Would you agree that audio advertisement in commercial establishments has the highest level of “Public Captive Market,” once it's correctly used and practiced?  

When I was at Duty Free back in 1992, every time customers approach us in the liquor section; they still ask us what’s the promo of what we were selling even they had gone through big streamers and posters of it.  Once you hear a sales promo person speaks, that is called “audio.”  Even today in MRT.  Why do you think if you fall in line when paying your fare, people in the Red Cross ask for donation even there are already boxes for donation placed beside the token booths?  Basically, people want to hear something to respond.  It’s called SPR (Stimulus-Pause-Response by Tom Hopkins). Ask someone from the Red Cross in MRT why they are doing it and they’ll tell you: most people don’t give donation even there’s a donation box with signs, unless you ask them.  The sound that comes out from the Red Cross staff when asking passengers to give donation is audio. Now CADIO is audio.  Its main goal is to maximize the ceiling and wall speakers of narrowcast coverage (commercial establishments) like airplanes & airports, amusement parks, banks, boats & piers, boutiques, buildings & elevators, buses & terminals, business centers, clinics, couriers, department stores, gas stations, government places, hardware stores, hospitals, hotels, hypermarkets, malls, offices, places of events, private places, restaurants, salons, schools, shops, show rooms, sports & gyms, stores, supermarkets, trains & stations, warehouse clubs, etc.

Now try to count the number of ceiling (or wall) speakers on the illustration. Just imagine how many of them are not yet really being used productively. These commercial establishments are paying FILSCAP (music or audio royalty for public performance) and they don't get a big return out it.  Why not use the speakers in generating revenues and support their products, services, tenants or suppliers in promotion through audio promos or commercials played and heard.  

In commercial establishments, audio has the highest form of “attention getter,” not video.  In audio, all it takes is to target the ears to hear its audio music or commercial; and you don’t need to get the attention of people by persuading them to see the speakers; whereas in video, you have to convince the eyes to see and watch the video.  

In buying what a shopper wants, he/she fails to read POP streamers, posters, signs, flyers, etc.; that will help him/her to decide the best buy.  According to Brian Tracy, there was a study done with the top 10% of income earners and they were asked what you are thinking about now.  They all answered the same. They were thinking about what they wanted now and how to get it.  If you think about what you want and how to get it you begin to move rapidly towards your goal and your goal moves towards you.  What you need to do is put your goals on paper. You can't hit a target you can't see.  Now this is similar to shoppers who list down their needed products before going to the supermarket.  But when you ask these shoppers of what are those brands that they have on their list; you'll see few.  Most of it are generic names. They will not list down the brands but they will write down its generic names only.  Brands can be written down if someone wants to ride in buying (like one of the members of the family that can’t join the shopping).  When the shopper with a list is in the supermarket and hasn’t decided yet what brand he/she likes; then there is an opportunity on POP.  Now what is the most efficient?  We believe it’s CADIO.  Why? You can easily witness the shoppers hearing your commercials using CADIO as a form of POP, but it would be difficult for you to see shoppers watching and reading your advertisements on LCD’s, posters, flyers, streamers, gondola, shelf TV and other visual signs.

Are we convinced that shoppers and customers have more time to read posters, streamers, flyers or other similar forms of POP? Try to observe, even there are signs like entrance and exit, pull or push; a lot of people still, make mistakes & do the other way around.  A lot of times, shoppers tend to ask the sales person on promos even there are signs or posters facing them. This means that people don’t have much time to read especially when their main focus in entering a commercial place is to buy what they want and need.

Maximizing the ceiling and wall speakers of different commercial establishments by playing music and commercials will justify the strength of audio in narrowcasting using cadio.

