The Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Radio Council, which represents more than 500 AM and FM stations across the country, is launching a marketing and advocacy arm that will work to ensure the medium remains on advertisers’ radar.
It will be the first formal radio marketing entity in Canada since 2010, when the Radio Marketing Bureau was closed down after operating for more than 50 years.
Mario Cecchini, council chair and president of Corus Radio, said discussions about creating a marketing entity have been ongoing for some time, with Golden West Broadcasting CEO Elmer Hildebrand – who has served on the Radio Council since 2008 – playing a key role in keeping them alive.
“The board was very engaged and diligent and we moved the agenda very quickly,” said Cecchini. “To be announcing this at the end of January, when all of this really started with a Nov. 9 meeting, to me demonstrates the dedication we have to ensuring that radio gets the growth it deserves.”
While other traditional media such as television and newspapers have maintained their marketing and advocacy arms, Cecchini said it’s unclear if the lack of a radio marketing entity has adversely impacted the industry.
Radio had projected revenues of $1.64 billion in 2015, according to a ZenithOptimedia’s ad spend forecast, and is expected to grow incrementally in coming years, reaching $1.69 billion in revenue by 2017.
“One thing for sure is that we did not have a voice out there for so many years when others did,” said Cecchini. “We lost some capacity for sure [when it came to] influencing some people some of the time. It was a void we needed to fill.”
The Radio Council is currently seeking an executive director to lead the new organization, and plans to add a minimum of one research-based position. Four members of the Radio Council will screen potential candidates, said Cecchini, adding that the goal is to have the organization up and running no later than June 1.
The new entity will place a particular emphasis on research, said Cecchini. “It’s going to be the mandate of the executive director to go out and find out the needs of the advertising community in order for us to prove our ROI,” he said.
It will also craft position papers related to key industry issues, he said, while fighting the perception that digital media’s strengths are a weakness for radio. “With all these new media buyers coming into the field, we need to set the record straight [about] the superb results that radio gets,” he said.
He cited radio’s low attrition rate, with between 80-85% of clients returning, as proof of its continued efficacy. “They come back every year, which is the best testimonial you can get,” he said. “These guys would not spend the money if it didn’t work the year before.”
