OOH and Radio

NEW YORK Out-of-home ad spending during the fourth quarter plummeted, sending total OOH revenue down 4 percent for the year to $7 billion, according to figures released yesterday by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Fourth-quarter revenue sank 15 percent, totaling $1.5 billion in total ad expenditures.

Despite the declines, OOH, which has had steady, high-single-digit growth for the past three years, is still holding up better than many other media. The last time the outdoor business posted negative growth was in 2001, when revenue was down 1 percent.

Developed by the Traffic Audit Bureau, “Eyes On” measurement promises to be a game-changer for the business, providing the kind of ratings that allow outdoor to compete more effectively with TV and radio for advertisers’ dollars.

He claims that OOH “is becoming the first medium that will give audience data based on the number of people seeing an ad, versus the number of people exposed to it.”

The Eyes On methodology of gauging exactly how many people are noticing OOH ads, “puts the competition on the defensive,” he adds.

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO) swung to a fourth-quarter net loss on a $3.2 billion write-down as parent company CC Media Holdings Inc. (CCMO) posted a $5 billion loss.

Billboard advertising had been holding up well amid the economic downturn, though there have been signs of recent weakening. CBS Corp. (CBS) reported earlier this month that its billboard business, which had been its most reliable growth area, saw revenue drop 15%.

In an effort to keep up with new technology, the company installed 188 digital displays during the year, more than its plan to install at least 150 last year.

The terrestrial radio broadcasting behemoth Clear Channel says its iheartradio iPhone app (iTunes link) is officially a success — despite the fact that, due to an apparent bug, it crashes more than the cars in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Clear Channel's iheartradio app pipes programming from 150 mainstream terrestrial radio stations around the country to iPhone and iPod Touch devices. It has been downloaded over a million times, with an average of 200,000 new users each week. Unlike many other apps, which people tend to ignore over time, iheartradio appears to have staying power -- when it works, that is. Clear Channel says its iPhone app users have listened to 13 percent more programming minutes each week since the service's launch in September.

Pandora's interactive stations have made it the top music iPhone app, and even smaller companies than that dominate many of the App Store's most popular lists, leaving the big boys struggling to stay relevant. Clear Channel's moderate success here, despite the crashing issue that affects some users, shows that a real demand exists for mainstream radio on the iPhone and bucks the conventional wisdom that only supergeeks with strange, hyper-specific tastes stream music to iPhones.

Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) says its total listening audience grew by 15 percent because of its online and mobile efforts.

Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) says its total listening audience grew by 15 percent because of its online and mobile efforts.

Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) says its total listening audience grew by 15 percent because of its online and mobile efforts.

There was little good news for radio's core on-air business with local advertising, which accounts for about 80%, falling 10% in the third quarter to $3.5 billion. National spot advertising remained the weakest segment, down 12% to $767 million. Amid the recent financial market turmoil, concerns about a deepening recession and a slowdown in consumer spending, the outlook for all local media, including radio, looks tough, according to Marci Ryvicker, a senior analyst at Wachovia Capital Markets in New York. "Our sources tell us that spending from all major ad categories--auto, retail, telecom and financial services--has come to a substantial slowdown,'' Ryvicker noted in a Nov. 24 report. As a result, she now expects U.S. radio ad revenue to fall 8% in 2008 and 2009, compared with a 2% decline in 2007

Radio ad revenue growth posted double-digit percentage gains in the late '90s. But in the middle part of this decade, revenue growth slowed sharply before flattening, pressured by a shift in ad dollars to online platforms and advertisers waiting until the last minute to buy ad spots, which led to lower rates to fill inventory, the media research firm SNL Kagan observed in a recent report.

Local revenue dropped 10% to $13.6 billion; national was down 12%, or $2.9 billion. Network revenue for 2008 was flat at $1.2 billion, as off-air jumped 7% to $2 billion. Automotive, the industry's top ad category with 15% of total revenue, plunged 22% in 2008 to $2.5 billion. Radio's second-largest ad category--comprising communications, cellular and public utilities companies--was down about 10% at $1.7 billion. In the fourth quarter, local advertising revenue was off by 13% to $3.2 billion while national revenue fell 14% to $735 million. Network revenue fell 4% for the quarter, to $298 million, and off-air revenue--which has been the new, fast-growing category--gained only 1%, to $444 million in the last quarter. In total, fourth-quarter radio revenue was down 11% to $4.6 billion.

Based on ad spending trends during the first several weeks of the year, Mark Fratrik, VP at Chantilly, Va., media research firm BIA Financial Network, estimates that revenue will decline another 10% in 2009.

This isn't about the end of commerce or the end of marketing or news or entertainment. All of the above are finding new expressions online, and in time will flourish thanks to the very digital revolution that is now ravaging them. The future is bright. But the present is apocalyptic. Any hope for a seamless transition -- or any transition at all -- from mass media and marketing to micro media and marketing are absurd.

