Radio and the Internet: A Powerful Team Effort for Advertisers

Strong evidence supports the benefits of combined Radio and Internet advertising. Ongoing research conducted by the Radio Lab Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) explores how Radio advertising affects consumers differently than other forms of marketing. Currently, a research paper titled “Radio and the Internet: Powerful Complements for Advertisers” includes a new Internet-based experiment conducted by Harris Interactive for RAEL.

Some conclusions of the study support that Radio and the Internet have unique reach patterns that work powerfully together:

• Both Radio and the Internet appeal to advertisers because of their targeting capabilities
• Both Radio and the Internet reach light users of other media
• On a daily basis, Radio and the Internet reach about 83 percent of the 18-54 population, nearly that of television's daily reach
• Radio is often used simultaneously with the Internet, with up to a third of Internet usage being accompanied by Radio listening during some times of the day
• Radio can be used effectively to drive traffic to websites

The Harris Interactive Study confirms that people exposed to both Radio and website ads are impacted more strongly that those exposed to website ads alone. Unaided recall for the mix of one Internet and one Radio exposure for sampled advertisers was four and a half times as high as the unaided recall for two Internet ads alone. The mix of one Radio and one Internet exposure had more than twice the aided recall of two Internet ads. Additionally, a mix of Radio and Internet exposures demonstrated clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds, when the Radio ads themselves are impactful.

The results are clear. Radio and the Internet can be powerful advertising complements. Whether the goal is to reach more people, or to reach them with greater impact, this particular combination of media seems to be a partnership that's worthy of more consideration. For more information visit the RAEL website at www.RadioAdLab.org.

San Diego Radio Revenue Strong and Steady

San Diego Radio revenue growth has maintained consistency in a rapidly changing media economy, finishing 2006 with a 1% increase over 2005 total revenue. Total Radio revenue in San Diego was $198,807,000 with twenty-four local stations reporting. The San Diego rate of growth reflected the industry average of 1%, as reported by the Radio Advertising Bureau.

According to the Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co. San Diego Media Market X-Ray Report, total media spending was down in the San Diego market 3.2% from 2005. The report covers spending in Radio, English language broadcast television and the Union Tribune and North County Times. Television and newspaper spending estimates are provided to Miller Kaplan by Competitive Media Reporting.

With both Radio and television showing slight increases in revenue over last year, the market decrease in total media spending appears due to a 14.2% drop in newspaper spending. Most noteworthy is the decline in the automotive category, with spending in newspaper ads dropping 35% from the previous year.

The largest revenue gains in Radio were in national advertising which increased 5.5% and network and non-spot revenue which was up 20.5%.

The leading growth categories for Radio advertising were as follows:

Political +310.5%

Real Estate + 92.5%

Jewelers +29.8%

Drug Stores/Pharmaceuticals +28.8

Professional Services +25.4%

Department Stores +19.8%

Home Improvement +19.5%

Charitable/Religious/Non-profit/Govt Agency + 15.2%

Home Furnishings +11.8%

Health Care +9.8%

Sporting Events/Shows/Golf Courses +9.0%

Insurance Companies +8.2%

Census Update... We’re Spending More Time with Media

According to the newly released U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007, adults and teens will spend almost two hours more each week with media than they did five years ago. The average person will spend 3,518 hours (nearly 5 months) in 2007 using media…listening to the radio, watching television, surfing the internet and reading.

The report forecasts that adults and teens will spend time with various media in 2007 as follows:

• 41 days listening to Radio
• 37 days watching cable or satellite television
• 28 days tuning in to broadcast television
• 8 days on the internet
• One week reading the newspaper
• Another week listening to recorded music
• 5 days reading magazines
• 4 days enjoying home videos
• 4 days playing videogames

In addition, the report noted that 90.3% of persons with household incomes of $100,000 or more listen to Radio each week while 86.9% of those who graduated college listen weekly. The average number of Radio sets per household has increased to 8.0 per home from an average of 5.6 in 2002.

San Diego Radio Supports SAFE

Close to six hundred members of the San Diego advertising community gathered on Thursday night, March 8th, to raise money for SAFE, the San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies. The event, held at On Broadway in downtown San Diego, generated close to $55,000 for the organization which helps people in the advertising industry in times of life crisis. The 2007 party, Schmoozapalooza, was chaired by Sandi Banister of San Diego's CW and Maureen Sweeney of Sweeney Media Marketing; Bev Oster of Oster & Associates is the current president. The San Diego New Car Dealers Association continued their support this year as the title sponsor of the event. The San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association was one of the founding donors and continues its support of SAFE as a major contributor each year. In addition, many of San Diego's radio companies are annual sponsors of SAFE's major fundraiser with station staffers attending in full force.

