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Monday, March 31, 2014

(WIZARD) Radio Without Success Stories

3-23-2014

It was a bizarre set of circumstances that caused me to succeed during my formative years as an account executive. None of the business owners on whom I made sales calls had the money to buy any advertising beyond the radio schedule I sold them on my tiny little station. If my ads worked, I got the credit. If they didn?t work, I got the blame. I was never part of a media mix. Let me qualify ?tiny little station? for you. We had a (12+) weekly cume of 18,000 in a market of a million people. Our average quarter hour hovered between 500 and 800 persons.

I proposed 52-week schedules exclusively.

My theory was that 18,000 people each week were enough to make a big difference. But I didn?t pitch my audience as anyone?s ?perfect target.? I?d say, ?After a few months you?ll be a household word among 18,000 evangelists and ambassadors for your brand. And according to Joe Girard, the author of How to Sell Anything to Anybody, the average American has a ?realm of association? of 250 friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members that know them well enough to call them by their first name. If we impress my audience deeply enough that each of them mentions you to just 10 percent of their friends, that?s 450,000 people. Don?t worry about who you?re reaching. Just rock their world with a message that?s absolutely worth repeating. Now what are we going to tell these 18,000 people that will rock their world??

That wasn?t a sales pitch. I believed it with my whole heart.

The ads worked, my clients thrived, and I got famous.

So why do I never see stories ? not even in Radio Ink ? about the success of businesses that buy no media other than radio?

I?ll suggest four possible answers to my own question, and you tell me if you agree:

1. Account executives are being taught to pitch their audience as ?the perfect target? for the advertiser. When the pitch to an advertiser revolves around whether or not your audience is ?perfect,? the pressure will be squarely on your station to deliver that ?perfect audience,? regardless of how limp and pointless the advertiser?s message might be.

2. Few people have the courage to pitch 52-week schedules, so they take whatever handouts they can get. Most of these schedules will deliver sufficient shortterm frequency, but they fall short in critical ways: A) The product or service has a long selling cycle and the schedule isn?t long enough. It delivers frequency without consistency. Consistency is the frequency of the frequency. There are many things that just can?t be sold quickly, regardless of the advertiser?s argument that ?someone out there is looking for this product right now.? B) Products with short selling cycles ? those things we?re always in the market for ? are being advertised in a way that is easily ignored. When is the last time an advertiser rocked your world?

3. Those AEs who are creating huge success stories are keeping them secret for the same reasons I rarely publish my own successes: They don?t want their clients being hassled. A number of years ago, I published a sparkling success story about an advertiser who used radio to grow his modest business into a juggernaut, with more than a 30-fold increase in annual revenue. It took only a few years and we used radio exclusively. And my client was immediately swamped with phone calls from account executives across America asking him to help them pitch their clients. One of them went so far as to say to him, ?You owe it to radio. Look at what radio has done for you.? Needless to say, I haven?t made that mistake again.

4. This one, I think, is the big one. Too few people in radio today can conjure great creative. Sadly, most of them don?t think it?s their job. The selling of radio seems to have gotten caught up in the data frenzy created by the Internet. Conversations seem to revolve around targets and metrics instead of offers and copy.

In the February 25, 2014 online version of Harvard Business Review was an article by Jake Sorofman and Andrew Frank, ?What Data-Obsessed Marketers Don?t Understand.? These are the opening paragraphs:

?Big data has become the X factor of modern marketing, the hero of every marketer?s story. But it?s a promise at risk of letting you down. You may be thinking that data will magically turn bush-league marketing into a winning ?Moneyball? performance. But that?s an artifact of our big data obsession. Data, alone, isn?t what makes marketing move the needle for business.

?Data can play a leading role in developing strategy and bringing precision to execution, but it does nothing ? absolutely nothing ? to stir motivation and create the desire that makes cash registers ring. Data is important, but it?s content that makes an emotional connection.?

I think somebody needs to recruit Sorofman and Frank into radio. These guys would make themselves and their employers a blistering fortune, and help hundreds of businesses succeed that otherwise probably would not.

Their message: ?It?s not about the numbers. It?s about the advertiser?s offer.?

Hallelujah, amen.

Roy H. Williams is president of Wizard of Ads Inc. E-mail: roy@wizardofads.com.

(3/24/2014 3:18:08 PM)
Mike makes the sincere assumption that "deals" and "calls to action" are necessary. They are not. In fact, those calls-to-action are elements that contribute to burning audiences down.
Anncr: "Make your best deal today!"
Audience member: "Eat my shorts!"

Meanwhile, "leo" calls for the creative types to pull it out and get on with generating some hi-calibre spots. My question: Are there any folks who can do that left wandering the halls or hammering out the hype...? At radio stations, I mean.

(3/24/2014 2:18:41 PM)
These comments are fightin' words! Radio AEs and producers across America, rise up to write "rock the world" copy and present all 52's.
(3/24/2014 1:06:48 PM)
Example of a limp and pointless message... A few years ago a local car dealer had a TV commercial that has to be one of the worst examples ever. No deals, no call to action. They did mention the dealers name a few times. Just a couple guys walking through a corn field, talking about having the lowest prices "at my stores". They didn't mention that they sell cars. If not watching the screen at the end of this boring spot, one might think they were talking about a grocery store.
(3/24/2014 10:07:37 AM)
Indeed, to find horrible examples of the dregs of professional communications, one need only dial up any local radio station.
More compelling copy can be found on the bulletin boards of neighborhood laundromats.
Exceptions are the exceptions, so to speak.

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Garcia Joins Entravision From Impremedia

3-25-14

Entravision has appointed Hilda Garcia to the newly created position of VP of Multimedia Content and Community Development. Her responsibilities include the management and development of multimedia content and alignment of digital initiatives across the company?s platform. She will also manage Entravision?s online communities, develop strategies for their growth, and oversee digital special events coordination. Garcia was VP of of Multiplatform News and Information at Impremedia.

Entravision COO Jeffery Liberman said, ?Hilda is a proven executive whose extensive expertise in Latino media makes her the perfect candidate to lead this new and exciting opportunity within our company. Her background in content management, production, interactive marketing, and journalism provide a unique skillset to guide the growth of our digital communities and content.?

?I am thrilled to be joining the Entravision team and am eager to utilize my skills and expertise to assist and execute the company?s digital multimedia platform strategy,? said Garcia. ?Entravision has a diversified base of proven assets and a growing digital reach which provides a strong platform for marketers to engage Latino consumers.?



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WADO-AM To Broadcast Yankees In Spanish

3-25-14

The multi-year agreement is between WFAN-AM/FM in New York and Univision's WADO-AM. All Yankee games will be produced by WFAN which is in its first year as the flagship for the Yankees. WADO?s first broadcast in Spanish will be the Yankees regular season opening game on Tuesday April 1 against the Houston Astros. Spanish play-by-play can be heard on 1280AM in the New York metropolitan area with commentary provided by Rickie Ricardo and Francisco Rivera.



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Steele Joins Scott Shannon At CBS-FM

3-25-14

WCBS-FM 101.1 has added New York radio veteran Patty Steele to the new Shannon in the Morning show. Steele worked on the Scott and Todd show for 12 years before leaving back in 2010. Steele has worked at WABC-AM, WCBS-AM, WHTZ-FM, WOR-AM, and WPLJ-FM. She also has on-air experience at radio stations in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.



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Focus 360 To Rep "Both Sides Now"

3-25-14

Both Sides Now is a weekly show that highlights both sides of political issues.Those that have appeared on the program include Ron Reagan, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Bob Shrum, Jonathan Alter, Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson, David Frum, Rich Lowry, and Torie Clarke. Focus 360 will provide ad sales representation.



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(SOCIAL) Getting Cheerleaders For Your Brand

3-26-2014

You know by the nature of the business you are in today that you?re in an influential position. Your radio station, or stations, have huge power and you should use it. Have you considered stepping up your involvement in local-cause marketing at the station level to give you more influence for ratings and revenue because of the passion involved? Well, if you haven?t, you should. Here are steps worth thinking about in your market. It all starts with a few questions and then gets serious for you.

1. Do you know the true top 10 local charities or causes impacting your community? Some smart programmers in the past would study the internals of local markets and make these charities or causes a big part of their ?program? to establish their radio station as a real player in the market. Why did they do this? Because, if you do it right, it creates goodwill toward your brand by some of the most important players already at the top of the market. More than this, you can create opportunities for highly passionate people in the right places to become your station?s cheerleader. Do you have enough cheerleaders? I suggest if you haven?t done this, get busy researching it. Determine which of those are appropriate for your personalities and your station brand and make them a part of your overall strategic social media content plan.

