Lo scrive Forbes.com in una breve, lapidaria notizia che traccia un ritratto poco incoraggiante della radio come strumento promozionale. La crescita della spesa in annunci pubblicitari via radio è di appena l’1,5% nel 2007, contro una spinta pari al 22% in più di investimenti per campagne via Web. Grazie a questo aumento il budget pubblicitario complessivo di Internet passa a 21,7 miliardi di dollari, contro i 20,4 della radio. Secondo Arbitron e Edison Media Research solo 17 americani su 100 considerano la radio come il medium più importante. Cinque anni fa erano 26. Tutto questo a fronte di valutazioni che giudicano i due mezzi particolarmente sinergici e complementari. La pubblicità combinata via Internet e in radio ha senso,. Ma evidentemente non piace o non è ancora stata del tutto compresa.
Web Ad Spending To Eclipse Radio In ’07
Louis Hau, 08.29.07, 4:13 PM ET
U.S. Internet advertising spending is poised to overtake radio advertising for the first time, providing a reminder that broadcasters need to be more aggressive in their embrace of online opportunities.
U.S. radio ad spending is expected to inch up 1.5% in 2007, to $20.4 billion, short of online ad expenditures of $21.7 billion, which will be up 22% from last year, eMarketer senior analyst Ben Macklin said in a report. Over the next several years, radio station Web sites and online audio advertising “will be the principal drivers for radio advertising growth,” Macklin said.
But he doesn’t think that growth will add up to much. He expects the sluggish radio advertising market to continue experiencing slow growth, climbing to an estimated $22.6 billion in 2011, when online ad spending is expected to surge to $44 billion.
Terrestrial radio companies like Clear Channel Communications, CBS and Cox Radio still retain massive audiences, but consumers are spending less time listening to radio than they do surfing the Web or watching TV.
In addition, only 17% of U.S. consumers consider radio the “most” essential medium, down from 26% five years ago, according to a study released earlier this year by Arbitron and Edison Media Research.
For many advertisers, the choice between radio and non-radio online ads won’t be an either-or proposition, Macklin said, pointing to studies showing that consumers often listen to the radio while consuming other media and that a mix of terrestrial radio and online ads can be far more effective than online ads alone.
“There are many synergies between radio and the Internet and, for the most part, they complement rather than compete with each other,” he said. “Advertisers should not abandon radio in favor of the Web but combine the two media to take advantage of the unique attributes of each.”
Those might sound like encouraging words for the radio industry. But as Macklin’s estimates show, these new opportunities don’t appear likely to kick-start the radio industry out of its doldrums.