"Don't Touch that Dial"

Turns out to be one of the most effective requests in broadcast history!

Radio holds more than 92 percent of lead-in audience during an average commercial break. This information, according to a new study from Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman, defies industry perception that listeners tune away from radio commercials in large numbers. These findings present a remarkably different picture than has been portrayed by the advertiser/agency industry and even radio broadcasters about the impact of commercials on the radio audience.

In a web poll conducted by Arbitron and Coleman designed to get an informal sense of perception, people identifying themselves as members of the advertiser/agency industry (200 responses) said that, on average, the size of the audience in the middle of a radio commercial break is only 63 percent of the size of the Audience one minute prior to the start of the break. On average, respondents identifying themselves as members of the radio industry (324 responses) believe radio holds only 68 percent of the audience during commercial breaks.

How wrong can you be?

Radio audience estimates analyzed from Arbitron's Portable People Meter and commercial occurrence data from Media Monitors indicate that the lowest rated minute during an average commercial break is 92 percent of the size of the audience before the spot began. Radio audience levels do not drop significantly between the third, fourth, fifth and sixth minutes of a commercial break. This study shows that the long-held perception that listeners tune away from commercials in large numbers is simply not true. "Radio does a remarkable job of holding its audience through commercial breaks," said Bill Rose, senior president, Marketing, Arbitron Inc. "Radio's ability to hold on to over 92 percent of its lead-in audience during commercial breaks in morning drive suggests greater listener engagement while people are starting their day and reinforces the value of advertising during radio's prime-time."

The three companies analyzed 93,876 radio commercial breaks from November and December 2005 in Houston, Texas, comparing the radio audience for the minute prior to the start of the commercial breaks (the lead-in audience) to the audience for each subsequent minute during the break.

These findings about radio's ability to maintain audience during commercial breaks are in sync with those contained in "Spot Load Study 2005," which Arbitron completed with Edison Media Research. That study found that Americans overwhelmingly felt that commercials were a fair price to pay for free radio programming.

Rancho Corona Restaurant Succeeds With Radio

Food, fun... fiesta!

Rancho Corona, a Mexican Restaurant in Old Town, San Diego, is a recipient of this year's EAR Award. The restaurant business is renowned for competition! Consider seasonal patronage and tourism and you know that an advertising edge is certainly an advantage. Rancho Corona Restaurant, a two-year old business, in conjunction with Univision Radio, designed a marketing plan to capitalize on new ideas and to maximize exposure and consistency within the Hispanic community. Their clientele, due largely to location, was historically based solely on San Diego tourism in the area. Their goal was to increase their restaurant business during the traditionally slower times of the year and reach out to a local Hispanic clientele.

An efficient campaign featuring Spanish spoken copy and a direct invitation to the local Hispanic community, was put into place utilizing only Spanish language radio stations. The copy stressed family ownership, a true "mom & pop" establishment, as well as the homemade, authentic Mexican entrees...personally cooked and prepared by the owners!

The marketing result was a consistent and measurable increase in restaurant traffic. Rancho Corona saw an increase in large party reservations and walk-in clientele. The Hispanic community patronage increased markedly. The usual ebb and flow of their business was replaced with steady growth and volume intensity within the marketplace. Account Executive, Teresa Buswell, explained, "This hard working family risked everything to make Rancho Corona Restaurant a success. We partnered with them to ensure that the right message got out to the right audience... and it worked!"

Del Mar Heritage Uses Radio to Target First-Time Home Buyers

The right message... the right sale.

Del Mar Heritage, a condo development in Escondido, set out to establish a unique identity and market within the increasingly competitive home/condo industry. Their Agency, Ad Ease, strategized to build awareness and traffic, using radio in addition to the traditional print media.

The campaign objective was to drive "start up" families to the development, with the ultimate focus on increasing their current traffic by 20%. Their ultimate goal was to ensure traffic was qualified. Established credit, consistent employment records and financial references make the purchase transaction efficient and successful. The campaign's success was measured by an overall increase in traffic of 25%... surpassing their goal. The success was all the more sweet as new closings reflected a measurable increase in qualified buyers 25-44 years of age. First time buyers can be a mixed bag of audience profiles. The objective of the campaign was to focus on the unique, distinctive quality of Canyon Pointe Del Mar Heritage.

The commercial spot featured a youthful sounding couple expressing an interest in quality housing, with an emphasis on the condo pricing of $200,000 and up... a great demo for first time buyers! A definite attention grabber featured in the spot, was the complimentary 2005 Mossy Nissan Xterra car with purchase of a condo! Account executive Rae Anne Deakins elaborated, "We focused on the right combination of media and maximized media references in our radio copy. For example, our radio referred to our ad mobile and mall advertising."