2. Do you have a read on local charities that are in desperate need of help? You are in a position where you could at least throw some light on real problems and/or opportunities for listeners and other businesses to help these charities if appropriate for your format and brand. Taking up their cause pays huge benefits for your station and makes your radio station a valuable part of the local community. As a bonus, people of power and influence will also notice you are a positive influence for the community and work to help you as well. This is sort of an indirect ?you scratch my back, I?ll scratch yours.?

3. Everything is a function of influence. Being a powerful influence in the cause arena with your social media (and dare I say on-air) can have an amazing impact on listeners and other businesses to make use of your product and placing advertising on your brand, or brands, as well. You can have a program that identifies the causes your personalities and individual radio stations are behind and ask for support as a function of PR as well as a function of sales and the direct appeal for help with the cause. You see this in businesses as diverse as your ?local? Chilis and what Coca Cola does to get ?in? the local market by supporting important causes. This is taking credit for what you do, but it is also putting your support of brand-appropriate causes in the main bloodstream of what you do as a business from programming to sales to PR.

4. How you do it is important, too. This is covered under ?Tell them you are going to do something. Do it. Then, tell them you?ve done it.? Your personalities are your direct passionate connection with local audience. Use them to engage in planned social media content strategy and make presenting charity and causes a big part of that to boost your local effectiveness, ratings, and business. Consider how you PR your charity or cause engagement. Do you pick and choose who you raise money for with your radio station/stations? Do you split the things you do so you spread your influence among a variety of causes? Do you execute a check presentation and include it in all your social media in addition to your website and media release?

5. Don?t let others tell you that you can?t be influential anymore. Others can just be a placeholder in their jobs if they want. There?s always fear when things have changed so much in radio, but supporting your community and finding ways to do that in social media as a part of your overall social media content strategy supports the business of your brand or brands. It makes you a great employee and citizen. Doing it will separate you from your competitors. Use it. Do it. Make it happen. And be proud to be more than a placeholder.

Social media can really provide you with powerful means to influence passionate people about your brand that may not have given you the time of day before.

Use it. You?ll be glad you did, but you won?t be the only one.

Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist Direct Marketing and has programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, and WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here:  http://about.me/loydford. Get his radio-social media content sent directly to your smart phone or email for free here:  www.rainmakerpathway.wordpress.com. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE.  Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE.

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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Oxley's Memo To Staff: Way to Go Team

3-25-14

In a memo to his team, Hubbard's Washington DC Senior Vice President/General Manager Joel Oxley, congratulated Director of Sales Matt Mills and his entire team for their 4th consecutive top billing year. "They do an absolutely outstanding job maximizing billing by being proactive, persistent and creative in developing campaigns that  produce results for our clients utilizing all of our outstanding products. It is truly an accomplishment to be in the 8th largest revenue market yet be number one in the country!  Thanks also to every single person in every department at WTOP, Federal News Radio and our partners at our rep firm, Katz Radio. It takes a real team effort to reach such heights so I thank you all."



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WTOP Does it Again

3-25-14

Hubbard's all-news WTOP in Washington, D.C. was the top-billing radio station in 2013, according to BIA/Kelsey. Excluding digital revenue, WTOP took in $63.5 million in 2013, $1.1 million less than 2012, but still enough to beat out the second-highest biller, Clear Channel's KIIS-FM in Los Angeles ($61.6 million). KIIS-FM had a very nice 2013, adding $4.8 million in billing over 2012.

Rounding out the top 10 billers, according to the new BIA report were: WHTZ-FM in New York (Clear Channel) at #3 with $51 million, WCBS-AM in New York (CBS) came in at #4 at $50.5 million, WLTW in New York (Clear Channel) was 5th with $45.5 million, WINS-AM in New York (CBS) was 6th at $45 million, Clear Channel's KBIG-FM in L.A. jumped from #13 in 2012 to #7 in 2013 with $44.5 million, WFAN-AM in New York (CBS) was #8 at $43 million, at #9, KROQ-FM in L.A. (CBS) with $42.8 million, and at #10 WBBM in Chicago (CBS) with $42 million.

BIA Kelsey released the numbers last night in its first edition of the BIA/Kelsey Investing in Radio Market Report. BIA/Kelsey Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mark Fratrik said, ?WTOP is morphing into a digital media company by providing access to its audience in many different ways beyond over-the-air. Their approach is serving them well and their model demonstrates that as the industry continues to adopt a multi-platform approach, it will engage audiences and sustain growth."

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Adams Radio Picks Up Four In Indiana

3-25-14

Kalil and Company brokers the deal for WLJE-FM, WAKE-AM, Valparaiso; WXRD-FM, Crown Point; and WZVN-FM, Lowell; all in Indiana, from Radio One Communications to Adams Radio Group. Radio One Communications in Indiana is owned by Leigh Ellis who has no other stations. Adams Radio Group based in Minnesota is owned by Ron Stone. Adams owns stations in Las Cruces, NM, and has applications on file to acquire stations in Ft. Wayne, IN, which are scheduled to be approved by the FCC sometime in the 2nd quarter.



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(SALES) Is Your Sales Pipeline Really Full?

3-26-2014

I was recently asked to participate in one of my clients? sales management conference calls. There was nothing unusual about the call; the discussion was almost completely focused on top-line revenue expectations for each market for the next quarter, and the organization conducts these calls four times a year. The head of sales values these opportunities for each participant to share great information that allows everyone to learn more about what is happening in the other parts of the company.

The call started out with the general company announcements and then quickly got down to the business of the day: revenue projections for the next quarter. The head of sales called on each manager to give a brief report on how they were feeling about the next quarter and what they thought the revenue projection would be. This is standard operating procedure for this organization, and almost everyone on the call had been through this process before.

Here are the responses I heard:

?I?m feeling pretty good about next quarter, as we?ve got a lot out there.?

?Looking good, the pending report shows that we have a lot pending.?

?Pacing is ahead of last year and we?re pitching a lot of business.?

?Activity level feels good. Lots of proposals being pitched.?

?This has been a good week. We closed a lot of business and are now on back on pace.?

?I?m a bit concerned since I?m not seeing a lot of proposals go out the door.?

Eventually all the managers had given their reports, and the group had contributed to the conversation, so the head of sales thanked everyone and the call ended.

Why am I sharing this story?

After the call ended, I met with the head of sales to recap. He mentioned that he was pleased with what he had heard from his sales managers and that he felt optimistic because the pipeline seemed full in almost every market. When he asked me to share my observations, I told him that I appreciated their optimism as well, but I didn?t hear any evidence that pipelines were full.

I explained that since we only heard about the amount of pending business and how much was still out there, we didn?t have the entire picture. While acknowledging that the pending is important, I shared with him that if he wants consistent and predictable revenue based on the most reliable sales information, he needs to measure not just the pending, but the entire sales process. This goes for you, too.

Is your pipeline really full?

Having a lot in pending doesn?t mean that your sales pipeline is full. It is also not an indicator that your future pending will continue to be strong. It simply means that right now, as you look at what you have going on, it appears that you have a lot that has not closed yet. To get a better picture, we need to dig deeper. We should ask questions like, ?How long has it been pending?? and, ?Why has it not closed?? In order to ensure predictable revenue, we need to measure more than just the output; we need to measure each step in the sales process. The pipeline must be full in each stage of the process in order to achieve long-term sustainable and predictable revenue.

Don?t Make This Mistake
Looking at the sales performance of a sales organization, one common mistake is the reliance on ?gut vs. data.? Going around the room and asking each seller what they plan to add this month won?t really get you the data you need to make good decisions. It?s certainly a way to get a sense of what is going on, but sales data is different than sales gut. An effective pipeline will help ensure that you?re getting the sales data you really need.

So what should you spend time tracking and measuring? Here are the pipeline activities you should keep track of on a weekly basis:
-- Number of new leads you?re working
-- Number of quality appointments during which you are meeting a decisionmaker
-- Number of new client assignments earned
-- Number of ideas and solutions you are presenting
-- Number of proposals you are presenting
-- Amount of business you closed

In order to have accurate, predictable, sustainable revenue, you need to have your pipeline completely filled in each part.

Matt Sunshine is EVP of the Center for Sales Strategy.

(3/26/2014 1:01:10 PM)
Matt, we at Efficio Solutions completely agree with your comments regarding a accurate and verifiable sales pipeline. An industry specific CRM system like Efficio will provide sellers and sales management an easy, fast, and intuitive system to operate your pending business exactly as you recommend in your article.

