By: Bob Kernen
Nearly three-quarters of adults (and way too many kids) carry smartphones. The Apple and Google app stores each have over 1 million apps. And the average human now spends four years of his life staring at a small, glowing screen. Mobile’s here to stay. So shouldn’t a mobile app be more than something that sounds cool in an on-air promo, shouldn’t it pay?
Some stations have sold sponsorship of their app and that’s good, but it’s time to think bigger. Mobile and radio are a tremendous marriage because nothing drives awareness better than radio, and mobile is perfectly positioned (in the pocket or purse) to convert that awareness into action.
Here are three opportunities to consider:
• Local guides can take your station’s brand authority – and your client list – and package it into a useful, branded guide for your listeners. Entertainment, dining, skiing, family activities are all areas where you can aggregate local businesses, sell them an upgraded presence and plant your station’s flag as the go-to authority in your market.
• Interactive advertising is going to be a big story in 2015. Two companies, Clip Interactive and Xapp Media are offering exciting new products that allow users to instantly interact with sponsor messages through their mobile device. These highly engaging ads sell for prices that are an order of magnitude above what advertisers pay for a standard audio ad, let alone a mobile banner.
• Games are another opportunity to leverage your cume and your brand to drive your listeners into a highly engaging, and highly sponsor-able environment. The most popular category of mobile apps, games can breathe new life into promotions and contests.
So maybe it’s time to stop thinking just “app” and consider “apps” as part of your NTR (new traditional revenue) plan.
