ASIA

WorldDAB produced a Sunday-morning conference session at this year’s IBC, exploring “new opportunities and new audiences with DAB+”.The packed event was hosted by WorldDAB’s Vice-President and Project Director of Digital Radio Netherlands, Jacqueline Bierhorst who detailed how DAB+ is driving the uptake of digital radio, with it now being standard in over 90% of new cars sold in Europe.Laurence Harrison from Radioplayer Worldwide recapped highlights from last year’s Car Buyers Survey which found that buyers say broadcast radio is the most valued audio source in the car.Lindsay Cornell, Chair of the WorldDAB Technical Committee, provided expert advice on using metadata to ensure stations look their best in the car.Gereon Joachim from Xperi further emphasised the vital nature of metadata, saying that broadcaster-owned and created non-linear content has an important role to play in local market content discovery and personalisation.The second half of the WorldDAB event explored opportunities with small-scale DAB+. Hanns Wolter, of DAB Italia and the Chair of WorldDAB’s Spectrum and Network Implementation Committee, noted that small scale does not mean free. Multiplexing and distribution requires some skill, but it does allow lower entrance costs.Lukas Weiss from Digris outlined the company’s operations in Switzerland, where FM is due to be switched off in 2024. Innovation – such as incorporating display advertising – had been the key to its success, he said.“Think differently, work locally,” was the message from Nick Piggott of Bristol Digital Radio, which operates the small-scale multiplex in the west of England, and Donald McTernan from Ujima Radio, one of the community stations broadcasting on the mux. They outlined how DAB can be done cost-effectively without disrupting the existing ecosystem.Gerard Lokhoff, DAB allotment 76 and the EUregio Digitaal Foundation brought further examples of small-scale deployments in The Netherlands, that includes the ‘DAB+ 4 Brainport’ local multiplex in Eindhoven, which carries two public and seven commercial stations. […]

Content from BPRMuch has been written about how radio has reinvented itself over the years, most notably how it transformed because of the introduction of television, with radio moving from a medium people primarily consumed in the evening to a medium mainly consumed during the morning and workday.Radio’s enduring attribute has been its ability to wrap around the lives of people, listening being something that does not prevent a person from doing other things unlike reading or watching. No other form of media has moulded itself to the way people live, like radio has.For decades radio has been principally “socialised” as a source of information and entertainment at the beginning and end of the working day. This is where radio has performed best and been most securely anchored to the daily routine of adults.The last few years has however created a “decoupling” of the way radio is socialised. First, there are more audio and entertainment choices diluting usage, second, the way people work and think about work and life has changed for many. This has created a much more complex matrix of listening behaviour and motivation. It would be fair to say that during the last two years all the listening balls were thrown into the air, and we are now starting to see where they are landing.All the evidence points to a resocialisation of radio amongst many adult listeners which presents both challenges and opportunities. Some key issues include:
More people using more radio stations for shorter periods.
Many people, no longer starting their day with radio.
More people using radio on weekends.
Fewer people listening to radio every day.
More people starting their radio listening day after 9am.
The most telling finding however is that relative to all the other listening choices adult listeners have radio is increasingly distinguished by its combination of music, personality, information, and localism. Importantly, most adults prefer this listening “mix” as a backdrop to their daily lives and get annoyed when their favourite radio station does something to screw it up and they have to find satisfaction in something else. The majority of adults who move from radio to other audio are “pushed”.  The good news is that they become equally disenchanted with other audio after a while and return to radio.What defines “localism” however has changed. It is not just local news, name-dropping suburbs, and community service announcements. It is now much more about conveying a sense of shared experience with the listener.Understanding the resocialisation of radio in your market and why people behave the way they do is more than critical, it defines your future.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Content from BPRAmazon’s Jeff Bezos once said: “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better”.So, how’s the party going at your station?Are the listeners being served what they want? The type of music, entertainment, news & information, personalities.Are they being served on time and with the correct quantity of each ingredient?Are they engaging in the experience or keeping close tabs on the time so they can make a quick exit and go to the next party (your competitor)?Stepping aside from radio for a moment, think about the last time you had a really great experience as a customer — remember the ways that experience left you feeling.Now do the same for the last time you had a poor experience as a customer.Customer experience is the impression customers have of a brand as a whole throughout all aspects of the buyer’s journey. It forms the perceptions of a brand.It’s no use assuming what the listeners’ experience is…you must ask them.Accurate listener research is one of the most important tools in a programmer’s arsenal.You find out what they want from their favourite radio station and then measure their LX…listener experience…to determine how well your station is performing.Is your station the “hottest party ticket in town” or a time filler for one that’s better?By David Kidd, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonOur Credibility MattersPeople don’t usually buy from people they don’t trust. They are also unlikely to buy from salespeople who have no credibility. When we ask clients for thousands of dollars, they need to feel we know how to get them a return on their investment. We must be seen as “experts”.There are several ways we can establish our credibility. One of my top reps does this: She has an 81/2 by 11 sheet of paper with names and contact information for several of her clients. She has gotten permission from these clients to have prospects call them. These clients are SOLD on her and her stations.After she does a client needs analysis, she hands the prospect her list and invites them to call her current clients. Much of the time, they do. When she returns with her proposal for them, they are already sold. Her satisfied clients do much of the selling for her. She just explains to her prospects what type of campaign she has brought for their business. This works magic!Another way we can establish our credibility is to talk about the business of the business before we talk about the marketing of the business. Seek first to understand the needs and goals of this particular prospect. Here are some phrases that show we have prepared for our meeting:“I was thinking about our meeting and I wrote down some questions. Might we go over them?”“As I was reviewing my notes from our last meeting….”“As I was preparing for our meeting today….”As the old saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”First, we have to answer their “Why?”Next, we answer “How?”The outcome is higher revenue for our clients and for our stations.Happy selling! […]

radioinfo.asia managing editor, Peter Saxon visits the Triton – Omny stand at the recent Radiodays Asia to chat with Stephanie Donovan – Global Head of Revenue and Benjamin Masse – Chief Product Officer.

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Gagl, a new cloud service for remote contribution from Comrex, is now available for purchase. Subscriptions are available for $35 USD per month or $35 USD per year with a free 14-day trial.Gagl allows between one and five users to send and receive audio from computers and smartphones. Each user receives their own mix-minus to hear other connected guests, and the Gagl audio is delivered to a Comrex hardware codec (such as ACCESS or BRIC-Link, usually ina studio).All participants can hear other participants and the codec “sends” audio back to them. Participants can connect and send audio by simply clicking a link using any common web browser. Gagl is designed to be used with consumer grade equipment, so contributors only need a device and a headset to get on the air.It uses the Opus audio encoder, with a bit rate that delivers both voice and music in excellent quality. Gagl also delivers audio directly to aComrex codec with all the stability enhancements, pro-grade audio connections, and features that hardware codecs provide. The simple user interface makes it easy for users with any level of technical experience to use.Gagl could be used as the hub for a news program or for a morning radio show to support multiple simultaneous contributor connections. Because it offers low latency, it’s appropriate for call-in talk radio. Gagl could also be used to allow a single contributor to connect back to thestudio from a computer or smartphone.Gagl works with Comrex hardware IP audio codecs including the AES67-compatible ACCESS NX Rack IP audio codec and ACCESS MultiRack multi-channel IP audio codec as well as the BRIC-Link series. […]