reading and found a story that talks about 6 types of radio listeners and what they want and get from listening to their favorite station.

I’ve known that there are different reasons we listen to different stations, I’ve been preaching about the difference between talk radio listeners and music radio listeners for years.

Basically, when we listen to a music station, we listen to hear our favorite songs. A radio commercial is not our favorite thing to hear on a music station, and when a music station plays 5 or more minutes of commercials in a row, we become upset. Maybe not upset enough to change to another station but mentally we tune out. Similar to when a commercial break comes on when we are watching sports on TV, many of us get up and make a trip to the bathroom instead of paying attention to the ads.

Talk radio stations, like the one I’ve been with since 2013, WOWO are a different animal. We listen to hear the words people are saying. So when a commercial comes on, it’s not that big of a deal. Also when the ad is done by the radio personality that we are listening to, it adds extra power to that ad, as an endorsement or testimonial by the WOWO radio personality.

This is what I’ve been telling business owners for years and now I have even more information to share.

To get a deeper understanding of today’s radio listeners, Edison Research and NPR teamed up on a study that segments the radio audience based on what motivates their listening, their engagement with what they hear and what they’re getting from the medium.

Radio Heads (9% of radio listeners) Use AM/FM radio for everything

These are radio’s most engaged and heaviest listeners, using it for virtually all of their audio needs: music, news, personalities/talk, and sports. More likely to be female and under 54, they over-index in listeners who are African American. As all-around audiophiles, they go way beyond the AM/FM dial – 43% also listened to radio on their smartphone, 30% on a smart speaker and 29% on a computer in the past week. They’re advertiser-friendly – 72% typically listen to ads on AM/FM – and are more likely to be employed, have above-average income, and have attained a higher education than the average AM/FM listener.

Connection Seekers (16% of radio listeners) Listen to the radio for companionship

This group is more likely to be female, 55+ and White. Second only to Radio Heads in the amount of radio they consume, Connection Seekers over-index in listening to spoken word audio and listening at home – 64% tuned in at home in the last week. Their listening habits are similar to the average listener in the devices they use to listen to radio, and the time of day they listen. Roughly seven in ten typically listen to ads on AM/FM radio.

Infomaniacs (18% of radio listeners) Listen for their need to consume news and information

The only segment among the six where men outnumber women, Infomaniacs are open to advertisements – 65% typically listen to ads on AM/FM radio and only 35% frequently avoid them. These are morning listeners with 69% tuning in from 6-10am, the highest listening in that daypart of all the segments. They prefer spoken word – 96% listened to AM/FM radio for news, 43% for personalities/talk and 27% for sports in the last week. While they’re not exclusively NPR listeners, they index extremely high for the service. Two in three (64%) have a college degree or higher and this segment over-indexes in the high income categories.

These top 3 categories of radio listeners make up the WOWO Radio News and Talk Audience.

Here are the other 3:

Rhythm Rockers (27% of radio listeners) Listen for their need to consume music

The largest segment of radio listeners, this music-first crowd leans heavily female (61% to 39% male). The youngest of the segments – three in four are aged 18-54 – they over index in listeners who are LatinX, under-index in White listeners, and over-index in low-income categories. While more likely to use online audio services, this group is also more apt to say radio keeps them company in the car.

Laidback Listeners (17% of radio listeners) Listen to radio only in the background

Skewing older and White, these radio-centric listeners are less likely to use other audio platforms and prefer listening via a traditional AM/FM receiver. They prefer music over spoken word and are more apt to try to avoid ads on broadcast radio than any other group.

Habitualists (13% of radio listeners) Listen to radio when it is the only option available

Skewing older, this group is not all that interested in audio. While they are less engaged with radio, they still spent three hours listening in the past week. Preferring receivers over streaming to get their radio, this group is the most apt to try to avoid commercials.

Before joining WOWO, I worked for music radio stations. A popular Fort Wayne rock radio personality that I worked with, Doc West, was famous for saying his station was more than a radio station, it was a way of life. And I saw those passionate Rhythm Rockers who lived that slogan.

However when it comes to using a radio station to get results from advertising your business on it, my money is on WOWO. Yours should be too.

Contact me, Scott@WOWO.com for help and more information.

The Effectiveness of Your Advertising

by Scott Howard | Aug 25, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

I recently got into a bit of a “discussion” with the owner of an advertising agency regarding a client that we both have.

It was interesting because the owner of the advertising agency didn’t understand the effectiveness factor of the ad campaign we’ve been airing on WOWO Radio the past few years.

What was also eye opening to me, was the differences in the goals that the agency had compared to what our goal has been at WOWO.

The agency’s buying power is what they like to use as the reason to sign up with them if you own a business. In the meeting, the agency owner kept emphasizing the price of a commercial, saying he could buy it at a lower price than buying directly from WOWO. I had to point out that this was not true, at least with WOWO radio, and the owner of the company, our client, was also sitting in this meeting watching this exchange.

Meanwhile, I pointed out the emphasis of what we do at WOWO is Results.

Return on Investment. Not how little an advertisement costs.

The owner of our client company has been telling the agency owner to leave his WOWO campaign alone because it is working. And I had to point out to the agency owner, he can’t buy ads for the prices he was claiming on WOWO without throwing away the advertising campaign that has been working. It would actually cost more for the business owner to have the advertising agency place the advertising schedules that we’ve been airing on WOWO.

That’s enough about this particular meeting I had earlier this month, but because of that meeting and a story I’ve been saving about the effectiveness of radio ads, I have some interesting information to share with you today.

