Transforming Radio Ad Sales:

A New Sales Approach Focused on Customer Experience

Opportunity

The client experienced a decline in radio ad sales due to the increasing popularity of digital advertising.

Solution

Designed an end-to-end purchase platform that allowed customers to buy radio ads as easily as they purchase digital and programmatic advertising.

Wins

  • Incremental revenue capture based on new channels & enhanced experiences

  • Delivering an industry-disrupting experience in the audio ad space

  • Improving operations & finding efficiencies based on new platform capabilities

Role

Lead CX Strategist

Discovery

We quickly immersed ourselves in the radio and digital advertising spaces to understand the market opportunity, which was identified as an $800 million potential. I personally interviewed over 30 individuals in the ad buying space across large HoldCo’s. Key findings included:

  • Radio advertising was seen as slightly archaic.

  • It was not considered targetable.

  • Its reach and influence were often misunderstood.

  • It was not a priority for advertisers.

Using these insights, we developed detailed personas to define user journeys and identify innovative features for the platform.

Current State to Future State

Through further interviews and persona development for media planners, buyers, and client marketers, I mapped out detailed current state journeys, highlighting inefficiencies and improvement opportunities in media planning and buying processes. The future state journeys envisioned streamlined processes and integrated technologies, emphasizing enhanced collaboration and advanced analytics for precise audience targeting and real-time campaign optimization.

Feature Innovation, Prioritization & Roadmapping

I collaborated closely with cross-functional teams to generate innovative ideas aligned with market trends and user needs. This involved facilitating design thinking workshops and conducting usability research.

Following feature identification, I collaborated with my colleagues and implemented a structured prioritization matrix, evaluating each feature based on feasibility, technical requirements, and potential user impact. By leveraging both quantitative and qualitative data, we prioritized high-value features that aligned with business objectives and technical capabilities.

Outcomes

Strategy Alignment:

Following the 8 week project term, the client was able to align and agree that the new experience was the direction for their organization, choosing to implement the experience strategy, and new platform which had been designed.

Sale Made:

As a result of the alignment, we were able to sell a 7 figure delivery project to the client, lasting 12 months and became the preferred digital partner of the client.