Recently with all the ups and downs in the market, mostly downs, I received a note from my broker not to worry, all will be okay.
That’s great, but I’d rather have someone tell me how to earn money instead of lose it or gamble with it.
Another email I received this month, told me how, IF I OWNED A BUSINESS. And the answer is one I have seen play out repeatedly over the years… Advertising on the radio.
Before I share the details, I invite you to talk with me about learning how we can might be able to create a real return on your investment. I’ll be honest with you and tell you what you need to know, not just sell you stuff. I may decide NOT to sell you anything, that’s a story for another day.
Here’s the article that mentions a 17:1 ROI using radio as an advertising medium (from Marketing Charts):
Radio ROI Compelling Advertisers
by Jack Loechner
According to a recent Nielsen “sales effect study,” examining radio’s return on ad spend in four retail categories, every dollar spent in radio advertising could generate up to $17 of revenue from listeners exposed to ads from department stores, home improvement stores, mass merchandisers and quick-service restaurants.Hispanic consumers led all categories measured in total spend, and drove increased sales ranging from 9% to 49%.
The study found that, while new digital formats are capturing headlines, traditional formats, specifically radio, could give advertisers the returns they want, says the report.
Combined data from Nielsen’s Portable People Meter (PPM) panel with Nielsen Buyer Insights credit and debit card data, radio exposure positively affected bottom-line sales and drove new, valuable shoppers for each category studied…
Carol Edwards, senior vice president, media analytics, Nielsen, concludes that “… reaching 93% of all U.S. adults every week and playing a leading role in consumers’ purchasing decisions, radio has the ability to positively impact campaign results… ”
Weekly Reach of Devices (% Of U.S. Population)
Age Group
Device
All Adults
18-34
35-49
50+
TV
87%
76%
90%
93%
Radio
93
93
95
91
PC
54
49
63
54
Smartphone
70
80
81
56
Tablet
33
42
49
22
Source: Nielsen, October 2015
For more info, contact me Scott@WOWO.com or 260-255-4357
Before I started this article I Googled, Advertising vs. Marketing, and came up with several quotes.
Before I share them, here’s my simple truth that I live by:
Everything that you do is an element of your marketing.
Advertising is the paid portion of it designed to bring in new or retain current customers.
When you run a restaurant and you have pictures of your food on the menu, consider that marketing.
If there is actual food residue from previous customers on the menu and it is sticky, that is also marketing.
Marketing is both the good and bad impressions that influence someone about your business. It goes beyond the stuff most business owners think is marketing and encompasses nearly everything that presents your business to the marketplace.
Here’s what others say about Advertising vs. Marketing:
I disagree. Advertising can be made personal and marketing is usually messy and unsystematic.
But here’s where it can really get confusing to the business owner who has to deal with people who earn their money selling advertising and/or marketing. There are a number of titles we give ourselves and they sometimes don’t fit.
Here are some titles from people I know in Fort Wayne, Indiana:
Account Manager
Senior Account Manager
Integrated Marketing Manager
Marketing Consultant
Integrated Marketing Specialist
Account Executive
Integrated Marketing Consultant
All of these people do basically the same thing but they have different approaches and skill levels. These titles include my coworkers on the WOWO Radio Sales Team and other Federated Media Fort Wayne stations. The reason Integrated is included is because we have more than just radio ads we offer as advertising solutions, there is a whole host of digital products and events we can integrate.
Here’s my title: Advertising Sales & Marketing Consultant
I added the word Sales recently to clarify what I do.
I earn money from the advertising solutions that I sell and people buy.
However the Marketing Consulting is the bigger picture and what I spend most of my time doing. I do not charge for the the marketing consulting. I could and at one time I did have a business set up to do that. But ScLoHo Marketing Solutions as a formal for-profit business is dormant and instead I provide those services at no charge.
I get to choose how deep I go with the marketing consulting because it is an investment of time and resources. For those who really want help, I jump in with both feet. We’ll talk about the marketing and advertising aspects of their business and come up with a Marketing Strategy Plan that makes it easy to decide if an advertising option fits or is just someone tying to sell them something.
