Radio Direct Response: Direct Response Radio Advertising Agency | Blog Zone

Virtually every state and the District of Columbia will hold elections this November. That means fewer commercial avails on local radio stations, as, by law, radio stations must make advertising time available – at their lowest rates – to all, qualified, political candidates as well as political organizations.

To help you plan ahead – and be prepared for tighter clearance at potentially higher rates – here is the second half of the list of 2010 November elections by state.

Missouri – Senate
Montana – House
Nebraska – Governor
Nevada – Senate, Governor
New Hampshire – House, Senate, Governor

New Jersey – (none)
New Mexico – Governor
New York – House, Senate, Governor
North Carolina – House, Senate
North Dakota – Senate

Ohio – House, Senate, Governor
Oklahoma – Senate, Governor
Oregon – House, Senate, Governor
Pennsylvania – Senate, Governor
Rhode Island – House, Governor

South Carolina – Senate, Governor
South Dakota – Senate, Governor
Tennessee – House, Governor
Texas – Governor
Utah – Senate, Governor

Vermont – Senate, Governor
Virginia – House
Washington – House, Senate
West Virginia – (none)
Wisconsin – Senate, Governor
Wyoming - Governor

Scott Fisher, Junior Account Manager

Virtually every state and the District of Columbia will hold elections this November. That means fewer commercial avails on local radio stations, as, by law, radio stations must make advertising time available – at their lowest rates – to all, qualified, political candidates as well as political organizations.

To help you plan ahead – and be prepared for tighter clearance at potentially higher rates – here is a partial list of 2010 November elections by state. The remainder of the list will be posted later this week.

Alabama – House, Senate, Governor
Alaska – House, Senate, Governor
Arkansas – House, Senate, Governor
Arizona – Senate, Governor
California – House, Senate, Governor

Colorado – Senate, Governor
Connecticut – House, Senate, Governor
Delaware – House, Senate
District of Columbia – House
Florida - House, Senate, Governor

Georgia – House, Senate, Governor
Hawaii – House, Senate, Governor
Idaho – House, Senate, Governor
Illinois – House, Senate, Governor
Indiana – Senate

Iowa – Senate, Governor
Kansas – House, Senate, Governor
Kentucky – House, Senate
Louisiana – Senate
Maine – Governor

Maryland – House, Senate, Governor
Massachusetts – House, Governor
Michigan – House, Governor
Minnesota – Governor
Mississippi – (none)

Scott Fisher, Junior Account Manager

Let’s start this blog experience with a simple outpouring from RDR’s youngest staffer. I am a bit crazy when it comes to music. There, I feel closer to you already. Now that I’ve bared my soul, I’ll expand on that secret. I’m crazy about music in the sense that I get lost, overwhelmed, distracted by the power that music can assert over me. When a sweeping instrumental hits its peak and seemingly EXPLODES thought through the instruments, I get that feeling in my stomach that can be compared to those great, emotional film moments. The ones that cause a wave of butterflies in your stomach – say when E.T. has to leave Elliot behind on Earth for his long and arduous journey home. Or perhaps, for those of you who prefer music with words, I can compare it to a cleverly crafted line of lyrics that seems to speak to you, and ONLY to you, at THAT point in your life. What can be better than imagining that your life could be so grand and so important that songs were crafted with your emotions in mind? Anyone? Raise your hand and speak up!

Even if you did want to say something, you didn’t. I know why though. It’s because like so many things in life that we involve ourselves with, we want to believe in something that makes us happier than we felt in previous moments. That is what drives me to discover and experience my love affair with music day-in and day-out.

What I’ve said applies to marketing. Marketing is about action. Action to buy, participate and inform. Playing the emotional card in marketing is where music comes in, not as a means necessarily, but as an example of an every day vehicle to deliver that POWERFUL brush against someone’s emotions, a connection between the idea of the marketer and the consumer’s personal experiences.

The emotional bond bridges the gap between brand and consumer. Choirs of angels sing and the brand has yet another loyal customer. HOORAY! Find your emotional card to play and you can build a crescendo in your marketing message EXPLODING thoughts and a directive to make your customer act by way of their personal experience.

In the end, just like me with my ‘desire to discover and experience my love affair with music,’ why not try, as a marketer, getting emotionally connected and reflective about your brands ability to cause a stir in the mind of your target audience. Maybe you’ll find a love affair of your own.

