Alive Radio 2018: Amazon Agreement, Best Measurement and Industry Units for Podcasting



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Alive Radio 2018

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has launched a "super pilot" for measuring radio listening, advances in automation, an agreement with Amazon and associates with SBS and ABC for stimulate investment in podcasts.

This crowd of announcements was unveiled today at Radio Alive's annual conference and aims to promote radio as a media channel, to help the industry better understand the Australian radio listeners and to further develop the audience of podcasts.

As part of its extensive plan to automate the process of buying radio announcements, CRA announced in 2016 that AudioNet would be the industry partner, which will help the company. national body to put the show on the road. The industry-wide system has been operational since October 2017 and has been paperless since July 2018.

After the success of the first phase, Joan Warner, Chief Executive Officer of ARC, announced that Phase Two of its sectoral project of automating and simplifying the purchase of the radio was In progress.

It confirmed that the first phase resulted in the launch of the AudioNet RadioMatrix automatic management software used by 131 advertising agencies and 380 radio stations.

The software allows agencies to interact electronically with the traffic management system of a radio station, without the burden of an "excessive paper trail". The goal is to gain buy-in within the industry and to double the confirmation security strategy, ensuring that advertisers are properly and securely linked to the agencies.

"As an industry, we are extremely pleased with the progress made so far and the timely launch of the first phase," said Cathy O'Connor, first chair of the ARC Automation and Programming Committee. , Cathy O'Connor.

The ARC Board of Directors has now approved the extension of the partnership with AudioNet to continue Phase Two of the project. Next year, the industry will have three additional modules: mini-holdings, direct bookings and electronic bookings.

In addition, by the same date next year, it is planned to discuss with programmatic negotiation testing agencies in order to collaboratively explore the most effective way to negotiate not only broadcast programs but also digital stocks and podcasts.

"Super pilot" takes off

In partnership with research firm GfK, the ARC will use the "super driver" to test listening measures using a combination of diary agenda and electronic meters.

This initiative will be an extension of GfK's radio survey partnership established in 2014 and will involve participants in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

"The super pilot will allow us to explore how data from different measurement techniques can be used together to develop the world's first hybrid methodology for radio audience measurement," says Warner.

"The current system of radio surveys is still the most accurate way to measure the audience of the radio, but if we can integrate the information from the electronic measurement and the continuous transmission of data to improve this measurement, we are eager to explore it. "

Attendees will need to record the activity of listening to the radio in a physical or online listening journal or with a portable electronic counter in the form of a watch or a watch. smartphone app.

"Listening is changing and Australians use radio in many ways, in many places and on many different devices. We want to make sure that we use all the tools at our disposal to get an overall picture of the radio, "Warner said.

"The pilot project will allow us to better understand and quantify listening differences between different measurement techniques and factors such as age, gender, and length of time."

New inked Amazon deal

Warner also revealed the launch of the Alexa RadioApp skill, designed to allow listeners to ask Alexa to broadcast one of the more than 300 Australian AM, FM and DAB + digital radio stations.

"Listening to the radio is one of the most common uses of smart speakers. The Australian radio industry has created a voice experience that works seamlessly and easily on all Alexa-enabled devices, "says Warner.

The RadioApp skill is now available to listeners simply by asking Alexa to broadcast their favorite radio station by name or frequency.

"Australians are famous for the rapid adoption of new technologies. They also spend a good part of the day listening to the radio. We are therefore delighted to work with broadcasters to help listeners tune in to their favorite stations using only their voice. " Kate Burleigh, manager of Alexa Skills Australia and New Zealand.

"RadioApp's know-how for Alexa is the latest example of the simplicity and convenience of voice technology for listeners."

This initiative makes it easier for consumers to find Australian stations among tens of thousands of radio stations around the world.

"Consumers expect a lot from technology and, more than ever, radio is collaborating as an industry to ensure that local Australian content is readily available on all platforms and devices," says Warner.

Podcast power

In 2019, the CRA will also invest in podcasting in partnership with many of the world's leading radio companies, as well as with ABC and SBS.

The group will be chaired by Cathy O'Connor, CEO of Nova Entertainment.

"Broadcasters play a key role in the growth and development of podcasting in Australia because of our expertise in the audio industry and our existing content production and marketing infrastructure," says Warner.

"The podcasts working group will provide leadership and clear strategic direction to help podcasting grow, recommending consistent standards, as well as guiding marketing, measurement, and education initiatives." that will benefit both the public and advertisers. "

The podcast working group will advise the radio industry on consumer advocacy, audience measurement and reporting, market research and training.

"While podcasting is becoming increasingly important in the radio and audio industry, it is equally important that we have the means to accurately reflect its share and growing influence," said Michael Mason. , Regional and Local Manager of ABC.

"This working group is an important step in setting up a comprehensive approach to what remains an emerging platform."

Edison Research's Infinite Dial Australia report revealed that 13% of Australians had listened to a podcast last week, while 88% had listened to Australian radio.

"Australian multicultural communities continue to embrace SBS language podcast services, generating rapid growth in consumption," said SBS radio director Mandi Wicks.

"We are pleased to be able to work with the entire radio industry to provide the best experience to the public and customers."

PwC recently announced that the number of Australian monthly podcast listeners would increase to 8.9 million by 2022.

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