Washington, DC - Apr 15, 2008 - The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and HD Digital Radio Alliance are launching a series of efforts to underscore the broadening versatility of radio content, the its technology and the continuing relevance of the medium in Americans’ lives. According to a release from the group, the multiyear initiative is expected to "turn up the volume on radio’s reemerging presence in a digital world."

"The sleeping giant has awakened," said David Rehr, NAB president and CEO. "For close to a century, radio has had a ubiquitous and integral presence in our nation’s life, and today more than 235 million Americans turn to radio each week to be informed and entertained. Despite its universal presence, or perhaps because of it, radio’s abiding impact has been overlooked and underappreciated. The medium, however, has a bright future, and Radio Heard Here will help showcase radio’s robust advances, particularly in harnessing new technology and expanding and enhancing the diversity of its content."

Radio Heard Here includes promotional and educational initiatives. Among them:

An advertising campaign aimed at consumers. The overarching theme of the campaign will be "Radio Heard Here," which will underscore the ubiquitous nature of the medium.

• An initiative that connects industry players online to the most up-to-date information, that creates a series of blogs to more effectively engage and inform radio insiders and consumers alike, and that helps teach the creative community within advertising agencies and universities how to successfully write and place radio advertising.
• An effort to reach key influencers and other targeted audiences with information about the resurgence and impact of radio.
• A fun and often irreverent element that produces video shorts for posting on Youtube, Google Video, My Space, Metacafe and other online outlets and that shares perspectives about radio in entertaining and informative ways.

The effort is a continuation of the Radio 2020 campaign that was launched at the 2007 NAB Radio Show. This work specifies some of the actions that are planned, particularly those aimed at younger consumers. This younger audience is finding greater interest in forms of media other than radio.

Credit is due to the coalition for recognizing the declining radio audience, but we will have to wait and see if anything comes from the effort.