CRN: Advertising Agencies

Advertising Agencies

Information for Advertising Agencies
The growth of the internet has led to profound changes in how we reached our target 18-22 demo over the past twenty years. Beginning with cassette distribution to college stations, programs included both sponsorship announcements (to run on non-comm FM stations) and traditional commercial ads (to run on all other stations). Affidavits were used to verify airings. All this was pretty much in line with the process of network radio.
However, our listeners developed a keen interest in the internet, and by the late 90's, a significant amount of time was being spent on-line. This didn't necessarily preclude radio TSL, but it did prove that the internet was a viable medium to reach our market. CRN began streaming our programs on-line, initially with the goal of providing our affiliate stations with real-time content (compared to cassettes), but we realized a much greater audience reach from those who simply "tuned in" directly to the streams.
The delivery of programs via the net had several advantages. Not only was it timely and cost effective, but we were able to obtain highly accurate audience measurements of cume and TSL. Further, there were no ad copy restrictions, so full :30 and :60 spots could be presented in the programs without the need for the sponsor underwritten companion versions. Unlike radio, direct internet delivery was immune to academic vacation schedules. College students are college students year round, not just when classes are in session, so a significant amount of the advertising year was lost to breaks. By 2000, all programming had shifted to direct internet delivery, although College Radio Network affiliate stations were welcome to rebroadcast the content.
CRN was started by a group of college radio enthusiasts who made a career of radio, so it was hard to face the declining interest in radio, particularly college radio, among our listeners. There certainly are stations that continue to enjoy loyal audiences, but most saw and continue to see challenges in maintaining the interest of their student bodies. This isn't to say that the programming wasn't compelling, it's just that radio cannot compete with the on-demand convenience of the internet for content delivery. Getting what you want, when you want it on the internet set the standard, so having to tune in to a radio station at specific times for specific shows seemed out of style.
We believe, and embrace, the concept of internet content delivery. Radio as a means of transmitting a single stream of content is facing many challenges, but radio as the process of creating content for distribution to the masses continues to be a powerful media force. In support of this, The College Radio Network has teamed up with iNetRadio (www.inetradio.com) and works with college stations to develop their own content for internet users. Nobody knows the 18-22 demos like the group themselves, and the team of CRN and iNetRadio look to build, grow, and promote the content offerings from the talented hosts and producers at college stations.
CRN provides coaching and guidance and iNetRadio provides a common platform for the new generation of collegiate broadcasting. Programming designed for students, produced by students, and delivered through iNetRadio, give advertisers looking to reach this important demo a streamlined solution for anything from brief flights to annual campaigns.
When it comes to reaching the 18-22 year old market, you can believe we have a lot to say based on many years of experience. Feel free to talk with us directly. It's an exciting world, and we're excited to be a part of it!

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