Mobile Won

Another chapter in how radio stations are trying to take better advantage of ad dollars new media to offset declines in their core business. Mobile ad firm HipCricket has signed deals with a group of radio broadcasters to sell mobile marketing bundled with traditional radio ads. HipCricket CEO Ivan Braiker said in an interview with ClikZ that a mobile component typically adds 10 to 20 percent to the cost of a radio commercial, but that it “lets [radio broadcasters] go after interactive dollars and not just radio dollars.” The Bellevue, Wasdh.-based firm HipCricket claims that one station, which already uses the service, has reported a 24 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2007. Release.

But this model is just a first step in how radio can use mobile: it is focussed on text-based marketing campaigns rather than media-rich advertising. Stations will also each get a short code to manage their own marketing efforts.

The deals cover 43 radio stations that fall within the 50 top radio markets in the U.S. and includes the broadcast groups Hubbard Radio, Triad Broadcasting Company, Perry Broadcasting Inc., Press Communications, Sandusky Radio Seattle, and South Central Radio Group. HipCricket currently works with 100 radio stations in all.

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