Three Million Square Foot FLIBS 2017 Runs Hundreds of Spots on Terrestrial Radio

Approximately 105,000 visitors from 62 countries converged in the “Yachting Capital of the World” several weeks ago for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the largest in-water boat show in the world, which saw a 7% increase in attendance.

The show organizer, an Encore client, realigned its marketing efforts this year, rolling out several new programs to drive attendance, including a much more aggressive strategy on terrestrial (traditional AM/FM) radio.

Hundreds of over-the-air radio spots ran.  Multiple stations across multiple formats were used.  Ticket giveaways and other traditional radio tactics were employed to drive engagement and maximize value from the ad buy.

Though online radio (digital broadcasts of terrestrial radio stations and Internet-only radio) has scaled rapidly, especially in younger demos, it is important to keep in mind that traditional AM/FM radio…

– Continues to be the top weekly reach medium according to Nielsen’s State of the Media: Audio Today 2017 published in June.  Terrestrial radio reaches more Americans every week than any other platform – 93% of persons 18+.

– Controls a majority share of time spent listening.  According to Edison Research’s Q2 2017 Share of Ear study, AM/FM Radio represents 51% of all audio time spent among persons 18+.

– Maintains its position as the top in-car device.  According to The Infinite Dial 2017 – Edison Research / Triton Digital, 82% of people indicated they have used AM/FM radio while in-car (base = 18+ and driven/ridden in car last month).

Stay on top of online radio and other emerging audio opportunities but don’t overlook old school terrestrial radio in your attendee marketing.

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Posted on November 29, 2017