PodcastOne-Commissioned Brand Lift Studies Indicate Positive Results for Advertisers. This series of comprehensive studies by
Edison Research was commissioned by
PodcastOne and scrutinized the results of advertising tests with five major national consumer brands across five different product and service categories.
PodcastOne founder and executive chairman
Norm Pattiz and Edison Research VP of
strategy
Tom Webster say that this is a "first-ever study of pre- and post-campaign brand lift for podcast advertisers" and was conducted over the last half of 2016. It shows "significant positive impact of podcast advertising on brand recall, intent to purchase and recall of specific messaging." Some of the key findings include: 1) More than 60% of listeners mentioned a specific grocery brand post-campaign, up from 7% among listeners in the pre-study; 2) Unaided product awareness increased from the pre-study to the post-study by 47% for a financial services product, by 37% for an automobile aftermarket product and by 24% for a lawn and garden product; 3) In the post-study, over one-third of respondents had a "very favorable" opinion of an automobile aftermarket product, up from 18% in pre-study. In the post-study, 22% said they were "very likely" to consider using a lawn and garden product, up from 16% in the pre-study; 4) Awareness of a specific campaign message for an automobile aftermarket product increased by 60% from the pre-study to the post-study, and for a casual dining restaurant by 76%. Edison says it conducted three separate studies in 2016 on behalf of PodcastOne to examine the effectiveness of podcast advertising for five national brands. Some of these brands were well known, but launching new messaging, while others were lesser-known
brands looking for increased awareness and trial. Edison reports that in all cases, online surveys of the audiences of several leading podcasts were conducted before the podcast advertising campaigns ran, and again after each brand had run 4-6 weeks' worth of advertisements on those podcasts, using the same methodology in each case. The results of these pre- and post-campaign studies showed that these podcast audiences were receptive to brand messages, and showed an increased willingness to consider and/or purchase those brands. PodcastOne's Pattiz comments, "Our core focus has always been to independently verify that the podcast format provides enhanced brand impact well beyond traditional advertising formats. These results further validate our mult-tiered approach to integrated advertising and measurement."
TALKERS News Notes. After just five months on the job, it appears that radio personality
Arnie States has
exited
Lotus' sports talker KUUB, Reno "ESPN Radio 94.5" where he hosted the 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm show. States' info has been scrubbed from the station website. States was previously one-third of the "
Rob, Arnie and
Dawn" show at KRXQ, Sacramento…..The nationally syndicated "America Outdoors Radio" reports three new stations joining its list of affiliate stations: KPAY, Chico, California; KZWY, Sheridan, Wyoming; and KXLE, Ellensburg, Washington. The weekly show is hosted by
John Kruse and covers topics including fishing, hunting and the shooting sports.
Trump Travel Order Battle Tops Talkers TenTM. The court – and public opinion fight – over President
Donald Trump's order temporarily banning travel to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim nations was the most-talked-about story on news/talk radio this week, landing atop the Talkers Ten
TM. At #2 this week was the confirmation hearings for Attorney General
Jeff Sessions and the related rebuke of Senator
Elizabeth Warren for impugning Sessions. Coming in at #3 was Democratic senators' attacks on labor secretary nominee
Andrew Puzder, followed by criticism of the U.S.' Yemen raid on Islamic State targets at #4. The Talkers Ten
TM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed on news/talk radio during the week and is the result of ongoing research from
TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. View this week's entire chart
here.
Does the Trump Era Present Fresh Opportunity for a New Chapter in Progressive Talk Media? The leading progressive talk radio host in America,
Thom Hartmann, is this week's guest on the award-winning
PodcastOne series "Up Close and Far Out with
Michael Harrison." They discuss how the passionate galvanization of a large segment of the American public described as the "resistance" movement (to the
Donald Trump administration) is
sparking new opportunity for the expansion of progressive talk media. Hartmann describes the "explosion" of growth being enjoyed by his multi-platform syndicated radio and television talk shows in terms of affiliates, viewers, callers and social media traffic since the election of the 45
th president. Harrison and Hartmann explore the social dynamics involved in tapping into under-served American passions erupting on all ends of the political spectrum – basically agreeing that these are extremely fertile times for news/talk radio of
all political persuasions. To listen to this not-to-be-missed conversation in its entirety, please click
here or click on the "Up Close and Far Out" player box located in the right-hand column on every page of Talkers.com.
