Internet at its Best

After have been removed from Cleveland for 5 months I’m realizing that there are a few things that I really miss about the city. Of course my friends, the sports (yes, I’m still a Cav’s fan without LeBron) and my runs in the metro parks during the fall all top the list... however there is something else, less normal to miss about Cleveland – my favorite radio station. I’ll admit, I love country music. Every morning, on my way to a client, I’d drink my Starbucks and listen to WGAR Cleveland, listen to the songs and the commentary. Now, this is strange for me, before I finish that Starbucks, I am usually quite grumpy, and therefore do not want to hear anyone talk about anything. However, the morning DJ’s on WGAR weren’t annoying or perky, I didn’t want to throw my beloved coffee at the radio to shut them up… instead I found myself cracking up at their random stories, or better yet the relevant, political commentary that although was probably uncalled for, was very informative.

So, what does the entertainment that WGAR gave me have anything to do with marketing? Well this morning, after grabbing my one pump, pumpkin spice coffee (highly recommended), on my way to campus I started thinking about how I missed my morning companion. I then realized one very important aspect about the morning show… they always were pointing towards the website. In fact, they promoted the live streaming radio very heavily. So, once settled into my study room, I logged onto WGAR and I am now listening to WGAR Cleveland! Pretty amazing right? Due to the power of the internet, I am now listening to an FM radio station from a city which is more than 300 miles from me.

To me, this is the internet at its best and is great for marketing! WGAR has pulled me in through the normal channels (radio), brought me to their website and has engaged me from 200 miles away. Once at the site, I am not only able to listen live to what is playing in Cleveland, but I am also brought into the advertisements for upcoming country concerts, new CD’s as well as local Cleveland events. Since I have visited the page, they have targeted me as someone who enjoys Cleveland and country music and therefore market directly to that. It’s a very precise way of conducting internet marketing and a way to market which is both effective for the marketer as well as enjoyable for the consumer.