by Scott Howard | Sep 8, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
I saw this quote a few times this year,
If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.
And I’ve also heard people react to the way they are being tracked and targeted by “Big Data”.
Big Data is simply the information that is gathered about us electronically and organized online.
Some of it is very specific, other is general.
We have been voluntarily providing this information for years.
Your first email account perhaps was a hotmail, yahoo or aol email address. Or if you are younger, maybe gmail was and is your email service of choice.
These free email accounts were collecting information about me and you and that was just the beginning.
Facebook and every single social media platform is gathering data about you.
Your phone with its built in GPS, knows and tracks where you go.
When I got a new phone last year, I added some apps for gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and a few others to take advantage of “discounts”. You may have some on your phone too.
As the quote says, if you didn’t pay for any of these services, your data is what is being collected and sold to others.
We give our data freely. In return, we are targeted with ads and offers that are customized to what Big Data knows about us.
They even tell us when we absent-mindedly agree to the T.O.S. (Terms Of Service) agreements that we click on without reading when we sign up for the free stuff.
It’s not bad and it’s not good. Data collection is neutral. It’s like money. It can be used for good or evil.
In reality, none of us who do anything online can escape and we really don’t need to.
If you want to use this Big Data to locate and target your future customers, I can do that. 
My company has partnered with the best vendors to offer these online services, more than I can explain today. We call it Opt-In as part of the Federated Digital Solutions and radio divisions of our company. Contact me for details on how we can do this.
In the meantime remember,
If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.
and relax.
by Scott Howard | Aug 19, 2016 | ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
The time is now for local charities to apply to be a chosen organization that will receive funds from WOWO Radio’s annual Penny Pitch fundraiser that will take place this fall.
Click here to get the details on how to apply and do it A.S.A.P.
This will be my 4th year as a WOWO insider, seeing how it all works and it is amazing.
Penny Pitch began in 1948 as a way for listeners to give their spare change, pennies, to help those who needed help locally. Over the years it evolved to supporting local charities who would then use the generous donations for a specific need.
2013, my first year with WOWO listeners give over $87,000 to benefit Turnstone.
In 2014, $130,000 was raised and given to support Boomerang Backpacks.
2015 was another record year with over $141,000 donated by listeners and that amount was doubled by a local company to more than $280,000 that was divided among 4 organizations.
by Scott Howard | Aug 8, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Word of Mouth Advertising with a Bigger Mouth.
That’s the way I’ve described effective radio ads for decades that are taking advantage of the power of the influence of a radio station and the station personalities as a trust conduit.
On my station, WOWO radio in Fort Wayne, Charly and Pat do live endorsement ads for some of our advertising partners and it is very effective.
Why?
Charly and Pat have earned the trust of their listeners and when they speak highly of the companies they endorse, it simple becomes Word of Mouth Advertising with a Bigger Mouth.
That trust factor applies to our live embedded news sponsorship messages too because WOWO radio has been around longer than most of our listeners, (over 90 years and 20 as a news talk station.)
The trust factor between WOWO and our listeners actually goes beyond our listeners because of this same Word of Mouth influence.
If my friend who does not listen to WOWO asks me for a recommendation for fixing ______ or buying _________ and I’ve heard about a business that advertises on WOWO, I’m going to pass along that business even if I never used them myself because of the Word of Mouth Trust Factor.
This goes beyond any measurable Return On Investment that a business can keep track of. Your advertising with me on WOWO is an investment in results today and influence tomorrow.
Want to know more? Let’s talk.
by Scott Howard | Jul 26, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Another great article from Mediapost about the value of the Baby Boomer generation. The biggest demographic of listeners to my radio station, News/Talk 1190 WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana are the Baby Boomers.
Here’s some more information to help you understand WOWO Radio’s Baby Boomer Listeners:
…The fact is, adults aged 55 to 64 outspend the average consumer in nearly every category, every year, per the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, despite the fact that marketers obsess over the younger, Millennial segment. According to a 2015 survey by the AARP’s Influent50 in conjunction with ORC International, 40% of boomers agreed that companies aren’t adequately addressing what’s important to people their age…
Here’s additional highlights that apply to WOWO Radio listeners:
Boomers Value Comfortable Living
Today’s aging population aren’t leaving their lifelong homes for retirement communities; they’re leaving them for nicer homes. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate found that 57% of homeowners aged 49 to 67 planned to move out of their current home. Seventy percent of that group want their new home to be the best in which they have ever lived. They’re looking for new construction, amenities and communities in which they can pursue active lifestyles.
Boomers Prioritize Retaining their Youth
(Boomers) came of age with consumerism, and perhaps more than other age groups, have come to measure self-worth according to external factors. Much of the demographic’s … spending is on products that will help them maintain their youth and energy.
