Tag-Team Genius: The Wizard of Ads, Roy H. Williams, and The Digital Marketer, Ryan Deiss
On a special edition of Monday Morning Radio, to mark the launch of its 8th season, host Dean Rotbartflew to Austin, Texas, and, in the inner sanctums of The Tower at Wizard Academy, brought together two of the world’s marketing legends: The Wizard of Ads, Roy H. Williams, and The Digital Marketer, Ryan Deiss.
It’s no exaggeration to say that a one-hour private consultation with either Roy or Ryan would easily command a king’s ransom from their legions of fans. Put Roy and Ryan together, combining their expertise, and no small business owner or entrepreneur can afford to miss the priceless insights they deliver.
But put away your checkbooks. Dean’s exclusive conversation with Roy and Ryan is available right now, for free, compliments of MondayMorningRadio.com.
In 2007, we launched the Digital Media arm of Mid-West Family Broadcasting’s Southwest Michigan stations. And in every one of those years, I’ve encountered a client (or two, or 20) that was completely afraid of doing any digital advertising.
Now, things have changed quite a bit. I spend more time convincing people not to cancel their incredibly successful radio campaigns because they got a taste of $10 Facebook boosted posts, and considered it their new marketing strategy. What happened?
It’s easy to answer. Digital is tangible, trackable, clickable. It’s fun, and interactive. But I’m afraid of it.
Wait, the Digital Guy is afraid of his own product?
Not quite. What I’m afraid of is Digital that is used incorrectly. Digital that replaces mass media in favor of a few euphoric rushes of impressions reports from a post you made is not a marketing campaign. In fact, Digital advertising as a whole that is focused on posting a few photos on Instagram each day, or answering comments and reviews on Facebook, is not marketing either.
It’s a piece of a much larger pie. Such a small, expensive piece, that it takes more and more and more Digital spending to equal the value and reach of radio. Especially local radio, where my six radio stations target hyperlocal areas of Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.
So don’t be afraid of Digital like I am. Be afraid of bad Digital decisions. Be afraid of cancelling your marketing strategy because that Boosted Post button is so much easier to use than sitting down in a meeting with a creative team from our company, who are ready to craft a branding campaign across multiple channels effectively and with great care.
One of the best Digital buying decisions you can make is by surrounding your brand with locally-produced content on locally-driven websites and apps that are hyperlocal to the area, but not so niche that you’re entering in to an auction with national brands and paying $5 a click.
What I recommend is a solid radio branding campaign, coupled with a once-in-a-blue-moon BOGO offer that we currently have through September 30th (or while inventory lasts) for our MoodyontheMarket.com and Town Crier Wire products. If you buy a Digital schedule on these two products, you’ll receive one free product placement. We’ve already had several local clients take advantage of this offer.
If you buy annually, you’ll be in front of hundreds of thousands of users and millions of impressions, all with the help of our expert creative team who will do all of the design work and guide you along the process through your brand messaging. It’s just as easy as hitting that Boosted Post button, but all it takes is a few occasional meetings to stay on the right track, but the return on investment will be worth it.
Step up from Boosted Post advertising and in to a marketing plan that will pay off. It’s not scary. It’s radio, it’s digital, and it’s local. Just like you.
There’s so much amazing content on television these days, whether it’s Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, or broadcast TV networks. The most recent estimate is there are nearly 500 scripted shows on TV in 2018, signaling the continuation of a renaissance for tube lovers. That’s a lot of television.
But now a study in Psychology Today suggests that TV viewing may in fact depress you. A Turkish researcher, Gul Gunaydin, studied the viewing patterns of 1,700 adults (aged 33-45) discovered a cycle that habitual TV viewing leads to unhappiness.
“TV makes you unhappy, and unhappy people watch more TV”
But have you ever heard of radio leading to unhappiness? it just doesn’t happen.
And I’ve got the data to back it up. In our new Techsurvey 2018, we ask all 64,000+ respondents to identify the main reasons they enjoy listening to broadcast radio.
While tangibles like music and personality always rate very high, it turns out there are emotional benefits to listening to radio.