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CBS Owns Half The Top Billers

3-25-14

With a total of $223 Million, according to BIA Kelsey, CBS Radio had five of the top ten billing radio stations in 2013. Four out of the five CBS stations increase in revenue for the year. Only WBBM in Chicago was down, from $45.7 Million to $42 Million. WCBS-AM (#4) increased from $47.2 Million to $50.5 Million, WINS-AM (#6) jumped from $41.5 Million to $45 Million, Sports Radio WFAN in New York (#8) increased from $41 Million to $43 Million and KROQ-FM in L.A. went from $39.3 Million to $42.8 Million. The net gain for these five CBS stations was $8.6 Million.



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Clear Channel, BBR Music Sign Revenue Share Deal

3-25-14

Clear Channel and independent Country music label BBR Music Group, have announced a deal that will enable Broken Bow Records and Stoney Creek Records and its artists to share in Clear Channel's revenue. Broken Bow Records? roster of artists includes Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, Randy Houser and Thompson Square.

?Radio plays a powerful ? and unique ? role in breaking country artists.  Clear Channel's commitment to being a leader in exposing fans to the best new music is undeniable.  They have taken a very proactive role in growing the format, while strengthening the health of both the Radio and Records industries,? said BBR Music Group EVP Jon Loba. ?Forming closer ties with a partner who wants to 'grow the pie' for all parties involved, while ensuring that country fans can access our music on multiple platforms was a logical move for us.?



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Saturday, March 29, 2014

South Carolina Changes At Entercom

3-25-14

Entercom announced new additions to the weekday lineup of Magic 98.9 and ESPN Upstate. Murphy, Sam, and Jodi will now anchor mornings on Magic, replacing Greg McKinney. McKinney, who's been anchoring the College Football Today pregame show on 93.3 The Planet, and doing double duty hosting the live local In The Huddle with Greg McKinney on ESPN Upstate from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., will now devote all his time to ESPN. Murphy, Sam and Jodi have been together since 1997 and are now heard in 20 markets.

Market Manager Steve Sinicropi said, ?This week we made two moves that strengthen Magic 98.9, ESPN Upstate, and our entire cluster. We?re excited to have Murphy, Sam and Jodi join Magic 98.9. This talented trio is a perfect fit for mornings on Magic 98.9. They?re fun, modern, and their show is one the whole family can listen to. We are confident it will be a difference maker for Magic."



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Manager Changes For Entercom In Madison, Milwaukee

3-25-14

Two new Market Managers have been hired by Entercom for Madison and Milwaukee. Chuck Sullivan, most recently VP/Market Manager for Cumulus in Mobile, takes over the Entercom cluster in Milwaukee. And, in Madison, Ed Schulz is promoted to Market Manager. They replace Michael Keck, who was running both clusters for Entercom. Keck resigned recently to pursue new opportunities.

Sullivan will oversee three Entercom stations in Milwaukee: KISS-FM 103.7, 99.1 WMYX ? The MIX, and SportsRadio1250 WSSP. Prior to joining Cumulus, Sullivan spent nine years as Managing Partner of Ocean Broadcasting in Wilmington, NC.

Schulz has been with Entercom since 2012, most recently serving as Director of Sales for Entercom Madison. He will manage the three stations in the Madison cluster: MIX 105.1, Triple M 105.5, and Classic Hits 94.9 WOLX. Prior to re-joining Entercom in 2012, Schulz was a Sales Manager with Adams Outdoor in Madison and earlier spent six years with Entercom Madison.

Entercom Regional President Michael Doyle said, ?Entercom is proud to add two of the strongest people in radio to our leadership team. Chuck and Ed bring with them a wealth of experience, unique perspectives and a passion to make their powerful brands and their clusters not only the strongest in Wisconsin, but in all of radio.?



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Wood To The Buzz In Houston

3-25-14

Alternative Rocker 94.5 The BUZZ in Houston hires Elliott Wood as PD starting April Fools Day. Wood joins Clear Channel Houston from Strategic Radio Solutions in Seattle. He's also worked at Broadcast Architecture, CNN, WZNY, WKST, and WXDX. Wood launched and programmed one of the early Alternative Rock stations, X-15 in Pittsburgh.



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Marketron Launches Mediascape Streaming

3-26-14

It's a beta launch for Marketron's Mediascape Streaming, a new solution designed to provide integrated reporting and proof of play capabilities for broadcasters? streaming business. Mediascape Streaming, on Marketron's Mediascape open platform, allows advertisers to roll up reporting across all inventory types, including streaming. Available in a Web-based model, Mediascape Streaming is accessible anytime, anywhere, and from any device.

"With the launch of Mediascape Streaming, we are pleased to announce a comprehensive 360-degree campaign management reporting tool for our customers," said Tony Gaughan, CTO and SVP Products at Marketron. "As our customers continue to expand to new inventory types at the station level, Marketron is committed to providing the services necessary to support that growth."

?We are pleased to partner with Marketron to beta test the Mediascape streaming solution,? said Trip Savery, Executive Vice President, Curtis Media Group. ?Our listeners expect our brand to be wherever they choose, and we can now provide better visibility and accountability to our clients for the results of their integrated marketing campaigns.?



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(COPYWRITING) Leverage The Power Of Imagination

3-26-2014

There once was a man with no imagination. Whatever came to him through his senses was what he experienced. Nothing more. Songs made no sense to him. Poetry ? meaningless. Multimedia, subtlety, irony, metaphors, humor ? all were a waste of time. They triggered no memories, evoked no emotional responses. Stories, plays, movies, and books were just?words. You had to repeat information to him ceaselessly to communicate.

He was a person with no concerns, no warm memories, no past regrets, no hope for the future, and no ideas that set him on fire. He led a quiet life and died?of boredom.

What you just read is fiction. This person did not/does not exist.

We all come equipped with imagination. It may be more developed in some people than others, but we all have it. Even animals have imaginations of sorts; at least memories that can be evoked by stimulating the senses.

However, many commercials are written as if we didn?t have this wonderful trait. They?re written for the person in the story. They attempt to load us down with facts and features. They seek to grab attention with sheer repetition. They try to coerce or bludgeon us into submission. They?re directed at us, not to us, and certainly not with us. There?s no interaction. And you know what? Unless the recipient of the message is desperate to buy, they don?t work all that well.

No matter how tired, over-communicated, under-compensated, depressed, busy, or distracted they are, engaging your audience?s imagination will conquer all. And it?s not that difficult to do. Just imagine that your audience has?an imagination.

Plant seeds to tap into the rich reservoir of your audience?s senses, memories, and emotions.

Let?s see, what have we learned from our own experience as marketers? When we make a purchase, it?s usually an emotional decision. Radio is the most emotional medium. I think you can connect the dots.

To get your very own free copy of ?Hedquist?s List of 244 Cliches,? email me jeffrey@hedquist.com and I?ll send them. Guaranteed to reduce commercial effectiveness.

(3/26/2014 8:00:04 AM)
More great material indeed, Jeffery!

As you already know: What the majority of radio-folk fail to realize or accept is that most consumer buying decisions are not, repeat: NOT based on anything close to reason or rational processes.

We, as consumers, are here to be influenced through our emotions. I would say "manipulated", but that's another breed of chat.


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(PROGRAMMING) Fixing Black History Month

3-23-2014
By Orlando Davis

There is an unwritten rule that programmers should get outside the office, away from ringing phones, incessant e-mail, and staff sessions, to actually listen to the station. There?s something about hearing the station as the listeners do. I had the luxury of doing that a week ago ? and after hearing our expensively partnered ?Black History? vignette, the real lesson began to set in.

As we?ve identified clutter, long-winded personalities, and lengthy production elements as enemies to our evolved radio world, so too are labels like ?Black History? a neon sign that identifies radio as antiquated and out of touch. When record stores were a part of the culture, there were separate sections for each genre, with very little shared space on the shelves. Good luck finding a record store today ? but at music sources such as Best Buy, Target, and iTunes, music is blended together. Music enthusiasts cross from Jay-Z and Beyonce to Imagine
Dragons, Taylor Swift, and Kendrick Lamar with ease. Yet radio still sees it as appropriate to segregate artists into their respective boxes.

At my station, we find our strength in the diversity of the format. While Drake and Eminem are riding high in the high-performing research areas, Katy Perry and
Pharrell?s ?Happy? are equally sharing our space. The balance of such staples in our music log is a delicate dance that our programming team sweats over weekly. Why? Because we believe in the ?offer the world in 15 minutes? adage. This is important.

