From the press release: "Hiwire
has begun delivering targeted audio advertisements for Classic
FM, the
flagship radio station of the United Kingdom's GWR Group. With
Hiwire's technology, Classic FM is the first terrestrial radio
station capable of delivering targeted ads in a live stream simulcast..."
Hiwire had originally announced (reported in RAIN
here)
earlier this month that it would be Santa Cruz, CA-area Adult
Alternative KPIG that
was to become the first traditional broadcaster to use ad-insertion
on their Internet stream.
"In September, GWR, the largest UK radio group, announced
its partnership with Hiwire. Classic FM is the first 
of
GWR's stations to become Hiwire-enabled, allowing broadcast ad
spots to be replaced by advertisements targeted to individual
online listeners by age, gender and location.
"Classic FM is the largest terrestrial station in
the UK and has a steadily growing online listener base, with nearly
half a million aggregate tuning hours recorded over the last two
months."
Read the press release here.
"Classic FM is officially the first terrestrial station
inserting live stream ads -- not just gateways. This is an important
distinction," Hiwire spokesman Wayne Hickey told RAIN.
"As GMs know, this (the gateway) isn't the best way to generate
revenue, especially if listeners stay on for hours at a time."
He added, "We've also signed contracts with a number of top-tier
advertisers in the last few weeks, with the campaigns to run sometime
in March."
BY PAUL MALONEY
Atlanta Alternative WNNX (99X) has certainly gotten its share
of industry adulation. The station's marketing, programming, and
sales have all garnered heaps of
awards and salutes as a text book example of how radio should
be done.
And nearly everything we learn about 99X makes us think
they deserve it. They are honored and admired by the industry
(and much more importantly, by their listeners) because they do
radio "the right way." Actually, time and again they
go beyond "the right way" and do radio a "better
way."
In staking their place on the Web, the station has once
again proved itself an industry leader. One of the first
on the Internet. Among the first to stream. And their efforts
produced what is undoubtedly one of the best demonstrations of
what a website can be for a radio station (or any company) when
a few "roads less travelled" are taken.
Our theory is that the philosophy behind the constuction
of the site ran along the lines of "let's turn the limitations
of the radio medium into strengths on the Internet." Radio
is sound only, so there are plenty of visuals on the site. Radio
is live and moves in time, so there are plenty of resources available
on the site to catch something you missed, or revisit a favorite
on-air moment. Since radio is portable, it's not always so easy
to "interact" and communicate with the station -- so
there are plenty of ways to do that at 99X.com.
Think about this when you visit the site and see if you don't
agree.
The site is most definitely visually impressive. Possibly
a bit on the heavy side as far as graphics go, but the artwork
is quite nice, and the site didn't take too long to load at all.
Rollover effects help with the navigation, revealing the subsections
of the major areas of the site. Clicking on the logo in the upper
left sometimes gets you back to the homepage, sometimes it doesn't.
And after venturing into some sections, like "Morning X," you'll
find it easier to just fend for yourself with your browser's BACK
button.
High marks for "cool things" on the site. Take a peek through
the studio webcam with your RealPlayer. Very nice "community building"
with the "I Am 99X" section, where you can fill out a profile
and get the chance to have your photo posted (and be on the air,
according to the site). There's an impressive online magazine
called "99Xpress" with technology and fashion sections. "Xposure"
is original (how often do you see totally original material on
a station site?) "rant" content. Good visibility for clients with
the "Freeloaders"
section -- a list of money saving offers for goods and services
from participating advertisers.
We'd venture to say that the station's "Survivor"
contest wouldn't have been possible (or at least worth doing)
before the Internet. The visuals, the opportunity for the audience
to interact through polls, the video from inside the "compound"
-- all made possible through the website, were necessary elements
of the execution of the promotion. And that's the point here:
WNNX has recognized that using the Internet effectively means
adopting a whole new way of thinking -- a whole new approach.
The Internet is NOT the radio, and it's NOT a billboard. They
could have run a "standard" radio contest, and merely
let listeners enter online, or view the results on the site. But
they came up with an approach that effectively plays to the strengths
of both broadcast and the Internet.
Your station may not have the manpower or the budget to
pull off a site like WNNX's. But visit the site, and look at what
they've done. Your station could certainly do well by having a
sense of the "vision" behind the website.
|
Have
an opinion on this article? Share it! Simply click
the headline at left to bring up a convenient "Submit"
form. |
This feedback is in response to the RAIN
piece (here)
on the soon-to-be-released ZeePad appliance...
 |
"There
is no way..."
|
There is no way the Zee box will pass FCC. Range
for a low powered FM transmitter is essentially limited to a couple
of feet.
| |
Rocky Caldwell
Thomson Multimedia |
|
"This
approach is not viable..."
|
The FCC allows transmission on the 88 - 108 MHz FM
band, but only in very small levels (200mV/sq. meter). This equates
to a maximum of 30 feet for use in
home applications.
If you remember, Sonic Box started down this path and realized
their error and coverted their design to a 900 MHz system. Akoo's
Kima design (patented) utilizes the longer range 900 MHz ISM band
(50,000 mV/sq. meter) and then re-transmits the RF signal onto the
FM radio band.
I am sure others will try this approach in the near future,
but they will find, at their investors expense that this approach
is not viable or legal.
This is in response to other reader feedback (here)
commenting on advertisers' underwhelming support of the streaming
industry...
|
"It
is a little early in the game to be selling against each
other ..."
|
I can tell you why advertisers are not biting. Streaming
media surpassed radio in fragmentation and egos
in one tenth the time it took radio! We at Katz worked very hard
to create the critical mass the advertisers needed in order to understand
the value of this exciting new market.
There are more rep firms out there for streaming (or at
least last month) than for terrestrial radio -- that is insane!
It is a little early in the game to be selling against each other,
but that is what is taking place and with this environment advertisers
will never embrace streaming. Streaming delivers a tremendously
qualified consumer, it is the industry's job to make it easy for
advertisers to buy that consumer.
| |
Sarah
Buckley
Katz Interactive |
| xxx |
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|
Try
it out! Explore the wide world of
Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
