(Photo courtesy of Steve Melewski’s Twitter account)
I had the pleasure of being joined by MASN Sports’ Steve Melewski to talk all things Baltimore Orioles. Steve gave insight on what his biggest surprise of the season was as well as what moves the Orioles could make this offseason. There was also talk about a potential Manny Machado extension and more.
Well it is definitely that time of year again. Everywhere you look there are Black Friday ads and Christmas ads. They can sometimes get very annoying, but they do a good job of driving home their point! The problem is holiday shopping ads come earlier and earlier every year. Shoppers are making their purchases earlier than ever for the holiday season. Industry forecasts predict a 3.5% to 4.5% increase in retail sales this season. According to Insider Radio, station managers keep close watch on holiday shopping trends, as retail is one of radio’s biggest categories. Radio stations are hoping for a robust ad market because retail ads typically drive advertisement spending in the fourth quarter.
Generally people think television does the best job of informing potential customers about amazing deals they can receive by shopping at a specific store. Radio, however, definitely influences higher retail sales during the holiday season as well. Pierre Bouvard, chief marketing officer for Cumulus Media and Westwood One, says radio offers advertisers unparalleled access, reaching 180 million Americans on Black Friday and 63% of adults age 25 to 54, according to Nielsen.
The important aspect of radio advertisement is it connects with the consumer at work and on the go. Bouvard also said radio ads are effective for both traditional stores and online retailers. Radio is the most used media from 6am to 7pm which provides the best time to hit the consumer with retail ads. This is due to the fact that most retail stores are open during their work time and often open after the consumer leaves work. The same exposure helps online retailers as well because a consumer may hear an ad while at work and then go online during the workday or later that evening. Radio stations also frequently offer the last word a shopper hears before going into a store. According to Insider Radio, last summer when Amazon staged its one-day Prime event, radio was credited with the highest conversion of advertising awareness to purchase, surpassing online and TV ads. This definitely illustrates the fact that radio is still a premier marketing media.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!
As I previously wrote, Pandora recently acquired the rights to “Serial,” the most popular podcast ever produced. This is definitely a move that will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the exposure of podcasts, provided more are added to Pandora. Pandora has also recently been in the news for buying out rival Rdio on November 16. Pandora appears to be struggling and is looking for new ways to boost revenues which could explain the move to buy out Rdio.
Pandora has long been a thorn in the side of traditional radio because of its convenience factor and the much lighter load of commercials. Pandora currently has over 75 million active monthly listeners. They seemed like an unstoppable force, but now their business model is in doubt.
Pandora is looking for a new subscription service that would generate a revenue stream; they are hoping the acquisition of Rdio will provide that. Pandora made the $75 million deal with the aim of using Rdio’s technology to launch a new premium, on-demand subscription service to compete with the likes of Spotify, according to Media Life. Pandora currently has a subscription tier, but it is not widely used. The current problem with Pandora isn’t generating ad revenue; it is the fact that the ad revenue isn’t growing fast enough to keep up with the high cost of content. This has been a looming problem for years. According to Media Life, the cost of streaming music jumped 90 percent in the third quarter. Ad revenue grew 31 percent. Content costs ate up $215 million of the $255 million in ad revenue brought in that quarter. These expenses are expected to keep creeping higher and higher. So this bears the question- how much longer can Pandora continue to sustain these content costs rising much faster than ad revenue?
Pandora cannot be faulted for its lack of trying. The digital radio service last month also purchased TicketFly an online ticket sales company, in an effort to add more dimension to its offerings. Hopefully, these new acquisitions to the company can help Pandora stay afloat. Not too long ago critics believed traditional radio could potentially succumb to Pandora and now Pandora is at risk of going under.
Harpal Bains is actively involved on campus and participates in clubs and sports while enrolled in the honors college. (Photo by Tim Barbalace/ TU Student)
Towson University Freshman Harpal Bains has participated in a variety of activities Towson has to offer. Currently, Bains is on the club rugby team here at Towson. Bains is also about to become the vice president of the South Asia Student Association. In addition to all of this, Bains is enrolled in the honors college here at Towson University and is maintaining high grades. Watch below as we take a peek into what he has experienced in his first semester. Also click here to read a feature story done about him.
Students patiently waiting for their breakfast at Starbucks located in Cook Library of Towson University (Photo by Tim Barbalace/TU Student
Beep. Beep. Beep. It is 9 a.m. Robby Walsh, a Towson University student, wakes up and prepares to get ready for his 10 a.m. class. He takes a shower, brushes his teeth, gets dressed, and heads out the door for class.
This seems like a normal morning routine but something important is missing.
Walsh is one of over 31 million Americans who skip breakfast every day, according to the Huffington Post.
“I would rather sleep in longer then eat breakfast,” said Walsh. “I just don’t have the time to eat breakfast.” (more…)
David Tart, marketing director at Charles Village Pub, is the man responsible for all of the events, activities and giveaways that occur at CVP. Photo by: Tim Barbalace/TU Student
Charles Village Pub, or CVP, is an extremely popular bar and restaurant located in Towson, Maryland. CVP always has something going on such as bikini contests, bull riding, beer pong and much more! CVP also has specials and giveaways throughout the week! David Tart, marketing director, is the person behind all of these fun activities. His job responsibilities and his experience at CVP can be heard in the slideshow below.
(Photo Courtesy of CBS Baltimore)
I decided to interview Mark Viviano from WJZ-TV because he has spent much of his career covering sports. Mark Viviano was a graduate of the the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Viviano is currently the sports director for WJZ-TV. Most recently, Viviano was a studio anchor and national correspondent for CNN-Sports Illustrated. Viviano has had an illustrious career and even was the journalist who broke the story of the Cleveland Browns’ relocation to Baltimore in November 1995. I have recently gotten the opportunity to ask him a few questions about how social media is incorporated in journalism.
TB– “How has social media changed the journalism landscape in your opinion?”
MV– “Yes, I believe social media has significantly changed the journalism landscape. Journalists can provide more information in more formats (especially mobile) and provide it more quickly than ever. The widespread use of social media has led to media entities altering their manner of disseminating information as they adjust to the demand.” (more…)
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