Yet right after a carefully selected title plays into the meticulously edited production piece, and that segues into the perfectly placed song, we air another ?Little Known Black History Fact.? Doesn?t that seem counterproductive, after all the detail we go into to remain broad, full-service, and diverse? It actually seems as though a quarter-hour of reaching 100 percent of the audience is being rotely followed by an educational moment that is specifically geared toward only 20 percent of our listeners.

Might I add that these are black history facts that the average black listener can?t reference? I?m an educated black CHR program director, and I can?t function comfortably past George Washington Carver and the peanut, and Martin Luther King Jr. However, this special programming is paramount to (insert label). Why
would we allow this deviation from an agreed-upon plan? What is the majority
of our audience doing while we talk to the ?secret circle?? Oh, no!

As brand builders, along with our traditionalist advertising sponsors, we are missing the mark. This time of separating our audience is driving a wedge between us and some of our most loyal customers. We spend countless hours creating new and exciting plays to take our team to the championship, but we allow those working from Vince Lombardi?s old playbook into our huddle. How can we expect to hoist the trophy this way?

This lesson is bigger than just February; it applies to every part of our formatic spectrum. All the coolest clubs play a constant stream of music that touches all in
attendance. I strongly believe that we are much cooler than those clubs. I also believe that we should adopt an approach that reflects talking to our audience instead of at them. Separatist labels were the standard in the very distant past, but fortunately, they started to die toward the end of the ?Me Generation? ?80s. The Fresh Prince, C+C Music Factory, Hammer, and the like brought people from
elsewhere to the party. Duran Duran, George Michael, Eurythmics, and the like delivered new listeners to other formats as well.

This began, then, over two decades ago, and no matter how much we try to stomp it, cripple it, and kill it dead, that diversity thrives. Our ideas, promotions, and presentation should embody that.

Labeling a white kid from French Lick, Indiana, as a ?white boy who probably can?t play ball? got many NBA warriors an education from Larry Bird. In 2013, the biggest R&B songs were delivered by Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake, while the top hip hop chart position and awards went to Macklemore. All of these are simply great artists, and that?s how the digital download-purchasing public considers them. Shouldn?t we follow suit (and tie)?

Orlando (Orlando Davis) is the program director and morning show host at WLLD (Wild 94.1)/Tampa, ?The Bay?s Party Station.?

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Friday, March 28, 2014

Keck Moves To CBS From Entercom

3-25-14
Michael Keck joins CBS Minneapolis as VP/D.O.S. He'll be responsible for sales at heritage news station 830 WCCO-AM, 104.1 Jack FM (KZJK-FM, Adult Hits), and BUZ?N@102.9 (KMNB-FM, Country). Keck will work closely with CBS President of Sales Michael Weiss and report to Minneapolis Market Manager Mick Anselmo.

Keck joins CBS from Entercom Milwaukee where he was Vice President/Market Manager. Keck started his career at WSPY in Plano, IL. His first sales role was with WLS-AM in Chicago. He went on to various Sales Manager and General Manager positions in a number of Midwest markets. 



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(SALES) You Need To Get A Bible

3-23-2014
By Sean Luce

In my first experience in media sales, selling radio, I was hired at the same time as four other people. It?s what?s commonly known as a ?cattle call.?

In this case, you throw five rookies up against the wall (unbeknownst to me) and see who sticks after a period of time. In some circles today, this is still the hiring methodology, unfortunately. I was determined to make it. I had two young children to feed and a wife at the time. I was highly motivated. Failure was not an option. I already thought I was paying to work there -- drawing $100 a week against collections and a $75 gas allowance. With no list, and filled with packages to sell, I didn?t know any better at the time. Fifteen percent commission -- that?s what I cared about.

During my initial training period ? i.e. no official training period -- I was told to go get the Bible. Jeez, I already thought this was going to be a tough job, but maybe this was going to really be tough as I had to read the Bible before sales calls? I told the sales manager I already owned a Bible and, as ritual of mine, I always carried it with me. He told me to go get ?the bible,? the one written by David Ogilvy, who he said was considered the ?Father of Advertising? ? the next thing to God in the field. David Ogilvy was a principle at Ogilvy and Mather Advertising Agency in New York City. Since this was 1986, and Ogilvy?s book Ogilvy On Advertising had come out in 1983. It was still on the bookshelves, where it remains today, some 30 years later ? and for good reason. It?s the first book you should own if you?re in the business of advertising. I always remember the Rolls-Royce ad he came up with in his book: "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." 

A couple weeks ago, I came across at article from Sara Weissman who wrote 5 Ogilvyisms That Still Apply To Digital Media. It of course caught my eye. I think the ?5 things? go far beyond what still apples to digital media -- I think it applies to all media in today?s advertising world. How could some of the things he wrote some 30-50 plus years ago still be relevant in today?s advertising world? Let?s take a look at those five.

1. ?In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.? I see this all the time in the field talking to business owners. They have a great idea, yet haven?t figured out a way to sell it. In today?s world, you can have the best Website on the Net, but you better know how to sell it otherwise it?s cannon fodder and you lose money. There are a lot of good local media websites out there but you still have to sell what you create. Hire a salesforce and train the hell out of them. Nothing matters until you sell it. Simple.

2. ?Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.? Always keep testing your advertising and what you create. Come up with some new things and some new ways to present your ideas. In many cases, if they don?t buy you because you came up with something new and above the clutter, they weren?t going to buy you anyway. At least now they are talking about you. Here?s an example from the film industry that maybe we should borrow a few lessons from: Enormous, the live-action pilot based on the graphic novel of the same name, aired on the YouTube multichannel network, but before they make a final commitment to a series, Machinima is studying audience reaction to it. ?We need to be able to test things,? said Andy Shapiro, Machinima?s VP of development. ?We need to be able to get our audience integrated early on. Hearing what people are looking for will help guide us a little bit more.? He indicated that this was a way of maintaining costs and involving the audience. Ben David Grabinski, the pilot?s director, stated, ?I have a million ideas and I?d love to just jump into it. ?But the thing that?s fascinating is that there are a lot of opportunities dictated by [the response]. It?s different than anything I?ve done before.? Same holds true for your advertising. If you?re not out there testing it, what you create could roll out a huge disaster or you just keep it on the shelf and never know if it could have been a great idea or not.

3. ?Big ideas are usually simple ideas.? I see this a lot: Overthinking an idea and then it gets bogged down in production and stalls and never gets done; or sits there while the market demand passes it by. Just think, that script for Dallas Buyers Club was on the table for 15 years or more. Overthinking stops great ideas in their tracks.
4. ?The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.? I do think some of the best ideas come when you?re in the back of the building cracking some jokes with your co-workers and then your next big idea develops. Remember, there?s a reason focus follows fun, not the other way round.
5. ?Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.? On jargon, I think Robin Jones, content manager of Castanet.net in British Columbia says it best: ?Jargon drives me nuts! As soon as I hear it, I shut down. In my opinion, those who try to use jargon are only ?playing? business. It's not how real business people talk. If they do, I immediately think they're hiding something.?
If you don?t have the bible on advertising, go get one. It?s like going to church and you?ve never read the bible before: it?s hard to makes sense of it all, and the same holds true with advertising without Ogilvy?s book. David Ogilvy had just $6,000 in his account and some big ideas when his new agency Ogilvy, Benson and Mather started in 1949.

Sean Luce is the Head National Instructor for the Luce Performance Group International and can be reached at sean@luceperformancegroup.com or www.luceperformancegroup.com. Sean's new book The Liquid Fire can be found on Amazon.com.

(3/24/2014 4:52:29 PM)
Thank you Michael!
(3/24/2014 3:17:13 PM)
Great story and great read.....your epistle and the "bible."

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MLB Returns To ESPN Deportes Radio

3-25-14

The radio network will broadcast 2014 regular-season games every Sunday night, starting with March 30?s Sunday Night Baseball game between the Dodgers and Padres at 7:30 p.m. Coverage also includes the broadcast of The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game in July, as well as the League Championship Series and the World Series in October. ESPN Deportes New York 1050 will serve as the flagship radio station for the New York Mets.



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Peet's Coffee & Tea Teams With Pandora

3-25-14

Peet's is a national specialty coffee and tea company. Pandora says this is the first brick-and-mortar company that will feature branded stations specifically for a business that will be played in the company's 230 locations. The Pandora stations are Eclectic Classical, Jazz Giants, Origins, and Melodic Indie. They are being curated by 25-year Peet's employee Patrick Main. The stations will also be available to all Pandora listeners.