First and foremost, listening to more radio may not, in fact, lead to angst and depression.
The chart below shows the key motivators that drive broadcast radio listening. Note that half say they’re in the habit of listening and they feel a connection to radio. For 45% of the sample, radio provides companionship. But what jumps out on this chart is that well more than one-third say they’re motivated to tune in broadcast radio because it helps get them in a better mood.
That’s contrary to that Psychology Today study that points to the notion that TV viewing – especially a lot of it – can lead to depression and anxiety. On the radio, most people are singing along with their favorite songs, laughing at an entertaining morning show, or being stimulated by a talk show.
Several years ago during the teeth of the Great Recession, I conducted a series of Listener Advisory Board Groups here in Detroit for both WRIF and WCSX. Those were tough days in America and in the Motor City, and a majority of our respondents were either unemployed or working for significantly less money in less desirable jobs. One lost his car, and took a bus to the station that night. Another sadly admitted he had recently become homeless.
It was heartbreaking. Many spoke about how they were underwater on their homes, despondent about their job prospects, and stressed out with economic pressures threatening their livelihoods and their families. On top of that, they were convinced the region would never make a comeback, and their futures were dim.
So, how did they relieve all that angst and tension?
They told us our radio stations were an audio elixir during those challenging, trying times. The music, the DJs, ticket giveaways, and the chance to go to free downtown concerts were all key factors in them staying upbeat, positive, and hopeful throughout the crisis.
Detroit has recovered, coming out of bankruptcy, and earning the title of “Comeback City.” Most people here in the metro area are now gainfully employed, enjoying living in the Great Lakes State again.
But nearly a decade ago, it wasn’t like that.
And they had FM music radio as a form of free, upbeat, entertainment to keep them company during the most challenging of times. In Techsurvey, when you dig a little deeper into the subgroups that are especially likely to point to radio as a mood elevator, you see spikes among women, young people, ethnic minorities, and music radio fans. (Interestingly, those who enjoy spoken word formats – news/talk and sports – are the least likely to view broadcast radio as a way to improve their psyches.)
Maybe part of broadcast radio’s appeal is its unique ability to be both foreground and background. Unlike television where you’re either watching or you’re not, radio is very often accompanied by other activities, including working, exercising, and driving. When us programmers are doing our jobs, our music programming and our personalities are enhancements, providing a soundtracks to people’s lives.
I often marvel at the way truly great on-air personalities are somehow able to put their own ailments, worries, and troubles aside when they walk into that studio and turn on the mic. Like the people they serve, they also have troubles and angst, not to mention performance pressure that comes with the ongoing weight of being rated nearly every week of the year.
The best of the best are able to compartmentalize their own aggravation, and remain upbeat, positive, and energetic. More often than not, those are the types of qualities listeners tell us they appreciate in their favorite air personalities.
Until Psychology Today (or some other research company) attempts to measure the mental health and happiness of radio listeners, we won’t truly have a gauge to compare audiences.
But I’ve seen enough Techsurvey data to know that radio done well is an uplifting, fun way to spend time, whether you’re hanging out at home, on the job, or driving from Point A to Point B.
As for television, you can read the Psychology Today findingshere.
For clients of Mid-West Family, we invite you to enter to win a Santaniello’s Gift Certificate for $100 just taking a moment to read about this great subject. Enter below to win before June 30, 2018!
Even in the age of sophisticated cable TV and video on demand, it is old school AM/FM radio which rules the nation’s media world according to Nielsen, which has revealed the audience numbers.
With 243 million monthly listeners, radio bests the competition across the board. “Each week, more Americans tune to AM/FM radio than any other platform. What’s more, according to Nielsen’s second-quarter 2017 Comparable Metrics Report, 93 percent of U.S. adults 18 and older listen to radio every week — more than those watching television or using a smartphone, TV connected device, tablet or PC,” Nielsen noted in its report, which was released Wednesday.
In comparison, TV reaches 88 percent of Americans and garners 229 million viewers.
