9-12-2012
Five years ago, the largest publicly traded Hispanic-controlled media and entertainment company in the U.S. decided that mobile was a perfect, and necessary, complement for both programming and on-air advertisements and promotions in its major radio markets. Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) took an early bet that incorporating mobile would greatly deepen their audience?s engagement with their radio stations, talent, and advertisers.
For me, SBS is a great example of an early adopter in radio that embraced an emerging technology that had a lot of promise but few published results at the time. When we first started working together, Hipcricket began to capitalize on one of the nation?s fastest-growing demographics, Hispanics, who were and continue to be among the most active users of mobile technology and text messaging. SBS was one of our initial partners to see the benefit in segmenting by demographic and recognized our strengths in reaching Hispanic customers. They took a forward-thinking look at their audience, where they were spending their time, and reacted accordingly.
Cut to 2012, when U.S. Hispanic media spending continues to grow faster than general market media every year, actually topping $7 billion in 2011 (source: Advertising Age). SBS continues to capitalize on this incredible opportunity. This year, the media company introduced a 360-degree marketing approach that enables advertisers to reach these consumers across TV, radio, Web, social, and mobile.
The company clearly understands the impact of enabling engagement with its key audiences and is doing what it takes to make that engagement enjoyable, timely, and relevant, in the medium that best fits each consumer. They are also enabling advertisers, on a local and national scale, to increase marketing channels that drive awareness and loyalty.
In addition to optimizing on-air campaigns by complementing them with mobile promotions, they are also exploring new growth opportunities in the live event sector. Mobile is a rapidly growing and increasingly important aspect of live events, giving audiences an opportunity to interact in real-time and for advertisers to engage consumers with information, contests, and more. SBS Entertainment?s concerts and events, now employing text-to-screen and other mobile programs that drive engagement, is a logical extension of the mobile success the company has seen to date.
It is an exciting time for radio, media, events, and mobile. I can?t wait to see how companies like SBS stay ahead of the curve and satisfy their listeners? desire to stay connected and engaged, constantly pushing the mobile envelope.
Ivan Braiker is the president of mobile marketing company Hipcricket. He can be reached at ivan@hipcricket.com.
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