Report: Brands Leverage Radio’s Unique Listener Loyalty

From Stuart Feil, at adweek.com:

In a time when advertisers are looking to engage with consumers more deeply via social channels, radio is leveraging its legions of fans to remain a vital part of the media mix. National networks and local stations are using this bond to provide brands with ways to reach their listeners that go beyond the 30- or 60-second spot. Instead, they are using the kinship listeners feel for their stations and radio personalities to create content-rich programs that can be shared online and via social and mobile. 

Taking advantage of the strong followings stations have with their local audiences is nothing new. It’s long been the central point of differentiation for radio. What’s different today is how they are broadening that value into a multiplatform environment that puts AM/FM broadcast at the center of programs that can also include a station’s website, its Facebook and Twitter feeds, live events and even naming rights. 

“Our research shows how insanely pervasive radio is,” says media analyst Alice K. Sylvester, COO of Media Behavior Institute. “People identify with the station and its local identity and they stick with it. It becomes a bit of a badge for them. They become part of a community that shares the enjoyment.” 

To expand its presence in its hometown Chicago market, Allstate has gone far beyond simply running its “Mayhem” spots. Instead, it has set itself up to own different parts of local broadcasts, aligning its brand with relevant content. Traffic reports are branded with the “Good Hands” name on local CBS outlets. And the renovated street-level studio for WGN, the flagship Tribune Company station, in September was renamed the Allstate Showcase Studio, a deal that includes on-air naming recognition as well as an interior studio wrap featuring Allstate graphics.

Read More Here.