The client expressed confidence in the radio buy, due to the measurable increase in foot traffic, generating qualified buyers. They felt this translated into a great investment.

The agency used a preponderance of radio with a four station buy and traffic sponsorships for the campaign; they also utilized direct mail, in-store POP, in-car dealership print, ad mobile and mall advertising as supplemental and reference materials.

What's Black & White and Read "Less" All Over?

Newspaper circulation falls sharply

ccording to recently released information, the circulation of the nation's daily newspapers has dropped significantly during the last reporting period. This slide represents the sharpest decline in recent history and stirs debate regarding the question of changing media habits. The consistent down trend of newspaper circulation continues a decades-long decline and impacts even further, an industry struggling with layoffs, alternative media choices and facing the potential sale of some flagships. The steady migration of readers and advertisers to the Internet and audience-specific marketing creates a challenging future for the industry.

According to a story in the New York Times, over a six-month period of time ending Sept. 30, average daily circulation dropped 2.8 percent compared with last year. This, according to an industry report of data released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations called FAS-FAX. Locally, the San Diego Union-Tribune lost 3.2% of its circulation. Across the country average circulation for Sunday papers fell by 3.4 percent. By comparison, the San Diego Union Tribune lost 6.3% of its subscribers. As of Sept. 30, total circulation for the nation's dailies had dropped to 43.7 million. Daily circulation peaked in 1984, at 63.3 million.

Tuned In... But, Tuned OUT?

According to a newly released Media Post study, TV commercial avoidance has underestimated and overlooked culprit... talking! Madison Avenue and research moguls tend to focus on the impact of remote controls and DVR's, but new research indicates that TV viewers are distracted by and oblivious of commercials because of their need to chat. This is the result of a study observing how people divide their attention while watching prime time TV.

The study, dubbed "Remotely Interested," which was presented during MEDIA magazine's Forecast '07 conference in New York, found that the biggest single factor detracting viewer's attention from TV commercials is "people talking to people." According to the research, people are talking 21.9 percent of the time they are watching TV commercials.

The second biggest detractor is "paying attention to other media," which the study found happens 18.3 percent of the time commercials are being aired. Other factors included: changing channels (6.7 percent of the time), muting the TV volume (4.3 percent), using electronic programming guides (4.1 percent) and leaving the room (2.5 percent).

We Continue Finding "New" Music on Terrestrial Radio

According to a new Bridge Ratings study of music consumers, most 12-54 year olds continue to listen to terrestrial radio for new music and innovation. 45 percent of the 2500 persons sampled mentioned terrestrial radio as their preferred destination for discovering new music over Internet radio and peer-to-peer sharing networks. This is well above the percentage of those who cited P2Ps and Internet radio stations. Satellite radio is not perceived or used as a new music discovery destination, based on the findings from this study which interviewed consumers across the U.S.

Among 35-54s, traditional radio was the primary place for exposure to new music for 61 percent of respondents, with traditional retailers at 21 percent and Internet radio at 11 percent.

"Internet radio did not show as well as we might have expected," explained Bridge Ratings president Dave Van Dyke. "Overall, only 13 percent of the sample used Internet radio this way. Among all age groups, 18-34 year olds used Internet radio more often for new music discovery – but less than 1 in 5 do so."

"This study," he concluded, "represents further proof that terrestrial radio stations should continue to be proactive in exposing and identifying new music.

Bridge Ratings used a phone-based, random digit dialing methodology for this study. Participants were active new music consumers who sought new music releases.

Lloyd Pest Control Beats the Bugs AND the Competition with the Power of Radio!

The San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association awarded Lloyd Pest Control and Bert Berdis & Company the prestigious EAR (Effective Advertising on Radio Award), for excellent and effective utilization of the medium.

The Lloyd Pest Control Company had established a reputable, successful image in the San Diego marketplace over its 74 year history, but felt room for revitalization and improvement. In evaluating their market and growth potential, they enlisted the assistance of Bert Berdis & Co., to help them reach the next level of performance and profit. Their maintenance service contracts to residential customers had fallen significantly over the last 6 years. Anxious to regain top-of-mind awareness, the Berdis marketing plan immediately adjusted their media usage to focus on radio, a media component lacking in Lloyd's advertising for the last several years.

The radio campaign, centered around the mnemonic phone number 800-Bad-Bugs, targeted homeowners, aged 40+, household income $85K+, skewing toward females. The goal was to increase the number of residential quarterly maintenance service customers by 10%. A secondary goal was to increase the number of termite inspections conducted by the company.

