BIA Perspectives

Highlighting the dynamic nature of local markets and building off the research and themes they have echoed throughout the year (see the ILM Conference podcasts with Peter Krasilovsky and Michael Boland), The Kelsey Group has just released more than two-dozen key trends to watch for in 2009 in interactive local media, global Yellow Pages and vertical directories and classifieds.

What are the key trends?

According to Neal Polachek, chief executive officer of The Kelsey Group, the current economic situation is “likely to accelerate the transition of some local advertising dollars to the Internet, while at the same time making the role of the local media sales representative more important than ever.”

In fact, this trend is validated by many of the new technologies coming out in the mobile space (including voice search, GPS etc), as well as a renewed emphasis by companies (regardless if they are just local, regional or national chains) to reach out to local communities.

Among The Kelsey Group’s predictions for local media in 2009 are:

• SMB Video Ads. Kelsey Group analysts are beginning to see data that suggest the firm’s aggressive video ad forecasts might have been too low. At Interactive Local Media 2008, for example, Gordon Henry, Spotzer’s president of North and South America, suggested that within a few years half of SMBs that have Web sites will have a video advertisement. That’s approximately 3 million small-business ads in the next few years in the United States alone. What to watch for in 2009: Even faster adoption than The Kelsey Group’s forecast of a 163 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

• The Online-Only Yellow Pages Publisher? For some time The Kelsey Group has been predicting that an existing print directory publisher would divest all or much of its print operations and transform itself into an online-only business with an established sales force and brand. This hasn’t happened yet, but Kelsey analysts believe the prospects of it occurring in the next 12 to 18 months are reasonably good. However, some willing sellers may have trouble finding willing buyers. What to watch for in 2009: Look for organizations that are structured to enable a clean separation of the print operation. Also look for organizations that are clearly disinvesting in print by shifting all or most marketing and product development funding and energy to the online product.

• Mobile YP Leaves the Laboratory. The Kelsey Group expects to see directory publishers treat mobile as something more than a science project, or a modest extension of Internet Yellow Pages distribution. As smartphones, iPhone and iPhone wannabes proliferate, mobile will become a key usage channel and publishers will begin to find ways to monetize it, though we don’t expect to see much meaningful revenue in 2009. Google has stepped into these waters with its recent launch of iPhone and G1 ad targeting. What to watch for in 2009: As publishers look increasingly to sell a bundle of leads across media platforms, they will want to include mobile as one source of leads. We’ll also see whether publishers follow Google’s lead and begin offering advertising units exclusive to mobile platforms.

• Local Marketplace Sites Jump on Social Bandwagon. The big social sites such as Facebook have been largely missing in action on the local front. But Facebook is opening up via Facebook Connect, which allows sites such as Citysearch to use its profiles and other features to their own ends. The site is also being used by local marketers such as Campusfood.com for games that increase loyalty and patronage. Its “Food Friendzy,” for instance, currently has 27,000 users. What to watch for in 2009: Expect to see a lot of use for this (and not just on Facebook). Many sites will implement other social features on their own, such as ratings and reviews, photos, videos and bulletin boards.

• Voice Search Usage Will Accelerate. Voice search is gaining traction at portals and Internet companies. Missing among the players (which include Google, Vlingo and Tellme) is a major Yellow Pages publisher. Kelsey Group analysts caution publishers not to ignore a critical window into their local data for too long or the opportunity will pass them by. What to watch for in 2009: Major Yellow Pages publishers to build or buy a voice search solution.

• Use of Traditional Media Becomes Differentiator. The role of traditional media has been beaten down by the arrival of new media channels and search. But it still has a broader scale and reaches more people than new media. Indeed, with dropouts of many key advertisers, better positions (and prices) help them stand out. Expect to see TV ads, radio and to a lesser extent, newspapers, act as differentiators for leading online services. Services such as HouseValues.com are already going this route. What to watch for in 2009: Look for cross-media bundles bringing together newspapers, TV, radio and online services.

