As social media and other digital platforms continue to gain popularity and massive subscribers, Radio has been consistent in retaining its position and listenership among the masses. A recent study carried across 6 tier-1 cities showed that 82% of people have been tuning in to radio during the lockdown, with FM channels winning the second most credible spot for information consumption. The first being the internet.
In the same research, radio industry listenership was evaluated at 51 million, very close to TV which rounded off at 56 million, second only to social media with a reach of 57 million. However, it is noteworthy that radio has followed up so closely with its multidimensional and highly interactive counterparts – TV and Social Media – even though being one-dimensional (Audio-based) and limited in terms of interaction and engagement.
This begs the question – What if we could make Radio more interactive?
To this end, ToneTag has developed SonicEngage, a software tool that makes radio ads and broadcasts engaging and interactive.
How does SonicEngage work?
SonicEngage employs ToneTag’s sound-based technology to establish a connection and transfer information. The working for SonicEngage is shown below in detail:
SonicEngage is primarily built to make your customer’s buying journey engaging, immersive, and most importantly – Short. Traditionally, when a customer listens to the ad, he/she has no choice but to search for that product or service online, rummage through half a dozen online selling platforms, compare prices and locate the deal that he/she heard on the radio. This purchase is compounded by the exposure to rival brands, competitor ads, or downright frustration of not being able to locate the product. Thus resulting in the abandonment of the purchase altogether or preference for a rival brand. These are the perils to purchase that a brand faces and these scenarios are equally unfavorable for any seller.
However, SonicEngage eliminates these cases by taking the customer directly to the brand’s buying page.
With this direct navigation from the radio ad to the buying page, SonicEngage not only removes the perils to purchase but also increases ROI by giving brands access to competitor ads and communications. The system is trained to identify the competitor ads a listener is listening to. This data is crucial to analyze competitor space and customer’s persona.
SonicEngage also enables a number of special features such as:
Listen and win – Brands can broadcast coupons, discounts, rewards directly to the listener’s device while they are listening to the ad
Live polling and survey – Listeners can participate in live polling and surveys while listening to the ad
Live juke-box – Listeners can request songs or give real-time feedback to the RJ regarding any song
Thus, SonicEngage is not only built to make radio advertisements extremely interactive and engaging but also revolutionize the way brands communicate with their customers over the radio. The only challenge that remains for a brand is how effectively it can employ SonicEngage to establish a strong base before other brands catch up. The ball is now in the brand’s court.