Yeah, well, we're probably safe. After being purchased by two private-equity firms (for $38 per share, down from $100 in 2000), Clear Channel dumped its 56 TV stations and tried to unload more than 500 of its small-market radio stations, but has been stymied by the credit freeze and declining value of those assets.

The fearsome juggernaut has just laid off 9% of its work force.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Radio finally went digital in 2008, and the industry is already seeing some major growth as a result. According to the Radio Advertising Bureau's third-quarter-revenue release, online revenue, or "off-air" as defined by the RAB, has increased 9%, to $1.34 billion, in the first three quarters of 2008.

The nearly double-digit gains are occurring at a time when local has declined 8% year-to-date, while national ads have decreased 11%.

Leading the digital charge are the top two radio groups, Clear Channel and CBS Radio, which each will end the year with double-digit gains in online ad revenue and audience, thanks to a succession of strategic partnerships.

Radio’s digital extensions are important, growing components of media buys but the industry needs to better educate its sales force on selling digital assets if it wants to maximize the space, according to ad agency executives.

"Clear Channel and CBS Radio have developed amazing [online radio] platforms and the space is growing,"

TargetSpot's Eric Ronning Radio’s digital extensions are important, growing components of media buys but the industry needs to better educate its sales force on selling digital assets if it wants to maximize the space, according to ad agency executives.

Podcasting has evolved into a broader medium than ever, with mainstream capabilities, according to eMarketer   The vast majority of the top-rated podcasts come from recognizable media entities that are using the format to broaden their existing radio, TV, cable or satellite audiences.   U.S. podcast use will increase steadily over the next five years, according to eMarketer.   By 2013, 17 percent of U.S. Internet users, or 37.6 million people, will download a podcast at least once per month, the communications and marketing research firm said. That total is more than double the 2008 figure of 17.4 million people, or 9 percent of U.S. Internet users.

David Ross, chairman of mobile marketing and technology firm 3C Interactive, said ad agency mobile marketing budgets are coming "fast and furious" and told broadcasters in the packed meeting room at the Shingle Creek Resort that listener databases are seen as "very valuable" by advertisers. Braiker went as far as saying that radio's "license value is going  down and [its] database value is going up."

According to Ross, advertisers are increasingly drawn to bundled products, where for example, a radio spot activates a text message component. "If you're just going to sell :30s and :60s, you're done," Ross said, urging broadcasters to sell radio's ability "to create a conversation between the station or the personality and the audience."

While ad dollars for traditional media in free fall, budgets for mobile marketing are expected to increase 40 percent this year, offering a ripe opportunity for radio, a group of mobile marketing execs said during the opening day of the Radio Advertising Bureau conference here Monday. According to eMarketer, the segment will attract  $6.5 billion in ad revenues by 2012.

11 million to listen to streaming online music or radio. "Seventy-six percent of listeners use text messaging and 66 percent want to text with your radio station," Benedik said. "It's not emerging, it's here," said Weatherbug.com director of mobile advertising Erin Wilson. "Advertisers want to be part of radio's mobile strategy."

Cathy O'Connor, chief executive of DMG Radio (pictured), said while advertising growth fell 2.06 per cent in February, it wasn't likely to deteriorate much further over the next six to 12 months.

"The power of radio for me is all about storytelling -- you do it better than anyone. How can you connect our brands to that story?"

wields considerable influence in radio broadcasting, concert promotion and hosting, and fixed advertising

Clear Channel is the largest owner of full-power AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations and twelve radio channels on XM Satellite Radio, and is also the largest pure-play radio station owner and operator.

With 900 stations, Clear Channel is the largest radio station group owner in the United States, both by number of stations and by revenue. According to BIA Financial Network, Clear Channel Radio recorded more than $3.5 billion in revenues in as of 2005[update],

Radio is still likely an important part of the mix for most regional clients. And, like every other medium, radio is continuing to change rapidly and there is quite a bit to digest. This is how things look from our perspective.

Radio has, and always will have, the power to speak to the crowd. With over 249 million listeners a week (and growing), one cannot dispute its power. Whether its music, talk, entertainment or the amazing work of NPR, radio is not going away. In fact, it is thriving and will continue to do so.

Radio and Digital Are Clearly Sympatico These are the two most "populist" mediums, in my opinion. There is a unique, intimate relationship that is built in these two platforms. When they can be brought together well, it can be something incredibly valuable. Just think of iTunes apps alone. My iPhone is now a radio receiver. I can listen to DaveFM from Atlanta, I can listen to the BBC, Pandora and scads of other stations that are either over-the-air or crafted and curated specifically for digital delivery. Even talk does well. I have one app, Stitcher, that gives me news updates and other very cool content.