“Technology trends are a bit like fashion trends,” said Brad Kelly, managing director of Nielsen Audio. “They come and go, oftentimes long forgotten after the craze ends. But there’s one notable exception to the technology/fashion trend rule in the media world — broadcast radio. AM/FM radio is the blue blazer of the media universe. Who would have believed 100 years after its debut, AM/FM radio would continue to top the charts as the medium that reaches more consumers each week than any other?”
The analysis cited “compelling audio content and expanding delivery options” as a strong factor in the consistent appeal of radio.
The appeal of radio is also something the generations can agree on.
“AM/FM radio is America’s top reach medium, giving it mass appeal among diverse audiences — across generations, ethnicities and demographics,” the report said. “By generation, radio has the largest reach with Generation X (ages 35-54), with 80.5 million listeners tuning during an average month.
“This is followed by millennials (18- to 34-year-olds), with 71.6 million listeners tuning in monthly (95 percent of the millennial population),” the report said. “Meanwhile, radio reaches 41.2 million monthly listeners among Baby Boomers (ages 55-64), representing 98 percent of the Baby Boomer population.”
Each of our radio stations has a huge digital and radio audience to reach. So we’re making it really easy for YOUR BUSINESS to be the EXCLUSIVE sponsor owning the best parts and placements of:
Clickable Banner ads on our station website (above-the-fold and across all devices!)
Clickable Banner ad on the station’s Listen Live streaming
A :15 second audio pre-roll ad on the station’s Listen Live streaming on ALL DEVICES (Alexa, station app, etc)
Clickable Banner ad on our iPhone & Android station app
Sponsorship of one re-aired Podcast
Four social media paid advertisements per year
Radio promos promoting your sponsorship
Radio commercials
Watch the video demonstration below on each of these sponsorship items in action with our Digital Media Manager, Zack East:
Contact your Mid-West Family Broadcasting representative or Zack East for details on how your business can OWN one of our audiences!
Audio is hotter than ever. Podcasting is surging. On demand audio is on the rise. The Westwood One Insights team takes an in-depth look at the audio landscape and how Americans listen today.
Here are the key findings from Edison Research’s Q1 2016 “Share of Ear” study:
Despite advertiser perceptions, AM/FM radio is the king of all audio. AM/FM radio’s 52% share is 9 times bigger than Pandora and 17 times bigger than Spotify.
Pandora stalls, Spotify grows. For the first time ever, Spotify beats Pandora among 18-24 Millennials. No wonder FMR Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett concludes, “Pandora pioneered something really interesting, really special with their free ad-based streaming music…(but now) the early adopters are moving to on-demand, and mainstream America is still in love with AM/FM radio.”
Time spent with streaming grows at the expense of owned music, not AM/FM radio. Americans are now renting their music versus buying. The growth of on-demand platforms like YouTube and Spotify means less time for the music people purchase.
SirusXM’s audience to their ad-supported channels is a microscopic one share. SiriusXM’s share of time spent to their commercial free channels is five times bigger than their ad-supported share.
Podcasting resonates with Millennials. Among 18-34’s, podcasting has an impressive 5 share of audio time spent.
•Would you like to increase the effectiveness of your advertising?
•Want to learn how national advertisers make their ads really stick?
•What’s the best method of building Top-of-Mind-Awareness?
•Could your advertising have better continuity & consistency?
BRAND-AID
Marketing Workshop
at BRAND-AID, you’ll learn…
•How YOUR message can be the one that gets remembered!
•How many commercials it takes to get MEASURABLE RESULTS.
•How to combine multiple commercials into a great campaign.
•How you can get a $10,000 jingle for just $3,000!
Plus a $3,000 spot bonus!
Learn how a custom jingle can MAKE YOUR ADVERTISING 3X MORE EFFECTIVE!
Bill Turpen, Musical Imaging Expert & National Speaker:
With studios in Nashville, New York City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas & Minneapolis, Advanced Concepts has created over 5,000 advertising jingles across America. Their work has included many national advertisers – Folgers Coffee, Famous Dave’s Barbecue, Curves, G.E. & Cold Stone Creamery to name a few. But their passion & specialty is creating effective jingles for LOCAL businesses. Bill has a deep understanding of the challenges that small businesses face in planning effective advertising. He will share his unique experience and seasoned marketing expertise through entertaining and insightful 75 minute sessions.
