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Katz Media Group Launches National Marketing Unit to Exploit the Full Power, Reach of Multi-Platform Radio
NEW YORK --(Business Wire)--
Katz Media Group (KMG) today launched a national marketing unit that will create innovative, custom solutions for advertisers and their agencies that exploit the full power and reach of modern, multi-platform radio. Known as Katz Marketing Solutions, the new unit will be led by distinguished marketing and sales executive Bob McCurdy and will include national marketing experts previously part of the company's Katz Advantage and Marketing Solutions groups.
"The radio industry has built an unparalleled digital offer over the past five years that now spans broadcast, online streaming, on-demand, mobile, real-time data, live events and of course viral platforms," said Stu Olds, Chief Executive Officer of Katz Media Group. "Realizing the full potential of this powerful new collection requires a marriage of marketing strategy and execution. There's no opportunity in 2009 to sacrifice innovation - and there's no need to if you've got an intimate understanding of how everything fits together. Our expertise in implementing breakthrough programs is vital to realizing successful marketing programs."
Katz Marketing Solutions will lead creative development, working with national advertisers and their agencies in the earliest stages of the marketing and communications planning process. The unit will build on an extraordinarily successful year at Katz Media Group, which used its expertise in radio's new, multiple platforms to launch breakthrough radio-based marketing campaigns for clients such as Verizon Wireless, Wal-Mart, NBC and many more.
"Quite simply, innovation wins," said McCurdy. "There's a strong push for new ideas that demonstrate radio's genuine value as an advertising and branding platform, and we're uniquely positioned to help guide marketers through the rapidly expanding opportunities now open to them. Radio's relevance and effectiveness is underscored in a difficult economy and we'll be giving advertisers the customized, effective solutions that produce outstanding returns on investment."
Radio remains among the most powerful and effective ways for advertisers to reach a large audience and affect consumer buying decisions. The medium's aggressive expansion has resulted in larger, more engaged audiences consuming content produced by radio broadcasters from AM/FM stations, digital multicasts, Internet streams, on-demand audio, personal navigation systems, and video and mobile devices. Indeed, radio's audience is growing, according to independent data from multiple organizations who track media audiences. Today, a full 95% of adults in the United States aged 25-54 listen to AM/FM radio broadcasts, more than any other medium, according to Arbitron. Some 235 million people tune in to local radio stations each week, with the average radio listener spending 18.5 hours a week with radio.
Move caps a year of innovation for Katz Media Group
For Katz Media Group, the creation of Katz Marketing Solutions caps a year full of innovation, having steadily expanded services for CMOs and brand managers beginning in February with an expansion of Katz Advantage, and the July launch of both Marketing Solutions and the Katz Online Network. KON remains the first online network to incorporate independent Internet radio stations with the online and mobile streams of leading AM/FM stations and popular syndicated content and remains the most far-reaching online ad network in radio.
Katz Media Group currently has the largest radio sales force in the country and represents thousands of radio stations owned by the most prestigious broadcasters, including Bonneville, CBS Radio, Citadel/ABC, Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Emmis, Entercom, Radio One, Univision, and many others.
Katz Advantage, under the continued leadership of Bonnie Press, will now be dedicated to advising brand managers and national marketers on ways to most effectively employ radio in their advertising plans. Katz Advantage will work with national advertisers to execute sophisticated ad campaigns across a nationwide network of more than 3,000 stations to deliver large-scale audiences while making buying radio easier than ever. Katz Advantage simplifies the radio-buying process by offering single-source execution to media buyers by selling customized solutions with flexible billing options, including an in-house billing department. With coverage of more than 90% of the radio industry, Katz Advantage will be able to offer national advertisers virtually every market in the United States.
"While radio has proven to be among the most effective means of executing a national, regional or targeted campaign, marketing officers and brand managers have often faced too much complexity in putting together a radio buy," said Press. "We now have the structure and capability to seamlessly carry out a campaign from the earliest planning stages through the creative process and its execution � satisfying the needs of marketers and brand managers who need to demonstrate return on investment and accountability."
Also as a result of the move, Jeff Howard now becomes national President of Clear Channel Radio Sales, the national sales arm of Clear Channel Radio.
About Katz Media Group
Katz Media Group is the nation's leading full-service media sales and marketing firm serving the broadcasting industry. A subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Katz Media Group is based in New York and has 19 regional offices. Founded in 1888, the company was the nation's first media representation firm and today represents more than 3,000 radio stations, 400 television stations and a variety of digital platforms. Additional information can be found at www.katz-media.com.
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