Jim Kerr, VP of Strategy at Triton Digital, spoke with Boyan Josic, Founder and CEO of Daily Deal Media, regarding Triton Digital’s daily deals offerings, as well as the advantages that media companies have in the daily deals space. 

Triton Digital, the international radio-focused media frontrunner, has taken on a unique approach to combining radio with daily deals by reaching existing subscribers, aka listeners, with deal offerings in what Jim calls a more “emotional” methodology. Radio stations, many of which have been offering local deals for years now, have advantages which newcomers to the spaces and even stable participants tend to lack or struggle with. Radio stations have massive user-bases, as well as a foundation and reputation for consumer loyalty, leveraging them and anyone working with them a major gain in the deal spaces for reaching consumers. 

“There are a number of things that radio and television could bring to the space. … Radio stations are good at rallying troops in different directions.” – Jim Kerr, VP of Strategy, Triton Digital 

Currently, there are more than 200 million radio listeners across the country, constituting a plethora of daily customers of all demographic categories. Seeing as these stations are naturally local to the area they encompass, radio provides an outlet to bring hyperlocal daily deal offers to a new level of community-based interaction. What Kerr sees as one of radio’s largest assets as a whole, are the well-established merchant and consumer relationships radio stations hold.

 “Merchant Fatigue” Solutions

A well-covered topic this year has been daily deal fatigue, much of which revolves around merchant frustration with deal opportunities. While the industry itself strives to understand and combat this issue, Kerr sees radio as ready-made solution for a portion of this problem involving merchants. “Radio,” Kerr explains, is able to combat “Merchant Fatigue”. Overwhelmed by constant daily deal offers, merchants often retreat back to their local, trusted community business for deals solutions with which they feel a sense of rapport. As one of the first media outlets, radio is an easy option of preference.

Likewise, customers are in the same boat, also overwhelmed with deal offering, and see their local radio stations as personal allies, whom they trust as experts for their tips and recommendations.  Essentially, this makes radio station hosts a “big brand” to community listeners, who are a direct connection between all local merchants and the individual consumer.

“People have a real connection with a radio station…Radio is coming from a much more emotional view…”  - Jim Kerr, VP of Strategy, Triton Digital

 This connection is easy to leverage for a daily deal advantage. Local radio hosts, with a recognizable voice and name, need simply to mention a great deal or company to make a major impact with listeners. Kerr calls this the “Loudspeaker” effect and it’s often in the format of the “Deal of the Day” brought to customers by either a neighborhood or national merchant, but more importantly, advertised by a generally well-liked, local radio host.

“With radio, scales are immense and views are strong… same for the deal industry.”  - Jim Kerr, VP of Strategy, Triton Digital

Stickyfish

Triton’s latest loyalty engagement program, Stickyfish allows radio stations to easily dive right into the deal industry with a ready-made, yet customizable, platform. Much more than a deal platform, Stickyfish allows companies to entice customers with loyalty-based rewards, while simultaneously tracking user engagement for real-time data analysis.   Stickyfish hosts a variety of interactive mediums, such as contests and games, as well as the newly-added deal program, created through a collaboration with San-Diego-based deal solutions provider, Deal Current. With the addition of Deal Current software, Stickyfish provides tips of the trade as well as time of the day and website layout suggestions to encourage strong deal performance.

The partnership is mutually beneficial, as Triton provides tech support and helps Deal Current handle large numbers of radio stations. “Top-down,” says Kerr, “only works partially.” Triton’s long withstanding relationships and excellence in radio station marketing moves Deal Current into the front seat as the go-to radio-deal platform provider. The engagement platform is already used by over 1200 radio stations and steadily growing in popularity.

Daily Deal Success

Triton’s launch into the deal industry has produced some extremely large, impressive RIO figures. WKGB radio station, based out of Buffalo, NY, is looking at a six-figure revenue with about $1-$1.5 million in business. Kerr reveals another ratio station working with Triton, based in the Orlando area has generated around $50,000 in just their first month.

As for competition, Kerr sees little in the space directly related to Triton’s deal initiates. Although SecondStreet is often mentioned as a comparison site, Kerr sees Second Street’s strengths expanding and already beginning to focus in other areas. For the radio industry alone, Second Street has a “Small presence,” and are more driven towards television and newspaper. “Our paths are just now starting to cross..” 

About Triton Digital

Triton Digital is the leading digital service provider to traditional and online radio with a rapidly expanding roster of media clients emerging from the television and print space. Our infrastructure, applications, and innovation are powering digital audience and revenue growth for clients around the globe. Our platform makes digital content extensible, personal, social, and profitable. Triton Digital is a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., a leading global investment management firm.