While you may know that many radio stations stream their signals so that listeners can access the audio through the station website, their station app, or on a home smart speaker device (like Alexa and Google Home), and that there are also aggregating apps like Tune-In or i-Heart or similar… but… did you know that you can do something different for a client – if they are prepared to pay, and you have the right technology behind you?
Because a streaming signal is not simulcast, you can split an ad break. Essentially you can have different produced spots playing at the same time so that each listener will hear a different ad depending on their device, gender, age, household income, and other demographics.
This has been available in Australia since 2019 – as seen in this RADIO TODAY article on Addressable Advertising – HERE – and I have even heard recently some geolocation ads which do the same when you stream from one country to another (eg: NZ radio to Australia).
There are quite a few companies out there who can do this for you.
BUT – this article is something that happened about 6 months ago to me – and I have been waiting to find out what happened. As of yet… ((CRICKETS!)) and I can’t wait to hear the results.
So… to cut a long story short, a client was doing this in the U.K. as a test. Because this was a strange situation – I really wanted to be involved.
There were around 20 different spots where the core message was essentially the same in each, and so was the production – the only difference was the voices, the opening line and the line after the client tag line – everything else was exactly the same. Simple enough? At least that’s the way it was pitched to me.
There were 3 copywriters involved, and they wrote spots that were broken down to male focus and female focus, young (15-20), adult (20-30), middle aged (30-60) and OAP (old aged pensioners), there were also 2 spots that were targeted at higher priced products and lower priced products.
The process was simple enough – decide the categories, write the core message and the tail, then start zeroing in on the target audience. Then play those ads to the listeners and monitor the results.
I was asked to cast an ear/eye over the scripts to see if they would work. I was more than glad to help!
The technology was delivered through the station website, and a third party piece of software and integrated with smart speakers. I wasn’t privy to the specifics, of how it worked – but it truly fascinated me.
If this is the future of radio – it means a lot more scripts (YAY!), more production, and, more of a focussed message – a little bit like the targeted advertising in the movie MINORITY REPORT.
Not so much? Maybe?
What do you think? Do you think that targeted advertising messages are infringing on peoples right to privacy or are the way of the future? Let me know below.
If you have written copy like this – I’d love to know of your experience and how it went – please do comment below.
