Meridian Media lands $100K advertiser with Marketron NXT Digital
After years of starts and stops in digital, Meridian Media paired Marketron NXT Digital with seller training and a dedicated client development manager to grow new revenue streams.
Meridian Media4 stations in Kansas · Published January 11, 2023
Digital efforts lagged after ownership changes, and many sellers had no digital experience.
Marketron NXT Digital, a dedicated CDM and a relationship-first selling strategy.
New advertisers, recruitment campaigns and a major new client.
The challenge
Digital advertising efforts lag after starts and stops
Meridian Media’s digital advertising sales started in the late 1990s with the online news site. Ownership changes in the following decades caused many starts and stops in delivering third-party digital tactics to advertisers.
After the most recent ownership change in 2020, the new owner realized the revenue potential for digital advertising. The problem, according to Salina market manager Bob Protzman, was that many salespeople had no digital experience, and they faced significant competition from local and national agencies.
Their need became two-fold: a robust platform that was easy to use and provided differentiation, and a partner to upskill their sellers into digital experts.
The solution
A robust platform, a great partner and strategic selling
Meridian Media implemented Marketron NXT Digital in 2021. With the technology in place and the training and support of their client development manager (CDM), they began to make headway.
They focused on their long-standing relationships. “Our pitch was that they trusted us with radio; they could trust us to do digital, too,” Protzman explained.
Protzman also noted that reporting through NXT is an advantage. “You can see the results and identify how the campaign performed.”
Marketron listens to their customers about what they need. They’ll give us a strategy for the right ad mix and percentage of dollars to spend.
The results
New advertisers and growing revenue streams
In 2021, they began to generate revenue, focusing mainly on digital display and geofencing. They’ve also sold OTT spots and worked with a local video production company to develop content for advertisers.
The difference maker in 2022 was recruitment advertising. “We’ve got more jobs here than people. With digital, we can expand outside the market to support recruiting for health care and industrial,” Protzman noted.
Other big wins for 2022 included a $100,000 client that will be back to spend in 2023, giving them momentum for the year ahead.
- New advertisers, including recruitment campaigns
- A major new client returning for the next year
- Momentum toward a bigger share of digital revenue
