Posted by: Tom Buono
President & CEO, BIA Financial Network

Having just returned from the NAB’s Radio Show in Austin, it was clear to me that I was meeting with executives from two separate industries: major market radio owners and small & medium market radio owners.

The published reports on radio’s demise are dominated by the negative advertising revenue trends that are clearly the result of declines in the major markets. But the rest of the industry is surviving and in some cases doing quite well.

The problem, as I see it, is one of relationships. Major market radio account execs have relationships with the ad agencies and rep firms. The rest of the industry has relationships with the actual advertiser. As such, their focus is helping the advertiser be successful, rather than have the numbers and ranking to justify a buy.

The days leading up to the Radio Show, I attended The Kelsey Group’s Directional Media Strategies conference which focused on the Yellow Pages industry. The main take away is that Yellow Page companies are pursuing some innovative sales approaches, offering a multi-platform solution which includes print, internet yellow pages, mobile, search engine marketing (SEM) and other vehicles to their clients. Video advertising, for even the smaller firms, is becoming affordable through companies using new technology and creative approaches.

The radio industry is very well positioned to make similar multi-platform offers to their advertisers. The opportunity to offer a consultative sell that includes radio spots, internet ads, SEM, mobile, video advertising, etc. is significant.

With broadband expansion, more inexpensive technology solutions, training to sell multi-platform offers, small & medium market radio operators can generate significant new-to-radio revenue over the next five years. Unless major market radio operators eliminate their dependence on intermediaries and return to their local roots, the tale of these two industry segments will continue to diverge.

Tags: BIA Financial Network, Directional Media Strategies conference, Kelsey Group, NAB Radio Show, Radio, Thomas Buono, video advertising