Brand-Aid will take place:
Tuesday, April 26
103.7 South Haven Studios
11637 M-140 in South Haven
Session #1….1:15pm-2:45pm
Session #2….3:30pm-5:00pm
Wednesday, April 27
Hilton Garden Inn
Mall Drive in Benton Harbor
Session #1…8:00am-9:30am
Session #2….10:30am-Noon
Session #3….1:00pm-2:30pm
Session #4….3:30pm-5:00pm
RSVP NEEDED! Please contact your Sales Representative or call Alex Harrison @ (269)-925-1111 or email
BRAND-AID Marketing Workshop
Want to make your message completely unforgettable? Use Music. Here’s proof:
Many people can’t remember what they had for dinner two days ago… but they have no trouble remembering the exact words from hundreds of songs they never intended to learn. In fact, it’s how you learned the alphabet! National advertisers use songs – also known as jingles – to get their message locked into the minds of their customers. They’ve proven again & again that jingles are the most effective tool ever used for
message retention.
Examples: Folger’s Coffee, State Farm Insurance, Oscar Mayer, Band Aid Bandages
LOCAL EXAMPLES – Advanced Concepts Jingles
Austin Tax & Financial Jerry’s Collision Repair
Boelcke Heating Kepners Precision Auto Krafters
Care Dentistry Lakefront Roofing & Exteriors
Caretel Inns Pro Muffler & Brake Shop
Classic Imports Riverwood Center
Coldwell Banker Anchor Roger’s Foodland
Great Lakes Truck & Auto Serv Pro
Haven Heating Signature Automotive Group
Henry’s Hamburgers Sparkle Car Care Center
Honor Credit Union South Haven Public Schools
Hospice at Home Wings of Hope Hospice
These businesses use their custom jingle in a consistent campaign to achieve Top-of-Mind Awareness and keep their business nameforefront in the minds of area consumers.
Exclusive Offer: Branding plans begin at just $419 per month for Brand Aid attendees with a 12 month contract.
Published originally from the Radio Advertising Bureau website, titled “Radio: The Strongest, Most Effective & Efficient Medium”
Our radio story is compelling and the facts are strong.
– Radio has higher reach than all other media options.
– Consumers spend more hours each day with radio than with digital.
– Radio increases TV tune-in.
– Radio is the #1 place that people learn about new music.
– Radio connects listeners with their local area.
– Radio listeners stay put through commercials, 20% more than those watching television.
Radio reaches an impressive 91% of all Americans age 12 or older every week. Listeners continue to turn to Radio for news, information and entertainment – despite an ever-increasing selection of media options.
Read: Radio reaches 90.8% of Persons 12 and older each week.
When you think of Millennials and media, the first thing that pops in your head is probably a smartphone. Then you may think of a tablet or a laptop.
Or maybe one of those cool connected TV devices, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick or Google Chromecast, or a PlayStation.
You probably don’t think of radio when you think of these young people. But probably you should.
A new report from Nielsen finds radio has a wider reach each week among adults 18-34 than any other medium.
The data comes from the measurement company’s first-ever Comparable Metrics Report, which aims to make apples-to-apples comparisons between different media for a better picture of what people are consuming.
It finds that, among 18-34s, 91 percent use terrestrial radio each week.
That’s more even than smartphones, at 82 percent, TV connected devices, at 49 percent, and tablets, at 33 percent.
It’s also well ahead of TV, at 76 percent.
The Nielsen study looked at other demographics as well, including people 35-49 and over 50. For all adults and adults 35-49, radio’s weekly reach trumped all other media, though radio and TV were equal at 91 percent among those over 50.
Why does traditional radio continue to resonate with young people, at a time when they have so many options?
Nielsen says in part it’s because the medium has established itself so effectively as the place to find new music, which young people have always been drawn to.