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(HIRING) What Were They Thinking?

3-21-2014

In my business, I hear a lot of horror stories. Below are real situations that have recently been shared with me by clients.

One station?s AE actually went on their personal Facebook account and bashed a local restaurant, who by the way was her client. Social media is viral, so of course it got back to the client. Guess whose schedule got canceled and what station is not getting any business from this local client, who by the way, was a good advertiser?

Or how about on-air personalities who bad-mouth certain businesses, which also spend a lot of money with their station? For example, a news director who went on air to bash an important client for an experience he had with the company.

A potential employer went online to research a possible new hire and found inappropriate post on his Twitter account. Really?

These situations can be a nightmare for a manager or a job seeker. While it is our prerogative as Americans to relish freedom of speech, shouldn?t your team understand the ramifications of when they go on attack or post rude comments?

If your company doesn?t have any social media policies, at least share some basic social media etiquette rules with them. We can?t assume that everyone knows and understands them. According to the Huffington Post, Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert, offers these tips on what to share:

? Eat it, think it, but please don't post it: Before hitting "post" or "tweet," ask yourself what value your comment offers and what your motivation might be as an end result. The information you share should ultimately be the type of content other people are interested in passing along to their own followers. Your tone should be interesting, informative, unique, and conversational.

? Take your complaint offline: While it may be tempting to tear into the particular company on Twitter, or slam them on their Facebook account, contact them privately instead to settle the issue. If you do tweet something that is truly bothering you in real time, don't step over the line into slanderous territory.

Often a concerned comment to a manager, who wants their clients to have a pleasant experience with their company, will want to know. Try the approach of letting them know you care about their business succeeding and wanted to share a poor experience. Don?t ?rip? into them by publically humiliating them as it will come back to bite you.

If you are looking for a job, go back and clear out any improper posts or pictures. It can stop you from progressing in your career.

In all cases, think before you post!

Laurie Kahn is Founder and President of Media Staffing Network and can be reached at 480-306-8930 or via e-mail at laurie@mediastaffingnetwork.com. Visit the Media Staffing Website www.mediastaffingnetwork.com

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

(COPYWRITING) Defuse The "Objection Bombs"

3-21-2014

When your advertiser is face to face with prospects, or on the phone with them, or in an e-mail or text messaging discussion with them, and a buying objection is presented, a good salesperson can overcome potential customers? objections and turn the skeptics into buyers.

But for every spoken objection, there are many unspoken ones. They reside in the potential customers? minds and hearts. Then they decide not to call, visit or click. The advertiser never gets the opportunity to convert a potential customer to an actual one. 

What to do? Head ?em off at the pass. Be proactive. Figure out what those obstacles are, meet those objections head on and defuse ?em, before the decision not to visit is made. It?s another form of reading your clients? minds, anticipating and countering.

If the commercials address the objections and build a case for the advertiser, there?s a better chance that more prospects will show up.

How to do it? First define the possible objections.

Ask the advertiser, salespeople, and customers, ?Why don?t some people visit, shop, or buy here?? The reasons could be opinions, attitudes, rumors, or feelings. In this process you might uncover objections no one suspected even existed. 

Listen in on telemarketers?, salespersons?, or service representatives? conversations with customers. Take notes. Record them if possible.

Then?defuse the bombs. Write a rebuttal for each. Turn each rebuttal into a commercial.

Here are just some of the objections we?ve overcome for advertisers with radio stories:

Objection: Too expensive
Defuse:  Build cache, exclusiveness, and value for the expenditure.

Objection:  Concern for privacy
Defuse:  Describe the extremes the advertiser goes to keep clients? or patients? records and identities confidential.

Objection:  Service is time-consuming
Defuse:  Describe how convenient it is ? free pickup and delivery, speed of service, respect for customers? time.

Objection:  Pain
Defuse:  Recognize the fear of pain and describe steps the advertiser takes to eliminate it.

Objection:  Fear of the unfamiliar
Defuse:  Build bridges to show similarity with familiar aspects of audience?s lives.

Objection:  Advertiser might not be knowledgeable
Defuse:  Explain the training the advertiser has invested in. Use case histories to illustrate.

Objection: Limited selection
Defuse: Describe unique, one-of-a-kind specialty items; niche inventory.

There are many more, but those examples should help.

The first step is showing potential customers that the advertiser understands their concerns. Defusing the objection bombs before they stop listeners from contacting the advertiser is the second step. The third step is for the advertiser to deliver on the promise.

To get your very own free copy of ?Hedquist?s List of 244 Cliches,? email me jeffrey@hedquist.com and I?ll send them. Guaranteed to reduce commercial effectiveness.

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WCCO Wins 11 News Awards

3-19-14

830 WCCO-AM in Minnesota has won 11 awards, eight first-place awards and three honorable mentions in the Minnesota Associated Press Broadcasters News Contest. WCCO Program Director Bob Shomper said, ?Eight first-place finishes for WCCO in 10 categories says it all. It?s an honor that our peers recognize and appreciate the excellence we try to achieve on WCCO every day. I?m very proud of our staff."

First place awards were won in the following categories: Best In Show, Best Website, Sport Hard News, Feature, Series/Special, Sports Reporting, Best Newscast, and Sports Play By Play. Honorable mentions were received in the following categories: Documentary/Investigative, and Writing. The awards will be presented at an awards banquet on Friday, March 28.



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The Real Numbers Behind The NextRadio App

3-20-14

If you live in the Internet World you may be fogged by the false belief that every company that launches is an instant success, goes public, and everyone involved becomes filthy rich overnight. In the real world, new businesses need time. They need time to grow. They need time to market. They need time to be agile and adjust to the fast-moving consumer who wants this thing today and that gadget tomorrow. Pandora, while wildly successful today, launched back in 1999. It would be many years - and a name change - before Pandora would become the audio juggernaut it is today. Will NextRadio be the app that puts Radio on every smartphone in America? Time will tell. For now, the service has the backing of Sprint, and most of radio's biggest broadcast companies. Consumers appear to like the app once they know its available. Will saving data become the driving factor that helps catapult the app to the masses? Hard to know. For sure, if radio stations do what they do best - offer great content - the app will continue to grow. To get you up to speed heading into the NAB show in Las Vegas, here's an interview with Emmis' Chief Technology Officer Paul Brenner.

(3/22/2014 1:35:30 AM)
The problem here is that the radio industry focuses on new technology over spending money on promotion and content. It is all about content. If you have superior content and the ability to promote it the audience will consume it wherever it is.

The radio industry with its lack of superior content and 10 minute long stop sets has the fate of the Titanic. Everyone continues to rearange the deck chairs while no one wants to change course so the ship doesn't hit the iceburg. It will hit the iceburg

(3/22/2014 1:31:44 AM)
Sorry, but you're wrong. Yes, Pandora started in 1999- but there were no smart phones then. Now smart phones have penetrated 65% of the market and this app is nowhere. That's not my opinion, it's reality.

Maybe it will get traction and I hope it does, but broadcasters need to know that this will just be one slice of the pie, not the whole pie.

(3/22/2014 1:24:11 AM)
The problem with this app growing is that most of the programming on radio is crap. Nobody wants to hear it unless they have no other alternative. Nobody wants the 10 minute long stop sets and 1970s Star Wars Imaging.
I am currently on a trip to Vail in Colorado.
On the bus trip from Denver the driver is playing Pandora
At the ski lifts they are blasting Serious XM or Pandora.
Took a ride on a snow cat and the driver was listening to something called InetRadio on his smart phone. No radio
(3/21/2014 4:33:55 PM)
Here are some actual numbers for you: http://www.markramseymedia.com/2014/03/is-nextradio-growing-or-sinking/
(3/21/2014 1:20:40 PM)
Sorry, just saw the link to the interview. :)

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Borrell Hires Gannett's Director Of Market Intelligence

3-19-14

Gannett's Corey Elliott will be in charge of the Borrell research operation as of the first week of April. That includes the divisions that handle direct consumer and advertiser research as well as the Compass (Adspending.com) product used by some of the largest media companies in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.



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Jason Wolfe Back With Glenn Ordway

3-20-14

Two former Boston Entercom employees are back together. Glenn Ordway announced he's hired former Entercom New England VP of Programming Operations Jason Wolfe as Chief Content Officer for his new venture Sportstalkboston.com. Wolfe spent 22 years at WEEI in Boston before the company let him go last August. The station dismissed Ordway in February after 20 years on the air.



