Commercial radio revenue might have dropped in metro markets 6% year-on-year to $760m in 2019, but Commercial Radio Australia reveals the figures for the first year of a buying platform that is stopping the revenue dropping further.
The industry’s advanced ad buying platform RadioMATRIX has processed more than 1 billion items of radio inventory since launch in October 2017.
RadioMATRIX allows buyers to easily connect with every commercial radio station on one powerful platform and is now being used by 190 media agencies to manage radio campaigns running across 360 stations.
The platform updates and synchronises thousands of radio bookings daily, enabling buyers to receive online booking confirmations, monitor changes and see where and how frequently their ads have run.
“RadioMATRIX has surpassed the 1 billion milestone ahead of target and transformed what has been a largely paper-based and labour-intensive process into a model of transparency and efficiency,” CRA chief executive officer Joan Warner said.
“Alongside the productivity benefits, the move from paper to digital confirmations has resulted in the saving of 2.9 million reams of paper, or the equivalent of more than 174,000 trees.”
Warner said the development of RadioMATRIX was a top priority for the industry in 2020, with work to begin on a purpose-built digital workspace, where agencies can create a brief, receive proposals from broadcasters and collaborate on the campaign.
The cloud-based solution will be powered by GfK radio surveys data so agencies can check spots against audience segments, while radio networks will have real-time insight on availability of ad spots.
Magna Australia managing director Victor Corones, who chairs the MFA’s Systems Taskforce and is a member of CRA’s Programmatic Committee, said RadioMATRIX would transform the relationship between buyers and broadcasters.
“2020 will be big year for audio. RadioMATRIX will be front and centre of that because it makes it easier for buyers to navigate the opportunities, take a more strategic approach and ultimately optimise their spend and results.”