I’ve finally got round to checking the latest RAJAR figures which revealed that listening to the radio over the internet declined towards the end of the year. In fact the overall number of people tuning into radio streams through a computer in Q4 of 08 was just 2%. But bearing in mind how long people now spend online, and that online radio is the perfect partner for all those hours of surfing, blogging, tweeting, digging and poking , such a dismal figure is genuinely surprising.
One technical development I’ve always thought would catch fire and help web-based radio challenge other DAB platforms is WiFi internet radio. But even after a few years on the market, and Currys and Argos both retailing a sub £60 model, they seem destined to remain the preserve of the gadget completist.
I actually own two of them and have been trying to fathom why they are not a must-have for anyone who likes the radio. Admittedly you need access to a wireless network to use one but they are increasingly common at home and work.
In a nutshell the issue seems to be that consumers don’t know enough about them or understand their simplicity and the benefits - which is clearly an issue of communication.
If you yourself are not familiar with the wonders of WiFi radio, here’s a very brief summary:
It looks like a portable radio, you turn it on, it detects your wireless network then links directly to an online gateway hosting indexed radio feeds from across the globe – including all UK national and local stations (BBC and independent) and the BBC’s Listen Again archive. Even those good people at All FM in Levenshulme and other community radio stations are available.
You navigate by location or genre via a LED screen and a scroll button, find a station you fancy, hit select and after a few seconds of buffering your selection will commence streaming. On many of the models you can also pause, rewind and fast foward the stream as desired.
So quick and easy access to 20,000 radio streams, including the Beeb’s on-demand services, all accessible through a user-friendly radio-style box for around £50 with no computer or laptop boot up required. Sounds like a minor broadcasting miracle - so why don’t more people know about them?
turn on, tune in
I think the PR issue here is one faced by many technically-based ‘too good to be true’ innovations when they hit the mainstream - promoting and explaining both the benefits and the technology principles behind it.
It’s a bit like the self-service check outs in supermarkets where bemused first timers stand there holding a pack of sandwiches they’ve just scanned thinking ‘I don’t want to put it in a bag, I just want to pay and go!’ while an automated voice keeps barking ‘put the item in the bag!’ at them.
Now if it was explained from the beginning that the way the till recognises each item being purchased is based on a weight-sensitive panel that sits below where the bags are, and placing each item on it (bag or no bag) registers its presence then most people would ‘get it’ immediately. I think WiFi radio needs a similar ‘explanation’ PR campaign – articulating how it works in addition to what it does.
But to be fair to the retailers in this case the manufacturers themselves appear to struggle with how to pitch the product, as most of the technology that makes all this possible is supplied via a third party company called Reciva.
I as understand it Reciva had the idea, developed the technology and the built the portal of radio streams and have sold the whole package to DAB radio brands including Bush, Pure and Roberts. However, no-one (including Reciva themselves) appears to have worked out how to successfully communicate the subsequent ’radio magic’ to the potential end user.
So having successfully PR’d a number of tricky technology campaigns for pioneering products and services (both b2b and b2c) what’s the answer you might ask. I’m afraid that’s what clients pay us for – but at least if you’ve read this you hopefully have a better idea about WiFi radios than you did before – and that surely is a good start.
Tags: DAB, Digital, PR, Radio, Technology