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Eastlan Picks up 3 More Markets

3-20-14

Three markets will have a new ratings provider this Spring. Eastlan Ratings begins service in Columbus, GA, Hammond LA and Tallahassee. Hammond is previously unrated market while Columbus and Tallahassee are also served by Nielsen. Eastlan CEO Mike Gould said, ?As Eastlan rolls into our 15th year, we are so grateful to the small and medium market radio leaders who have recognized the value in carefully scrutinizing their radio ratings vendor relationship.



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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

(PROGRAMMING) Make Something Happen!

3-19-2014

As the winter thaw is hopefully soon upon us, it?s time to figure out some ways to make something happen within your organization.

I know you are incredibly busy and you are doing some form of meaningful work, but it?s always good to get into reevaluation mode. Here are some specific thoughts to get you going toward meaningful and satisfying action.

First and foremost, revisit all of your yellow pad ideas that might have slipped through the cracks. Sometimes ideas have been stalled in a committee or someone has thrown cold water on them and the ideas can be resuscitated. This can be a valuable exercise especially if these ideas fit one of your key priorities for improvement.

Secondly we all need a big reminder that we are in the business of building fan loyalty. A sales staff views them as listeners, in marketing they are viewed as customers, and to programmers they are fans. Treat your listeners like fans and never forget that relationship.

Next, stop and listen to the produced sound of every element on your radio station. Not just produced imaging but even commercial production. Put a hyper critical ear on every facet of your brand. If you are a music station there is nothing better than driving down the highway with the top down blasting a station at high volume. Great songs are awesome but a great piece of production brings our whole package together. Set new production standards to make your brand undeniably awesome!

Lastly, and most importantly, think about the beauty of building and maintaining the integrity of a brand. These are cherished assets in each of our communities and frequently we can lose sight of what these brands mean to the market.

Many times negative press turns into negative energy and our job as leaders is to keep a winning attitude.

Develop and maintain a routine that fosters an environment to create small victories that will lead to more important victories and a sense of winning accomplishment.

Buzz Knight is the Vice President of Program Development for Greater Media and he can be reached at bknight@greatermediaboston.com. Knight was named among ?Best Programmers? by Radio Ink Magazine in 2007 and 2010. He has served on the programming subcommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters(NAB) and is currently a member of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) COLRAM Committee.

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Tallahassee Sale Closes

3-20-14

This closing is for the sale of Opus Broadcasting?s Tallahassee cluster  to Red Hills Broadcasting that was announced back in November. The $4 Million sale involved Variety Hits ?99.9 Hank-FM? WANK Lafayette, Country ?103.1 The Wolf? WWOF Tallahassee, CHR ?Hot 104.9? WHTF Havana, and Classic Rock ?106.1 The Path? WQTL Tallahassee. Opus still owns clusters in Alexandria and Monroe, LA.



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"This American Life" Needs a New Distributor

3-20-14
Public Radio International has been distributing the popular NPR program for nearly two decades. Variety is reporting that relationship is over. ?During our most recent negotiation, it became clear that our organizations? expectations regarding our futures were different,? said PRI executive Julia Yager in a statement.The show has a weekly audience of 2.2 million listeners and appears on 587 public radio stations. Yager said stations should not worry, the show will continue to be available.


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Piolin Extortion Suit Thrown Out

3-20-14

The L.A. Times is reporting that a judge has dismissed an extortion lawsuit brought by Eddie ?Piolin? Sotelo against six of his former staff members. And Sotelo may have to pay the legal fees they racked up defending themselves against him. Sotelo claimed the group demanded $4.9 million from him in exchange for their silence ? or else they would go public with additional allegations about his behavior. The judge said Sotelo never proved that happened and dismissed the case.

The six former workers alleged that as Sotelo career took off on his Univision syndicated program, he turned abusive, calling them derogatory names, licking and biting them, rubbing his body against theirs, and grabbing his genitals. Sotelo, now heard on SiriusXM, calls his former staff  ungrateful and opportunistic. Read the full Times article HERE

(3/20/2014 6:10:42 PM)
Look at those Type-A "mad eyes"!

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NAB Files Comments Supporting AM Revitalization

3-19-14

Thursday was the deadline for comments in the FCC's process to revitalize AM radio. Obviously the comments filed were in support of fixing the crickety sounding AM band. Specifically, the NAB agreed with most comments calling for a filing window for FM translators for AM operators and for more flexibility in the use of cross-service translators. The NAB also called on the Commission to consider ways to deal with potential displacement of FM translators. The NAB also asked the Commission to approve the Tell City Waiver which was filed by Bud Walters and has been languishing at the Commission. The Tell City Waiver would give AM operators more flexibility to identify available FM translators and relocate them to sites where they can be better used.



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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

WWMX's Maria Dennis Has Leukemia

3-19-14

Dennis announced her diagnosis on the air Thursday. Dennis is one third of the "Maria and The MIX Morning Show" with Reagan and Jon on CBS' WWMX in Baltimore.The WWMX website has the details of how Dennis went on the air Thursday and explained her three-week absence by describing how she initially went in for a routine colonoscopy. "My bloodwork came back all over the ballpark, and they didn't know why. So they did further tests, one thing led to another, and they decided that I have A.L.L., which is leukemia. It was a shock to me."

(3/20/2014 9:11:29 PM)
You'll beat this, Maria!

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Ledbetter, Mac Promoted In Cookeville

3-19-14

Cookeville Communications in Cookeville, TN, has promoted  Zach Ledbetter to PD at WGSQ 94.7 The Country Giant. Ledbetter will also pick up the night shift at the station. Also, Billy Mac moves from the company?s Bloomington cluster to take over afternoons at WGSQ and will also be overseeing the company?s digital initiatives.

GM Jessica Zimmer said, "We pride ourselves on a great team and we?re certainly glad to promote Zach and Billy into larger roles. Zach has really stepped up and taken a large interest in the betterment of WGSQ. Billy brings lots to the table with his knowledge of the entire digital platform and on-air talent.?

Cookeville owns five media properties: 94.7 The Country Giant (WGSQ), 98.5 KISS FM (WKSW), NewsTalk 1400 The Hub (WHUB), 106.1 The Eagle (WPTN/W291CA), and community information television Channel 7. 



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Jason Kidd Launches "Smash Hits"

3-20-14

Kidd is the President of New Generation Radio which is launching the new format. Kidd has over 20 years programming experience, including 10 with CBS Radio, most recently at WPGC in Washington, D.C. Prior to WPGC, he programmed at WQSR Baltimore, WWMX Baltimore, and KQBT Austin. Before joining CBS Radio, Kidd spent five years with Clear Channel programming WKST/Pittsburgh and WWHT Syracuse. He also worked at Sirius/XM for six-and-a-half years. For more information on "Smash Hits," go to http://www.getsmashhits.com/. 



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FCC Finds "Broad Pattern of Contest Misconduct"

This one should be filed under "Do what you say you're going to do." The FCC has hit South Central Communications with an $8,000 NAL after a listener complained the company did not complete a contest as advertised and that it changed the rules midstream. Phase one of the ?Par 3 Shoot Out? contest, which began in 2008, was held online and was conducted appropriately. But phase two was postponed, initially due to inclement weather. After an inquiry, South Central told the FCC that it subsequently terminated the employee administering the contest and then ?simply forgot? about it. It was that FCC letter that reminded South Central to complete the contest. However, before doing so, South Central sent a letter to contestants changing the contest rules to exclude professional golfers and club pros "in the interest of fairness.? South Central completed the second phase of the contest on January 19, 2010, and because of the delay, said it awarded additional prizes to each finalist.