So if we hear an FM radio program format in KFC that says “KFC Radio;” what do you think is that?  Wow, KFC has a radio station.  How did they do that?  What about Superferry radio?  Is this a store or a boat?  If it’s done in a boat, should they call it in-store radio or in-boat radio.  In-store radio is like saying a radio in a store.  Otherwise, it is wrong to say that a radio in a boat is called in-store radio.  Let’s find out.  Based on Wikipedia, boat is a watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water while a store may refer to a retail store type such as convenience store, department store, grocery store, hardware store, hypermarket, supermarket, toy store, variety store, warehouse club, etc.  

Ok, is boat a store?  If it's not, so why say in-store radio?  Now how come Superferry calls it Superferry Radio?    

With all of these in mind, we can say that those companies that are using the term “radio or in-store radio,” just to come-up with a name is misleading the audience or market by getting their attention that leads to a different understanding of what really radio is.  We don’t know why they are really using a wrong term but for the sake of promotion or by getting people’s attention, they will do so.  Bottom line, it’s really good to have a real radio station the fact that your business is not into broadcasting. 

Let’s examine the meaning of Radio……According to Article 4 Section 4 on the  Code of Ethics for Advertising regulated by Adboard (Advertising Board of the Philippines), and it says; Advertising copy, slogan or terms should not mislead, or confuse the consumer as to the materials, content, origin, utility or function of any product or service.  Meaning, as marketers and advertising practitioners, we should not use terms that could give a different meaning that will lead our target audience to a wrong thought.  Nowadays, we can hear music and commercials in places like stores, restaurants, boats, boutiques and other coverage claiming that they have a radio station.  In the Philippines, hearing something from a store that says “NationalBookstore Radio” is like saying that this establishment has a radio station.  Their business is selling office, school supplies and other items.  Having a radio station needs a permit from the NTC.  Why invest on a radio station that is so expensive which is not the nature of their business.  In fact, I even called up NTC and asked about the usage of radio when the material is CD.  I talked to the people (Eng. Alvin/Bobby & Jess Salvani) at the Broadcast Division and told me that I’m correct.  Later, I was asked to make a letter of complaint?  For me, making a complaint letter is just a waste of time.  What I need to know is am I right?  And the answer is YES.  Investing in a radio station according to SEC has a lot of things to process: like the granting of congress to franchise a proposed station and the SEC requirement of at least 5 million for its operational expenses.  Wow, that’s tough.  So if this is not a real radio station, then they should not use the term “In-store Radio.”  We all know that radio is a telecommunications term.  According to Merriam-Webster, RADIO is of/or relating to electric currents or phenomena (as electromagnetic radiation) of frequencies between about 3000 hertz and 300 gigahertz or transmitted by radio.  In Wikipedia, radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light.  Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space. Information is carried by systematically changing (modulating) some property of the radiated waves, such as amplitude, frequency, or phase. When radio waves pass an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. This can be detected and transformed into sound or other signals that carry information.  Conclusion: This is very technical and those companies don’t need to have a licensed telecommunications engineer to operate the playing of CD's that sounded like an FM radio. Whatever the system of playing something that sounded like an FM radio program and has no transmitter; those companies should change the term and not use "in-store radio" for the sake of the Code of Ethics for Advertising.  

Now here’s a way that would give you an FM radio sound in stores and other establishments: record and mix down music and commercials that would sound like an FM radio program using an Audio Editing software and later burn it on CD; then play it in a CD or DVD player.  This would really sound like a live FM radio broadcast.  Is this what establishments and providers are really referring to?  Is this In-Store Radio?  What do you think?

Almost all the big names in the 22nd Ad Congress believe in its theme “Change the Game” or “Game Change.”  Based on the speeches of the speakers (Manny Pangilinan of TV5, Filipe Gozon of GMA7 & Gabby Lopez) from the three largest TV networks in the Philippines, all of them mentioned the “internet” which is not surprising.  

