Looking at the Pros and Cons of Radio

All media are going through a transition, and radio is no different. Yesterday, I was having a discussion with a new client about TV and DVRS, Radio and MP3 players, etc. It got me thinking about radio, and why, as marketers, its popularity has fallen off.

First of all, the quality of the spots has fallen off, especially at a local level. Commercials have started sounding the same, and frankly, have started to become slightly in your face and annoying.

There are especially few excellent branding executions. Most are call to action driven, so unless you have a specific price point or event to promote, there are more attractive alternatives for brand building goals.

Then, consider the fragmenting- ipods, Sirius Satellite, CDs- the perception is that these have eroded the audience base slowly over the last several years, particularly with the younger demographic. Before, there was only one choice to hear your favorite music in your car, etc. Now, there are alternatives everywhere.

We continue to utilize radio for local clients. Radio is efficient, we can tailor our messages relatively easy to specific niche demographics, and commuters and rural citizens alike all have access to it.

However, now that Pandora can be streamed on a mobile device, cars are being built with better MP3 capabilities (as well as Internet!), radio, like all mediums, will have to continue their evolution.