12-15-2011
Mike Stiles
Some of you are old enough to remember when the transistor radio first came onto the scene. Don?t worry, I?m not going to ask those of you who are to admit it. But it was the beginning of an unprecedented explosion of radio usage. It changed everything. Gone were the Norman Rockwell days of children lying on their stomachs in living rooms, chins in their hands, staring at the glowing radio dial. Gone in fact, were the days of being tethered to the car.
Nope, now ol? dad could listen to the big game while he tinkered with that darn mower in the backyard. Jimmy and Missy could have tunes during their romantic picnics. You could even strut down Main Street, radio in hand, hard plastic plug covered with wax hanging onto your ear for dear life.
Radio could go everywhere you did. And that was really good for radio.
Do you think the mobile device revolution that?s currently underway is any different? Any less impactful? Any less embraced by users? Everyone can now take something they already loved, the Internet, everywhere they go. Literally the entire world?s collection of information and entertainment, right at their fingertips, 24/7.
Of Facebook?s 800 million users, more than 350 million currently access it through a mobile device. Erick Tseng, Head of Mobile Products for Facebook, said during the GigaOM Mobilize conference they may soon be more of a mobile company than a developer for the web and desktop. Proliferation of the devices themselves will only increase exponentially, and globally. According to eMarketer, by 2016, the growth of mobile social network users is expected to reach 1.7 billion, a sweet 210% increase from 2011.
So what?s your response when your advertisers look at you after your big radio schedule pitch and ask, ?What mobile ad solutions do you have for me?? Hell, for that matter, what mobile ad solutions do you have for the station itself? What products from your station brand do you have ready to go for your listeners? mobile devices?
Your station does have a mobile app to serve up those products optimized for mobile usage, right? It?s pretty cool for an advertiser who sponsors your traffic reports to show up when your listeners pull up reports on your mobile app. And it?s pretty cool for an advertiser to have a coupon show up on your listener?s phone when they?re in or near that shopping area. You go in with that stuff and advertisers who?ve been progressively giving your AE?s the cold shoulder will get noticeable perkitude in their ears.
As always, keep an eye on Facebook. They may start experimenting with mobile ads in March, which will look like a mobile version of Sponsored Stories. Their advantage is they?ve already got a buttload of info about people?s interests and friends, so you can imagine how that helps an advertiser with targeting. Is there any money in it? $630 million in 2011 US mobile display ad revenues. I bet at least some of it came from your town. Quit leaving it on the table.
Mike Stiles is a writer/producer with the social marketing tech platform, Vitrue, and head of Sketchworks comedy theatre. Check out his monologue blog, The Stiles Files.
on Twitter @mikestiles
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