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News From Audio Graphics:
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Radio Advertising Opportunity Missed |
I'm still waiting for the radio industry to set up a web site where current, or potential, radio advertisers can learn how to use the media better. This could/should be a radio industry effort or, at the very least, a larger radio group's attempt at educating local businesses which are thinking about using radio.
The online name for this web site could be RadioAdvertiser.com, RadioAdvertising.com, or RadioAdvertisers.com. At least, you'd think these to be appropriate domain names for such a radio advertising related site.
Given the amount of revenue that could be generated from introducing new advertisers to radio, or bettering the relationship with existing advertisers, you might also think that any of the above names would carry a hefty price tag (if the industry or radio group decided to move in this direction).
At least two of the above mentioned domain names did carry a heavy price, which will be explained next. But these domain names are worthless to the radio industry. Even after seeing how quickly the internet has become mainstream, radio execs still refuse to see value in owning any of the above.
Here's the evidence, which came to light when I stumbled across a press release saying that RadioAdvertising.com and RadioAdvertisers.com were up for auction at eBay. $1.5 million was the asking price for these two names. The buyer would also receive RadioCommercials.com in the package. Well, bidding ended with zero bids being cast. A few dead horses floating in a sea of possibility for radio, again.
What's with the "again" you may ask - or not. This auction was preceded by another nearly a year ago with the offering of RadioAdvertiser.com. It received 1 bid, for $50, which was rejected.
Guess there's no vision in the radio industry, or anyone with the foresight to know that gaining a good domain name is a 50% solution to generating traffic online. From consumers understanding what's to be found at this address, or from the search engines looking for appropriate web sites to place high in their rankings, all of these names would be successful for a radio group.
Do a Google search for "radio advertising," and here's what is front and center: #1 slot is RAB. "Good" you may think. But RAB is an industry tool and contains little for businesses looking to use radio. Slot #2 is RAB too, with a sub-heading of "Radio offers a host of unique elements that can support and enhance your current advertising program either by itself or by incorporating it into a broader...." Ah ha you might say, until you click and find out this page is nothing more than RAB presenting negative articles on all other media, and nothing that tells anyone anything about "how to use radio."
In the #3 position in our Google search for "radio advertising" is www.esl-lab.com/radio/radiord1.htm. I'm still trying to figure out what it's about. According to the page copy it has something to do with a radio ad about carpet cleaning.
Coming up #4 is BusinesssTown.com, a general web site for businesses, with an explanation on radio advertising. It also holds the #5 position.
At #6 is the Radio Advertising Effectiveness Lab. Finally an industry-related web site for... not consumers, but, according to its sub-heading, "RAEL is mandated to improve industry understanding of how Radio advertising works."
In the #7 position is AudioGraphics.com, trailed in the #8 & #9 slots by very old articles about Google's audio ad network.
Here's the real problem though. Go through the top 100 positions and you won't find one - not one - radio group's name. Just a little common sense would make anyone ask "Why not?" or "How can this be?"
$1.5 million is a lot of moola to ask for the purchase of the domain names listed at the start of this commentary. But the RadioAdvertiser.com domain had no minimum bid requirement. The price could not have been an issue.
Still, for $1.5 million the radio industry (or a radio group) could have owned a set of relative domain names that I could guarantee would be lifted into the top five positions of any search engine, so potential radio advertisers looking for info on how to advertise on... you get the picture.
You don't have to look too far to see how the radio industry still doesn't "get" how local advertisers are using the internet. If it did, $1.5 million would be a cheap price for purchasing domain names that matter.
And, because I own (and offered) RadioAdvertiser.com, this can be said as fact: Had anyone bid $51 dollars, they could have snapped that one up for a real deal, too.
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Comments may be published.
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From: Maggie
In response to articles posted regarding radio advertising, the market
is facing an upward struggle against (strangely enough) the internet.
It seems almost ironic as I'm typing this because internet has a profound
effect on radio advertising and vice versa. The affordability and flexibility
of the radio would seem to be appealing to many, and even with Google's
efforts it may actually have a fighting chance But it's a classic case scenario
where a relatively new medium is taking away revenue from a much older medium.
Radio is fighting back and surprisingly, Google appears to be in a brighter light.
It's been helping small and medium-sized advertisers buy offline media, such as
radio ads (Hampp "Daily Newspapers and radio find an unlikely ally in Google"),
but at the same time the fact that TV execs are monitioring Google's success
throws their intentions into question. In addition, since the dMarc brother's
departure a few months ago, Google has been refocusing its efforts into
Fortune 1000 companies instead of smaller businesses, making it easier for
them to reach out to bigger brand names.
Is Google a force to fear? Perhaps. But the symbiotic relationship between
smaller advertisers and the media giant seem to be benefiting both and even
giving radio advertising a fighting chance. We will have to see in the months ahead.
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