Last month, in a couple of different posts, we made the case that radio is getting it wrong. The strategy is not working. And now a new STRATA survey of more than 900 agencies supports our thesis.

We argued that old school radio guys (they are almost ALL guys) and the consultants who enable them have swallowed lousy research (PPM) whole, and created game plans that turned radio stations into little more than lowest common denominator jukeboxes.

To recap, we wrote:

Television, with sagging shares and the same lousy economy, managed nearly a 15% year-over-year increase at the advertising sales upfront. Digital media has romanced the auto industry, among many others, and continues to eat more of the pie. Even Public Radio shows growth.

But not commercial radio. Defensive, fear-based programming tactics rack up passive cume, but continue to strip radio of any meaningful sales story and the advertisers are hip to it. The result of all this “work” is anemic, 1% year-over-year “growth”.

With radio’s cash register failing to ring, advertisers are either not sharing commercial radio’s enthusiasm for big, passive cume, or those  advertisers can easily reach those same people through other mediums (television for wide reach, digital for targeted reach).

The STRATA survey data delivers a potential triple-whammy for radio.

Among the unfortunate bullet points:
* The number of agencies reporting radio-focused clients is down.
* The number of agencies who plan to spend less on radio is at a two-year high.
* The two categories agencies most expect to cut spending are auto and entertainment — both are big for radio.

37% of agencies said they’re less focused on radio than a year ago. And no, don’t read that to suggest that 63% are more focused on radio.

In response to the same question, 85% said they were more focused on digital than a year ago, local cable was up 31%, and network TV was up 12% year over year (but up 86% since Q3 2010).

Overall, agencies report that they’re most focused on local television and digital.

The one-two punch of television and digital has crushed print, and radio is flat — for now.

We’ll make the suggestion again — time to re-think. Time to clean house. Time to get back to research, development, and talent acquisition.

Remember, agencies can actually hear your radio station. These pros know the difference between a passive, jukebox-cume-machine, and a station that’s actually exciting, active, and engaged with the audience.

Read also the previous post: Memo to Commercial Radio: It’s Not Working