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Dear Ken
Thanks for the question. Part of what we have been focussing on in the industry body over the past 12 months is taking a strategic industry wide approach to issues of importance to radio. Obviously issues such as cross-media and new licences are key commercial/business issues for operators thus the wide range of views and opinions. However, as an industry we are really working well across a range of areas - our victory in 2002 in seeing off the ATO plan to place an additional GST on radio prizes would not have happened if the industry had not worked together, the current copyright negotiation with PPCA is another example of the industry speaking with one voice, as is the industry wide support for the digital trials in Sydney. Re taking on the enemy - we've just started the industry wide Brand Campaign - love it or hate it - and this is a great example of the industry working together to take on the other media. This is a 12 month campaign with 6 ads in the first phase and another six to be devised for the second phase. The first six ads, one of which is currently on-air, take on the other media directly. I agree with you that it's time we went out on the front foot - we are a great and influential industry and it's time we flexed our muscles re our importance to advertisers and indeed to listeners. The current campaign is supported by the major networks and stations in both regional and metropolitan areas. So, I think it's all good.......Joan
Greg - all very good questions.
We are not saying we are doing anything "better" than what was tried in the past - they were all legitimate and good strategies - what we are saying is that we are being very focussed on creative and in getting people talking about radio again - not just trotting out the old stats/lines on frequency, TSL etc etc - although we will still do that!
We are focussing on demonstrating the good creative that can come out of radio - seems to have been forgotten just how good radio creative can be (even though there are lots of current examples!!)both thru' the on-air campaign but also thru' a number of other intiatives. After surveying creatives and advertisers/agencies last year we decided to focus on two of the key answers to "why dont you buy more radio?" - creative was one, and, the old chestnut of "too hard to access/plan/buy on a national basis", was the other
We have quite a few initiatives planned for this year such as the trial planning service for three target agencies to test out that old excuse for not buying radio nationally, plus some free creative advisory thrown into that mix. We are also planning on setting up an advisory panel of top agency creatives to give us on-going advice and ideas, plus the Radio Writers Workshop - revamped and in it's 21st year, a new correspondence Copywriters' Course thru' AFTRS for radio copywriters, new sponsorship of radio categories for AFA Award and AFA Advertising Effectivenss Awards - PLUS we are looking for ways to re-introduce the old(and many said)tired Golden Stylus Awards. But we don't want to do more of the same with these or get lost in the awards mix - so any ideas on how to bring these back with a real splash would be welcome and seriously considered! Also as part of this our website has award winning ads from all over the world. We would like to bring some "trophy" value into writing radio ads.
How much can we get of the ad $ - well why not aim to lift it by at least 1-2% over the next 2-3 years to a level of 10-11% of the ad $ as a start?
Joan
Michael - you will be surprised at how we are planning to streamline the Awards this year - we aim to be out in 2 hours MAX which if you compare it to the Logies at over 4 hours is pretty good going! I flirted with the idea of cutting down the number of bands but was told that this is one of the best parts!!!! Just as an example, we are going to get all finalists to sit towards the front of the auditorium to cut down on that tedious wait for those coming from the back, photos will be off-stage with the presenters after the presenters have completed their segments, less presenters doing more awards etc etc. So if we start at 6:30 you should be sitting down to dinner at around 8:30 - 8:45. Last year over dinner we had a long presentaion session as you might recall as it was the first year we had initiated the Hall of Fame. This year we are still deciding whether the Hall of Fame should be presented during the Theatre show or over dinner - as there will be a max. of 2 Hall of Famers this year. We are trying to take on board comments from last year so hopefully the show will be slicker and quicker! Joan
Cynthia - re digital radio - the reason digital radio is not just around the corner is that there a number of key questions that we need to ask ourselves as an industry : what is the(or is there a)business case for digital radio? what is the "digital radio product"? will advertsiers be more excited by the value-adds that we can make available thru' digital radio? what is the right technology for Australia - Eureka147, IBOC (in band) Digital Radio Mondiale or a combination? depending on the technology chosen - what are the spectrum needs of the industry and how do we work with Government to set up an acceptable regulatory framework? how long would any "generational change" from old radios to dual or tri-band digital radios take with 40 million radios in Australia?
The trials that are due to start once the Willoughby council approves our 3m antenna extension in Sydney should answer a few of these questions. We already have a couple of forward thinking advertisers who will be invovled in testing the new technology, we will set up high profile consumer centres in Sydney to gauge listener reaction as well as structured listener panels. Radio is not in any danger of getting left behind - it is the most adaptable and mercurial of the media - in it's 80 year this year, commercial radio still holds 80% of Austrtalians as listeners and togehter with ABC and SBS radio's figure is 90%. Rather than jumping in without figuring out where we want to go with digital, radio in Australia is in the perfect position to learn from the difficulties of TV and work with listeners and advertisers and the Government to make the right choice. To paraphrase that old quote - "reports of radio's demise have been greatly exaggerated!" Joan
Dear David - Thanks for the feedback (positive and negative)on all points. Re the website - have you joined the site? If not you won't be able to play the audio. Re using other media for the radio brand campaign - the idea of a very specific branding campaign for radio that is designed to take out the message that you can use radio as a primary branding medium going out first up on TV/outdoor/mainstream print to brand itself was a bit of anathema to the people who developed the campaign. But remember, this is the first phase of what we plan will be an ongoing and lengthy campaign made up over time of many elements. We are only in the third week of the campaign and I am not giving away any secrets to say that trade press has been planned as part of the mix in phase one. Joan