The commission now says in its NAL that South Central failed to fully and accurately disclose the material terms of the contest. The contest?s official rules specified that weekly winners would receive a hat from Victoria National Golf Club, and that the grand prize was a $350 gift certificate to the Tom Howard Golf Superstore. The advertisements relating to the contest that South Central broadcast over the air, however, stated only that contestants could qualify to win a Lexus automobile -- the ads did not mention the hat or the gift certificate. That means, according to the FCC, that those announcements failed to describe the actual extent, nature, and value of the prizes South Central intended to award. In addition, the promos didn't describe any of the procedures by which prizes would be awarded, including the fact that the Lexus automobile would be awarded only to a finalist hitting a hole-in-one. The commission also concluded that the promos failed to describe the means of selecting the winners. South Central argued that the most effective method of informing potential contestants of the rules is online. However, the commission still requires ?stations to broadcast all of the material terms of a contest." Although rules announced through non-broadcast means can supplement broadcast announcements, they cannot yet substitute for such announcements. Along with the failure to accurately disclose the material terms of the contest over the air, the FCC claims South Central has developed a pattern of misconduct: "While this aspect [the deficient announcements] of South Central?s contest rule violation would, standing alone, warrant a finding of liability, because we find that South Central violated the rule on other grounds, it is not necessary for us to rely upon South Central?s deficient announcements to find liability, and we do not do so in this case. At the same time, this failure reflects a broad pattern of contest misconduct and informs our overall calculation of the monetary forfeiture proposed below." Under FCC rules, a broadcast licensee must conduct station-sponsored contests ?substantially as announced or advertised,? and must fully and accurately disclose the ?material terms? of such contests. That's the source of the requirement that announcements include, among other things, any eligibility restrictions, means of selection of winners, and the extent, nature, and value of prizes. The commission has acknowledged that ?the standards are high, for while contests are particularly susceptible to abuse, abuses can be prevented by diligent licensee attention to the planning and the conduct of contests.?
The commission has therefore ruled that South Central violated Section 73.1216 of the FCC rules by failing to conduct the contest substantially as announced or advertised: First, in the notification letters it sent to contestants on December 30, 2009, South Central altered the rules by excluding professional golfers and club pros from eligibility. Additionally, South Central failed to complete the contest within the promised timeframe. Although the final phase was supposed to occur in early November 2008, it didn't take place until January 19, 2010 -- over one year after the originally-scheduled date.
South Central has 30 days to respond.
Read the NAL HERE

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Retirement Just Wasn't For Gambling

3-19-14

When you listened to John Gambling talk about retirement back in November, it was very clear he no longer wanted to get up at 2 a.m. to do morning radio. However, when we asked Gambling if he was done with radio for good, he was a little more wishy washy. "I don't know. I'm not going to die behind this microphone. I'm taking the winter off. I don't need to work, so we'll see. I'm going to see how I feel more than anything." Gambling is returning to New York City radio on April 14 and he'll no longer have to get up at 2 a.m.

Gambling will take over the 11 a.m. to

2 p.m. shift on Salem's AM 970 The Answer in New York City. This will reunite Gambling with Phil Boyce, who he worked with for nine years at WABC in New York, and Salem's General Manager Jerry Crowley who Gambling worked with at WOR. Ironically, AM 970 The Answer moved into Manhattan in December, into the space formerly occupied by WOR, which moved to the Clear Channel building. So while Gambling will not be on WOR, he will be broadcasting from the same studio location as he did before.

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Brannigan Promoted To GM In Wichita

3-19-14

Beverlee Brannigan continues her rise through the ranks with Journal Broadcast Group and she debunks the belief that general managers only come from the sales side of the radio business. Brannigan started out as a PD for Journal in Omaha back in 2001. On Wednesday, the company named Brannigan VP/GM in Wichita where she'll now run Journal's six-station cluster in that market while maintaining her position as VP of Programming throughout the company. Brannigan is also one of Radio Ink's Most Influential Women in Radio. She replaces Eric McCart.

Executive VP Steve Wexler said, ?Beverlee is a trusted and respected leader who embodies our core values of integrity, excellence, determination, and innovation. Our radio stations are in excellent hands with her at the helm. I couldn?t be more excited for her and for our Wichita team. Beverlee will also continue to provide invaluable programming guidance to our product teams throughout the radio group.?

Brannigan said, ?It is a privilege to lead our team in Wichita. Their dedication and passion for local broadcasting is unmatched. I appreciate Steve Wexler's confidence in me and am excited to be returning to the ?Air Capital!?" Brannigan will be responsible for the overall operations of Journal?s six radio stations in Wichita, KFDI-FM, KICT-FM, KFXJ-FM, KYQQ-FM, KFTI-FM, and KLIO-AM.

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Curtis Closes On Second Charlotte Translator

3-19-14

Curtis Media has been on an FM translator buying spree as of late, and today the company closed on the purchase of FM Translator Station W262BM Charlotte, NC, from Isothermal Community College. In January of 2014, Eastern Airwaves closed on the purchase of the construction permit for W234BY Charlotte. The purchase price is $125,000. Bob Heymann from Media Services Group brokered the transaction.



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WSIX To Host Songs & Stories For St. Jude

3-19-14

This is the second year WSIX, along with Clear Channel Communities, will host the benefit for St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital. Songs & Stories for St. Jude, on April 9 at 7:30 p.m., is a live concert and auction that will benefit the Children?s Research Hospital. Concert attendees will see a performance by The Raging Idiots. A silent auction will take place throughout the evening and will feature autographed memorabilia, items donated by Country artists, and exclusive country music experiences. Bobby Bones will host.



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All Digital Sports Network Launches

3-20-14

The Chicagoland Radio and Media Blog has all the details of the new Chicago-based, all-digital sports network that will debut this spring. Today the network announced who its initial cast of personalities will be. 120 Sports will be a live-streaming sports network, available on computers, smart phones, tablets, and Internet-capable television. The concept behind the network is to offer original sports programming segments which will be 120 seconds long.

Financial backers include Sports Illustrated, Time Inc., MLB.com/Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NBA, NASCAR, IMG College, and Chicago-based digital sports media company Silver Chalice. Talent on the new network includes: The network's primary host, former ESPN sports anchor Michael Kim, Tim Doyle, Comedic/improv actor Dylan McGorty, Laura Britt, Tyler Jacobs, Bryant McFadden, Ovie Mughelli, Ro Parrish, Dave Ross, Alexandria Schlereth,

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Smyth: "Keep Your Eyes on The Road."

3-20-14

Greater Media CEO Peter Smyth has written his latest Corner Office blog and it focuses on the recently released Edison Research Infinite Dial Study. Smyth says while he's not surprised by the consumer transition to "connecting" to the DASH, the speed at which consumers are making this transition is surprising, and radio must ask itself, what is it doing about it? Smyth also takes a shot at radio's inability to control - or limit - the overbearing number of commercials it plays every hour.

"I believe that we have to focus on our existing brands and expand and recreate them to become multi-platform, consumer-friendly audio companions to our local communities. We have to keep pace with the changing platform choices of our listeners and focus on what we do best ? create compelling content that informs, entertains or brightens their day." 

Smyth also says radio has to carefully redefine its business model and recognize that we are well beyond the one-size-fits-all era of broadcasting.  "We cannot continue to stuff more and more commercials into giant stopsets each hour.  We need to explore and try new things.  We need to be more personal, more responsive and more innovative about our ability to serve younger listeners.   We need to begin ? right now ? to create original content that lives online only in the digital world.  Then we need to use our broadcast megaphone to make sure that our listeners know there?s much more to our brand than simply the tower?s signal."

Read Smyth's blog HERE and leave your comments below

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Renda, Seven Bridges Pick up Jaguars

3-19-14

1010-AM and 92.5-FM, owned by Seven Bridges Radio and 99.9-FM (Gator Country), owned by Renda Broadcasting will both broadcast the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars games in a multi-year deal announced by the team Wednesday. 1010XL AM and 92.5 FM will be the team?s flagship radio partner and the games will be simulcast on 99.9 Gator Country. The games were being carried by Cox until last season.

1010XL GM Steve Griffin said, ?The Jaguars are the most important sports franchise in our city?s history and we are honored to become the flagship station and to be part of the team. Everyone is impressed with the team?s new regime, their dedication to the city and the fans, and the positive momentum coming from EverBank Field. We are excited about using our resources to help the cause and to grow together in the years to come.?

99.9 Gator Country will serve as a promotional partner for the Jaguars and will simulcast Jaguars game broadcasts as part of a six-hour window on every Jaguars game day. The six-hour window will accommodate pregame and postgame shows in addition to the game broadcast. GM Bill Reese said, ?99.9 Gator County and Renda Broadcasting are very excited to be a media partner with the Jacksonville Jaguars starting with the 2014 season. The Jaguars have a reputation in the NFL as a first-class organization from ownership, to management, to the coaching staff and players. Renda Broadcasting is proud to be affiliated with the Jacksonville Jaguars who are committed to not only winning but representing the city of Jacksonville in a very positive way. As their radio partner we look forward and are committed to helping the Jaguars grow their franchise to the next level.?



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40 Year NYC Morning Man

3-19-14

Early on in Jim Kerr's career, while working at WLS-AM in Chicago, a new young program director by the name of John Gehron was brought in to run the show. Gehron's arrival meant PD Tommy Edwards would be pushed back into on-air duties, leaving Kerr as the odd man out. Instead of handing him a pink slip and a few bucks to take his cardboard box full of records home, Gehron and Edwards kept Kerr on staff until something else in the company opened up.

