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MARK RAMSEY MEDIA

“Radio, Advertisers are Less Interested in an Audience and More Interested in a Buyer”

Jun 29, 2017

“Radio, Advertisers are Less Interested in an Audience and More Interested in a Buyer”

Gordon Borrell has issued his latest report benchmarking local media’s digital revenues. Required reading for anyone in the local media business. Yesterday I published a transcript of Part 1 and the full video interview. Today, Part 2: Whereas the emphasis in the radio industry seems to be “let’s communicate the value of the Nielsen numbers, let’s make the Nielsen numbers as accurate as they can be,” you’re suggesting that there’s way too much dependence on Nielsen and the tr

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“Radio is Shrinking, Give the Advertisers What They Want”

Jun 28, 2017

“Radio is Shrinking, Give the Advertisers What They Want”

Gordon Borrell has issued his latest report benchmarking local media’s digital revenues, and it’s another eye-opener. Here’s my full conversation with Gordon about this report, the consequences for the radio industry, and what radio can learn from it. Part 1 publishes today, Part 2 tomorrow. What’s the biggest way this report is different from your previous reports? I think after 15 years, basically, of doing these reports, you really either see a pattern or you’re stupid. An

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Let’s Face It: Your Advertising Sucks

Jun 16, 2017

Let’s Face It: Your Advertising Sucks

So I’m reading a headline predicting a 4% decline in radio advertising over the next year and another 4% decline the year after. Meanwhile we are constantly reminded about clients pushing for lower rates or for tech-enabled solutions which risk commoditizing radio altogether. The solution? Well, remove ownership caps, of course. That way we can buy more stations, cut more people, and provide a greater fraction of less value for fewer clients with, at least, less competition.

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Will There Be A Netflix Of Podcasts?

May 30, 2017

Will There Be A Netflix Of Podcasts?

What upfronts reveal about the TV business. And… Will there be a Netflix of Podcasts? Plus, rants and raves about the return of Biz Stone to Twitter and what happens when your date texts during a movie and the Justice System intercedes. It’s episode 64 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. This episode is brought to you by StackAdapt, an omnichannel digital advertising platform that helps brands accelerate customer acquisitio

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Media Unplugged: Inside Media’s Data-Driven Future

May 1, 2017

Media Unplugged: Inside Media’s Data-Driven Future

Inside media’s data-driven future. And… Here’s how advertisers ignore data. Plus, rants and raves about overt messaging and suspension of disbelief, Disney’s new Star Wars Land, and how Suave fooled a bunch of beauty influencers into thinking it was luxury haircare – but how the joke may be on Suave. It’s episode 62 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. This episode is brought to you by StackAdapt, an omnichannel digital adv

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Advertisers Can Be Their Own Worst Enemies

Apr 5, 2017

Advertisers Can Be Their Own Worst Enemies

We had to produce some direct response ads for my podcast project (you’ve heard it, right?), but one of the would-be sponsors was a hard sell. You can find them advertising on many podcasts here and there (and maybe even on a certain televised annual sports event). But this kind of podcast doesn’t work for them, they argued. So they’ll steer clear. Our work-around solution: Create a spec spot that really illustrates the power of audio and moves the product and even has what a

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Strong Debut for “Inside Psycho” Podcast

Mar 15, 2017

Strong Debut for “Inside Psycho” Podcast

Last week I told you about the new podcast I am producing for Wondery: Inside Psycho. This week I am proud to announce that Inside Psycho is now #1 on iTunes in the TV & Film category (#46 overall at this writing). It’s also featured by Apple as “New and Noteworthy,” which is a special privilege. Now, these are dynamic lists and rankings to be sure. Stuff changes. And iTunes rankings aren’t the whole story. But even so, with the zillions of podcasts in distribution every day

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It’s Time For Radio To Make Spots Shorter

Feb 20, 2017

It’s Time For Radio To Make Spots Shorter

YouTube has announced that they will no longer support 30-second ads that viewers can’t skip, starting 2018. No more. Nada. Zip. Why? A YouTube spokesman said… We’re committed to providing a better ads experience for users online. As part of that, we’ve decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers. This change will not affect shorter ads – the 20-second videos and six-second bumpers

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Younger Audiences Hate Ads Even More Than You Do

Jan 11, 2017

Younger Audiences Hate Ads Even More Than You Do

According to a new global media habits study from Kantar Millward Brown, if you think your audience hates advertising now, just wait. It is about to get a lot worse. The study spanned 39 countries and 23,907 interviews, including populations representing Gen X (35–49), Gen Y (20–34) and Gen Z (16–19). According to the report: It’s particularly tricky to get Gen Z to engage, because they are highly discriminating and more averse to advertising in general. In the online space G

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Facebook Live Audio – So What?

Dec 21, 2016

Facebook Live Audio – So What?

Cue the panic in the radio streets. Facebook is moving into the audio space by making available a publishing tool called “Live Audio.” “Should you be worried?” asks Radio Ink (which should be in a position to answer that question rather than ask it). First, let’s acknowledge the utter inevitability of this announcement. Facebook’s job is to extract dollars from potential advertisers who value the platform’s virtually infinite and addressable audience and want to reach them in

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Media Unplugged: The Best Marketer of the Year – Your Fans!

