Our Philosophy

Empowering local media companies with a comprehensive digital strategy

Emmis Communications has a distinguished history of success based on an ability to be inventive and open to change. In the early 1990s, Emmis Communications recognized the internet as the perfect partner for radio stations to have closer contact with consumers. Over the years, Emmis developed a platform for a station's web presence that extends a brand, provides the ability to know listeners intimately and creates an independent and growth-oriented revenue source. Emmis stations received such positive response after the launch of their interactive websites that it was immediately apparent this new business proposition worked. And Emmis Interactive Inc. was born.

Emmis Interactive Inc. is an award-winning global software and consulting company that provides local broadcasters and publishers with profitable, sustainable interactive businesses. Combining years of broadcast and publishing experience with cutting edge technology and unparalleled service, Emmis Interactive empowers local media companies with a comprehensive digital strategy to maximize the value of their media brands. Emmis Interactive focuses on strategy first, offering assessment and consultation that will extend a station's brand and maximize revenue. Emmis Interactive is also a platform company that offers high performance websites engineered to meet the specific needs of local media throughout the world. While most media recognize web presence as a flexible extension of their brand, many are unsure how to capitalize on the potential of on an online enterprise. Emmis Interactive has a team of Interactive Business Strategists who can illustrate and teach how interactive media not only supports brand identity and advertising sales of the parent station, but also rapidly forms the base of a fully independent revenue source.

The first step in building an interactive business is analyzing the needs of the parent company. Emmis Interactive can answer hard questions about organizational structure to ensure proper sales and management support for a digital business. Emmis Interactive provides information on setting financial goals and supporting the sales team with instruction on how to sell the interactive space. Emmis Interactive teaches how to intertwine programming, on-air talent, writers and editors into the interactive space empowering them with the skills to engage listeners using an interactive platform. There is also instruction on intermedia strategies, which seamlessly integrates various media into an effective mix that drives consumers to a website. All aspects of building and cultivating an integrated online enterprise as a new profit center are supported by our team of Business Strategists.

Emmis Interactive provides the foundation for website design, but not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Emmis Interactive Business Strategists work with each station's management and sales departments to ensure custom design and function that reaches specific goals. If thought of in terms of building a house, the foundation is what makes the site function, the homepage is the front door and each windowpane looks into a different room with a specialized function (creating a playlist, watching a video, reading an editorial or registering to win concert tickets). Emmis Interactive helps build the house to the specs of individual brand, but each station furnishes the rooms in their own style with their own content. Emmis Interactive is not only a design team, but also a support team, ready to assist management, programming/writers or sales in the most productive way to use this new construction. Much like adding on to a home raises property value, adding an interactive presence expands business opportunities and elevates brand value.

An interactive presence offers unparalleled capabilities, functionality, content possibilities and flexibility. Gone are the days of push media, where a message or story is delivered into the great unknown with nominal consumer feedback. All forms of media have evolved to reflect today's more tech savvy consumers who expect to be able to access and respond to entertainment and information 24/7. One of the greatest assets of being online is the ability to capitalize on media selective audiences. An interactive enterprise means listeners are no longer confined to a distribution area. Consumers can make contact with a local media brand online from anywhere in the world, more frequently and for extended periods of time. While advertisers benefit from extension of their message, the opportunity for brand development and revenue growth is unlimited. Emmis Interactive Business Strategists coach each station's sales team using tutorials on how to sell interactive and how the flexibility of technology impacts sales. This personal attention helps the sales team understand their expanded revenue opportunities and get excited about the flexibility and power of a media mix.

Another benefit to an Emmis Interactive solution is quality listener intelligence. At Emmis Interactive, feedback is a good thing. Brands need to know the preferences of consumers. With affinity groups, consumers opt to share personal information for the opportunity to engage closely with the media brand. Each time they return to the site their visitation patterns are tracked and retained, allowing specific data about a consumer's use. BaseStation, the content and page management system, can be programmed to collect various analytics such as contact and demographic information. BaseStation then generates specific data, tracking consumers by location, income, age or any of a number of metrics desired to qualified targets for promotions. Emmis Interactive provides training on how to generate, retrieve and use this information to identify and target this engaged consumer base. BaseStation provides specifics so promotional and marketing money can be focused on those most receptive.

Emmis Interactive has experience growing local media brand equity. Developing a promotional strategy that incorporates broadcast, print, online, on-site, and other methods of promotion results in a strong mix that drives consumers to what can be the central hub of a local media brand, its website. With limitless interactive inventory, consumer engagement with a media brand is elevated, information is captured and a bond is developed between a brand and its consumer. Emmis Interactive seeks to educate local media on how to engage audiences more closely with their brand.

Why not use a company with a proven track record of success?