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Virgin Radio has the best radio station
website in the world. Hailed as the "Oscars of
the Internet" by the New York Times, the Virgin
Radio Website won two Webby Awards, the
leading international award honoring excellence
in Web design, creativity, usability and
functionality. www.virginradio.co.uk
won the Webby for best radio site,
and the People's Voice Webby Award for
radio - chosen by tens of thousands on
Internet users worldwide
In the second of a two-part interview, Pinnacle's
VP International, Ken Benson, continues his
chat with the mastermind behind Virgin Radio
website, James Cridland, Head of Strategic
Development, New
Media in London, to find out what makes Virgin
Radio the best in the world.
| Marketing Virgin Radio Online |
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How important is Permission-Based Marketing
in Virgin Radio's marketing plan? How often do
you contact your database? What tips can you
offer stations so their emails don't become
SPAM?
We have a database of 150,000 people, who we
contact weekly via email. We always make our
emails obviously from Virgin Radio, and never
make them overtly commercial - they are from a DJ
who 'writes' them every week. We never send
emails on behalf of other companies. We try to
make them as relevant as possible (removing
content to some people, for example, depending
on where they live). Our email list is a huge
generator of traffic for the website.
What is your opinion on listener loyalty
programs, such as Fairwest Listener Rewards,
Loyal Ears and Sticky Fish?
As an idea, a good one.
How do your listeners feel about your content... »
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| Creating The World's Best Radio Website |
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What type of resources do stations need to
allocate to have a successful website?
Virgin Radio has a team of three people, with
backup from our own IT team (who do our own
streaming, though out-sourcing this is probably
better for most people). That's all we need. We
designed and built our own website, and wrote a
content management tool to enable this to be
done better. We're a large, national, station.
Many local stations here have one local new
media producer, with backup at head office.
This also seems to work okay.
Can radio station websites be profitable?
You bet.
Tap into your listeners who visit your site... »
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| Streaming And Podcasting |
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Some stations are charging to hear their
streams. Is this a good or bad idea?
Both.
To broadcast online to listeners outside your
transmission area is, by and large, not going to
help your 'real' audience figures, which should
be a main goal of your station website. Do you
really want those listeners anyway? If you think
there's a business in charging these people to
listen, that's fine.
However, to charge
your listeners within your transmission area to
listen to your radio station online is plain crazy.
What is Virgin doing with Podcasting?
We're the UK's first radio station to produce a
daily podcast: and have placed 'podvertising' in
there: one ad from companies like Expedia.co.uk,
Orange mobile phones, or the UK government's
Central Office of Information. Podcasting is an
invaluable trial mechanism for our station.
Knowledge and solutions here... »
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| Need More Hits? |
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Are there any proven ideas you can share that
guarantee hits?
The more pages you have, the more hits you will
get. That's a proven idea!
Slightly more
seriously, use your on-air promotions and get an
extra prize to give away online. Listeners still
get the sizzle of a great on-air contest, but
the thrill of being able to guarantee their
entry onto your online contest too. It's quick
and easy to do, and you can
charge your clients more money for the
additional online exposure (and opt-in data share).
James Cridland is Head of New Media Strategic
Development at Virgin Radio, the UK's nationwide
rock/pop commercial radio station. James manages
the team responsible for the award-winning
streams and website at virginradio.co.uk, which
was recognised as Online Radio Station of the
Year at the Digital Music Awards 2003 and again
in 2004 and won two Webby Awards in 2005.
james.cridland@virginradio.co.uk
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| Pinnacle Media and BDS Join Forces! |
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OnlineTRACKER(tm) has become the most dynamic
and effective online music research tool in the
industry! And NOW--- Nielsen BDS and Pinnacle
Media Worldwide have announced a new partnership
that will utilize the power of both BDS and
OnlineTRACKER technology for national and
international online music research.
Respondents
are recruited
through Pinnacle Media's Radio
Music Survey.com website and invited to
participate in scheduled online surveys of songs
on Nielsen BDS format playlists.
Listeners log into OnlineTRACKER's amazingly fast
survey site to listen and rate songs at their
convenience. BDS subscribers can view the data
at BDSradio.com's Real Time Suite. Soon,
OnlineTRACKER clients will access this
information as supplimental P2 (cume) data,
sortable by age, gender, music preference,
region and more.
"We're delighted to be working with Pinnacle to
provide our clients with the most comprehensive
song research available," Rob Sisco, president
of Nielsen Music and COO of Nielsen
Entertainment East Coast operations, said in a
statement. "Pinnacle and their OnlineTRACKER
product are highly respected in the radio
business and therefore are a perfect complement
to our Nielsen BDS data."
Pinnacle Media
Worldwide President and CEO Bob Lawrence added:
"Our combined technologies will offer users the
most accurate data available. In this day and
age, great synergies like this help forge the
most valuable networks of information."
OnlineTRACKER empowers radio stations with
valuable music research data at a fraction of
the cost of traditional callout. Call or email
for a free 90-day trial at your radio station
today!
Contact: Mark Carlson
mcarlson@pinnaclemediaworldwide.com
Phone: +1.760.731.1141
Read
about the evolution of music research.
Try OnlineTRACKER at your station free for 90-days!
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