Radio LEADS in the Digital Media Space

By Katy Bachman/Adweek
Originally appeared on Brandweek.com

Radio’s top execs took a first step towards turning around the perception that radio is yesterday’s medium. In a panel hosted by the Southern California Broadcasters Association and ThinkLA Thursday, five CEOs from the nation’s largest radio groups addressed a packed room of about 700 media and advertising execs about how radio has embraced a number of digital platforms, from online to mobile, while at the same time, contested many of the myths that consumers are abandoning radio.

"Our problem is one of perception. Radio is perceived differently than it performs. There is disconnect between reality and perception," said John Hogan, CEO of Clear Channel Radio, who was joined on the panel by Dan Mason, president and CEO of CBS Radio; Jeff Smulyan, chairman, president and CEO of Emmis Communications; Gary Stone, president and COO of Univision Radio; and Farid Suleman, chairman and CEO of Citadel Broadcasting.

"The future is bright if we think about connecting with listeners and expand beyond AM/FM, into our HD side channels, into online and cellular and take advantage of those technologies," Hogan said.

The executives also spent time detailing how radio was as much a part of the digital landscape, if not more, than other traditional media. "We’re not hiding from technology, we’re driving it," Smulyan said. "Our goal is in the next five years, to have a radio tuner in every device. We will get it done."

Despite radio’s initiatives in streaming, social networking, mobile and HD Radio, many clients are cutting radio budgets at the expense of radio.

"It’s important to help clients rethink how they think about the medium, that they don’t just think of the traditional side of the radio dial. Radio is so much more," said Kim Vasey, senior partner and director of radio for Mediaedge:cia. "Radio is not an old medium, it’s an engaging medium."

While radio revenue has yet to crawl out of the red, compared to other media, radio’s total audience has not changed much. "Radio has only lost 3 percent of its reach," said Emmis’ Smulyan. "You think we don’t have a perception problem?"

Part of the negative perception may come from radio’s antiquated diary-based measurement.

"It’s time radio be measured like TV," said CBS’ Mason, who added that estimates from the portable people meter in New York demonstrate that radio is the ultimate engagement tool.

While diary-based measurement shows the top five radio stations in New York had a cume of 6 million, under the PPM, the to five stations have a cume of 12 million. "That’s bigger than the three New York newspapers combined. PPM is going to revolutionize this industry," Mason said.

"Agencies want everything audited and verifiable and radio has lost some ground there," said Suleman. "Once we have that, we’ll have more credibility."