A year-end review of events revealed the Kelsey analyst team achieved 75 percent accuracy on its 2008 predictions, with 18 of 24 predictions classified as “on target.”

For more information, check out The Kelsey Group at: www.kelseygroup.com

Posted by: Rick Ducey
Chief Strategy Officer, BIA

Credit crunch, debt crisis, falling Fed rates, real estate valuations plummeting, unemployment rising, auto bail out on the horizon . . . pretty much every sector of our recession economy is feeling pain.

Conventional wisdom holds that the media industries are relatively more robust in down economies as people will tend to save money by staying home and consuming media. Yet we see declining forecasts for advertising expenditures by businesses in both the traditional and digital media for 2009. For example, Magna’s Bob Coen in his December 2008 forecast says he expects to see a decline of 3.2% in 2008 ad spending followed by a 4.5% decline in 2009.

Is reduced ad spending a good strategy for U.S. businesses trying to stay afloat during a recession?

For many businesses, the answer is no and for these two reasons:

• Advertising during a recession has major benefits. It protects the brand, increases sales and is actually more cost-effective with a more attractive ROI during a down economy. UPenn’s Wharton School of Business professor, Leonard Lodish, argues in a recent Knowledge@Wharton article that times like these make for attractively cost efficient ad spending. As ad demand slacks, costs go down but you can achieve the same impact; perhaps better if your competition decides to buy less ad inventory.
• Media allocations may shift but it doesn’t make sense in the long run to cut ad spend below your “brand elasticity.” In other words, if you conclude that advertising drives sales, there comes a point of diminishing returns when one more ad will no longer drive incremental sales. This equilibrium point may shift in a soft economy since your competition may reduce ad spending. This may be your opportunity to increase market share by increasing rather than cutting ad spend.

What evidence is there to support these two assertions?

• Wharton’s Prof. Lodish points out that, “research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run.” One study Lodish cites from McGraw Hill following 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during the 1981-1982 recession had net sales increases of 256% over those companies that did not advertise aggressively in the same period.
• David Sable, COO at Wunderman, a brand building agency warns that companies that do cut marketing and advertising budgets to “save” expenses may well end up spending four or five times as much down the road to regain lost market share. This is not a good strategy!
• It also makes sense to consider “rebalancing” your media allocations in a down market, just as you rebalance your investment portfolios. You may want to reassess your risk tolerance and rebalance accordingly. Significant growth and proportionate spending has moved from traditional to newer digital and mobile media platforms. However, these platforms are still proving themselves. Indeed, a study released this week by Rene Wilson, director of MS&L’s “influence marketing” unit, shows that 84% of “digital influencers” get their information first from traditional media like radio, TV, newspapers and magazines and only then go online to learn more. So to get word of mouth viral marketing started…it’s back to the traditional media to get things jump started. As Ms. Wilson said in a related Advertising Age article, “Everybody wants to talk about how it’s all digital and we certainly believe that it is the future. But traditional media still has the ability to spark word-of-mouth.”
• Use of Traditional Media Becomes Differentiator. Expect to see TV ads, radio and to a lesser extent, newspapers, act as differentiators for leading online services. Services such as HouseValues.com are already going this route. Among its 2009 predictions, BIA/Kelsey Group advises in its list of “What to watch for in 2009” - look for cross-media bundles bringing together newspapers, TV, radio and online services.

Even in a down economy, it makes great sense to keep advertising. It can offer great cost-efficiencies, bigger ROI, preserve or help your company expand market share. Rather than short term thinking about balancing your expense margin to protect cash flow, you may well be better off “rebalancing” your media allocations. Pete Blackshaw at Advertising Age makes a similar argument when he cautions, “Many of us are going to wake up in 2009 wondering “what did we eat?” and “why did we devour it all so fast?” He goes on to prescribe that we may well, “… feel compelled to join the social media equivalent of Weight Watchers, eager to trim the excess and rediscover a modicum of don’t-follow-everything discipline.”

