It seems like Radio ad sales strategy has been trying to find a way to compete with the Google adwords and click through models and for the most part coming up with few if any answers.
The system of just paying for the 'click through' to your site from other sites where your 'Google little bitty Ad' might show up has some advantages. The biggest is that you only pay for the exposure that actually causes someone to visit your site or on-line store. The other vehicle is bidding on adwords that might pop up in a search so you are placed higher, or first, in the search and gain the click through.
While it's great that you only pay for the advertising that works or that you pay to gain a leg up on your 'world wide' competition. Does it really boost your business? Does it create any demand for your product or service? Does it build your brand or craft an image for a business? Surely people have built a business with these tools, but is it that they were first? Did they go after a niche that suddenly hit? I bet if you took a few thousand and invested in all the tools and did one of those 'drop ship items from China' business models we see all over the internet you'd probably just be out a few thousand.
Radio has been building demand for products, building brands and crafting images for clients for many years. It's been proven year after year for many different clients and businesses as long as they get enough exposure to 'crack the ice' and that they have enough creativity in their message to get into the audience's head they can build demand and awareness for product or service.
Just getting someone to notice you is not enough - you have to have a message and that takes more than placement on a search with 1 million sites returned in 2.4 seconds. It takes more than a few sentences in little black type on the side column of the ever busy web pages we see. It takes more than a few banner ads that are flashing away or the pop up that everyone figured out how to block a long time ago.
You have to really establish communication with the audience. Radio can do it. TV can also do it, but at what cost and how high is the creativity bar set when you have to produce a mini-movie to stand out in the media? Radio can be very creative, efficient, and powerful in developing brands and demand. You just have to learn how to use it.
Has radio really carried this message home in the light of all the new media competition? Based on most of the feedback from many sources from Wall Street to the quarterly sale projections it doesn't look like it.
On to another topic - Jim Cramer's Mad Money rants on radio recently have been rather interesting. I catch a show here and there and sometimes in my 'random sample' he takes calls that include advice on the Satellite Stocks. He's usually pulling out the BULL and hitting the big horn when they call. He's put himself on the line here. We've also seen the merger issues with XM and Sirius seem to take forever as they passed the 1 year anniversary in their request. Many, including Creamer accuse the NAB, Congress and the Election year and perhaps some of it may be true - who knows what goes on in Washington off the floor these days.
But, you have to wonder if Cramer also has something at stake here - his reputation. If the merger goes through the stocks will go up for both Satellite casters and his predictions and reputation will improve. Even if he doesn't have anything invested here - his reputation is somewhat of an investment given the higher profile he seems to be striving for every day. Watch the Today show - Cramer is there a lot. He's got books, the show, - he's probably jealous of TV star rocket ride that Rachael Ray is pulling off. It's more than just being an investment guru for Cramer - it's chasing Oprah.
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