I advice my marketing consulting clients to buy services from others besides me. I am always looking for advertising and marketing partners that are trustworthy and can provide value to my clients.
That’s the way I work and also the simple truth of the differences between Advertising and Marketing. Contact me with questions or for help.
It’s been 13 years since I returned to radio in Fort Wayne. Every year there have been changes somewhere on the dials.
Today and the last few weeks are true to form in that aspect. Some stations made some changes and some listeners are upset. But here is something that some folks forget:
Radio Broadcasting is a business. And businesses need to make money to support the people who work there. This is true of any media including television stations, newspapers, magazines and yes all the internet stuff we take for granted.
What about those “Public Stations” like PBS (Television) or NPR (Radio)? They need money too. That’s why they have pledge drives and air “sponsorship” announcements. If a media doesn’t have enough money to sustain itself, it will go away.
This website that you are reading right now has expenses. But it is also my own personal project and instead of charging for subscriptions or placing ads on this site, I cover those expenses myself.
Let’s talk about the radio changes in Fort Wayne that have taken place. I’ll start with WOWO, the radio station I work for which is part of Federated Media, an Indiana owned company that has been around for decades.
In 2015, WOWO celebrated their 90th birthday. Most of those 90 years were on 1190AM. A few times WOWO could also be heard on an FM signal too. Most recently WOWO was on 1190am and 92.3FM. At the end of 2015, Federated Media began telling our listeners that WOWO’s FM signal was moving to 107.5FM and for a few weeks you could listen to WOWO on all three radio signals, 1190AM, 92.3FM and 107.5FM to help our FM listeners adjust to a new FM dial position.
When asked by listeners about this change, here is the response from the WOWO Facebook page:
WOWO News/Talk 1190 AM & 107.5 FMThanks for your message about the future of WOWO, as we are working to add some new options in the next month or so. WOWO will always be on 1190AM and now on 107.5FM. WOWO will be adding a FM HD frequency and two apps very soon. The HD signal will not only sound better than the 92.3FM, but it will be stronger and you will be able to hear it 24/7. If you don’t have an HD radio, the best way to listen is to go to our website or App (out in the near future). If you don’t have a computer or a smart phone, you will not be disappointed upgrading to a HD radio. For the website, WOWO can always be heard worldwide on WOWO.com.
So what is playing on 92.3FM? Here’s the press release that is being shared by WANE TV:
Radio Group Federated Media is proud to announce the launch of a brand new radio station in Fort Wayne, IN, “Big 92.3” WFWI-FM. With it brings a return to a music based format on that frequency and a brand new website www.big923.com.
The Hybrid Format of Classic Hits/Adult Hits and will be extremely music intensive, playing the greatest hits of four decades, with most of the focus being in the late 1970’s-early 1980’s. Favorites like The Eagles, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, Fleetwood Mac and such will be in heavy rotation and a lot of the elements on the station will focus on remembering a time when life was a lot simpler.
Another exciting benchmark that Big 92.3 will feature is “The 2 Minute Promise”, meaning whenever the music stops for a commercial break at any part of the day, it will NEVER be longer than 2 Minutes. No exceptions. And this is NOT a part time gimmick. The 2 Minute Promise is Here to stay and will be a main strategic brand of the radio station.
As a side note, 20 years ago I was the morning guy on 92.3FM and we were an all 70’s music station. One of my coworkers, Keith Harris or Keith Holmes is back on the air on 92.3FM doing nights from 7pm to 12midnight. I tuned in on my way to the office today and enjoyed the music and Federated Media is betting that a lot of others will too..