Scott Fisher, Junior Account Manager

http://streamingradioguide.com
Looking for a good Caribbean music station? A spot of news on the BBC? Or maybe you just want to hear the sports radio buzz from the city where your team is playing this week. This site lets you search radio shows by type and syndicator or search stations by state or by licensee. A good home page for streaming online content.

www.insideradio.com
Radio trade publication featuring updated news on broadcasting and Internet radio. Quick click links guide you to a station search, format counts, a listing of HD Radio stations and more.

www.arbitron.com
The home site for radio’s audience measurement company provides a variety of resource and reference studies to non-subscribers. Click on “Advertising Agencies” for access to a dozen different consumer research studies, free of charge.

www.slacker.com
Internet radio with customized stations based on artists you choose. Tell slacker what you like and it will create a radio station based on your musical tastes, delivering familiar favorites and new music in the same style.

www.npr.org
Scroll past the world headlines to the new “NPR MUSIC” section of the home page for information to keep you current on new artists and music news. Browse the podcast directory to catch up on audio playback of your favorite NPR shows or simply listen live.

www.radioink.com
Self-billed as “Radio’s Premier Management & Marketing Magazine,” Radio Ink focuses on the business side of radio and includes many resourceful links, including an intriguing link to “Radio Ink’s Annual Lists,” including the Best Managers in Radio and The 50 Most Influential Women in Radio.”

www.talkers.com
Online version of “Talkers Magazine,” a publication devoted to Talk Radio. In addition to the latest trends and personnel stories, the site lets you view the top talk radio topics of the week and Talkers’ “Heavy Hundred,” the 100 most influential people in talk radio.

www.radio-info.com
Offers discussion boards, air checks, news, and more about U.S. and international radio stations. It’s free ratings feature lets you view station rankings by market including non-commercial, public broadcasting stations. Very rare.

www.radioadlab.com
The Radio Ad Lab is funded by Radio industry companies to further the understanding of how Radio advertising works, to measure Radio’s effectiveness and to increase advertiser and agency confidence in Radio. Great research studies.

http://radio411.com/
Good links for broadcasters, including Show Prep, Employment Opportunities and Voice Over work. Also features the standard industry Headlines of the Day on the website’s home page.

Scott Fisher
Radio Direct Response

www.radioandrecords.com
Daily radio and record industry newspaper featuring radio airplay charts and continuously updated music industry news. Also includes a free section where you can view listings of the top-rated radio stations in each market, based on total listenership with Persons 12+.

www.pandora.com
The Music Genome project facilitated the birth of Pandora. Simply enter your favorite recording artist and Pandora will create a streaming radio station for you featuring their music and music from artists with similar styles. Pandora is an excellent tool for you to discover new music by artists you might not otherwise hear.

www.rab.com
The official site of the Radio Advertising Bureau gives you access to its co-op database, instant backgrounds on dozens of advertiser categories, library of commercial copy, a promotion bank and audio radio commercials.

http://radio.about.com
The Radio section at About.com features many broadcasting resources for listeners including suggestions for traditional, online, and satellite listening. You can star in your own radio show, learn how to make podcasts or stream audio online. 

www.hdradio.com
Terrestrial radio could hold its own against satellite for sound quality and programming variety, if only it can convince Americans to buy an HD Radio. This is a great site to start the process, with a simply explanation of how broadcasting in digital sound improves the quality of AM and FM signals and creates opportunities to tap into many more broadcast stations. Use the “Search by State/City” tools to discover the many interesting choices available in your market.

www.live365.com
Ever wanted to create your own radio station? Live365 provides tools to create, publish, and experience media content. It allows users to create their own online radio or to listen to radio stations created by others.

www.radio-locator.com
Features a global, searchable directory of radio broadcasts and web radio stations and programs. Formerly known as The MIT List of Radio Stations on the Internet.

www.fmqb.com
Radio industry news and record industry news, charts and information. High content focus on station programming and music trends. Detailed links by format let you view national airplay charts and retail sales.

www.whitehouse.gov/radio
Listen to the President’s Weekly Radio Address through this site, cataloguing content by topic and searchable by date back to 2001. The site also links to other interesting research and resources on the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

www.voices.com
Need a voice? Give a listen! This online marketplace connects buyers and sellers of voice-over services. Search talent by style (business narrators, cartoon voices, etc.), find translators and pretty much all things “voice.”

Scott Fisher
Radio Direct Response