Rebalancing media allocations to rely on traditional media’s strengths is very good strategy since we see that traditional media is the first refuge of the digital influencers who can drive viral marketing for your brand. P&G is a real world example of a firm that tends to increase ad spend during tougher times. P&G believes that it can steal share from adversaries that cut spending and that they can then keep those customers when the economy strengthens. They are counting on the competition to slash spending. This time around, P&G is looking to renegotiate their existing schedules in order to get more spots but this will have the same impact of increasing their share of voice as the nets/stations will not want to lose those critical ad dollars.

Posted by Rick Ducey
CSO, BIA

This is the last post of Questions and Answers from the BIA Webinar, Revitalizing Traditional Media: Radio. For more information about this event, please visit our Webinars page at: http://www.bia.com/webinars. There you can read a summary of the event, view a video of the webinar, download slides, and listen to the webinar like a podcast in an MP3 format.

Q: The sales rep? You’re looking at the wrong end of the Org Chart. They’re at the end of the chain. Reps will respond to incentive and direction. My experience is that Senior Management doesn’t understand new media. Most CEOs have only marginal knowledge or commitment to new media. Start there and reps will follow the leadership. Reps can’t lead the endeavor.

A: Good point. Change can be top-down or bottom-up (or both for that matter). Experience tends to validate that for change to be sustainable and systemic, it needs to come from the top and be supported over the long haul. Bottom up change does best in tactical execution. Putting new media inventory into the hands of sales reps can attract CEO level attention if there are some early successes. These initiatives can be low cost, very focused and short term orientation to help build the case for more executive attention and commitment of organizational resources and strategy. But to go for the big and lasting changing, you’re right…get the CEO in the loop.

Q: How can RADIO be transformed into a media that is “bought on performance” in the future?

A: Clearly the trend in ad spending is toward greater accountability and that means performance metrics. Furthermore, advertisers need to solve the media allocation problem efficiently and this relates to having metrics that are more comparable across platforms. To the extent radio can present itself as accountable and comparable it can be more successful at selling itself as a “performance medium.” Radio sales managers and account executive have a growing tool kit including ratings, web metrics, phone number tracking, email response, online purchasing and market research to document performance. Books such as Direct Response Radio: The Way to Great Profit with Measurable Radio Advertising by Brett Astor and Jeffrey Small make for excellent reading to get creative juices flowing.

Q: I understand cheapening a Web site when network ads are accepted, but an unused avail is lost revenue. If a local advertiser is not available, what do you suggest as an alternative source for that revenue?

A: Research shows that ad network inventory lowers CPMs for sites and can set new pricing floors. Ads served by networks cannot be controlled as well by stations. If these problems are not significant for your station, by all means accept the entire ad network inventory you can sell. We recommend that you (1) limit the inventory that can be sold by ad networks; (2) develop and stick to pricing policies (in particular with a yield management system); and (3) pursue local sources of revenue which tend to be higher value. Bottom line, if your sales force cannot outsell an ad network, it’s time for you to reassess your sales strategy, training and execution.

Q: You’re preaching providing content in a world where radio personalities are cut daily. How do you suggest we position staff/talent to corporate to be able to create the local content?

A: Talent and particularly local talent will be a huge differentiator for radio stations trying to create unique value. We’ve seen clever strategies to work with media professionals leaving positions in downsizing newspapers and television stations and getting them involved with web and radio content. As to WiFi in the car and branding, your brand strategy for the future must be increasingly platform independent if you want to thrive.

Q: How do you manage the delicate balance of operating a radio company efficiently and being prudent with expenses in the current economy and positioning the company for growth by investing in interactive, HD, Internet, etc.?

A: This will depend on your particular company’s circumstances. Generally, it makes sense to go back to your business plan and consider what your product mix is/will be and also the timing of your revenue streams. Look at your company not just from a quarterly perspective but from a multiyear perspective. If the ROI on investments does not look to be positive in an acceptable time frame, reconsider that strategy. Growth and strategic positioning does not come from cutting expenses, this is a basic business lesson. Growth comes from smart, well timed and well placed investments. Short term expense management is critical to stay in the game. But as the rules of the game are changing, so must your strategies. So you really have to go back to the drawing board and redefine your company’s strategy and then determine the best path to execution.

