A panel of advertising agency leaders discussed the way that audio can improve its share of advertising at RadioDays Ireland.
In conversation with moderator: Ciaran Cunningham, the CEO of Radiocentre Ireland, were
- Jade Finn, Head of Planning and Investment, Dentsu
- Emma O’Doherty, Chief Client Officer, Mindshare/Group M
- Andy Pierce, Group Strategy Director, Core
- Simon Geraghty, Research and Insights Director, OMG
Looking at the commercial environment, the consensus from the panel is that the economic outlook is causing short-termism in media buying at the moment. “No one wants to make long term decisions about their advertising in case something changes in the economic conditions.”
Radio is well perceived in advertising agencies but in the changing media environment there is more to be done of radio and audio to grow revenue.
Agency and media buying staff are “not typical” of the wider population, they are usually younger and more urban with different media consumption habits, so radio has a constant job of education to do with them. One of the strengths of radio is the personalities, so stations should use their personalities to engage with media buyers. To illustrate that point Emma told the panel, “we have young ones working for us, I was surprised that a 23 year old staff member was so excited about radio personalities.”
Live radio is still well listened to here in Ireland, but numbers are important to constantly make the case to advertisers. “Some marketers and advertisers get bored and want to try other things. Radio needs to keep finding ways to communicate its effectiveness… Podcasts are a new way for audio to project itself.”
“We have had some clients who have a wrong perception of radio, so there is a challenge for media buyers to keep demonstrating to those clients that radio is relevant. There is data to show international brands that radio is stronger here in Ireland than most other places, so when we show them the data they often adapt their buying to the local environment.”
One of the things that gave audio an advantage in the past was cheaper production, but that may need to change, according to the panelists.
“You can put more into the creative and charge more for it because audio ads can cut through the crowded ad environment. Clients are willing to pay for production in other media, don’t undersell your product. There needs to be different production approaches for new forms of audio such as podcasts so you have more creative and production opportunities now.”
Audio creative can be limiting because it’s only audio, but alternatively, theatre of the mind and the ability to be very creative without visuals is a strength if the creative is done well. Radio creative can often be more funny without pictures, and audio also has the ability for faster turnaround that social or visual media.
In Ireland, radio also offers international clients an opportunity to quickly and easily localise their international campaigns.
One downside raised by the advertising agencies was the point that audience measurement data is not good enough for planning in comparison with other media.
“Media buyers want to be able to read real time data, they can’t do that for radio. There are question marks in media buyers minds that need to be answered.
“When a client says ‘I don’t believe that data’ how can radio answer that challenge. People often comment on their own experiences, if they don’t listen to radio or their kids don’t, they think nobody does, we know that’s not true but you need to be able to demonstrate it to sceptical clients with data and real time analysis. The audio environment is changing, this is a moment for radio to redefine how it does things.”
Future outlook for audio advertising.
“In the next ten years everything will be programmatic. Media planners and buyers are upskilling for this future and will need simple integrated buying systems for audio that fit into the tools they are using for other media.
“There is suspicion everywhere about the digital audience measurement figures, so we are very sceptical. The lure of real time data, to be able to see the impact of a campaign the next day, is strong, but there is also enormous suspicion about digital numbers. Sometimes the digital measurement data seems too good to be true and people are beginning to realise that, so there is an opportunity for audio.”
Trust, is it important?
“Research shows that radio is number one or two in trust. Being on a trusted platform for brand safety is a massive issue now, especially for government businesses. It is an important selling point for radio. In a world where there is now a lack of trust in media, radio has an advantage.
What more can the audio industry do for agencies and clients?
“Think more about new ways to use the total audio medium. Inspire the planners to think differently about the old rules about radio. Audio is a fabulous reach medium, but you could get more revenue if audio channels could also offer new opportunities to meet the new creative expectations of clients.
“Podcasts and radio related visual audio are opportunities for you to reset the assumptions of advertisers and buyers.”
Part of the excitement of the radio medium for advertisers is the buzz it can create with unique promotions. In another session, Niall Power, Managing Editor / Breakfast Presenter at Bauer Media Ireland’s Beat 102-103, reprised his overview of the world’s top promotions presentation that he gave during RadioDays in Athens. Read our report on that session here.
Reporting: Steve Ahern
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