Author: Bob Kernen

By: Bob Kernen

We talk a lot about how advertising dollars are shifting to mobile. When you look at the statistics below, you notice how growth in other media is either anemic or even negative.

And while we are huge boosters of mobile (obviously!), we also spend enough time with our traditional media partners and clients that we never lose perspective on the value of other media channels for getting out a marketing message. We believe that the key to effective marketing isn’t choosing the right channel, it’s choosing the right channels. And then making those channels work harmoniously together.

The problem with the increasingly popular “mobile first” strategy is that it ignores a few key issues.

• Quality of mobile ad inventory – To go out and buy a bunch of mobile banners is of questionable value. So what mobile advertising in which to invest is an important question with a lot of facets to consider.
• The cost of marketing and getting distribution – If the strategy involves building and launching a branded app, that cost is considerable with current estimates between $1.25 – $1.50 per acquired user.

Marketing on the mobile platform is far from perfect at this point so it’s important to have a smart strategy. We think key to this strategy is making sure that a “ mobile first ” strategy is anything but a “mobile only” strategy. Mobile should be thought of as just one part of a comprehensive “360°” strategy. The objective should be to take advantage of the strengths of each marketing platfo rm and get them working together.

The consumer’s path through their day brings them in contact with lots of different media channels, so think about how each channel targets and impacts the consumer and how they can work together. From this notion of coordinated media and messaging comes a concept that we call “awareness to action.”

With awareness to action, you build a media plan that starts with creating the optimal reach for your brand’s message, using mass media like radio, TV and online display advertising. At that “30,000 foot” level you are trying to create messaging that pushes interested consumers to a more interactive environment where you can capture them as qualified leads. And that is where mobile excels. On the mobile platform, you can interact with that consumer, give them more information, learn about their needs, and acquire the data you need to build a relationship with them, and, hopefully, convert a sale.

What is different in with a “mobile first” approach is that you craft your campaign starting with the desired outcome. You work from that mobile interaction, designing that first. Then work backwards. Determine the best media to build the funnel that leads to an interaction point on mobile. The key is coordinating these elements so that the flow is easy and logical to the consumer.

Providing your clients complete, end-to-end solutions is the way to win more of their business. It’s also the best way to create an ROI model that provides direct attribution of how your brand led directly from outreach to sales.

To learn more about monetizing your mobile assets contact Alex Burnstein or me at 248-353-9030, or email sales@jacapps.com.

By: Bob Kernen

EMarketer predicts that 2016 will be the year that ad spending on mobile surpasses spending on desktop. They also predict that mobile ad spending will equal 25% of all ad spending. Clearly, mobile is where the money is moving.

But a recent article in Ad Age questions the rush to “mobile first” as a strategy. And while there is no question that there are both major advantages and major challenges to marketing on mobile, they make a compelling point that effective mobile advertising should be just one part of the whole marketing picture. For radio, this is very good news if you can effectively bring together all of your assets – on-air, web, email and mobile.

The top categories according to eMarketer’s survey are retail at 23.2% of total spend, followed by financial services and automotive at about 12% each, and telecom at 11.4%. These are all categories where you probably already have strong relationships, so leverage those relationships to bring your mobile opportunities into the equation. If you haven’t already, check out our recent webinar on Monetizing Mobile.

Most of your advertisers are already working with the giants in the mobile space – Facebook, Google, etc. – and those companies do take a lion’s share of the market. Facebook alone takes almost 20% of the market. But buying Facebook isn’t really a complete strategy, and you should emphasize to your clients the things that are unique about your offering – brand association, fan passion, a local focus – in trying to carve off a piece of that mobile budget for yourself.

One of the most powerful tools you have is the ability to deliver rich media experiences – audio and video – to your clients on mobile. More and more marketers are seeing mobile not just as a search or transaction-driven platform, but as a place for strong branding. Here again, your ability to combine advertising elements such as on-air and mobile give you a unique value proposition that can lead the consumer from awareness to action.

Rest assured that your clients are already thinking about mobile, and for some of them, that means they already have an app of their own. In those cases, advertising on your app can drive consumers to that app in an easy, one-tap way. But for other advertisers having their own app doesn’t make sense. So come up with creative ways for them to have a presence in your app.

So whether or not 2016 is “The Year of Mobile” (again), make it the year of mobile for you by offering your clients solutions that leverage all your assets. That combination may be the key to unlocking new revenue sources through mobile.

To learn more about monetizing your mobile assets contact Alex Burnstein or me at 248-353-9030, or email sales@jacapps.com.

By: Bob Kernen

Mobile listening has surpassed desktop in terms of total time spent with streaming media. This should come as no surprise to anyone – a device that can go anywhere provides a far superior experience for users than being wired to a desktop, or even laptop, computer.

For many stations, however, that trend is only just getting started. But as more and more of your listeners tune in on mobile, you need to be prepared to monetize those listeners. It is great to be ahead of the curve by having your app enabled with the Nielsen SDK and to be simulcasting. But you really can’t stop there.

The challenge is that while users are flocking to mobile, many (if not most) stations haven’t done a great job of activating their listenership on mobile. While most have apps, few do a good job of promoting them, driving downloads and usage.  And the reason is that at first glance it seems like they are caught in a Catch 22: “How can I sell my app if I only have a few thousand downloads?” So most stations run a few low CPM banners and leave it at that. 