Q: You have addressed WHAT needs to be addressed, not how. What single, specific, dollar actionable strategy/tactic set would you recommend to most quickly accelerate revenue?

A: The search for the “silver bullet” solution is bound to end in frustration. If it were so easy to find a single solution to get to revenue quicker, everyone would be doing it. You actually want an answer that is specific to your company, defensible and sustainable. That’s the only way you can add relatively more value to your company and start to outpace the competition. The answer evolves out of an honest assessment of your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (i.e., a SWOT analysis). We also recommend you perform BIA’s “Five by Five” digital strategy. Learn more about this at: www.bia.com/data_perspective_030907.asp. There’s a white paper you can download at that link.

Q: What can radio stations do to attract (and retain) younger listeners?

A: Youth Trends Inc. conducts the “Tween & Teen Lifestyle” survey in the spring and fall. Last spring survey shows radio listening flat among the younger audiences mainly because they don’t control the car radio where much listening occurs. For details, see for example, http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080620-study-teens-dropping-rags-radio-for-web-games-and-tv.html. What they do control is their mobile phone and their PCs. We recommend using these platforms to cross promote and serve younger listeners which will help draw them back to relevant programming for them on the air.

Q: What basis does anyone have for concluding that perception is a major part of the radio industry’s problem? Isn’t there plenty of empirical data that supports that radio’s delivery is down? Have revenue shortfalls even caught up to the audience erosion?

A: You make a good point. We sometimes have to admit that in fact “reality is perception.” On this topic of perception versus reality, we invite you to listen to the audio stream from the New York Radio Market CEO Summit and check out a summary of this in Ken Dardis’ post, “Perception of Radio is Not a Shared Problem.” We have two comments here. First, radio in small and medium markets is doing well, as both Tony Renda and Bud Walters pointed out. The entire radio industry cannot be painted with the same broad brush. Second, it is our belief that radio stations are an undervalued asset that can benefit from increased valuation by leveraging its traditional strengths into new media. We explored some of these ideas in the webinar.

Posted by: Rick Ducey, CSO BIA

During the Revitalizing Traditional Media Webinar (which can be viewed at: http://www.bia.com/webinars), there were more questions asked than the speakers had time to answer. In an effort to answer those questions, BIA will post a couple blog entries with the questions followed by the answers. This is the first of two blog posts.

Q: What other types of non traditional revenues are being pursued?

A: In terms of digital media, we see radio stations successfully pursuing opportunities with platforms such as: Internet advertising inventory (display, video, search, iTunes downloads, email and streaming); mobile (SMS text; iPhone applications); datacasting (traffic, iTunes tagging) or even syndicating local content and talent to other websites. Stations can brand their multiplatform enterprises with their call letters or on-air positioning slogans or launch independent brands leveraging core strengths in programming, sales, promotion and platform management.

Q: Are there any companies we can buy these solutions from today? Any one stop shop?

A: We advise against the “silver bullet” and “one stop shopping” mentality. The reality is that as the media ecosystem becomes more complicated so too must the solutions. We recommend that you make the investment in your companies of your own intellectual capital. Be thoughtful, objective and honest. Come up with your goals and strategies. Prioritize them. The last step in this process is buying solutions, implementing them and finally evaluating their effectiveness. Do not short change yourself by spending time looking for a simple and effective solution to a problem you have been willing to invest your own time and effort in defining. Saying, “we have a revenue shortfall” is not a helpful definition of the problem. Something more along the lines of, “how do we create value for our advertisers and listeners that distinguishes us from the competition” is a better problem statement. Once you figure out how you want to approach that problem, then it becomes appropriate to being the search for tactical solutions and tools to get you where you need to be.

Q: How do you transition internet from value added to true incremental revenue?

