Mark Ritson: ‘Radio not fucked”

Mark Ritson, Adjunct Professor at Melbourne University, has presented at the Radio Conference on ‘Media in 2017 – finding a place for Radio’.

Ritson gave his insights into the explosion of social media marketing and advertising, and compares how they compare to radio beyond the hype. 

Ritson describes the narrative of how the social media marketers may describe radio, saying “Radio is totally fucked”.

However Ritson doesn’t agree that it is.

Useful when you’re presenting at a radio conference.

Would have been a bit awkward otherwise.

He describes radio as “a vibrant and successful media…(which) needs to get that message out (and) get out of the silo”.

Ritson went on to describe the amount of data around digital media as “The tsunami of bullshit – a new wave of bullshit”, and talked about the comparison of digital video compared to real audience numbers and average audience.

Digital views based on current metrics, according to Ritson, is based on 3 seconds of viewing.

Ritson believes the lines have merged between traditional and digital.

“Traditional is becoming digital, and digital is becoming traditional – Amazon is now opening book stores”.

The main takeouts for preparing for 2017 according to Mark Ritson:

• It’s going to get bumpy.
• Two of the biggest players are taking half of the pie – Facebook and Google.
• Don’t let anyone put radio in the ‘traditional’ bucket.
• Emphasise the simplicity and independence of GFK.
• Challenge the numbers of digital rivals.
• But play with an “AND” game, rather than a “VERSUS” game.
• Beware of selling radio like it is social media.
• Remember how good for brands radio is

And his final takeout

• Radio is definitely not fucked.

Phew.