The Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Radio Council has revived its dormant radio marketing organization with a new name and new leadership, as well as a renewed commitment to ensuring it remains a key consideration for advertisers and agencies.
The new Radio Connect is the Canadian radio industry’s first formal marketing organization since the former Radio Marketing Bureau was disbanded in 2010 after operating for more than 50 years.
“We needed to have something different than Radio Marketing Bureau…and we believe Radio Connect is a contemporary name and the right vehicle to [approach the market] with,” said Ian Lurie, chair of the CAB’s Radio Council and chief operating officer of NewCap Radio, which operates 95 stations across the country.
While radio advertising has remained relatively buoyant amid declines for traditional media, particularly TV and newspapers, Lurie believes the absence of a formal marketing body has adversely impacted the industry.
“Everything’s easy to see in hindsight, but we did lose,” said Lurie. “I think what we will hear from [agencies] is that we’ve been absent, we’ve been silent and it’s hurt us. This is the first step towards rectifying and reversing that.
“I do think we have the ability to reverse a lot of this because we have a solid story to tell,” he added. “While a tremendous amount of money has migrated away from all sorts of [traditional] media into the digital arena, a lot of advertisers are now saying ‘We’ve allocated a lot of money for these digital platforms, [but] can somebody tell me how effective it was.’”
A 2015 study by eMarketer found that Canadians 18+ spent an average of 1 hour and 34 minutes per day listening to radio, although that number is expected to decline each year through 2018. However, the study also highlighted a discrepancy between radio’s share of media time (17.2%) and advertiser investment (13.1%).
Sarah Garvie, former head of radio for ZenithOptimedia Canada, has been named executive director of Radio Connect, while longtime CHUM Limited and Rogers Media radio executive Paul Ski – who retired in 2014 after a more than 30-year career – has been named a special advisor.
Lurie told Marketing that it wasn’t the original intention to appoint two senior leaders, but said the tandem of Garvie and Ski provides the advocacy group with “significantly better” leadership, with the latter serving as a “sounding board” for the new leader.
He said that the position attracted numerous applicants, which were whittled down to 5-6 leading candidates.
Garvie began her career in radio sales as an account manager with London, England-based GCap Media, creating sales solutions for clients of Capital Radio, Classic FM and XFM.
“We loved her experience both in terms of being passionate about radio and understanding both sides of radio, but what we do by marrying Paul’s radio knowledge with her passion and experience is allow her to integrate into the Canadian landscape without having to pioneer that herself,” said Lurie.
Lurie said that Ski, who served as served as president and CEO of radio at both the former CHUM Limited and Rogers Media, can make the necessary “connection points” for Garvie across Canada.
Ski is also a member of the Canadian Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He has also worked with industry associations including the CAB, Numeris (formerly BBM) and the Radio Marketing Bureau.
“He knows what’s been done before, what works and what needs to be done, so from a strategic point of view he can provide guidance and get her [up to speed] really quickly on the Canadian landscape.
“I don’t believe there’s anybody better in Canada in terms of knowing the radio landscape and can present radio in the kind of way we want to see it presented.”
Advertising revenues for the country’s 704 commercial radio stations have remained stable over the past five years according to the most recent CRTC data, with revenues of $1.6 billion for the broadcast year ended Aug. 31, a 0.7% decline from the previous year.
Lurie said that the objective is to reverse radio’s slow decline by continuing to prove its efficacy through research and industry presentations.
“I think radio is really in a very favourable position, but I don’t think as an industry we’ve positioned ourselves in the agency and advertising community with as much optimism,” said Lurie. “We’ve tended to think we were in a worse position than we actually were.
“The timing for us to go out and really tell the story of radio is perfect, because…we’ve got lots of evidence of a really strong return-on-investment for advertiser. There’s a tremendous amount of things we can showcase.
“I do think we lost ground in the last few years, but I can’t tell you how pleased I am we’ve got this together.”