A: This is squarely a sales strategy and management problem. Until the proper policies, compensation, training and products are in place the Internet will remain a “value add” to the customer instead of increasing your own valuation.

Q: Ducey said “we now have an equilibrium on content licensing expenses” How is that so since if there is no settlement of sound recording performance rights fees for streaming radio stations, a new proceeding will start before the CRB next year to set rates for 2011-2015

A: Good point. By “equilibrium” we meant that at the moment a number of radio broadcasters have decided to offer and even expand their streaming service offerings. This compares to a time in the recent past when copyright decisions compelled many radio broadcasters to turn off their streams. We do not see this as a particularly stable equilibrium until the new rates are set which indeed may define a new plateau for radio station streaming services (or not!).

Q: Any thoughts on access to capital given the challenged environment in the financial markets?

A: This will depend on your unique circumstances. As Tony and Bud said, if you are a privately held company with excellent relationships into local banks, you’re in good shape. Otherwise, the compelling need is to demonstrate prudent expenses management and a convincing path to revenue. Obviously the capital market is less tolerant of risk; puts lower valuations and multiples on radio stations and will seek terms more favorable to lenders and investors. There is significant money parked on the sidelines. This money cannot earn returns unless it is put to work. Sooner or later, we’ll see the capital dam start to spring leaks.

Q: How will HD radio be any different than AM stereo?

A: This is a challenging circumstance but we see several key distinctions. First, we have broad commitment from leading broadcasters both in terms of deploying the technology at their stations and backing the de facto standard. Progress is being made with consumer electronics and automotive companies to deliver on the devices side. We didn’t see these ecosystem factors emerge in the AM stereo case. HD Radio offers the industry an opportunity to reinvent itself using its own medium as well as diversifying into other media platforms by offering a rnage of new services. For example, a project BIA is working on for the NAB FASTROAD initiatives is developing an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) that will allow a market level guide to tell viewers “what’s on” radio. This has the potential to elevate radio’s service to audiences and advertisers and drive more use and revenue. For more information on the HD Radio EPG project see: www.nabfastroad.org.

Q: So much of Radio’s web potential depends on the ability to stream. Yet, with the RIAA/SoundExchange royalty system, streaming is not cost effective, and it doesn’t appear that it will ever be. I streamed until the end of 2007, when it became clear to me that the streaming business model was upside-down. Why do so many consultants (including BIA/Kelsey) insist on pointing broadcasters down this dead-end road?

A: Solutions need to be customized to individual companies and how they want to do business. However, streaming can be an excellent way to extend radio’s brand and service into the Internet environment in a powerful way. Internet advertising is a growth area, it makes sense to explore how radio can position itself in a unique and powerful way. With streaming to PCs and now mobile platforms increasing, it makes sense to continue working on finding ways to do this profitably. Remember, FM stations initially had little to no value compared to AM stations. Consider Internet streaming as possibly the FM stations of the future.

Yesterday on The Mike Hackmer Show, I had the opportunity to talk a little bit about social media and widgets with Terence Thomas. During the interview, Terence and I talked about where widget technology is a bit lacking, and what some of the companies Terence interacts with are looking for in widgets or desktop applications. The interview was part of a larger discussion that occurred that day on social media.

CLICK TO HEAR A PODCAST OF THIS INTERVIEW

The Mike Hackmer Show is on WEBR, Fairfax, VA. The show airs every Sunday at 12:00 pm Eastern time, and is dedicated to talking about traditional media, new or social media, and the world of marketing. Listeners can listen online at: http://www.fcac.org/webr

Posted By: Rodger Melchior, SpectraRep

In talking with many state EAS Chairs and Broadcasters, it seems that just about all are familiar with the FCC’s 2nd report and order mandating that EAS participants must have the ability to accept a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) message within 180 days from the date that FEMA announces a systems standard.

With FEMA publicizing their intention to release a standards announcement in the first quarter of 2009, many broadcasters are concerned that this compliance train is quickly barreling down the tracks towards them.

