Shopping while listening to the radio
Radiotele combines radio advertising and telephony on a trial basis: advertised products can be ordered
Radiotele combines radio advertising and telephony on a trial basis: advertised products can be orderedby Markus Knöpfli The TV and radio marketer Radiotele is launching the three-month pilot project Radioshop in the fall: Items advertised on the radio are to be orderable via cell phone. However, providers are still needed for this.
The idea of combining radio and cell phone is not new: the Mobilesound project, launched by Internet CD distributor CeDe and SMS specialist Minick together with around a dozen private radio stations, has been doing this since the beginning of the year. And this is how Mobilesound works: anyone who likes a piece of music that has been broadcast can request its title via SMS or order the CD straight away. "Including shipping costs, we are in the middle of the pack in terms of price," says Minick Managing Director Thomas Brändle.
In the first four months, the six stations involved at the time recorded a total of 100,000 queries; orders, on the other hand, were much sparser: at the beginning of June, Brändle gave the figure as "around 50 per day", and the trend was upwards.
Unclear trailer blocked order requests
Brändle explains the large gap between queries and orders this way: There was still a lack of trust in the completely new virtual CD store. "In addition, communication was poor," admits Brändle. Up to now, this has been done almost exclusively via trailers, which each participating station broadcasts at least forty times a month. Brändle: "The trailers are not clear enough."
The experience of Mobilesound is now being taken up by Radiotele's radio store: Virtually any product offered via radio spot can be ordered via cell phone or telephone. For the time being, however, Radiotele will only open its store on a trial basis from October to December. During this time, the stations ExtraBern, Argovia, Basilisk, Aktuell, Top, Sunshine and Zürisee will run four exclusive commercials a day featuring products that can be ordered directly.
Trial to help clarify readiness for m-commerce
According to Radiotele managing director Bruno Oetterli, the trial is intended to show "whether our society is ready for such purchasing options." In any case, a market research study at the end of March came up with positive results, says Oetterli.
Oetterli is currently still looking for advertising customers for the pilot project. Originally, a surcharge for the additional service was to be charged for the respective advertising campaign. But now the principle is "pay per order": the customer only pays the surcharge according to the number of orders actually received. In addition, Oetterli wants to broaden its communication.
The Radiotele boss describes the difference between the two projects as follows: While Mobilesound is primarily an information service for listeners, with the purchase option being secondary, Radioshop primarily offers listeners an uncomplicated shopping service.
TV program via SMS
The idea of combining radio and cell phone is not new: the Mobilesound project, launched by Internet CD distributor CeDe and SMS specialist Minick together with around a dozen private radio stations, has been doing this since the beginning of the year. And this is how Mobilesound works: anyone who likes a piece of music that has been broadcast can request its title via SMS or order the CD straight away. "Including shipping costs, we are in the middle of the pack in terms of price," says Minick Managing Director Thomas Brändle.
In the first four months, the six stations involved at the time recorded a total of 100,000 queries; orders, on the other hand, were much sparser: at the beginning of June, Brändle gave the figure as "around 50 per day", and the trend was upwards.
Unclear trailer blocked order requests
Brändle explains the large gap between queries and orders this way: There was still a lack of trust in the completely new virtual CD store. "In addition, communication was poor," admits Brändle. Up to now, this has been done almost exclusively via trailers, which each participating station broadcasts at least forty times a month. Brändle: "The trailers are not clear enough."
The experience of Mobilesound is now being taken up by Radiotele's radio store: Virtually any product offered via radio spot can be ordered via cell phone or telephone. For the time being, however, Radiotele will only open its store on a trial basis from October to December. During this time, the stations ExtraBern, Argovia, Basilisk, Aktuell, Top, Sunshine and Zürisee will run four exclusive commercials a day featuring products that can be ordered directly.
Trial to help clarify readiness for m-commerce
According to Radiotele managing director Bruno Oetterli, the trial is intended to show "whether our society is ready for such purchasing options." In any case, a market research study at the end of March came up with positive results, says Oetterli.
Oetterli is currently still looking for advertising customers for the pilot project. Originally, a surcharge for the additional service was to be charged for the respective advertising campaign. But now the principle is "pay per order": the customer only pays the surcharge according to the number of orders actually received. In addition, Oetterli wants to broaden its communication.
The Radiotele boss describes the difference between the two projects as follows: While Mobilesound is primarily an information service for listeners, with the purchase option being secondary, Radioshop primarily offers listeners an uncomplicated shopping service.
TV program via SMS
The TV magazine TR7 offers a new SMS service. Cell phone users can receive program tips directly to their cell phones the day before they are broadcast. The tips from around 50 stations can be subscribed to according to categories (such as crime, boxing, jazz) or keywords (e.g. volcano, crime scene, Chaplin). It is also possible to restrict the choice of stations.