Federated Media has also added an FM simulcast to our local ESPN station. 1380 can also be heard on 100.9FM
Meanwhile, there was also some changes taking place at a couple of Fort Wayne Rock stations, namely 98.9 The Bear (WBYR) also owned by Federated Media and at 96.3 XKE (WXKE which is owned by the Adams Radio Group). The Bob & Tom Radio show that is based out of Indianapolis and was on The Bear last year is now on WXKE. In it’s place on 98.9 The Bear is a brand new live and local music morning show featuring Bear favorite John “The Mexican” and his sidekick Heather with a morning show called The Morning After.
Looking at the listener posts on these two stations Facebook pages…
First, 3 separate listener comments from 963 XKE:
Did not like it at all!! Found another station to listen to this morning.
Been listening to xke in the morning since high school (30+ yrs) … I can not handle the cackling from Bob & Tom. Seems I am not the only one…. guess I will tune in after 10 …
Very disappointed when I turned the radio on this morning. I live in northern indiana and was thrilled when I was able to listen to your station once you made the switch. Loved listening to the music in the mornings at work on my route.
And from the 98.9 The Bear Facebook page, 3 listener comments:
The new show is Awesome … Keep Rocking Fort Wayne !!!!!
Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you for finally getting back to some local entertainment for the Morning Show!! I will actually listen to 98.9 before 10am again!!!!
This morning show is going to be great. Who honestly likes hearing 2 washed up radio personalities babble and all talk at the same time. If that’s your idea of great radio programming then more power to ya . Long live The Bear and the new morning show !!
It seems like a good move for The Bear and we’ll see what happens over at WXKE.
In my few decades of working in the radio business, I have seen this happen over and over again. One notable time was about 10 years ago when Summit City Radio killed off our alternative rock station X-102 simply because there was not enough listeners and not enough financial support from the advertising world. That station is now playing Hispanic music. I have friends who work for competing radio station companies and I wish the very best for those friends.
Again, these changes are typical. Radio stations make changes based on what they believe will attract an audience. Plenty of research and planning goes on before these decisions are made and remember it’s not the air personality that decides to make these changes, it’s usually someone much higher up on the food chain and they are betting that despite some negative reaction from folks that don’t like change, the changes implemented will better serve the public, attract an audience and provide a platform for businesses to advertise and invite you and me to do business with them.
As we move forward in 2016 there are plenty of new, positive things coming and if you have any questions, contact me.
Last time, I shared with you two very different ways to buy advertising. Today, I’ll teach you the simple way to buy radio advertising.
It’s pretty smart too.
Buy an audience that you can dominate and create top of mind awareness.
For this example, I’m going to use my radio station, WOWO radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana. WOWO is a news/talk radio station that has the largest adult audience of all the stations in our area.
A 1 minute commercial is priced around $100 during primetime.
Primetime on the radio is between 5am and 6pm, weekdays. That is when WOWO and most radio stations have the most listeners. This is different from primetime on television which is 8pm to 11pm. That is when television stations have the most viewers.
So let’s say you have $500 a week to spend and you need a full 60 seconds to get your message out. Plan on doing this 52 weeks a year. What’s the best way to spend that $26,000 in 2016?
The simple way to build your business, given these circumstances would be to pick one hour each weekday that your commercial will air. The same hour every day, 5 days a week, every week of the year.
If we were to do that between 7 and 8am, your message would reach over 37,000 adults age 25 and older an average of 90 times over a year. You would be one of the top, or perhaps the top of mind (fill in your profession), to those 37,000 people.
Pick 11:30 to 12:30 (lunchtime) and you get similar numbers, 39,000 adults. 2pm-3pm and it’s 38,000. Here’s a very important question. How many new customers can you take on in a year? 350? That’s less than 1%. 3500 is less than 10%.
This is just one example. But it is a much simpler way of buying radio advertising than the complicated mess I showed you yesterday.
Don’t take this as the only way, or best way to schedule your ads on the radio. It’s simply an easy and effective way that could be used. The best way can only be determined after you and I talk about your goals and look at your individual scenario. Contact me to do just that.
Creating an online personal brand is a mystery to many people. That includes me. Except after 10+ years I have some insight that I can share.