The FCC 2nd Report and Order implies that in order for the state broadcasters to receive a CAP message; the state (and even counties and municipalities) need to have systems capable of sending and distributing CAP messages. This is where things get a little tricky. Broadcasters realize that they need to act, but need to do so with the involvement and support of the state government to adopt a system that offers the ability to both send and receive a CAP based message.

As with broadcasters, a major challenge for many emergency managers is locating funding for these new initiatives.

With the recent release of the Homeland Security Grant Program overview for Fiscal Year 2009, it appears that the Federal government is aware of the funding dilemma that states are facing in order to implement state wide system upgrades to EAS, and are opening existing grant programs to help fulfill requests.

For example, the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) program are making available $861.3 million and $798.6 million, respectively.

The Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) make over 306 million dollars available for the purpose of “assisting state and local governments in enhancing and sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities.”

Hopefully this grant program will help to alleviate some of the funding issues that have kept states and broadcasters from moving forward from a funding standpoint. However the deadlines will require fast planning to make requests for funding for all-hazards alerting programs.

Posted by: Charles Laughlin and Mark Fratrik

This morning’s session at ILM:08 on Leveraging Traditional Media Online was an eye-opener in many respects. It was striking, for example, how aggressively NBC is embracing the idea of following the audience wherever it can get its attention — at the gas pump, at the gym, as well as on the couch with a soda and a bag of potato chips.

BIA’s Rick Ducey, one of the moderators of this panel, teed off the discussion when he said, “the future is what you make of it.” The three panelists responded to this challenge by showing what future they are creating, and what their companies are doing to integrate traditional media with various forms of new media.

Larry Olevitch of NBC Local Media listed the many venues where his company is reaching people — taxis, supermarkets, online gaming, fuel pumps and soon commuter trains — enabling them to offer a multiplatform campaign for their advertisers. Additionally, working with other companies in this traditional media space, even direct competitors, has led to very interesting and successful campaigns. NBC along with CBS Radio along with Comcast put together a successful Great Used Car Sale Campaign in Chicago utilizing the different forums these competitive firms offer. Olevitch noted the 10-day event generated 26 million impressions. He didn’t say how many cars were sold.

Comcast is also constructing its future with different media acquisitions. Comcast has purchased Fandango, Vehix, Plaxo and other companies, all with the intent of allowing its customers (advertisers) to more easily plan and execute campaigns. And, of course, the company is partnering with other media companies such as NBC to further this goal.

Meredith Papp from Google talked about how the search giant is making its future by providing many more analytical tools to make it easier for advertisers to buy multimedia. Through some experiments, Google has been able to increase the revenues of advertisers with these analytics and planning.

One specific innovation Papp discussed was the idea of using a “consumer response tag” to develop a standard location on print ads for call to action data (800 numbers and so on) based on the notion that if consumers are trained to look in a set location for response information, response rates will grow.

What will the future of these companies be? Clearly, they are acting and making very serious acquisitions and partnering with many companies to try to make their futures their own.

Posted by: Omar Wardak and Tommy Buono

Last Friday evening as I was driving home from work while listening to the radio, I heard that I could call in to get free tickets to a pre-screening of the new James Bond movie. The commercial mentioned a phone number but by the time I got to my cell phone, it was too late. I have a fairly good memory but I got a few of the last digits mixed up. I struggled with a dozen different phone numbers with no success and missed my opportunity to score the free tickets.

I spent the rest of my commute thinking about how far we have come since the days of the Sean Connery era Bond. It would have been a huge deal for him to have a car phone in the early 1960s. A lot has changed since then. Today everyone has mobile phones with them in their cars with features that would make even Bond proud.

Despite all of the advancement over the last half century, one thing that has stayed virtually the same is the way we view the car radio. The technology is already available to make the experience more interactive, but it has been ignored for the most part.

