Earshot Creative Review: Brand integration on Radio

A few weeks ago, Steve Martin, a radio veteran from the BBC, who also drives the Earshot Creative blog and podcast, invited me to join fellow radio-heads, Simon Rushton (Kenya-based radio advertising consultant) and Tim Johns (BBC Radio Lincolnshire producer), in a podcast for the Earshot Creative Review. Aided by wi-fi connectivity and the saving grace of post-production amid the last lap of summer in London, Steve got us talking about radio creatives in our respective radio markets, radio work that inspired us and the balancing act between clever advertising and effective creatives.

One of the creatives showcased here was an award-winning campaign I'd done in 2008 for Unilever's Close Up, which involved integrating the brand into the station's programming run. This was done in the form of blinks, show pre-sells and top of the hour sweeps, by weaving a brief hook of the Close Up jingle and the campaign premise of 'come closer' into slickly produced IDs peppered across targeted day-parts.

Brand integration on radio is always a tricky turf to play on. The client wanted to go beyond the realm of commercial airplay, while I had to ensure not diluting the listener experience and corrupting it with a brand force-feed. The result was a well-played out radio campaign which won the agency a nod for the most effective use of radio by a brand.

If Rihanna can, why can't radio?

Album releases are no more limited to high-decibel plugs about forthcoming release dates and radio airplay. The game has progressed to high-impact social marketing activity and frenzied fan-base involvement. There was Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' album launch campaign via a two-week scavenger hunt in partnership with Starbucks, where users had to scan QR codes on in-store banners and decode cryptic clues for rewards in the form of Starbucks and Lady Gaga's album-related content. Then the Kaiser Chiefs let users create their own version of the band's fourth studio album 'The Future is Medieval' by selecting 10 of their favourite tracks from the 20 tracklist set, create their own artwork, then share the album via their social circles, and earn £1 each time someone picked up their version of the album.

Now Rihanna pushes this avenue a step further (as one has naturally learned to expect from her) with Unlocked, an interactive Facebook app that lets fans uncover bits and bobs of Talk That Talk, her next album. Which meant fans have been able to unlock the new Rihanna 'R' logo, the album's first single, the lyrics sheet, her new website, album cover and album release date. The premise is simple... each element is poised to open up when it amasses a substantial following. This in turn, results in building massive exposure with fans and virtually ensures listener uptake and possibly, even significant downloads and sales when the album is released.

Spark plug: Apply this approach to radio programming. An easy one would be to build hype for the airplay of a brand new track. A few days prior to the single's release date, offer listeners the chance to bring the release date ahead by expressing their eagerness in the form of social media likes, shares and tweets, voting for the song's early parole via the station website and call-ins and texts. Tantalise them further with a hook of the song on air and online which they can share with their peers. If the hype and expectation touches tipping point, maybe break the track on air a day before release?

Or you could drive big ticket giveaways on air by spreading clues across dayparts or hiding them online. And gradually let listeners uncover the clues and crack them to win. If the clues are engrossing enough and the giveaway enticing enough, you could sustain listenership across the day, build the listener base (via the website and social media clue extensions) and make your programming and brand association stand apart from generic radio clutter.

Just a couple of simple ways to unlock social interaction and cross-platform approaches on radio.

Branded Content: Explore, don't exploit.

'Branded' and 'Content', two distinct terms that can be interpreted as just about anything when brought together. Especially when there's a propensity for clients to insist upon, and content creators to get carried away with branded content solutions that push beyond the boundary of consumer appeal, relevance and acceptance.

Just read a very interesting perspective on the Huffington Post by Joe Frydl of Indigenous, calling for a re-think on branded content, where he simply states "Instead of thinking about how to integrate brands into content, marketers need to be more disciplined about how to integrate the right kind of content into the brand's marketing mix to accomplish a specific objective."

How do we address the concept of branded content on radio? Without pushing the borders of permitted brand activity on radio, brands and radio stations can seek to explore certain avenues. Avenues which seek to weave a brand campaign into station on-air and/or online content, so long as it's done subtly and seamlessly.

Spark Plug: Heinz Tomato soup currently has a radio ad campaign which plays upon the premise of Heinz being accounted for 'one of your five a day'. Nice simple sell which plays upon a daily necessity. What if we were to take this forward in the form of a daily deals feature?

Create a daily deals/events advertorial which could run across relevant dayparts. The segment will feature a set of five current events and gigs, or deals and discounts currently available. One of these five will always be the brand plug for Heinz Tomato Soup as 'one of your five a day'. The feature accomplishes three differnet benefits.
1) It offers a brand extension to Heinz Tomato Soup, integrating the brand into station programming, without a commercial force-fit. It takes the brand beyond the plain commercial route.
2) It offers pertinent content of interest to the listener, without shoving the brand into your listening experience and builds brand recall for the Heinz campaign premise.
3) It creates an advertorial platform for the station to extend to other brands to highlight their offerings, be it any new products, or deals and discounts on the go. The four slots can be balanced out between commercial offerings and 'things you must do today'.

As always with branded content, don't exploit the license to spill over into the sacred space of  listener experience. But don't deter from exploring the possibilities of smart integration between brand and content. You never know where you might hit home.