Page 20 - AdNews May-June 2020

Agenda
pushing notifications through our apps for those people who had reg- istered. They would know when an update was coming because we would ping their phones and effec- tively give them an alert that we were about to, or just had, pro- vided an emergency update.
“And in the case of the bush- fires, some of our people worked for about 28 days straight, through their own holiday break, to effec- tively keep their communities aware. That’s the level of commitment.”
SCA has 96 radio stations around Australia.
“Our digital news consump- tion was actually up 220% this December over the prior year,
and it was up about 176% in January,” he says. “There was a need, and we were serving that need on a very local level.”
Radio keeps working when phone signals are jammed. “More and more people rely upon radio to provide that update to them in a timely manner,” he says.
The pandemic
When the COVID-19 crisis hit, and Australia went home to work, radio became a companion and more than a source of information and entertainment.
“All shows across our network immediately pivoted to tailor the content they were creating for both audiences and advertis- ers,” says Ciaran Davis, the CEO of HT&E’s ARN (Australian Radio Network).
“While still keeping within their usual style, each show adapted to satisfy their audi- ence’s desire for information bal- anced with light-hearted escap- ism and stories of hope.”
Between February and March, iHeartRadio Australia had a 31% increase in registrations and a 5% increase in time spent listening to ARN stations across the KIIS, Pure Gold and The Edge net- works. Digital and social engage- ment also jumped with website users across KIIS, Pure Gold and The Edge up by 63% and page views 49% higher. Station Facebook video views increased by 90% and the number of Facebook users increased by 55%. ARN also recorded a 38% increase in time spent listening to podcasts on iHeartPodcast Network Australia.
“During times of crisis when people want to feel a sense of community, connection and hope, the power of audio is undis- puted - regardless of whether audiences are accessing content via broadcast, on-demand audio or digital,” says Davis.
In the early days of COVID-19 in Australia, the uncertainty resulted in a fast fall in marketing activity across all media.
But radio still saw spending including from online retailers, home delivery services, energy providers, telcos, banks,
insurance companies and the government.
“Backed by our data, we are showing advertisers that audio is the right medium for them to be connecting with audiences who are spending more time than ever engaged with broadcast, on-de- mand and digital,” says Davis.
“As we move to the next phase where many businesses are able to reopen, we know from past expe- rience it’s the brands that have been able to keep their voice active in the market that will bounce back quicker.
“Evidence from past economic downturns has shown cutting all advertising has a negative impact on both brand health and market share in the long run.”
In the days of the coronavirus crisis, Christian O’Connell at GOLD104.3 in Melbourne still went into the studio.
“It’s like being on a deserted space station,” he says. “My exec- utive producer is on the other side of the glass. We’re nowhere near each other.”
He sees radio as meeting a basic human need.
“What we really needed in these desperate times, truly extraordinary times, terrifying times, dark times, is human con- tact,” says O’Connell.
“It’s a human voice being you, and providing a bit of a guide, some comfort, hope, optimism.
“It’s what radio does when you strip it back -- from competitions, giving away money, reality star interviews -- to what radio was built upon, the radio you and I grew up with, around conversations that were funny, and people were look- ing to help each other out.
“It’s about being a touchstone for communities, a voice for the lonely, for the broken, and a guiding light, a beacon of warmth and of comfort and of companionship.”
O’Connell says people are find- ing this themselves, by helping out neighbours, looking out for others in the street.
O’Connell sends a message via WhatsApp to his elderly neigh- bour: “I’ve got to go to the chemist, get something for one of my daugh- ters, can I get you anything?”
He feels good about that.
Claran Davis, CEO of ARN