The result of the 2-month campaign was a hearty increase of 23%, a nearly half-million dollars in new revenue! Termite inspections increased by 21%. Lloyd Pest Control's PR opportunities increased dramatically as well, with nine local broadcast news appearances by the CEO and company staff biologist and "jailed bug" characters referenced in local newspapers, Pest Control magazine and other publications.

Radio worked for Lloyd Pest Control. The company tracks source data with each new customer. Radio leads accounted for nearly 35% of new customer calls. Even when customers called in to redeem direct mail coupons, they often cited "I heard your commercials," or "I love the radio commercials with the bad bugs." Lloyd's marketing director, James Spring says, "Lloyd Pest Control, now in our 75th year, is climbing back to the top of the ant hill and radio is the vehicle that's driving us!"

The Haunted Hotel Creates Unique Market Position with "Screaming" Results…

Radio Advertising Made the Difference

The Haunted Hotel's "Scream Zone" Halloween attraction was heard loud and clear above the competition last fall, thanks to the expertise of San Diego ad agency Suncoast Marketing. Their radio intensive media buy resulted in a 2006 EAR (Effective Advertising on Radio) Award and extremely successful, measurable results.

The San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association recently acknowledged the Scream Zone campaign for creating and exploiting a unique market position, which resulted in huge financial results for the company. The winning strategy focused on Scream Zone, located at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, as the only "family oriented" haunted house. The seasonal deluge of haunted house attractions created a highly competitive media environment. Suncoast Marketing determined to target 25-54 consumers with families, focus on the family friendly appropriateness of Scream Zone and its location and concentrate on radio to drive the campaign. To this end, radio was employed as the primary advertising tool, accounting for nearly 90% of the total 2005 budget. The success depended on the effectiveness of radio.

The specific goal of the radio campaign was to generate a substantial increase in admissions from one year to the next. Scream Zone goals were exceeded due to a heavy and continuous four week radio blitz, which replaced a prior year campaign that comprised of equal amounts of radio, TV and print advertising. Because of the extremely successful radio campaign heard on eight San Diego radio stations, Scream Zone's growth was 43% higher, year to date. That, of course, resulted in a huge revenue increase for the attraction. Scream Zone is now the highest grossing Halloween attraction in San Diego.

DVR Users Create Conundrum for TV Advertisers

With advertiser oblivion merely a "click" away, a new creative challenge faces TV advertisers and their buying strategies. DVR technology and usage is relatively new, thus, the research is difficult to measure. More than 4.4 million households have TIVO subscriptions. Together with cable DVRs, 13 percent of households have the technology, according to Forrester Research, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Remote controls have always made it easy to skip ads; now some studies show more than 50 percent of DVR users are in the habit of doing so.

The controversy begins with questions regarding the increase or lack of TV viewing in DVR homes. According to a new client advisory from Nielsen, adults with DVRs in the home actually watch more TV. They boast a 29 percent increase over non-DVR users. In contrast, a Mediamark Research study shows that adults in DVR households tend to watch less TV than non DVR households and are 23 percent less likely to be heavy TV viewers. This has made it tricky for networks and advertisers to figure out how to price ads without reliable statistics to tell them how many people are watching programming vs. the advertising.

What's a TV advertiser to do? Neilsen and TIVO have teamed up to offer a new service measuring second-by-second viewing behavior, including advertisements, which will be certain to introduce a new element into the media buying negotiation process. Other advertisers are considering DVR ready ads.

As more households have DVRs, TV commercials as we know them may become obsolete, say some analysts. TV ad models might become more like Internet ads, where advertisers pay per clicks. It will be interesting to "watch" the future of TV advertising unfold. In the meantime, continue to "listen" to radio, where the ad results are measurable.

San Diego Maintains Top Spot for Jobs in Research & Development

San Diego has maintained top dog status in R&D jobs and manufacturing for decades. A report on California's tech industry underscores the region's strength in manufacturing as well. According to the San Diego Business Journal, the report, "California Cybercities 2006," prepared by the AeA (formerly the American Electronics Assoc.), reveals the county had 25,200 jobs within the research and development and testing labs sector alone. This placed San Diego ahead of second place San Francisco, which had 22,800 similar jobs.

San Diego's high-tech industry employed nearly 100,000 people, or 10 percent of our total private-sector employment, according to the survey. The report counted San Diego's high tech work force at 99,900 during 2004. These employees earned an average of $85,200 annually. That pay schedule was more than double what private-sector workers here earned annually and ranked the area as the fourth highest in the state.

A Revolution in Sound...

HD Digital Radio

The most significant advancement in radio broadcasting since the introduction of FM stereo, HD Digital Radio, is here. In the works for more than a decade, HD Digital radio has a revolutionary clarity of sound and will soon make possible unprecedented freedom of program choice. And get this - it's local and free.

