Sponsored Content
Newly available technology called ZoneCasting™ from GeoBroadcast Solutions enables local radio stations to use FM boosters tuned in synchronized Single Frequency Networks to both boost signal strength for improved coverage and originate hyperlocal content
within each booster’s coverage area.
In a rare unanimous decision, the FCC voted to permit stations to offer 3 minutes per hour of geotargeted content using this technology. Essentially, the main FM transmitter uses same frequency as boosters to improve signal strength within approved coverage in authorized areas with the ability to originate hyperlocal content on each of its boosters.
Digital is Now More Than Half of all Local Ad Spending. Can Radio Cash In?
Local radio stations are battling for relevancy in an increasingly digital and multiplatform
advertising market. Facing audience and advertising losses, local radio desperately seeks new paths to growth by offering their own digital advertising services.
BIA Advisory Services forecasts that in 2025 local ad spending in digital media will exceed
traditional media spending. Video and audio streaming channels are growing fast and while
growth rates may be slowing for social and search, these channels continue to attract spending away from linear media. The rise of Retail Media Networks creates a new competitive front for local media.
Among the major attractions digital media offer buyers is the ability to geotarget ads to boost performance. While geotargeting provides lift in digital campaigns that is welcome by media buyers and sellers, there are some downsides. Licensing third-party data for geotargeted ads makes CPMs more expensive; there are increasing concerns around privacy protections for user data; it adds complexity; and geotargeting can be based on household location not the current location of users.
Over-the-air geotargeted radio ads provide hyperlocal content to coverage areas served by FM boosters. There is no charge for additional consumer data, and there are no privacy issues with this type of coverage location-based geotargeting. And it’s operational simple, just select targeted ad zones much as it works with local cable and in-market zones. Radio comes out ahead here.
Still, the majority of local radio station audience and revenue comes from their local over-the-air signals. What could help these stations become more relevant in today’s digital, data-driven local ad market? More relevant hyperlocal content and hyperlocal ads for businesses near enough to consumers that they’d visit their stores would add a lot of value to local radio.
Growing Buyer Familiarity, Interest, and Spending Intentions for ZoneCasting
For several years the AudioActive Group at Westwood One/Cumulus has been working with
Advertiser Perceptions to study ZoneCasting and marketer and agency familiarity, interest, and intention to spend more in local radio offering this capability.
The numbers are in. Familiarity and interest have more than doubled and intention to spend more in local radio with ZoneCasting has tripled during the survey series running from 2020-2024.
In October 2020, 28% of the advertiser and agency respondents to the Advertiser
Perceptions survey said they were either “very familiar” (11 percent) or “somewhat familiar” (17 percent) with ZoneCasting. ZoneCasting was described as, “a new technology that allows AM/FM radio stations to broadcast different content ‘over the air’ to different parts of the market based on location.”
At that time, GeoBroadcast Solutions was running demonstrations of ZoneCasting technology but due to FCC regulations prohibiting content origination on FM boosters, only experimental authority could be obtained.
GeoBroadcast continued its innovative work on FM booster single frequency network
technology and deployments including advertiser supported demonstrations with KSJO-FM in San Jose, Calif., and with WRBJ-FM in the Jackson, Miss., market. This included Dentsu and Jack in the Box airing geotargeted ads to San Francisco/South Bay and East Bay. The ability to do over the air geotargeted made local radio more attractive and Jack in the Box valued the ability to target different geographies with different messaging from the same station on their buy.
Both San Francisco and Jackson stations ran local and national spot ads, PSAs, and community messaging. KSJO-FM also partnered with a major radio traffic network to offer hyperlocal traffic information. As marketer and agency familiarity with ZoneCasting increased, so did their interest in local radio’s ability to deliver geotargeted ads. As shown in the graph below their interest doubled from 20% in October 2020 to 41% in September 2024.
Does familiarity and interest from buyers translate into intention to buy more radio if it offers ZoneCasting over-the-air geotargeting?
The answer here is yes. In the survey series we see expressed intent to invest more in local radio stations from 13% in October 2020 to 39% in September 2024.
We don’t know how much more than will actually spend since this geotargeting capability is
just beginning to roll out including groups like Bustos Media in the Seattle market and other
stations including WKTT (Salisbury/Ocean City, MD), KPKL (Spokane, WA), WEIB (Springfield, MA), and KAFF (Flagstaff, AZ), join others already in the process of adopting the system, bringing the total to 12 stations across nine markets.
Ad buyers know that geotargeting drives lift so we can expect local radio stations to see a
revenue benefit from their geotargetable ad inventory.
Where to Learn More
GeoBroadcast Solutions has a blog called Castings that features continual updates on
ZoneCasting.
The AudioActive research cited here can be seen in full including a 12-minute video summary and the full slide deck.
To contact GeoBroadcast Solutions directly, please reach out to Gina Maio at 312-204-9900.
