The Forgotten World of Internet Radio Advertising

One of the forms of media that seems to have been somewhat lost in the internet age is radio. That’s not to say no one is buying ads on the FM dial anymore, according to a recent report radio advertising spend in 2015 pegged it at roughly 17 million dollars. Not a bad chunk of change at all.

But this is standard radio. We live in a new world where we have access to more than just standard radio. spotify-phoneWe have platforms like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, iHeartRadio and several other online venues that allow advertisers to reach a large audience.

In 2016, more than a third of Americans used their phones to stream music on a regular basis. Young adults (the coveted 18-24 demo) listened to internet radio more than terrestrial radio. Two of the top five most popular apps in America (Pandora and Youtube) are used for streaming music. With Americans now spending more time on their phones than watching TV, there has never been a better time to reach your audience via targeted radio advertising. This article from Forbes goes into vivid detail about the opportunities and potential evolution of streaming radio. In the future apps like Pandora may have the ability to micro-target the types of music that play based on the time of day for the listner (more gentle in the morning) or the location the listener is in (some techno for the subway – some banjo for the countryside maybe?) This prospect may be scary to some but exciting to others. Whatever the case, that level of data will also allow for very effieciently targeted advertising.

Effective Local Internet Radio Advertising

streaming-internet-radioRadio advertising is a great way for local businesses to attract foot traffic and new customers. What makes internet radio advertising even more effective here is the ability to layer on targeting as well. With internet radio, not only can you target the time of day you can target a specific zip code, an age demographic, a very specific time of day, etc.

Online radio ads also do an excellent job of brand imprinting, since people will hear your brand mentioned over and over as they listen. This keeps you top of mind and can help influence buying decisions.

An Old Friend With Some New Tricks

Radio advertising has been around for nearly 120 years, and it’s still going strong. It continues to evolve and present marketers with new and effective ways to create results for their brand or business.

Couple the consistency and the track record of radio with the evolution of technology – then add an audience that’s always on their smart phones and you have something extremely potent. An advertising medium that a large amount of marketers are completely ignoring.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you get your business or brand message in the right ears at a massive scale, contact us here.

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