Integrated Marketing-

During the recent Texas Association of Broadcasters convention I sat in on a panel that discussed integrated marketing (what we used to call NTR) and I was facinated by some of the new revenue opportunities available to broadcasters.  There are podcasts, morning wake-up phone calls, myspace pages, new ways to sell web sites and they're all facinating.  Shamefully, many stations will never even explore the potential of most of these opportunities, much less package and sell them.  Why? 
They're still stuck in the past or they are afraid of trying to sell something they don't understand.  This is a mistake. 

You can live it or live with it. A friend of mine used to whine and complain about government spending and government waste.  He finally determined that he could not change the bureaucracy so he filled out paperwork and started getting government contracts for his modular housing business.  I don't hear him whining any more about government spending.

I remember back in the old days when our management team told us that in addition to selling radio spots we were going to start selling ads in a country music publication.  We were floored.  For years we had been taught that newspaper was the enemy and now we were supposed to sell it.  Some of our team weren't even able to reach their broadcast quota, much less take on a whole new medium.  In time the idea completely fizzled out and died and we didn't have to sell newspaper ads in addition to spot schedules.  That was then.  This is now, however and the playing field has changed dramatically.

We must be able to look beyond the ends of our own noses if we are to remain relevant.  New electronic media are springing up every year and instead of fearing them we should be embracing and selling them.  Instead of thinking of ourselves as terrestrial broadcasters selling only radio and television commercials, we should be broadening our horizons and repositioning ourselves as content providers. 

Just consider the elements we could be integrating into our local direct sales.

Podcasting-If you have a music oriented station but one of your jocks interviewd a major star, put the interview on a podcast and invite listeners in on-air promos to access it.  Rotate spots in the podcast.  On television, reporters and news editors could provide extended, more in-depth  interviews with newsmakers.  Promote extended interviews during newscasts.  Sell and rotate spots in those extended interviews. 

Text messaging-Listeners/viewers register to get regular updates on their mobile devices and email on news and weather updates, contests, celebrity news, etc.  Do it and sell it.

Wake-Up Calls-A company called MediaBounce  (www.mediabounce.com)  has a technology that allows your audience to register on your website and have a personality phone them every morning and wake them up.  The personality records a daily joke, news headlines or a weather forcast.  The listener or viewer automatically receives a call every morning.  The personality could say, "Good morning.  Time to get up.  Today's forecast calls for __________.  By the way, remember to stop by McDonald's and pick up the new Chicken Mc___________ sandwich for just ninety nine cents."  Sell a sponsorship.

Myspace pages-We learned in the forum that audiences are very interested in myspace pages for your personalities.  Set up those pages and sell sponsorships.

Always sell these additional sponsorships.  Never give them away for free.  Package them with spots at a higher rate than you would normally get and tell the client, "We're aware of new media and we're all over that.  When you buy from us we automatically make sure that not only are you advertising on the station, you're also on the Internet, Podcasts, myspace pages and you're even rotated on our telephone wake-up service for our most loyal listeners/viewers."  Worried about new media encroaching on your clients?  Instead of doing nothing, embrace new ideas and make money in the process.  Remember, you can choose to live it or live with it. 

What is your station doing to embrace new technology?  What works for your clients?  Let us know.

Comments

[Chick E. Tuskwasher]

Paul,

Have you heard about On-Demand Advertising? I didn't see it in your topic discussion, but you should know it's another new product.

Consumers can "opt-in" to a long form video from the comfort of their sofa on a digital cable channel entirely devoted to a certain industry or category. No more information overload...it's a quiet chat with a highly validated consumer instead of shouting over your competitors and hoping someone hears. And it's trackable!

Thanks for all the valuable information! You are a true source for the ad industry!

Up,

Chick E.