Radio Heard Here: A Year in Review
What We've Been Up To
In 2009, Radio Heard Here continued to mobilize radio ambassadors to communicate radio’s relevance and vitality to the public at large. The campaign began the year with three key priorities in mind – revenue acceleration, driving technology news, and rallying consumer and industry support.
Revenue Acceleration
Radio Heard Here launched a series of consumer- and advertising-oriented spots, which remind listeners of the power of radio to introduce new artists, connect with listeners and provide a pipeline for businesses to connect with their customers. All of the spots were made available for stations to download on the Radio Heard Here Web site.
Understanding the importance of reenergizing radio creative to spur increases in radio ad spending, Radio Heard Here launched an initiative to start a positive conversation with advertising agencies and their clients. As part of this effort, Radio Heard Here held a creative summit in New York in May that included more than a dozen creative directors from the nation’s top advertising firms. The summit included a roundtable discussion of radio creative efforts moderated by the Radio Heard Here team, an overview of the Radio Heard Here campaign, the latest facts about the current state of the industry and a discussion of radio technology, formats, concurrent media consumption, inspiration and the client/agency gap.
The discussion at the creative summit was positive and insightful, with a tremendous amount of praise for the value and creativity of radio – all captured on video. Advertising Age was on hand to chronicle the discussion for an upcoming issue, and a theme that kept emerging from the participants is that they really should use radio more as part of the media mix.
“For the past five years, national radio has done what few traditional media have been able to manage: gain audience. Radio added 3 million listeners in 2008, amassing a weekly audience of 235 million people, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau's annual RADAR report. Yet the original ad-supported broadcasting medium lost ad revenue year over year, declining 9 percent in 2008 to $19.5 billion, according to the RAB. Where’s the disconnect? Look no further than the creative agencies, who rarely make radio the focal point of national campaigns these days. Seeking to shed some light on that disparity, the Radio Advertising Bureau and the VCU Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University held a 90-minute roundtable discussion on April 30 in New York with 11 of the ad world’s top creative directors.”
The effort also included refreshing the Radio Advertising Bureau's Mercury Awards. Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter Managing Director Rick Boyko enlisted a roster of top creative directors to judge the RAB’s annual Mercury Awards, which recognizes the year’s best radio commercials. This distinguished group of judges evaluated the year’s submissions, and in the process, challenged conventional standards.
As a follow up to the Awards, RHH worked with the RAB to launch The Best of Radio Web site, which is dedicated to providing professionals from advertising agencies, radio stations and production houses with tools and resources to improve their creative execution.
Driving Technology
From a technology perspective, the industry escalated its efforts to embrace new technologies in 2009 and Radio Heard Here helped communicate those achievements. By spreading the word about Microsoft’s Zune HD, Apple’s FM-equipped iPod nano, new cell phone devices containing receivers and the rollout of popular radio and music apps, Radio Heard Here helped draw attention to the latest innovations in radio. According to a March 2009 Reuters article, placed by Radio Heard Here,
“More and more people are listening to radio, industry leaders say, and the century-old technology hopes to offer consumers new ways to experience it, including advances such as high-definition broadcasts and portable devices like Apple's iPods.”
The Radio Heard Here campaign has also launched an initiative to promote the inclusion of FM receivers in cell phones. There is a strong belief among many in the radio industry that FM radio receivers should be incorporated into virtually all mobile devices, including mobile phones. Such a move helps to perpetuate the ubiquitous nature of radio and to provide a communication lifeline during times of crisis or natural disaster. FM-capable cell phones also offer an additional revenue stream for stations.
Radio Heard Here was featured prominently at the 2009 NAB Show in Las Vegas and the 2009 NAB Radio Show in Philadelphia. Both shows featured a Radio Heard Here pavilion, which garnered heavy traffic and interest. The campaign also hosted a social-networking session at the NAB Radio Show to help stations expand their audience using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The session was well-attended and received positive feedback.
Consumer Focus
On the consumer front, the Radio Heard Here campaign is raising the level of conversation surrounding radio’s relevance. Leading up to President Obama’s inauguration, the campaign reminded people about the important role radio has played in American politics. During both the presidential inauguration and Grammy awards, the campaign participated in a radio media tour, discussing radio’s relevance in each of these event areas, reaching millions of listeners.
Radio Heard Here also embarked upon a public service effort together with the American Red Cross to educate Americans about the importance of radio in an emergency, particularly when the power goes down. In tandem with Eton, manufacturer of American Red Cross Radios, Radio Heard Here set about engaging stations around the country in this public service effort. Stations from coast to coast participated in the program, which included arranging American Red Cross radio giveaways to their listeners, as well as hosting interviews with American Red Cross disaster experts. The program began during hurricane season and will continue through Q1 2010.
Finally, Radio Heard Here has continued to produce its critically acclaimed New Music Series, the ongoing public service campaign “by radio for radio,” created to emphasize the importance of radio in music discovery and to draw attention to emerging artists by introducing them to millions of radio listeners. Radio Heard Here identified several up-and-coming artists each quarter and recorded short interviews with each. The 30-second and 60-second spots, which also incorporate a sample of the artist’s latest single, were fed to 1,200 AM/FM and HD radio stations across the country. Artists this year have included: Caitlin Crosby, Ayo, Josh Hoge, Tim Brantley, Brooke White, These Green Eyes and Mayaeni.
It was a busy year for the Radio Heard Here campaign as we worked to to ensure that radio’s value will be recognized well into the next century.