Dec 12, 2016

Media Unplugged: The Best Marketer of the Year – Your Fans!

Will ad-blocking save the advertising industry? And… The best marketer of the year? Your fans! Plus, rants and raves about the app that fixes your complexion so you don’t have to, the history of the Christmas tree, and how one business guru needs a dose of his own medicine. It’s episode 55 – the final chapter of the year – of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the p

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The End of Advertising?

Nov 3, 2016

The End of Advertising?

We all know the folks in the print business are being squeezed by digital. At the New York Times total revenue fell 1% while Gannett Co. reported revenues down almost 9%. And remember, those declines take into account any growth in digital. But this note from MediaPost is particularly telling: It’s worth noting that [circulation] revenues now make up 59.7% of NYTCO’s total, up from 41.3% in the third quarter of 2010. The proportion derived from advertising has fallen from 51.

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hivio 2016: Panoply and the Business of Podcasting

Oct 12, 2016

hivio 2016: Panoply and the Business of Podcasting

Andy Bowers is the Chief Content Officer of Panoply, a leading podcast network and an innovator in the space. In this Q&A from hivio 2016, the audio future festival, I talk with Andy about Panoply’s business model, how the company works with advertisers and brands, and the future of podcasting as a business. Among the questions Andy addresses: Describe Panoply For advertisers, Panoply is more about impact than scale. How is that distinction important and how does it work for

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Media Unplugged: Dear Advertisers: Our Audience Numbers Are Garbage!

Oct 10, 2016

Media Unplugged: Dear Advertisers: Our Audience Numbers Are Garbage!

Dear advertisers: Our audience numbers are garbage! And… The road to Hell is paved with pageviews. Plus, rants and raves about the iPhone parody gadget which earned one startup 1.5 million visitors a day, the Brangelina wax figure divorce, and more. This is the episode to listen to if you’re a media brand perplexed that greater scale only drives down the value of your reach. It’s episode 51 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramse

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This Will Revolutionize Radio Ad Sales

Aug 17, 2016

This Will Revolutionize Radio Ad Sales

If you’re trying to grow radio ad revenue (or ad revenue from any audio or video platform), you should watch this presentation from Veritone Media’s Ryan Steelberg. It will change forever your sense of what you can sell and how you can sell it. Ryan was one of the speakers at hivio 2016. And if you’re trying to spread your content across platforms (and who isn’t?), this video is for you, too. Veritone Media’s big data solution ingests and indexes all of your content, and tha

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Radio: More Reasons Why It’s Time to Dump Nielsen’s PPM

Aug 16, 2016

Radio: More Reasons Why It’s Time to Dump Nielsen’s PPM

So last week I penned a strong piece suggesting that the radio industry drop PPM. The argument was stimulated by the discovery that Nielsen households can contain up to 16 meters. For me, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The piece sparked a firestorm and almost a thousand Facebook shares, not because my points were so salient (although I hope they were) but because there does not seem to exist a single PPM subscriber who considers themselves satisfie

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Podcasting is Going to be Big Business

Aug 15, 2016

Podcasting is Going to be Big Business

There’s lots of chatter about podcasting today – from hobbyists, from fans, and from the companies deeply embedded in the space. But all that is nothing compared to what’s coming. Every year comes another statistic about the growth of podcasting among consumers, but even that doesn’t touch what’s coming. What’s coming is that podcasting is going to be big business, and it’s going to happen sooner than you think. ART19 is one of the new companies at the center of that transfor

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hivio 2016 – How Pandora is Changing Audio Advertising

Aug 2, 2016

hivio 2016 – How Pandora is Changing Audio Advertising

Lizzie Widhelm is Pandora’s Senior Vice President of Ad Product Sales & Strategy where she spearheads the team that brings advertising products to life and to market. At this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, Lizzie talks about the evolving Pandora platform and how it’s changing its sales strategy to meet the future head-on. Here are some of the questions we cover: Why is this evolution of Pandora so important? How is the new shape of Pandora likely to be different f

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How Radio Ads Influence Generation X

Aug 1, 2016

How Radio Ads Influence Generation X

Remember Generation X? That’s the group that’s older than Millennials yet younger than Baby Boomers. They are today’s 35-54 demographic (sizable, but smaller than Boomers or Millennials). Check out this new chart from MarketingCharts.com on what media are perceived to have persuaded purchases by Gen X during the six months prior to the survey: Quick take: Radio ads – good, old-fashioned radio ads – are, if anything, MORE influential than they were two years ago. Still, radio

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The Podcasting Ad Space is Going to Explode

Jul 12, 2016

The Podcasting Ad Space is Going to Explode

Sarah van Mosel is Chief Commercial Officer for Acast, a tech platform that helps podcast creators profit, helps audiences find great content, and helps advertisers reach engaged listeners. Much has been said about the rise in podcast usage, but not nearly as much has been said about the rise in interest among advertising for podcasting’s burgeoning audience and how the podcast ecosystem is rising to meet – and create – that demand. Sarah begins with an overview of the podcas

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