Cosmetics, exercise equipment, vitamins and diet soda are all products in high demand by boomers. Still, when you think of how those products are marketed, the boomer target doesn’t immediately come to mind. For products that do consider boomers in their marketing plans, many do so based on inaccurate stereotypes — a mistake that can backfire, driving customers away from your product to one that doesn’t seem to condescend.
While Nielsen has referred to boomers as “The Most Valuable Generation for Marketers,” holding 70% of the disposable income in the U.S., only 10% of marketing dollars are devoted to reaching the segment.
What we have found at WOWO Radio that if we invite our Baby Boomer listeners to do business with local businesses that have what Boomers want, everyone wins. As a member of this generation, I know that my wife and I are spending money on 8 (soon to be 9) grandkids, doing home improvements on the house we bought 2 years ago, buying cars, electronics, dining out, vacationing regularly, taking up new hobbies and enjoying life.
Want to invite some Baby Boomers to spend their money with your business? Talk to me.
by Scott Howard | Jul 22, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
All of us are biased in our thoughts, opinions and actions. The word bias is not a polite way of saying prejudiced. I’m using it to share with you my professional biases relating to advertising.
As an advertising and marketing professional I have preferences of certain media and marketing platforms. Anyone and everyone who sells stuff is biased but some won’t admit it.
from http://bit.ly/29MOua4
I used to offer an unbiased opinion, but that’s word-play. Any opinion is based on someones bias, right?
Instead I offer an objective opinion based on my bias.
What is my bias?
It leans toward the marketing solutions I sell, advertising on and with WOWO Radio and some of the Digital Solutions I offer too.
This is important:
I had these biases before I worked for this company, because I had personal experience with them. I also decided to work for this company because of my biases.
I’ve been in radio since I was 16 and I saw the power of radio personalities when I was one myself for 10 years.
When I was 26 a couple of things happened:
- I was bored with music radio and started listening to news and talk shows when I was working in Detroit. I’ve been a news/talk radio listener ever since.
- I also started learning the dynamics of human relationship oriented advertising and how easy it was for businesses to be successful on the radio if these principles are followed.
Fast forward 20 years and I was discovering the dynamics of the web as a two-way communication tool with social media. I was advising my radio clients the benefits of content marketing and sharing my own personal success stories.
Now I have success stories to both traditional media with news/talk 1190 WOWO radio and using some of the Federated Media Digital Solutions my company offers. It’s due to both my personal habits and professional successes working with advertising partners that I am biased. I believe in what I offer because I know it works.
Here’s how I also offer an objective opinion. I study and learn about the other options you have to advertise and market your services and products. I spent several years on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation and more recently I have cultivated relationships with others that sell other advertising media to be able to make recommendations beyond what I can offer.
Here’s a homework assignment for you the next time someone wants to sell you something…
Ask them why they are biased towards the product/service they want you to buy. Do they have a good reason for that bias or is it just a paycheck?
by Scott Howard | Jul 7, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
At WOWO Radio, I sell advertising. Wait, I really help businesses solve their Key Marketing Challenges.
Sometimes that includes ads on WOWO, sometimes that includes using our Federated Digital Solutions and sometime it’s both.
I’m about to show you data from Google Analytics from 3 of my advertising partners.
This business started with embedded live news sponsorship ads, 10 seconds long on WOWO in 2015. In March 2016 we added Custom Audience Targeting and a SEM/PPC campaign from Federated Digital Solutions.
The first source is people directly typing in the business URL, which we have been saying on WOWO 15 times a week for nearly 60 weeks. Number two on the list are the C.A.T. Display ads from Federated Digital Solutions. #4 and #5 are the SEM/PPC digital ads we are doing. (7, 9 & 10 are spam.)
Let’s look at another local business.
This business started on WOWO Radio with Live Endorsement ads in 2015 that include both their phone number and web address. They are an established name with over 60 years in business. In February 2016 we added Custom Audience Targeting and on June 4th took over their SEM/PPC campaign.
Again the results from our Federated Digital Solution campaigns are amazing. #1 on the list is the C.A.T Digital Display ads. #5 is the results from 3 weeks of our managing their SEM/PPC compared to #6 which are the results from 5 months of SEM managed by their old vendor.
One more to share today…
This is a local manufacturing company that sells wholesale. Their very specialized market is worldwide. We are only using a Custom Audience Targeting Digital Display Ad campaign that covers the entire U.S.A. No WOWO radio ads.
This is the results after 6 weeks. Once again Custom Audience Targeting Display Ads, (#1 on the list) is driving traffic to their website which was our goal. We’ve looked at the details of who the people are that are seeing and clicking on their display ads and we are on track to help them make a lot of money.
Questions? Ask me.
My company has partnered with the best vendors to offer these online services, more than I can explain today. We call it Opt-In as part of the Federated Digital Solutions and radio divisions of our company. Contact me for details on how we can do this.
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