HD Radio technology enables radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally, which is a tremendous technological leap from the analog broadcasts we've known for so long. HD Digital radio receivers are designed to give crystal clear reception, reducing the static, hiss, pops and fades sometimes heard with analog. FM stations that offer HD Radio will sound better than compact discs; AM stations heard on an HD Radio will have a sound quality equivalent to FM stations.

Instead of sending out one analog signal, the stations will send out a bundled signal, both analog and digital. Because it is compressed, the digital signal can carry more information. It will allow stations to multicast, or divide their dial position into two to four channels. Stations will be able to broadcast new or hybrid versions of their existing formats on HD2 multi-cast channels. The signal also carries additional textual data such as song titles and artist names, or traffic and stock reports.

In order to listen to the new side channels, consumers will need to purchase an HD Radio receiver that is equipped to receive the multicasts. However, unlike satellite radio, once the equipment is in place, there are no subscription fees. Again, HD Radio is free.

Earlier this year, major radio companies forged the HD Digital Radio Alliance. The group is committed to accelerating the successful rollout of HD digital radio and is supporting the introduction of the new technology with a $200 million on-air advertising campaign. For more information on where HD2 side channels are operating and links where HD Radio receivers can be purchased, visit www.HDRadio.com.

Radio Remains Best Vehicle to Reach Commuters

Traffic congestion continues to grow across America, and San Diego is no exception. Personal transportation has transformed dramatically in the last forty years, reflecting cultural shifts as well as changes in family structure and the make-up of the working population. Tremendous increases in private vehicle use and vehicle availability have occurred all over the country. The 2000 census revealed that 17.5% of San Diego households have 3+ cars, with at least 40% having 2 per household.

Growth in non-work travel has changed the landscape of peak traffic periods, a trend that is expected to continue. A burgeoning population relying on cars for work, recreation, entertainment and daily errands, combined with diminishing highway funds, translates to congested freeways during morning and evening commutes, and heavy traffic all day long on most major arteries. San Diego's fabulous weather gives residents the opportunity to be active and mobile all year long, and many take advantage of that fact.

Approximately 87% of all San Diegans commute to work in a car and it's taking them longer to get there. While San Diego has spent millions of dollars improving and expanding its mass transportation systems, including the San Diego Trolley and the high speed rail "Coaster", there are still many more miles that San Diegans must navigate each day in their cars. A 2005 study published by the Texas Transportation Institute says that San Diegans have had the sixth largest increase in hours of traffic delay among all cities in the country over the last twenty years. The average traveler in San Diego spent 51 hours sitting in traffic in 2003.

Added to the jams created by local residents, is the large number of workers commuting to San Diego County from outlying regions of Orange and Riverside County and across the border. These commuters, spending an even greater portion of their day driving than do San Diego County residents, have even less time to read newspapers or watch television. What better way to reach the additional daytime population than with radio?

And while "waiting in traffic" can be considered a frustration for motorists, it makes Radio advertising the most reliable way to reach San Diegans. That's where advertisers can find "captive" consumers who tune in for music, news, sports, and a connection with their favorite on-air personalities. As the average San Diego adult listens to the radio three hours daily, radio is the medium most likely to reach them just before they make purchasing decisions.

SDRBA Radio Spots Win Awards

The San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association was recently honored with four awards for excellence in advertising by the San Diego Advertising Club. The SDRBA received awards for three radio spots, "Music," "Big Voice" and "Sound Effects," as well as another award for its overall campaign that promoted radio as an advertising medium. The spots and campaign were coordinated by the MeadsDurket advertising agency. Creative Show Awards, called an Addy, were presented in three different categories -- Gold (1st place), Silver (2nd place) and Bronze (3rd place). The "Music" spot earned a Gold, the "Big Voice" a Silver and the "Sound Effects" a bronze, while the overall campaign garnered a Silver. SDRBA's Addys were among 62 awards presented to 17 different advertising and marketing companies at the Ad Club's 2006 San Diego Creative Show awards program, held Friday, March 3 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego's Balboa Park. The award-winning commercials can be heard on the SDRBA website.

How Will Fido Fetch It?

According to a report by Outsell Inc., a research and advisory firm to the information industry, over the next ten years newspapers will become primarily online products. That (tantalizing bit of) information appeared in a story in the Media Daily News, which also included the conclusions of Ken Doctor, a lead analyst with the firm. He discussed data from a recent survey of publishers and consumers, indicating that different publishers will move in the online direction at varying paces over the next decade.

