Radio advertising is often derided as a relic by new media proselytizers but it’s becoming increasingly sophisticated thanks to iHeartRadio, said Nathan Daschle, who heads political strategy at Clear Channel Media & Entertainment, which owns the Internet radio platform.
“The medium [of radio] itself has not evolved that much over the last 30, 40 years,” Daschle said Tuesday at CampaignTech West in San Francisco. “But the application of it has.”
iHeartRadio allows listeners to tune into radio stations from around the world though the Web. Clear Channel gathers data on the listeners’ habits through the site.
“You can learn so much,” said Daschle, who served as the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association from 2007-10. “We don’t have to make these guesses anymore. You can make much more sophisticated strategic decisions.”
Daschle said the company was researching ways to help campaigns target listeners. For all the talk of “old media,” he said, “radio’s still the number one medium people have in their cars.”