TORONTO – No medium is better positioned to capitalize on the opportunities presented by mobile technology than radio, says Fred Jacobs, president of radio consulting firm Jacobs Media, based in Southfield, Mich.
Jacobs spoke last week in Toronto at Canadian Music Week during a session that highlighted the results of a four-month study which looked at how smart phones have impacted the daily lives of ordinary consumers. As part of its “Goin’ Mobile” study conducted from February through May 2010, Jacobs Media and its research partner, Arbitron, videotaped 18 smart phone users in four U.S. cities as they went about their daily activities.
According to Jacobs, one thing became clear during the project (as if it wasn’t already…) – smart phones have become a vital part of consumers’ lives. They are intensely personal devices that have become a virtual lifeline for some users, Jacobs said. For example, one study participant said his smart phone was like his best friend, while another said she would be lost without her mobile device.
So where does radio fit into the whole smart phone usage hierarchy?
“The fact is, that while we had numerous instances of multimedia consumption on smart phones with our band of 18 respondents, it’s still early days for a lot of people using mobile devices and multimedia,” said Jacobs. “But wider use, as we know, is just around the corner.”
The radio industry needs to think about how to integrate mobile technology into its business to better serve its advertisers, listeners and communities, Jacobs added.
“Even though many radio companies have already developed smart phone applications on their own, they need to consider marketing them, updating them, adding more functionality and getting more creative with them,” he said. “They are really mission-critical elements moving forward.”
When it comes to the mobile market, Jacobs says that radio’s traditional strengths give it an advantage over other media, including the growing Internet radio market. Local radio’s important assets include brand familiarity, listener trust, engaging on-air personalities, and local know-how – all qualities that have real value for both advertisers and audiences.
“Let’s not forget radio’s powerful cume (cumulative audience) reach, which is in essence a virtual bullhorn that provides broadcasters with the ability to instantaneously connect with live groups of consumers,” Jacobs said. “So mobile is really prime beachfront property for media companies and brands, and the good news is it’s open to anyone who wants to be there.”
When conducting market research studies, radio companies should regularly incorporate questions about their listeners’ mobile device usage, Jacobs advised.
“Today, few even talk about mobile when they do research studies. So find out what kind of devices your listeners use,” he said.
In addition, radio companies need to “mobilize” their sales strategies. “Mobile means money. Advertiser interest is there. Today’s revenue numbers are the smallest they’ll ever be,” he said.
Jacobs also advised radio stations to stop viewing mobile through the conventional radio prism.
“Mobile applications need to do more than just turn your phones into a Walkman. They’ve got to have more functionality. They’ve got to have more entertainment and more resources,” Jacobs concluded.
The car, with the cloud, rules
One veteran radio broadcaster who has been keeping an eye on the impact that mobile is having on the radio industry is Alan Cross, senior program director at Corus Interactive and Integrated Solutions, the on-line division of Corus Radio.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time researching what’s going to be happening in the automobile, which is the last safe spot for radio”, Cross said at a separate Canadian Music Week session that focused on industry efforts to monetize music streaming and downloading. “Cars are turning into very expensive home theatre systems, with a tremendous amount of infotainment possibilities built directly into the dashboard.”
Cross cited a number of car companies that have built or are building smart phone interfaces into their cars, including BMW, Mini, Ford, KIA, Volkswagen, General Motors and Toyota.
“So if you funnel everything through your phone from the Internet, you will be able to do all kinds of things while on the road, such as listen in real-time, get navigation in real-time, listen to play lists you’ve built in the ‘cloud’, listen to radio programs,” Cross continued.
“We’re going to see this huge shift in the way people consume music in their cars,” he said. “The idea of downloading songs and creating play lists on your computer and sending that to your phone, that’s going to seem primitive.”
In an interview with Cartt.ca, CHUM Radio president Chris Gordon said the car really is the last bastion for radio. With new multimedia functionality increasingly available in cars, radio companies such as CHUM need to make sure that their offerings are extremely relevant and engaging to listeners.
“Now that people can receive email on their mobile devices in their cars and respond to the email through a voice-generated prompt, that’s going to take time away from listening to the radio,” Gordon said. “It’s just another distraction, taking people away from spending that time with the radio. So we have to be better at what we do.”
