The National Association of Broadcasters is striking while the iron is hot. In the wake of favorable poll results showing that upwards of 75% of US citizens would like to have a broadcast radio service on their cell phones, NAB is reminding legislators just how useful such a feature would have been had it been widely available during the blizzards of 2010.
The ad was placed in the 9/15/10 edition of Politico. Here is the text:
Earlier this year, Washington was paralyzed by a fierce snow and ice storm. Many residents were without power, telephone and Internet service.
But radio was there.
Families lucky enough to own battery-powered radios had one of the only sources of information during the days when the entire city was incapacitated.
But if every cell phone had been equipped with a radio receiver, it would have been a different story.
Cell phones can be made “radio ready” with equipment that costs less than a dollar and weighs less than a tic tac.
Radio’s ability to stay “on air” even in times of extreme crisis make it the perfect complement to cell phones.
Let’s keep America safe: ensure your cell phone is radio ready!
Radio. Always on. Always there.
The ad can be viewed here:
http://www.nab.org/documents/newsroom/pdfs/Radio_Cell_Phones_Politico_Ad.pdf
RBR-TVBR observation: Speaking of snow, can radio broadcasters build a snowball effect on this issue? Perhaps it’s time to get some PSAs out there and enlist radio’s loyal listeners in to the campaign in support of radio on cellular.
