Broadcasters Moving Digitally
Local radio and television stations are trying to understand their roles in the new digital media marketplace. Last week at the Texas Association of Broadcasters annual conference, we presented BIA/Kelsey’s latest information on the local media market and drilled into the issues of broadcasters and digital sales. To see the entire presentation, click now.
To effectively compete in this new marketplace, broadcasters must first discover the extent of this marketplace. Specifically, they need to know the size of the advertising spending that is moving to the digital advertising options. The latest BIA/Kelsey national advertising forecast predicts that by 2018 over a third of all local advertising will be digital. They also need to know locally what spending is moving to digital by different business categories, information that is available through BIA/Kelsey’s Media Ad View Plus forecast.
While a considerable amount of that increased digital spending is with pure-play online companies, radio and television stations are increasingly becoming a part of that spending. These local media outlets have the benefits of a local brand image, news and information on the local market, and, a local sales force – “boots on the ground.”
These advantages allow these local stations to move into new areas, and even go beyond just selling related online advertising on their station websites. Several broadcasters have moved into a “digital agency” role with their local businesses, providing needed guidance to local businesses who are overwhelmed with so many new and different choices. Of course, local broadcasters are not the only local media that are trying to fill this role, so these broadcasters need to have well-trained staffs knowledgeable about all of the opportunities out there.
In addition, these broadcasters need to insure that their social and mobile presence is strong. Many Texas broadcasters are doing just that with their on air personalities heavily involved and their news and information available on many different devices.
It was illuminating and encouraging at the same time presenting this information to these Texas broadcasters as many in the audience indicated that they were well on their way to transition their efforts to take advantage of these new opportunities.