Demographic shifts are leading to dramatic changes in readership; another conclusion of the Outsell survey. The firm's data revealed that the average daily newspaper reader is 55 years old, with the strongest preference for the printed format at 50-plus; the strongest preference for the online editions is adults aged 25-34.

Paid circulation continues to decline around the country due to changing media consumption habits and the rise of the internet as an alternative and competing source for information, most particularly among young readers. The Audit Bureau of Circulation reported last fall that average daily circulation for U.S. newspapers fell 2.6% for the six months ending last September 30th, from the same period a year earlier. Circulation for the weekday issue of San Diego Union Tribune fell 4.9% during that same period.

Industry experts such as Doctor have called the pending industry shakeout a "classic business disruption," although today, in spite of declining circulation, newspapers are still very profitable businesses. In Radio Sales Today, it was reported last month that public-traded U.S. newspaper publishers reported an operating profit of 19.2% in 2005, a figure more than double the average operating-profit margin of Fortune 500 companies but down from a 21% margin 2004. That's according to independent newspaper industry analyst John Morton.

As many cities have only one major daily, newspapers have traditionally commanded a large percentage of retail advertising dollars with little competition. However, a recent Merrill Lynch analysis noted that newspaper auto ad revenue declined 10% in 2005. Department store chains have long been big newspaper advertisers, but are consolidating and cutting newspaper ad spending.

As consumer media consumption continues to shift away from newspaper towards other media, newspaper ad revenues will likely continue to suffer. Advertisers will continue to move advertising dollars to other platforms that more accurately reflect where consumers spend their time.

SDRBA Radio Spots Win Awards

The San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association was recently honored with four awards for excellence in advertising by the San Diego Advertising Club. The SDRBA received awards for three radio spots, "Music," "Big Voice" and "Sound Effects," as well as another award for its overall campaign that promoted radio as an advertising medium. The spots and campaign were coordinated by the MeadsDurket advertising agency. Creative Show Awards, called an Addy, were presented in three different categories -- Gold (1st place), Silver (2nd place) and Bronze (3rd place). The "Music" spot earned a Gold, the "Big Voice" a Silver and the "Sound Effects" a bronze, while the overall campaign garnered a Silver. SDRBA's Addys were among 62 awards presented to 17 different advertising and marketing companies at the Ad Club's 2006 San Diego Creative Show awards program, held Friday, March 3 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego's Balboa Park. The award-winning commercials can be heard on the SDRBA website.

Over $14 Million in New Advertisers in 2005

San Diego radio stations attracted new radio advertisers in 2005, posting an increase of 15% in new business over 2004. New radio advertisers in San Diego in 2005 included Sempra Energy, FedEx, Applebee's, AMPM Mini Markets, Expedia.com, and Health Net. New advertisers are newcomers or returnees after more than a year's absence from the medium. Advertiser spending is reported in the San Diego Media Market XRay Report, published by Miller Kaplan Arase and Company.

Library Ads Win Kudos

In November, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors honored the County Library and two of its volunteers, Jane Asher of Jefferson Pilot and Ricardo Otero of Univision Radio. The two well known local radio personalities volunteered their voices for the San Diego County Library in a radio advertising initiative that started in April 2005.

During its annual conference in November, the California Library Association recognized the radio campaign with a prestigious "PR Excellence Award," a competition that showcases innovative PR programs for other libraries to emulate. The radio campaign was coordinated by the SDRBA as one of its annual Spot Bank campaigns available to non-profits and government agencies.

San Diego Radio Revenue Remains Steady after Record-Setting 2005

National spot revenue is up 4.9% through June over the same period last year, while local spot revenue is down 2.5%. The network and non-traditional revenue category is up 3.7%, with total revenue year-to-date flat for the first half of the year. Total revenue through June for all three categories reached $96,370,000.

San Diego radio revenue has enjoyed three straight years of incredible growth, hitting a new revenue high of $200,163,000 in 2004. The first half of the year consistently accounts for 48% of total annual radio revenue in San Diego. If 2005 is similar to historical patterns, the market should hit over 200 million in radio revenue again this year.

The accounting firm Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co. compiles radio revenue information for San Diego and other markets around the country as well as the San Diego Media Market X-Ray Report, which details media spending in various industry categories.

According to the X-Ray Report, radio spending in the largest category, automotive, is up 6.5% through June. The biggest decrease in spending for the first half of the year occurred in the communications/cellular/public utilities category, the third largest, which is down 28.6%. Leading growth categories among the top twenty include sporting events/shows/exhibits (up 18%), foods (up 16.6%), and specialty retail (up 11.3%).

Radio Strong Despite New Media’s Growth

According to a recent study released by Paragon Media Strategies on the effects of new media on broadcast radio listening, Radio is still strong, despite new media's growth. Although a majority of Americans have listened to an internet radio station, one third have created their own CDs, and one in five own an MP3 player, only 3% of Americans NEVER listen to broadcast radio.