First off, each of us has a personal brand. A personal brand is simply an identity, not necessarily one that you create for yourself, but what people think of when they think of you.
Take a second and read that again: A personal brand is simply an identity, not necessarily one that you create for yourself, but what people think of when they think of you.
For those of us who are old enough to have had a life before the internet, we had very little control of this. Do something crazy, something stupid, something heroic, and someone labels you with a nickname. That nickname became your personal brand, among those that knew you at the time.
Online you have more control because you get to decide what to share. You can even create a new nickname. That’s how ScLoHo began.
Actually ScLoHo started as an alternative to my given name, Scott Howard when I was setting up an email account on Yahoo! years ago. I started using ScLoHo also when I began blogging and carried it over to all my online accounts.
Enough history, on to what I do now.
5 days a week, I publish an article on my own website which is where you are reading this right now.
I have the wordpress plugin Jetpack that will autopost these daily updates to my Twitter account and to my personal Facebook page. I also have them autoposting to my two Google+ Accounts. This is the primary method I am currently using to share content that I write.
But there is more.
I hand select certain updates from this site to share on LinkedIn.
However, (and this is important): I share more than just my stuff on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
My Facebook account also has stuff from others and personal stuff that is original.
I fill my Twitter feed with all kinds of stuff from others including articles and stories that may be controversial. I am tweeting at least 10 times daily, but I use the buffer app to autotweet most of these Tweets. That way I have a real life that is not tied to the computer or my phone. I subscribe to a few newsletters that send me links to stories that I am often interested it and those are often the links that get buffered.
I avoid political talk on social media. Too much risk of offending others for no good reason. I will not shy away from my Christian beliefs. But I would rather live them then preach them. There is a verse in James that I try and follow regarding this.
I listen, at least I try to.
Responding is critical.
If someone comments on something you have posted, shared or said online, please reply.
Also comment and share with others on their stuff too.
A few more random but important thoughts:
I still believe in blogging. At one time I was posting over 30 articles a week. Now I do 5. That’s 5 articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Some of the people who read what I post are not in the United States and don’t observe the same holidays we do.
I do not write articles every day. I write in batches. I schedule in advance. I wrote this article while sitting in a coffee shop on Labor Day weekend a couple weeks ago. I have some articles scheduled months ahead of time. (There will probably be fresh articles appear after I die, which is weird.)
Share more than once on Twitter. I follow around 1000 people on Twitter and have 3700 following me. I don’t see every tweet because I have a life that doesn’t involve staring at my Twitter feed. Share your content on Twitter at different times on different days to get more exposure to more people. Unless you only have 30 followers.
Join Groups. Facebook and LinkedIn has groups you can join. Or create your own and invite others to join you. A friend of mine started a Facebook group in Fort Wayne to match employers with career and job seekers. In less than 6 months he has over 6,000 members. And it is helping people get jobs that need work.
Be yourself but filter yourself too. You should know what this means but let me help. If you would not want your minister, mom or grandpa to see or hear what you share, then think twice before you share.
Even though I was honored this year again with an award for blogging, I didn’t jump online a dozen years ago to become an expert in any of this. Yet there are some who think of me as an expert. (I reply to them that an expert is a former pert). I just started doing this and never stopped. I learned from others and continue to learn. I know there are somethings I could do better but this is just a portion of my life. Have any thoughts or questions? Tell or ask.
I’ve spent more than half my life earning a living in the radio business. From my early days as a teenager getting my licence from the Federal Communications Commission (3rd Class with a Broadcast endorsement) to today as a member of the WOWO advertising sales team, it’s been quite a ride.
Last month I saw this video which features some actual radio ads from 1965, 50 years ago:
Today in 2015, radio is the most listened to media, with 90% of all Americans listening every week.
That beats the number of people who do nearly anything else with media. Even Facebook, the King of Social Media doesn’t get used by 90% of Americans weekly.
Next week, I’ll share a conversation about a chart of radio listenership in Fort Wayne and WOWO that caught the attention of a new advertising partner of mine. Stay tuned…
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