Are Podcasts bad for Radio?
WTEM announced it would begin embargoing their Podcasts for 24-hours after the corresponding shows air -- essentially erecting a pay wall, according to the story on NTS. If you follow this thread, you begin to realize there's a huge under-appreciation for compelling local digital content amid fears of a declining traditional audience.
And that seems to be the mentality. Indy radio notable Jerry Lee ended WBEB's streaming because he sees it as a bad business model. While I agree with the revenue challenges in digital, I think Lee misses the boat and is doing a disservice to his industry by rationalizing an inability to articulate a successful sales pitch to sell a valuable product. My response:
It's easy to find stories of account executives coming back from client meetings and reporting buyers still don't understand the cost-benefits of partnering in the digital spaces. Those clients and prospects see themselves as media savvy, many having a keen understanding of audience measurements and targeting. They are paying attention, but are they provided valid data? They aren't if they're not discussing Podcasting and online video that's significant and growing fast -- and available to advertisers right now.
Ironically, Iowa has seen amazing success stories within the radio sphere, regularly producing digital CPM rates of $10 and often as high as $50. That's what happens when you have personal relationships with the buyers that runs deeper than the rhetoric we're reading in ad pubs.
Building and growing those trust relationships with local direct customers, educating them, making sure they understand the weaknesses of old-fashioned ratings models so that they don't step over customers in pursuit of archaic ratings, seems like a pretty important thing to be talking about in sales meetings in every market.
I think it was Roy Williams who taught us that it's not the size of the audience that matters as much as super-selling the audience you can afford. This is, I think, where partnering with local digital content can be a critical foothold for bourgeoning small businesses, the nation's economic engine.
And that seems to be the mentality. Indy radio notable Jerry Lee ended WBEB's streaming because he sees it as a bad business model. While I agree with the revenue challenges in digital, I think Lee misses the boat and is doing a disservice to his industry by rationalizing an inability to articulate a successful sales pitch to sell a valuable product. My response:
Jerry presumes it's not possible to sell enough advertising to support the platform, and I would have to ask, "why not?"In fact, many successful broadcasters are commanding $35 CPM for online video, says Brian Benedik, president of Katz 360, in a conversation he had recently with media consultant Mark Ramsey. The advertising agency predicts the real growth area will be on the local level where traditional media really needs to communicate the value of the digital audience. Benedik sees the trends first hand, so his vantage point should be something direct marketers should appreciate.
There's a real and growing audience in streaming, so to feign failure in digital is to fail in sales. Radio is a culture that refuses to graduate to modern CRM facilities, so with virtually no order automation, $10 spots carry hefty cost of sales; our sale-by-appointment mentality cannot sustain digital.
It's easy to find stories of account executives coming back from client meetings and reporting buyers still don't understand the cost-benefits of partnering in the digital spaces. Those clients and prospects see themselves as media savvy, many having a keen understanding of audience measurements and targeting. They are paying attention, but are they provided valid data? They aren't if they're not discussing Podcasting and online video that's significant and growing fast -- and available to advertisers right now.
Ironically, Iowa has seen amazing success stories within the radio sphere, regularly producing digital CPM rates of $10 and often as high as $50. That's what happens when you have personal relationships with the buyers that runs deeper than the rhetoric we're reading in ad pubs.
Building and growing those trust relationships with local direct customers, educating them, making sure they understand the weaknesses of old-fashioned ratings models so that they don't step over customers in pursuit of archaic ratings, seems like a pretty important thing to be talking about in sales meetings in every market.
I think it was Roy Williams who taught us that it's not the size of the audience that matters as much as super-selling the audience you can afford. This is, I think, where partnering with local digital content can be a critical foothold for bourgeoning small businesses, the nation's economic engine.
