TORONTO – Despite flat revenues and stagnant listening hours, now is not the time for the radio industry to sound the alarm bells, CRTC Ontario Commissioner Raj Shoan told attendees during the closed portion of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Connection 2015 conference on Tuesday.
Rather, he continued, the industry must do a better job promoting itself while at the same time securing a place on the devices that Canadian audiences are currently using to receive audio content – their smartphones and cars.
The activation of the FM chip in smartphones is “an attractive option” for radio operators, he said, one that also comes with a built in public alerting system. A single platform to access all radio services, such as Radio Player or Next Radio, is another option.
“Whether the industry chooses to support the activation of the FM chip or chooses a single platform, doing nothing is rapidly becoming less and less of an option”, Shoan said. “If you do not find a way to market the availability of your services on smartphones, you will lose a significant number of potential radio listeners amongst younger generations. This is surely not an option worth entertaining.”
Lauding broadcasters such as Corus Radio, Durham Radio and Canadian Multicultural Radio for forging ahead with HD radio technology, Shoan said that the CRTC “strongly encourages this experimentation and I hope more of you do the same.”
Lastly, Shoan addressed the “rumour” that Radio Marketing Bureau would be brought back to life, a decision that he said that he strongly supports. He chided radio operators for not doing a better job at marketing their offerings – both to advertisers, by stressing the medium’s ability to reach local audiences and provide a return on investment, and to listeners, reminding them of “the quality of your offerings and your continuing relevance to them”.
Citing recent data from Radio Advertising Bureau in the U.S. that determined that every dollar spent on radio advertising resulted in some six dollars in return business for the clients, Shoan said that uncovering and publicizing similar stats for Canadian radio services is essential.
“While digital ad spend has been growing steadily, and for good reason, the return on that investment is unclear”, he added. “Radio has a solid track record as a platform for advertising dollars. That is a story that needs to be told – to your clients, the Commission and Canadians as a whole. Be proud of what you have accomplished as an industry and tell your story.”
We'll have more from the informative OAB Conference later in the week.