Greg Solk Named PD for CBS Radio's WXRT and WJMK in Chicago. Programming pro
Greg Solk has a new gig and he gets to remain in his hometown of Chicago. The former
Hubbard Radio SVP of programming joins
CBS Radio's crosstown station group to serve as program director and operations manager for legendary rocker WXRT
and classic hits WJMK "KHits 104.3." The company says Solk "joins the Chicago team with a goal of building loyalty among KHits' engaged adult listeners while also spearheading a new era of growth at XRT, one of Chicago's most respected radio brands." CBS Radio Chicago VP of programming
Todd 
Cavanah comments, "Greg grew up listening to XRT as a teenager and spent decades programming against it. This is an unbelievable opportunity for us to have not only a true fan of XRT but a strategic thinker to make XRT the number one rock choice in Chicago. His deep knowledge of music's past, present and future will keep XRT evolving forward by remembering the heritage of this unique Chicago brand. For 'KHits,' Greg brings tremendous
knowledge to the classic hits format and we welcome him as a partner on our programming team." Speaking about this new opportunity, Solk states, "I have been blessed in my career to work for some amazing stations in my hometown, but this opportunity is off the charts. Everyone knows there is no station or staff anywhere in the world that can rival the 45-year heritage of WXRT — 'Chicago's Finest Rock.' I am humbled to be a part of its brilliant legacy. To be asked to also take the reins of 'KHits' makes this the most exciting move I can imagine. I can't wait to join the great team of professionals at CBS Radio. I am honored by the confidence
Tim Pohlman, Todd Cavanah and
Chris Oliviero have placed in me."
Music Radio News and Career Moves. In an ongoing effort to illustrate the importance of broadcast radio to the discovery of new music,
iHeartMedia is engaging in a world premiere of
Katy Perry's latest single, "Chained to the Rhythm." All day today, the song will air at the top of every hour (until 11:00 pm) on 150 iHM CHR, hot AC and rhythm stations. iHeartMedia says that "research shows that more than 70% of listeners – including users of on-demand services like
Spotify or
Pandora – discover new music first on broadcast radio. That's why broadcast airplay is critical in the success of breaking new music."…..On Sunday (2/12), WDVD, Detroit morning personality
Blaine Fowler partners with Sweet Magnolia's Southern Cooking in Southfield, Michigan to honor exceptional local women at the "Blaine's Best Banquet." The event honors women from Southeastern Michigan who've "made outstanding contributions in their community, their workplace, or at home." Fowler says, "The response has been overwhelming and extremely heartening. We knew we'd get some great stories, though we never expected that we would receive so many! These stories tell of extraordinary commitment, determination, strength, selflessness, caring, and love." Ten nominated ladies who were
hand-selected by Blaine will be honored in front of their friends and families. Blaine will be telling each of their stories, as well as presenting the honorees with a Blaine's Best commemorative award…..Pictured here at Wednesday evening's "A Heroes and Friends' Tribute to
Randy Travis" at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena are (from l-r)
Kelly Lynn Janson (singer/songwriter Chris Janson's wife),
Chris Janson, NASH director of programming
John Shomby, and singer/songwriter and "Mornings with Ty, Kelly & Chuck" co-host
Chuck Wicks. Wicks was one of the 30 performers at Wednesday's tribute. Proceeds from the event went to the Randy Travis Foundation for stroke research.
Charlie XCX Visits Beasley Las Vegas. Pop star and Road Runner/Atlantic Records recording artist Charlie XCX poses for a photo backstage with some of the staff of Beasley Media Group's hot AC KVGS "Star 107.9." From left to right are: KVGS morning show co-host Aimee Montgomery, afternoon personality and APD/MD Brian Hammer, Charlie XCX, night jock Chad Letts, and OM/PD John Candelaria.