Radio stations are "the #1 primary source for listening to music" as indicated by 51% of the study's respondents, above purchased CDs, television, personalized CDs, music downloads, satellite radio and internet radio stations. When asked which media is the primary source for learning about new music, 48% of the participants again chose radio as the #1 response, beating out word of mouth (20%), television (18%), internet radio stations (4%), retail music stores and satellite radio among other choices.

Additionally, the study showed that 74% of MP3 player users listen to broadcast radio the same amount while 3% indicated they use it more. 59% of internet radio users listen to broadcast radio the same amount while 17% indicated they use it more.

The study included 400 participants between the ages of 15 and 64 and was completed in July 2005. Paragon Media Strategies is a research and consulting firm specializing in traditional media, emerging media, and entertainment.

First Cannes Radio Lions Recognize "Real Men of Genius" Campaign

This past June, in the first year the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival added radio as a new award category, Chicago agency DDB Worldwide won a Grand Prix. The ultimate prize given at the festival was awarded for eleven spots in the long-running "Real Men of Genius" campaign by Anheuser-Busch.

"Radio is an increasingly important part of the media mix and it is appropriate and logical that Cannes recognizes creative excellence in the area," commented Terry Savage, Festival CEO.

The Grand Prix are awarded to the best of the Gold Lions, and according to Radio Jury President Malcolm Poynton, executive creative director of Ogilvy & Mather, London, the jury felt all eleven spots were worthy of gold. The long running campaign celebrates "geniuses", such as the sports heckler and the cargo pants designer.

"Having this category in Cannes will draw attention to radio and, I hope, will result in more and better work," he added.

To listen to all the winning radio commercials, visit http://www.canneslions.com/winners/radio/

Newspaper Readership Continues Decline

Recently gathered numbers for U.S. newspaper circulation show that the oldest mass medium continues its decline. According to information recently released by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, and analyzed by the Newspaper Association of America, overall circulation for U.S. newspapers continued to fall in the six month period ending March 31, 2005, with a 1.9 percent decline. That translates to daily newspaper readership from 48.3 million to 47.3 million. The data shows a decline of 2.5% for Sunday circulation, with readership slipping from 52.4 million to 51.1 million for the same sixth month period.

Though industry analysts are debating whether it’s truly fewer people reading the paper, or simply more accurate reporting of readership numbers since the 2004 circulation scandals, even the vice-president of readership integration for the Newspaper Association of America admits, “As media habits change and lifestyles change, there is acknowledgement that the traditional newspaper product is not enough in this day and age.”

Newspapers’ Classifieds Ads Taking a Hit

To make matters worse for the print medium, executives from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company recently reported that newspapers could lose up to $4-billion of “highly profitable” classified revenue by 2007. That number represents 20 percent of the 2004 classifieds revenue for newspapers. Apparently on-line sites are causing the most damage to what was once newspapers’ near monopoly on classified listings. The McKinsey analysis says that in 2003, help-wanted classifieds were off 50 percent from levels projected before the internet became the force that it is. The greatest damage, though, say the executives, is that competitors are “destroying” the pricing that newspapers once commanded, with the internet capturing most new growth.

TV Ad Skipping Taking a Toll

If what experts say is true, the television industry should expect ad revenue losses over the next five years totaling $27-billion. The projection, reported in an article on AdAge.com, was made by Accenture, a New York based management and technology consultancy which finds that with digital video recorders, 70 percent of TV ads are already being skipped by viewers who own them. AdAge.com believes the news suggests that the impact of DVRs, video on demand and interactive TV is far more detrimental on the linear TV business than anyone ever thought it would be. Accenture expects the trend will only get worse as the number of households that have the DVRs increases from 8 percent to 40 percent by 2009. Accenture’s research suggests that the changes in viewing behavior will put negative pressure on CPMs (costs-per-thousand viewers) and will result in television stations getting less money for their air time.

Two-Income Families Choose Radio

It’s radio, the Internet and outdoor that residents in the country’s more affluent, two-income homes choose as their favorite media – the only media that indexed more than 100 in a recent survey conducted by The Media Audit. (An index of 100 is an average of all adults in the markets surveyed.) According to the survey of 80+ metro markets, the number of two-income households has stayed steady at 35.5 million since 2000, but a higher percentage is now affluent. Homes with incomes of $50,000 or more increased from 64.8 percent to 68.4 percent while two-income families with annual incomes of $75,000 or more increased from 38.6 percent to 44.1 percent since 2000.