Video References: Top TV Network Chiefs Speak at Ad Congress  

Aside from TV, let's also check the other traditional media, beginning with print.  The U.S. newspaper industry is suffering.  Advertising revenues are going down, while readership habits have changed as consumers turn to the Internet for free news and information.  Between 2008 and early 2010, eight major newspaper chains declared bankruptcy, several big city papers shut down, and many laid off reporters and editors, imposed pay reductions, cut the size of the physical newspaper, or turned to Web-only publication.  Newspaper publishers in 2010 have seen some improvement in financial conditions, with many reporting higher profits, but the industry has not yet turned the corner. Advertising dollars are still declining and newspapers have not found a stable revenue source to replace them.  

Comment: Not to mention the paper free environment that could be a campaign later on when we experience losing many trees that will absolutely affect our nature.  Call centers nowadays are practicing the paper free environment.  Check some issues about paper wastes.
Reference: 
- Paper Consumption
- The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition
- Free Newspaper, A Waste of Resource?
Not only because of the internet issue that the Newpaper or Print media will decline but also for the reason of producing so much paper and yet is not being read by its target market.  

Another traditional medium is the radio.  According to Peter A. Musngi’s (of ABS-CBN) interview on YouTube, radio is starting to get less and less audience share in the urban areas especially the youth.  A lot of young people now have more choices in terms of what medium they wanted to choose.  Radio is not in their top of the least.  Radio jocks nowadays make more interaction with the audience using their language done in the internet.  On the other side, Val Victa (a former VP for Ads & Promo with MBC) said (based on our conversation), that radio is dying industry.

Comment:  Maybe because of the declining recording companies for the reason of downloading number of songs in the internet or it could also be the new technologies that are considered alternatives to radio.  Unlike before, people listen to radio in homes, in walkmans, in public places, in motor vehicles; but no longer today.  Life is dynamic.  Let’s check the internet; the top 10 most visited websites in 2011 are the following:
  1.    Google
  2.    Facebook
  3.    Yahoo
  4.    You Tube
  5.    Amazon
  6.    Wikipedia
  7.    Twitter
  8.    Blogspot
  9.    Craiglist
  10.  Windows Live (MSN)
Reference: Top 10 Most Visited Websites of 2011
If You Tube is top number 4, then people will not stay long listening to an internet radio.  Why? Can you listen to radio and watch You Tube at the same time?  Radio here can survive if it will link and connect to a new medium.  Let’s figure it out later on.     

Now going back to TV, can the internet bring them to danger?  If TV admits that there is a need of “Game Changer;” then they are starting to kill their industry.  Game Changer here could be refraining from investing or putting so much money on TV spot spending.  It could be the beginning of losing the role of ad agencies and media buyers.  This issue will decrease their income because TV is their highest source of revenues.  Just imagine one big advertiser starts cutting down its budget of Php100,000,000 for their simple TV campaign.  Later, others follow.  What do you think will happen to the industry if the commission of ad agencies and media buyers will later decline and lose its value?  What would be their alternatives?  Can internet help the Ad Agencies/Media Buyers in bringing back or increase their income?  Basically, the internet has all the stats to know and see where the ads are going.  Placing ads are justified with its stats.  Meaning, they don’t need an Ad Agency/Media Buyer to do the buying of online ad spaces for them.  All they need to have are their marketing, ads & promo teams.  Besides, the internet is a non-traditional advertising.  Only traditional ones (TV, Radio & Print) are being taken cared by Ad Agencies and Media Buyers.  Internet is not really that expensive.  Ad investment will now have value compared to the trads.  Now advertisers can go directly to the internet and start buying ad spaces.  Once this happens, TV networks will lose also its budget for their celebrities.  Will advertisers support the TV even they know that the values of buying spots are depreciating while the internet ads are appreciating?

This will be a new way that will create a better BRAND ACTIVATION strategy.  They need to know more about the theory, practice, and effectiveness of this new medium.  It’s not going to be their best friend but could be their only friend, here I propose, NARROWCASTING (the process of disseminating messages and information) using CADIO devices and systems.  This is the real “Game Change.”