Report: How To Evaluate An Advertiser's Position

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, June 10, 2024

Cumulus Media and Westwood One

This week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog features a guest post written by John Fix. Since his recent retirement from P&G, Fix has opened his consultancy and Westwood One is one of his early clients. In the blog, Fix outlines a five-question framework that he applied to audio over his multi-year journey at P&G. The blog asks 5 questions and offers references to address questions at each stage.

• Does audio work? The initial barrier to the use of audio centers on whether or not it works. There is a myth that advertising needs sight, sound, and motion. The prevailing wisdom is that audio lacks two of the three. The strength of audio in a media plan is that is serves to remind, relate, and reach.

• Can audio be planned and purchased at scale? Once brands start to believe in audio, they want to see how it fits into the media plan. The ability to buy in scale is as important as the ability to plan.

• Are there creative best practices for getting audio right? Audio best practices are the next key to success. A brand can believe in audio and can plan and buy audio but if poorly executed, the investment will be wasted, and the media suppliers will suffer.

• Can audio be measured? While measurement is the 4th question, it is a topic that needs to be considered at all times. Many brands will not make an investment unless they know that they can have information that spans proof-of-performance to attribution. Audio, and all media done at scale, needs to have data that is available and in front of advertisers.

• Is your brand properly set up for success? The 5th question puts some responsibility on the advertiser. Even though audio works and can be optimized with best executional practices, it can still be ineffective. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make the message work.