The study also says that the heads of those households relying on radio are much better educated than the general population. Nearly half – 46 percent - have one or more college degrees. In the two-income households without children, the percentage is even greater – 49.6 percent. Bob Jordan, the president of International Demographics, Inc., the firm that produces The Media Audit, says that the media habits of the country’s two-income households are continuously evolving…what one might expect from busy people with disposable income.

Radio a Mainstay Medium

It’s Radio’s unique qualities that give it a distinct advantage in reaching consumers. That’s one important finding of a recent study by RADAR, radio network and national audience measurements service of Arbitron Inc. According to the latest total listening estimates, over the course of a week, Radio reaches more than 228-million people – or 94% of all people age 12 and over. Listening is also significantly high on the weekends, with 75% of all persons 12+ tuning in on Saturday and Sunday.

The study shows that radio continues to be the “go anywhere” medium, reaching people where other media cannot, with 82 percent of all 18+ year olds listening to Radio while in their cars, and 25 percent listening at work.

According to the survey, Radio is also unique in its capacity to provide a different format for virtually every age (12 and above) and taste, giving it the widest demographic appeal of all media. The report says Radio reaches 95% of college graduates, a whopping 97% of all working women, and 95% of 18+ adults in households with income of $75,000 or more. RADAR’s conclusion: Radio continues in its role as a mainstay medium, reaching a wide range of demographics, in and out of the home.

RADIO MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Synergy Is the Reason

What happens when advertisers who rely strictly on television or newspaper replace some of their ads with a spot or two on radio? Results can be more powerful, the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) says. In a report called “The Benefits of Synergy: Moving Money Into Radio”, the independent radio organization states that when Radio is added to create a media mix, it enhances the effectiveness of all the advertising and greatly increases product recall and brand selection.

The results were based on the responses of 400 people who reviewed five major advertising campaigns in the RAEL study – the second major research project of the organization. The participants’ ability to recall the brand increased by 34% when they were exposed to a TV ad in combination with a Radio ad, versus watching two TV ads alone. When a Radio ad was substituted for one of two newspapers ad, brand recall was even more significant.

“The study shows that Radio advertising significantly impacts communication with consumers who are already reached with other media,” states Gary Fries, Chief Executive Officer of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and Co-Chairman of RAEL. “On a return on investment basis, Radio is more than a supplement.” Fries believes businesses can now fine tune their advertising plans, knowing Radio will always enhance the effort.

Highlights of the RAEL study show that:

- Swapping out one of two TV ads for two Radio ads increased unaided brand recall by 34%.

- Replacing one of two newspaper exposures with two Radio ads almost tripled unaided brand recall.

- When two Radio ads replaced one of two TV exposures, more people chose the advertised brand as their first-choice product. The newspaper swap-out was even more effective.

- Consumers that heard two Radio ads (and only one TV ad) could play back a campaign’s main message just as well as those exposed to two TV ads. Trading one of two newspaper ads for two Radio exposures gave much better message playback than seeing two newspaper ads.

RAEL is hoping that media buyers will recognize that Radio is often undervalued when media mixes are chosen. Radio has long been shown to be able to reach people missed or underserved by other media, but this new study underscores that powerful ROI benefi ts can come from shifting part of an ad budget into Radio. Even if advertisers acknowledge only the most basic finding of the new Synergy Study, they’ll recognize that a media mix that includes Radio can be more powerful than television-only or newspaper-only campaigns. That it’s truly a case where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

(Source: RAEL, December 16, 2004)

The Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) is an independent organization established in 2001. RAEL is funded by Radio industry companies and works with advertisers, agencies, and Radio broadcasters to further understanding of how Radio advertising works, to measure Radio’s effectiveness and to increase advertiser and agency confidence in Radio.

Radio Listeners Visit More and Buy More on the Internet than Television Viewers

Want new proof that a radio audience is far less passive than its television counterpart? A new report finds that radio listeners are more inclined than television viewers to visit the Internet and make purchases there. At least that’s what The Media Audit reports. It goes on to say that of those who have Heavy Exposure to radio (180+minutes per day) 50.8% logged on to the Internet during the past 30 days, and of those, 68.4% made purchases in the past year, with 36.3% making five or more purchases during the same time period!

Radio listeners, the report says, are also a more affluent group than television types, with 57% having incomes of $50,000 or more, 32.4% have incomes of 75,000+, and 17.2% with incomes of $100,000+. Comparable percentages for the Heavy Television group are 48.9%, 26.6% and 13.0%. The report noted that 34% of the radio group has jobs in professional/technical and/or proprietor/managerial occupations, while the television group has more people who say they are retired or are homemakers. The report also finds that radio listeners are more inclined to be college graduates - 36.9%, compared to 30.8% for television viewers.