There was a study conducted in January by Edison Research and National Public Radio that concluded:

AM/FM listeners are more engaged with ads on radio than TV viewers and social media users are with ads on those platforms… Nearly two-thirds (64%) of people who reported listening to AM/FM in a week prior to the survey say they typically stay tuned in for the ads…They are doing more than just hearing ads, they are engaging with them.

Nearly 1/2 the listeners to commercial radio stations and non-commercial public radio stations learn about new businesses by listening to the radio. Meanwhile less than a third of TV viewers are learning about new businesses.

At WOWO radio, we are a news and talk radio station located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and we also have a special, unique and effective way for advertisers to build engagement with our audience that is the “secret sauce” of success that the previously mentioned advertising agency cannot buy from us. It’s Live Testimonial and Endorsement ads from our morning news host, Kayla and afternoon talk host Pat. There are all kinds of stipulations and requirements associated with them, ask me personally if you want to know more. Scott@WOWO.com is my email.

Next week, I’ll share more information from this study and point to a few more reasons all the advertising on WOWO is more effective than on typical music based radio stations.

In the meantime, reach out to me if you would to learn how we can help your business grow by inviting WOWO radio listeners to become your customers.

Radio is Back On The Road

by Scott Howard | Jul 28, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

It’s back.

Radio is back on the road.

In case you haven’t noticed this summer, a lot of us have been doing what we were discouraged from doing last summer.

Spring and Summer 2020 was the year of cancelled vacations, limited gatherings and working from home.

2021 has been much different. Forbes magazine proclaimed:

As The Country Opens Up, Radio Listening Is Returning To Pre-Pandemic Levels

And it’s true. Here’s more:

The pandemic forced millions to stay-at-home as businesses were temporarily closed, curtailing commuting hours. As working-remotely became a way of life, some office workers moved away from central cities to sparsely populated outer suburbs and second homes. These workers relied on Zoom calls, emails, chat rooms with more “personal time” to consume media.

I decided to ask my team about the way they have been doing meetings now and 90% of the meetings that they would have done in person in 2019 they are doing in person in 2021. What about the other 10%? Zoom meetings have created another option that they can used for meetings that is convenient in situations where time is a premium and distance would be challenging.

The Forbes article also addressed another issue that I’ve been hearing for years.

Even with the increase in web enhanced connected cars, the most popular source of audio infotainment in cars remains AM/FM radio. According to Edison Research in first quarter 2021, terrestrial radio accounted for 87% of all ad-supported in-car listening, followed by SiriusXM (6%), podcasts (5%), ad-supported Pandora (2%) and ad-supported Spotify (1%).

Our Federated Media radio stations, including mine, News/Talk WOWO have multiple methods for listeners to listen. WOWO can be heard on 1190am in the Indiana, Ohio and Michigan Tri-state area and if you are local to Fort Wayne, Indiana, you can also listen to WOWO at 107.5fm. Streaming online is another way WOWO listeners tune in, either on the WOWO App, or any of the other popular audio streaming apps, or by going to WOWO.com and click on the listen now button. There’s even a WOWO Skill for Alexa and our other Federated Media stations.

Yes, I’ve wandered off the subject of radio is back on the road. When you going wandering on the road this year, turn the radio on like nearly 90% of Americans are doing. And if you run a business and want to explore how to get these commuters to drive to your place, contact me, Scott@WOWO.com

Media or the Message

by Scott Howard | Jul 14, 2021 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

In the never-ending maze of online media, on-air media, outdoor media, direct mail, and print media, business owners often ask, “Which media work best?” or, “Which media platforms will give me the highest return on my investment?”

If you ask an honest and knowledgeable media person, they will tell you that the media isn’t necessarily the most important criteria when it comes to effective marketing. The truth is, there are no media that will not produce results, there are only messages that do not produce results.

The next time you hear about a hugely successful ad campaign, look at the message. I can guarantee you it was profound and something other than the norm. Seldom will it be the media, but rather the message, that created the results. Of course, the media must be scheduled appropriately, with the right combination of reach and frequency, but it is the relevance of the message that will make consumers respond to a campaign… on any media.

Former Katz Marketing Solutions President and one of America’s smartest marketing minds, Bob McCurdy says, “No medium is any more captivating or engaging than any other, as the effectiveness of any medium is largely determined by the quality of its commercial content. If the creative is weak and ineffective, the medium will be thought of as weak and ineffective”.

It’s understood that generating great creative is an art form but there’s some science behind it as well. McCurdy created 14 key creative insights derived from five years of Ipsos Research, spanning dozens of radio commercials and thousands of respondents.

Click here to receive McCurdy’s 14 Key Creative Insights to ensure that your marketing message achieves the results you desire.

What I just shared with you is from the Sound ADvice newsletter that I send out nearly every week, you can get it delivered free to your inbox by signing up in the box below.

I actually disagree with a couple of items that Bob McCurdy says, but that’s only because of the experiences that I’ve witnessed with advertising partners on my radio station WOWO, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Some forms of media can be superior to others and can overcome a mediocre message. Yes, I’m referring to WOWO with our news talk format, having local hosts and nearly a century on the air, WOWO has undergone tremendous changes over the decades but currently has the largest audience, by far of all 30 + radio stations according to the rating data I get each month. More important than those facts are the benefits I see every month of our listeners becoming customers of our advertising partners and the WOWO connection often cements the deal. Want more info? Contact me, Scott@@WOWO.com.