By Martin Kristiseter

Broadcasters have an edge but they are not taking advantage of it. When it comes to selling advertising, local media companies are not only trusted and familiar, but they have sales people on the ground eager to bring it home.

These stations already know the advertisers and the consumers. They are often pillars of the community. But they are leaving money on the table, and they do not know what to do about it.

Selling cross-platform is the answer, but many of these broadcasters do not have the tools to make that possible. What could be more powerful and frankly convenient than selling spot, Web, email and mobile in one fell swoop to advertisers who want to simplify the landscape and still hit their targets?

Game for it?
With 25 percent of listeners accessing through mobile, and mobile advertising set to reach $4.3 billion this year (eMarketer), the decision not to aggressively take hold of it is, well, just plain dumb.

Some have successfully integrated mobile into their overall sales efforts.

For example, when ESPN Chicago wanted to create buzz around the NFL season to drive traffic and audience engagement to ESPNChicago.com, the station partnered with Bud Light to create Matchup Mania Sweepstakes.

This partnership involved running banners across ESPN’s mobile and digital assets, driving thousands of page visits and an 11.25 percent return rate.

Media companies everywhere need to be reassessing: jumping at the chance to offer local merchants – auto, financial services and retail – an integrated array of platforms that work together to maximize the message and leverage the power of each.

Through mobile, broadcasters will be able to reach customers wherever they are with a message that resonates.

It takes a village
By creating a mobile presence and a cross-platform strategy that captivates consumers, local businesses can now initiate a conversation that achieves their advertising goals.

But this kind of mobile integration is possible even without an optimized mobile Web site. By using QR codes, SMS and banner, local advertisers can reach their customers.

For example, in an effort to drive store traffic and keep customers informed of sales and promotions, Montgomery Village, an outdoor shopping mall, partnered with Maverick Media in Santa Rosa, CA, to sponsor $100 gift card text giveaways across all stations to build their mobile databases.

Maverick included a mobile call-to-action along with the traditional spot promoting the text giveaway.

Once the membership base was established, Montgomery Village sent out offers and promotions via text on a biweekly basis. The texting campaign was promoted on the air as well.

As a result, more than 23, 000 impressions were generated, and 3,000-plus people were added to the Montgomery Village Mobile Club.

IT IS CLEAR that the need for cross selling is strong.

Advertising spending is skyrocketing across all digital platforms, especially mobile. The solutions and training are readily available. Why do broadcasters not wake up and smell the coffee?

Martin Kristiseter is vice president for mobile solutions at Marketron, Hailey, ID. Reach him at [email protected].