But there is a different approach that can help your station realize value from your mobile strategy almost immediately: Sell a charter or title sponsorship of the app. The way this can work is for your sales team to bring in a single sponsor who gets the opportunity to “own” the app for an extended period of time.  What this type of package means is that the sponsor gets 100% of the ad inventory in the app, as well as pre-roll audio (or video) messages, and “entitlement” branding on each screen of the app.

Beyond that, the sponsor gets tagged in on-air promotions for the app, positioning that sponsor as a force for good, bringing listeners the app, and as an innovative, “cool” company that is involved in a great new product on a massively popular, cutting edge platform.

The other benefit of having this time of sponsorship, is that your station will have no choice but to run lots of promos for the app, driving downloads and usage so that after awhile, your sales team can bring on additional sponsors. And that “promo” inventory is now more than promotion, it’s driving revenue.

So don’t wait to build downloads or traffic before beginning to monetize your mobile strategy. If you need more ideas or help in implementing a charter or title sponsor on your app, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help.

sales@jacapps.com | www.jacapps.com | 248-353-9030

By: Bob Kernen

The smart, forward-thinking people at Google released some interesting statistics on the evolving ways people are using their mobile devices. They isolated four growing “behaviors” that hold tremendous opportunity for broadcasters and their mobile strategies.

For quite a while now, we’ve been telling our clients to think of their apps as more than a listening device – though they’re great for re-capturing those listening occasions lost to the iPod. That is why we work hard to incorporate social, user-generated content, blogs, video, podcasts and all manner of content in our apps. The more reasons you can give your audience to open that app, the better.

The Google research identifies four behaviors that users are increasingly turning to their mobile devices for.

“I Want To Know” – 65% of users surveyed say they use their devices more frequently to look up information versus just a few years ago. And 66% say they turn to their smartphones to look up something they saw on a TV commercial. So it makes sense that making sponsor information find-able and action-able right from your station’s app makes sense, so consider that as you work with your clients to develop mobile creative.

“I Want To Go” – Interest in “near me” information has doubled in just the past year. 82% of users engage in local searches on their device. Again, think about how your station’s mobile strategy can play into this. Using beacons and geo-fencing you can help deliver your listeners right to your advertisers’ front door, and they’ll pay for that.

“I Want To Do” – 91% of smartphone users turn to their device for help accomplishing a task. The opportunity for your sponsors is to put that help just a tap away from your mobile app. Not all marketing has to “ask for the order,” as our own Seth Resler advocates, getting a consumer the content they need first can lead to that purchase.

“I Want To Buy” – The holy grail for advertisers! 82% of users consult their device in-store when deciding on a purchase. And mobile sales conversions have grown 29% in the past year alone. That means that your mobile sponsors should be driving more than simple brand awareness. Help them to connect their advertising to the online sites where they can make sales, and be sure to track those clicks, so you can show clients the solid ROI from advertising on your mobile platform.

So as you evolve your mobile strategy for sponsors, keep these trends in mind, they can help you open your clients up to the power of mobile, while capturing those important digital dollars for your station.

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.

By: Bob Kernen

As 2016 gets started, the opportunities for monetizing your mobile strategy continue to proliferate.

One of the biggest changes for radio in the digital space in 2015: the Nielsen SDK. Nielsen has embraced new radio listening patterns by releasing software that, when added to web and mobile players measures that listening and can add it to overall ratings as part of a “single line” reporting methodology.

jācapps was the first mobile company to have its platform certified for the Nielsen SDK and since the first half of the year we’ve enabled dozens of stations for Nielsen’s tracking system.

If your station is in one of the top 50 Nielsen rated markets (and soon beyond the top 50), you are eligible for single line reporting, and to have your web and mobile metrics included in your ratings. If your branded mobile app is on jācapps’ V4 platform, just contact us and we can work with you and Nielsen to have your app properly enabled to begin getting those vital ratings.

No longer will you have to worry about promoting digital listening for fear of losing a meter, in fact you turn every new digital listener into a measurable one. Of course that means that you can now turn your mobile listening into the currency you need to drive new sources of revenue.

This new SDK can help you measure all that new listening, and that re-captured listening that is now happening at the gym, at home and in all those places where radios aren’t. And with the coming adjustments to streaming rates, you can drive users to your stream without any fear.

Making your V4 app Nielsen enabled costs only $75/month. Contact Alex Burnstein or me at 248-353-9030, or email sales@jacapps.com.

by: Bob Kernen

Mobile is a great way for your audience to listen to your station, but your app can be about much more than just access to your stream. Here are 5 non-streaming features of your app that you should use to drive engagement with your audience.

1. Social interaction – You can use the app to interact with your audience on social media. Most apps will display your Facebook or Twitter feed, and the best apps will enable your audience to not only read your posts, but post back to you. Why send them to the FB or Twitter app, when they can interact in your own app.

2. On demand listening – Podcasts are a part of people’s every day life. Ask any one of the 1.3M people who downloaded the Serial podcast. Take your content and make it available to your app users to listen to when they want to. Listening to your morning show during an evening workout (sponsored) is a great way to leverage existing content.

3. Upstream – Several popular station apps have features that enable users to record audio and send it to the station to use on air. Why not let your listeners send in their comments and questions this way? Or let them record a song or show intro. Everybody wants to hear themselves on the radio, but now you’re in control.

4. News feeds – Whether you’re a sports station, a music station or a news station, you probably have news content coming in to your website. That same XML or RSS feed can be ported to your mobile app. It’s the perfect way to tie something you’re talking about on-air to more information on mobile.

5. Promotions – Get your users engaged with the promotions they hear on-air by making sure you promote it on your mobile app. It’s the perfect place to give them the details you don’t want to waste valuable air-time on.