A Nielsen survey earlier this year found 59 percent of Millennials and younger said they use radio to discovery new music, ahead of even streaming services such as Spotify.
“In many ways radio has been doing this all along – serving up new music, curated by people who love the craft, with a local flavor and all for free. And now, in today’s digital, on-demand age, the virtues of that experience are paying off for radio,” says a Nielsen spokesperson who talked to Media Life.
The report did find that 18-34s spend the most overall time each week with TV, at 19 hours and 33 minutes, and smartphones are second at 11 hours and 26 minutes.
Radio’s not far behind smartphones, though, at 10 hours and 59 minutes. And in all other demos, radio ranks second to TV.
Across all adult demos, Nielsen says, radio accounts for 20 percent of time spent with media, though it commands only 8.2 percent of total U.S. ad dollars.
According to the Radio Advertising Bureau’s December 15, 2016 “Radio Sales Today” article:
Radio has been touting its high weekly penetration forever, but it often gets compared to monthly figures from digital and TV. Nielsen’s inaugural Comparable Metrics Report leveled the playing field and showed that radio has the highest weekly reach across all age groups, as more than 90 percent of all adults listen each week. Results from the study showed that adults still spend the most time with TV, with radio coming in second place across almost all groups followed by smartphones, PCs, TV-connected devices and then tablets.
According to the Radio Advertising Bureau’s December 14, 2016 “Radio Sales Today” article”
It’s probably about time we stopped referring to that device in our pockets as a “phone,” because it’s become so much more than that. According to the latest Global Mobile Consumer Survey from Deloitte, American consumers are relying on their devices more than ever. According to the survey, 93 percent of smartphone owners check their phones within three hours of waking up every day, and slightly fewer (between 4 percent and 10 percent, depending on demographic) check their phones within an hour of going to bed than within an hour of waking up.
Benton Harbor, MI November 2, 2015: Mid-West Family Broadcasting (WSJM, Inc.) is purchasing four radio stations serving Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The stations will comprise the eighth radio market served by the family of companies known as Mid-West Family Broadcasting in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, and now Indiana.
Mid-West Family will welcome these stations:
Sunny 101.5 WNSN Z94.3 WZOC
New Country 99.9 WHFB FM WSBT AM 960 & 96.1 FM
The four stations are being acquired from Schurz Communications/WSBT, Inc. as a product of its sale of the Schurz Television station group to Gray Television. Gray has elected not to retain the radio stations it would have acquired in South Bend and Lafayette, IN and Rapid City, South Dakota. Other radio broadcasters in the region purchased the Lafayette and Rapid City radio stations.
The South Bend based stations will continue to operate from the Schurz Communications building on East Douglas Road in Mishawaka. They will function as a new operating unit of WSJM, Inc., reporting to Mid-West Family Broadcasting management in Benton Harbor: Vice President/General Manager Dave Doetsch, who assumes the role of Chief Operating Officer, and President Gayle Olson.
Olson said, “We are thrilled to add the Schurz stations to our group. The Schurz commitment to listeners, clients and the community over 90+ years is legendary. And we will work hard to continue that tradition of service. We’ve been successful for 57 years in Southwest Michigan and believe we can build on that success in South Bend.”
Doetsch commented, “This new alignment will be very beneficial for both operations… a unification of solid radio talent in both buildings who get to create great ‘live and local’ radio.”
As with all broadcast ownership transfers, the transaction is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. That is expected to take 45 to 60 days. Schurz will continue to operate the stations prior to closing of the transaction.
Midwest Family Broadcasting/WSJM, Inc. operates six stations in Southwest Michigan:
WSJM FM 94.9 “The News & Talk of Michigan’s Great Southwest”
Rock 107 WIRX “Everything That Rocks”
97.5 Y-Country WYTZ “20 In A Row Country”
98.3 The Coast WCXT “Today’s Best Mix”
SuperHits 103.7 COSY FM WCSY
SportsRadio 1400 WSJM AM
Mid-West Family Broadcasting companies own stations in Madison, WI; La Crosse, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Rockford, IL; Springfield, IL; Springfield, MO and Southwest Michigan.
