Could Audio Be the Most Overlooked Tool in Your Media Mix?
Grant Johnstone, Chief Marketing Officer at ACE Radio, enters the Commerce Media Matters booth to reflect on nearly four decades of being on the air.
Contrary to popular belief, video has not killed the radio star. In fact, Grant argues audio is stronger than ever and has proven itself to be a powerful platform in the commerce media world.
He explains that the format has evolved from “spots and dots” to a sophisticated medium that can influence buyer behaviour right up to the checkout.
The formidable capabilities of modern radio should not be underestimated – if anything, it deserves fresh attention.
Listen up to learn how leading brands are fine-tuning radio as part of their commerce media mix to execute effective campaigns that’ll stick in audience ears.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Traditional media’s continued role in growing commerce media: the traditional format of broadcast radio and its established audience makes it a prosperous advertising platform
Radio’s unique ability to influence consumer behaviour: how powerful audio call-to-actions can change behaviours in real time.
The importance of creatives in effective advertising: attention is the ultimate currency in advertising and strong creative captures it.
Respecting the advertiser-audience relationship: personalised advertising will help engagement but too much of it will see brands dropped like a hot potato.
Soundbites to listen out for:
Regional Australia is a vital audience
I think we need to remember that there’s nine million people still living in regional Australia and almost half our population is in regional Australia. So they play an important role in Australia’s economy.
Audio-to-action
Arguably we’re one of the only broadcast media that’s been able to have that really last-minute connection with someone prior to purchase.
Radio’s reach and longevity
Broadcast and streaming radio still reaches 81% [of Australian people]. Radio is the cockroach of the media industry.
Podcasts on the rise
Podcast numbers are growing in Australia quite rapidly. And we’re now ahead of the US when it comes to podcast consumption.
Creative broadcasting
The creative itself is just so vitally important. It’s a crowded space…We’re trying to grab people's attention – it’s the commodity that we’re all trading. If we don’t have that creative-led solution with any of the stuff that we do, particularly the advertising content, then you're not grabbing them.
Repeated sales
The benefit of having really good first-person data post-sale is not only guaranteeing a sale today but helping to guarantee sales tomorrow, the month after, the year after.
Appreciating audiences
[With] the wonderful nature of first-person data and the ability for us to be able to connect with people, I think we need to remember that it is actually a two-way relationship. We need to make sure that if we are connecting with them, that we protect that relationship. If we then abuse that relationship, they’re dropping us like a hot potato instantly and unsubscribing from everything they’ve ever had a connection with us.
About our guest
Grant Johnstone is a radio veteran of almost 40 years, with the last 30 at ACE Radio where he is currently Chief Marketing Officer. ACE commands a considerable portion of the airwaves with more than 20 radio stations broadcasting throughout regional Victoria and the east coast of Australia.
Grant plays a role in growing ACE’s marketing and digital efforts to encompass a media network with a combined reach of over 11-million. Despite emerging platforms and mediums, Grant’s work has helped maintain broadcast media as a stronghold of audience reach and commercial opportunities.
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