• by Wayne Friedman , November 13, 2018

In what is believed to be a first for the industry, big radio company Cumulus Media will offer guarantees for local advertisers based on a minimum number of "engaged potential customers" (EPC) -- listeners from radio and digital platforms who have contacted a business as a result of an ad campaign on Cumulus.

This adds to its return-on-media-investment guarantees, which it began a year ago through its nationally syndicated Westwood One division.

If the program does not deliver the guaranteed results, the business will receive free advertising.

For example, if a campaign lasts for three months and does not reach the promised number of sales leads, it will run extra media for one month or until it hits the promised number -- whichever comes first.  

For six months, up to two months extra would be added, and for a 12-month campaign, up to three months extra.

This follows Cumulus Media’s Westwood One network effort announced in October 2017, where it began offering marketers a return on their media investment guarantee based on increased sales -- believed to be the first of its kind for a radio broadcasting company.

For this effort, Nielsen measures return on advertising spend, which includes all media that runs across the entire broadcast radio landscape -- as well as Westwood One. It then matches its Media Monitor service ad occurrences with Portable People Meter listening, Nielsen credit-card data and in-store CPG [consumer product goods] purchase data from Nielsen Catalina Solutions.

For decades, radio station companies -- like TV stations -- have offered ratings and demographic guarantees. Only recently have TV companies, such as A+E Networks, began offering some sales outcome guarantees as their primary guarantee for marketers.