It’s no secret that radio and television stations face an ever-growing amount of competition for ears and eyeballs. They’re also facing an expanding array of advertising competition – mainly in the digital realm. What are stations doing to adapt to this new environment? One Cape Cod cluster is meeting this challenge head on by offering their own digital marketing solutions to radio and non-radio clients alike… and it’s more than billboards on their website.
CCB Media, formerly Cape Cod Broadcasting, owns four stations on Cape Cod: 99.9 “The Q,” Cape Country 104, Cape Classical 107.5 and Ocean 104.7. They also run CapeCod.com a regional information site for locals and visitors. Two years ago, they made the leap from selling digital strictly on their website to offering a complete suite of digital marketing products from display advertising across the web to remarketing campaigns, social media advertising and everything in between.
The cluster partnered with Vici Media and hasn’t looked back. Local and Digital Sales Manager Melinda Baker says that offering more than radio spots helps CCB marketing consultants, “it broadens our solutions and enhances our consultative approach with a client” and makes for a better partner for local businesses.
With a graphic designer in the building, able to produce all the necessary graphics for digital campaigns, CCB is set up to be an in-house agency of sorts for their local small and medium sized business clients. Station General Manager Bev Tilden added that the Cape is a perfect place to offer these services as so little of the radio business comes from large regional or national advertisers. “Many of the local advertisers have a Facebook page, may have “boosted” a post or two but had little in the way of more complex digital campaigns. This partnership allows radio to be a great activator for digital as the campaigns blend seamlessly.”
Baker credited an incredible training partner in Vici for their digital success and helping them integrate digital into a true consultative approach. She also pointed out that the addition of digital advertising has brought in revenue that the group would never have seen with radio alone. An example being a restaurant owner on the Cape who used digital advertising for his other restaurants in Westborough and Foxboro – areas not served by CCB’s over-the-air signals.
As we head into 2017, we encourage all MBA members to innovate and think outside the box. The future of radio and television depend on it! Doing something above and beyond? Let us know about it! Email jordan@localhost.