Today most cars come equipped with RDS (Radio Data System) radios. RDS allows the car radio to receive digital text messages through FM radio broadcasts. My car radio is able to receive these signals and show messages scroll across my car radio’s display. For example, local stations are able to show me the title of a song and the name of the artist. I love this feature because it gives me the info I need to later purchase the song on iTunes. This feature is great, but it makes me think of all the other possibilities for this form of communication.

BIA recently hosted a webinar titled Revitalizing Traditional Media, in which one of the panelists, Bud Walters, owner and president of the Cromwell Group, commented on this technology and said that “broadcasters have missed an opportunity with this” he goes on to say “this is something we can all modify and monetize and the cost of the equipment is less than $2,000 dollars”.

One thing my colleague, Tommy Buono, and I want to see is the phone number of radio stations displayed on radio units. A large percentage of total radio listening occurs in the car and a lot of radio stations are trying to get more interaction with listeners. Some radio programs have contests or invite callers to ask questions. However the call-in numbers are not always mentioned, and when they are, it is easy to miss the phone number unless you pay real close attention.

By showing phone numbers on the radio display, you would have the number when needed and would be able to pull over and successfully reach the radio station to participate in live broadcasts. It is a simple change that can be done in the near-term, which could have an enormous amount of long-term benefits. Here are five upsides to showing phone numbers on radio displays:

1) Listeners would be more willing and able to call-in.
2) Short ads can be played in the background as callers wait for DJs to answer.
3) Stations could offer interactive advertising that callers navigate by dial pads.
4) Advertisers can display phone numbers on air and improve conversion rates.
5) Talk shows would get more free content from callers sharing their views.

It is a simple change, but it would make listeners happier, advertisers happier, and earn radio stations premium rates. And perhaps with this technology I would be able to get my free movie tickets next time.

What a time to hold a conference called “Media and Money” but that’s just what Dow Jones and Nielsen did last week. The conference featured a number of top executives from media, private equity, agency and analyst firms who were interviewed by reporters one-on-one and in panels. While there were plenty of silver lining moments, the drumbeat was “times are tough and will remain so for a while.” This prolonged downturn will differentially impact media platforms, revenue models and advertising verticals in terms of both timing and extent.

Overall, there seemed to be concurrence that traditional media will continue to lose top line revenue to online and mobile media over time. Topics in the crossfire ranged from satellite radio to Hollywood films. Private equity speakers focused on newer digital media and how these are disrupting traditional business models. However, what disrupts can also extend the value of traditional media platforms for audiences and advertisers when clever strategies are developed to leverage mutual strengths. Traditional media have strong brands and large audiences. Digital media bring new ways to serve audiences and advertisers with portability, personalization, interactivity, device independence and metrics.

A defining but subtle theme emerged for local television at this conference. Arguable, it culminated in an exchange between Santo Politi, general partner at Spark Capital and George Kliavkoff, NBC-U’s chief digital officer who also serves on the Peacock Equity Fund, a $250 million joint venture fund. The two explored the inherent duality between the role of venture capital in introducing innovative and disruptive business models seeking to reorder the market and recognition that these typically unprofitable companies need traditional media for customers and exit strategies. Mr. Politi stated Spark Capital’s major goals as (1) disrupting existing media companies; and then (2) helping them out. Mr. Kliavkoff, wearing his NBC-U hat, came back with, “Oh that’s great, set us on fire, and then sell us buckets of sand. That’s what I love about my job!” Mr. Kliavkoff may have been speaking somewhat facetiously, but he nailed it on the head for local television stations – they are being set on fire by online and mobile media but these can properly be viewed as helping hands offering buckets of sand with the proper digital strategy.

How can this be?

As Tribune’s Lee Abrams said, “blow up your assumptions and reinvent yourself.” Mr. Kliavkoff summarized NBC’s experience with the Summer Olympics which serves to drive this point home. In his view, “TV is king!” NBC and its affiliates attracted 214 million television viewers for the 17 day long Olympics offering 3,000 hours of content. However the story does not end there. “Consumers expect multiplatform service now, they want content on mobile and web,” Kliavkoff asserted. NBC found these platforms to be additive to the broadcast television platform, blowing up the paranoid myth that digital media would detract from traditional media. The digital platforms raised both the number of viewers and also the time spent viewing. Multiplatform viewers of the NBC Olympics coverage watched twice as much as TV-only viewers. This is the “dream of digital” – adding to, not subtracting from broadcast assets.

Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenburg, offered an enlightened perspective when answering the question, “who will win – cable or telco?” He challenged the basis of the question by noting, “the world is not binary.” He sees Verizon as a platform company, not a content or applications company. External forces like Google, AOL and HDTV drive the demand for broadband and mobile that serves Verizon quite well.

Ultimately, the consensus is that it will be the well financed and well run companies that win, regardless of the platform. That said, companies committing to single platform strategies will miss out on significant growth opportunities and risk becoming marginalized sooner rather than later. Local television stations will need to find their own optimal mix of traditional, online and mobile media platform services. The local TV station business gets evaluated on audience tonnage and free cash flow. The online business gets evaluated on growth and increased accountability with improving metrics. The emerging mobile business is a place where local TV has to be but it currently is challenged to find winning business models, metrics and even common advertising formats and buying.

Local television is going to be set on fire, the only questions are who’s holding the matches and exactly what do those buckets of sand look like? The second question was put to panelists during the “Agents of Change: Can They Turn Old Media Into Profitable Media,” session when asked, “if you have $10 million to invest in media, where would you invest it?” Lauren Rich Fine (former Merrill Lynch equity analyst, now Kent State prof) picked Google. Jeff Smulyan from Emmis picked brands as the winner, for example The Wall Street Journal.

Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, put his lot with “Indian digital newswire services.” Lee Abrams from Tribune went with News Corp. And Jeffery Stevenson from Veronis, Suhler and Stevenson decided that private equity would be the best investment.

Posted by Terence Thomas
Interactive Marketing Manager, ActiveAccess

For the past year or so, I have found RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to be a really simple and helpful way for me to stay on top of news and information that takes place throughout the day.

I thought a few of my clients, who are Marketing professionals and Web Developers from a forward thinking university, would be familiar with this technology as me (it’s been around for 2-3 years)…but I was wrong. As I started to explain the RSS technology to them, I was instantly met with blank faces and stares until finally someone had the courage to ask me: “What’s RSS?” I was shocked by not only the fact that I had assumed they would know what I was talking about, but that I had to start at Square #1 and explain what RSS stood for!

I wish I read the recent BtoB Magazine article entitled “Success metrics evolve with RSS” for if I did, I would have known that there are many other people in business who have still yet to embrace the RSS phenomena like I have.

Here are 3 ways that I am encouraging my ActiveAccess clients to embrace RSS technology:

Encourage them to USE RSS technology

What better way to learn about something than to just do it? ActiveAccess clients and users have access to the RSS Reader in their desktop application.I’ve already pre-populated their readers with their own company’s and blog site RSS feeds. By asking them to use their RSS Reader for a week or two, they will get more familiar with how it works they are with the technology, the more willing they’ll

RSS Is Better Than Email Announcements and Drives Traffic to Websites

RSS will never supplant e-mail as the quintessential online communication tool, however, RSS can ease the amount of e-mail is sent by converting their communications to RSS.

I try to get clients to imagine using RSS to communicate to their audience, instead of using e-newsletters. RSS will cut through the inbox clutter while driving more traffic to the websites where the full RSS Stories reside. More traffic means more eyeballs. More eyeballs means more advertising dollars.

Promote their company’s RSS Feed to their Audience

This is probably one of the most difficult tasks for ActiveAccess clients to execute, particularly the clients who have had the application for a while. Almost all ActiveAccess clients have RSS feeds on their websites, or they have blogs that use RSS technology. But these clients say it’s difficult to find the time to to highlight the benefits of RSS and then help shepherd their audience through the transition. Our newer clients do not have this trouble because as they roll out the ActiveAccess technology to their audience they highlight the RSS features and encourage users to explore.