At the recent NAB Show, a Sunday session titled “The Local Advertising Buying Landscape” brought a flurry of attendees to West Hall. As part of the Broadcast Management Track, the session dove into the results of Borrell Associates and RAB’s 13th annual digital benchmarking report on radio digital sales.
Released earlier this year, the report analyzed online ad revenue from 3,743 radio stations — also surveying 388 local radio advertisers and 221 radio managers — to reveal that radio’s digital revenue grew 10% to reach $2.1 billion in 2024.
Expanding on those findings, a group of panelists came together to discuss what clients are buying and how radio sellers are succeeding, or missing out, on that revenue.
To kick off the session, Gordon Borrell, CEO at Borrell Associates, spoke about local business owners’ and advertisers’ digital sales habits. Borrell said radio has a very large stock of advertisers, and, according to the report, these advertisers are six times more likely to buy digital/streaming video ads than traditional over-the-air.
“That’s a really important finding and a really important key to the transition of radio stations,” he said. “They now are able to compete with their broadcast TV brethren, becoming more video centered and selling digital advertising around it.”
Borrell said 28% of radio advertisers are buying digital and that demand is only growing. He said stations must embrace digital because advertisers are not buying radio at the clip that they did just five years ago.
One of the standout findings of the Borrell/RAB study is that more than a third of advertisers say radio has the most marketing experience, with radio reps being the most trusted resource in the local market.
Moderating the session was Mike Hulvey, president and CEO of RAB. He shared insights into digital revenue opportunities and what stations need to hone their own sales skills.
Hulvey said the key to a successful advertising campaign is simpler than one might think. When creating a sales strategy for your local clients, ask: “Can it sell a hamburger?”
At the most basic level, Hulvey said, advertisers are looking to accomplish tangible goals core to their mission — whether that’s selling more hamburgers at their restaurant or buying more trucks for their pest control business.
Greg Davis Jr., vice president and market manager at Davis Broadcasting, echoed Hulvey’s comments, saying most advertisers won’t bother with looking at graphs or examining click-through rates for digital ads.
“If we boil it all down, it’s all about solutions-based selling,” said Davis. “Stop trying to sell tactics. Stop trying to become the expert.”
Other speakers at the session included Dustin Wilson, senior director of digital strategy at Marketron, and Linnae Young, executive vice president of operations and revenue development at Salem Media Group.
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This story appeared in the NAB Show Daily and is ©NAB.