Gehron explains: "Jim was incredibly versatile and he impressed me with how natural he sounded on the air. He was so good we didn't want to lose him from the company. We found ways to keep him on the air, covering for everyone, until NY had an opening. He is a remarkable talent." Tommy Edwards said once he asked Kerr to cover reports of students streaking on the Northwestern University campus. "He not only phoned in funny reports but he even interviewed a streaker. It was funny & compelling. It was obvious to me this guy was very talented."

From WLS in Chicago, Kerr would move to WPLJ in New York. The date was March 18, 1974. Kerr would spend the next 40 years doing morning radio in New York City.

Mike O'Malley was Kerr's Program Director when he worked at WYNY. "Jim totally immersed himself in the format: the music, the listeners and the artists. Jim had and has tremendous credibility and his enthusiasm for the music no doubt introduced many of his CHR and rock fans to country while converting even the most skeptical country P1s to Jim Kerr fans. Like so many great talent, his 'matter of fact' conversational delivery helps him come across as someone you want to hang with. I loved working with Jim and it?s exciting to be able to congratulate him on 40 years!"

We spoke with Kerr about that amazing accomplishment today. LISTEN HERE

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Gary Rozynek Launch The Maverick Group

3-20-14

After 33 years working in the radio industry in station operations with the last 18 years at the Senior Management levels with companies like Connoisseur and as CEO of Maverick Media, Gary Rozynek has launched The Maverick Group, an advisory firm that focuses on "media sector solutions." Rozynek says his boutique advisory firm will provide a menu of services that will support value creation in the media sector.  Radio, TV, Cable and other media solution providers will be our partners."

Visit Gary's new website at http://www.themaverickgroup.com/ or contact him at garyr@themaverickgroup.com.



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More National Press for Bobby Bones

3-19-14

The Washington Post has a profile piece on the Bobby Bones show after Clear Channel recently added the program to WMZQ in DC. Post writer Emily Yahr writes how the unconventional Bones and his cast of friends is connecting with Country listeners - and artists - because of how real the program is. "If it sounds like they?re just a group of friends hanging out, that?s exactly what they are, and Clear Channel executives pinpoint that as the reason for the show?s widespread popularity." Bones will host the upcoming iHeartRadio Country Music Festival on March 29 and was recently on the cover of Radio Ink Magazine.

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Weiner To Program "The Ticket" In Miami

3-19-14

Lincoln Financial Media announced the hiring of sports radio programming veteran Len Weiner who will take over as PD at Sports Talk FM 104.3/AM 790 The Ticket (WAXY-AM/FM). Weiner joins Lincoln from Genesis Communications, where he has been VP of Programming in Tampa, Orlando, and Melbourne. His extensive career also includes management and programming positions at WGN-AM, Chicago; KMPC-AM, Los Angeles; the ESPN Radio Network; and ESPN Radio outlets in Boston and Chicago.



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Are You Banking Enough Digital Revenue?

3-19-14

Many believe radio's big growth spurts will come from the digital side of the business. Quarter after quarter, the Radio Advertising Bureau reports how digital revenue for radio is exploding as over-the-air revenue remains mostly flat until another political ad bonanza comes along to give it a jolt. If you want to learn how to increase your digital revenue, consider attending Radio Ink's Digital Audio Conference, Convergence, June 4 and 5 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley. Our 2014 agenda has been posted HERE. If you would like to be considered to speak on a panel and help radio generate digital revenue GO HERE. REGISTER HERE



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(PROGRAMMING) The Power Of Hispanic Radio

3-19-2014

It?s 2014, and for at least three years now, we?ve been waiting for the tipping point. When will marketers really sit up and take notice that the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population is Hispanic? It should have been in 2011, when the latest census was released. Or maybe it should have been 2013, following a year when it became clear that no one will be elected president without connecting to the Hispanic segment of the population.

Or maybe it?ll be this year, if marketers pay attention to their competitors who are using Hispanic radio to enhance their success. Don?t take my word for it ? listen to Jason Matt, management supervisor at Saatchi + Saatchi, after a Hispanic initiative he launched with the assistance of Adelante Media Group for the Toyota Dealers Association in and around Salt Lake City: ?Marketers are excited about the growing purchasing power and cultural influence of Hispanics, and as such, the Toyota Dealer Association is committed to this emerging segment. Latinos love Toyotas, and the explosive growth of the Hispanic population will be key to our continued success.?

And it?s more than a quote: Toyota sales across the Wasatch Front were up 25 percent in 2013 over the previous year. And this client has increased spending with us significantly in 2014; they got out in front of the wave and now have an advantage over their competitors.

The migration to making Hispanic radio a part of every advertiser?s radio budget will start with stories like Toyota as competitors notice a decrease in market share and make the decision to incorporate our audience into their target. As an example, a few years ago our Yakima market closed its first dental clinic client. Dental clinics have found Hispanics to be a prime segment for new client growth, and we developed a program for one clinic to reach out to our audience. The program was so successful that they soon opened a second clinic down the road in Tri-Cities, where Adelante also owns stations, and used us again as a marketing arm to great success. Now others have followed, and dental clinics are a large category for us in Eastern Washington.

In another market, the Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Council noticed in their data that Hispanic families were big users of frozen foods. They partnered with Adelante three years ago to reach out into the Hispanic community with their message. The result was increased sales in local grocery stores and a rise in the number of Hispanics using the stores. Residually, Adelante has been able to add a number of the local general-market grocery stores who are members of the council as clients.

In yet another market, a company that specializes in bingo nights noticed that though they have a large Hispanic population around their venue, they drew virtually no Hispanics to the hall despite advertising on general-market radio stations with large Hispanic listenership. We talked with them about using Spanish radio with Spanishlanguage spots, first educating the audience on electronic bingo and then encouraging attendance. Their business increased 20 percent overall due to the attendance of the Hispanic population.

The last example shows one of the true misconceptions among many marketers: There is a belief that you can reach Hispanics using general-market radio stations because they show a strong percentage of their cume is Hispanic. But the fact is that it isn?t about hearing a commercial, it?s about listening to the commercial ? and it is on Hispanic radio and in Spanish that a marketer?s message is truly listened to.

Here?s the example we use to explain: Put a World Cup soccer game on two TVs in a bar that caters to Englishspeaking Hispanics, one showing the English-language broadcast and the other the Spanish-language broadcast. Then observe. Before long, the crowd will be three or four deep around the Spanish broadcast while two or three people will be around the English broadcast.

Once marketers learn to reach this audience in their language and through their culture, the cash register will begin to ring, as the examples above show. Maybe then we will have reached the tipping point

Jay Meyers is CEO of Adelante Media Group.

(3/19/2014 3:13:33 PM)
This is assuming we are talking about targeting a first or perhaps even a second generation Latino segmentation, right?

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NABEF Announces Career Day In Vegas

3-19-14

The NAB Education Foundation, in partnership with the Broadcast Education Association, announced the addition of a Military Veteran Resource Center to NAB Show's Career Day, Wednesday, April 9, in Las Vegas, NV. Located in the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Pavilion, Career Day is an annual event that provides college students, entry-level job seekers, and experienced professionals with the opportunity to interact with media industry recruiters. NAB Show is the world's largest annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage, and distribute entertainment across all platforms.

This year, NABEF has partnered with representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes program, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Quaestor Federal Consulting to offer resources for veterans and employers. Immediately prior to the Career Fair, employers can attend a free session from 9-10:00 a.m. focusing on the business case for hiring military veterans and skill sets veterans possess that can be applied to the broadcast industry. During the Career Fair, the Military Veterans Resource Center booth will provide advice and opportunities for training related to a successful job search as well as information for both recruiters and job seekers.

Job seekers can attend sessions throughout the day on personal brand management, dressing for success, and information on jobs in broadcasting. Career Day will offer the popular one-on-one career coaching sessions that include resume critiques and interview strategies. Recruiters include Beasley Broadcast Group, CNN/Turner Broadcasting, ESPN, Gannett, NEP Broadcasting, PBS Las Vegas, Radionomy, and Univision Radio.



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Saturday, March 22, 2014

(SOCIAL) Get Local Listeners Sharing Your Content

3-19-2014

People always seem to want to know how to get regular people to spread their content. Of course, they want supernatural answers instead of: Have great content. So, I thought we would take a closer look at sharing and ?going viral.?

What does it take to go viral? What does it take to get local listeners to share, share, share?

1. Listeners Want To Feel/Seem Smart To Family, Friends, and Co-Workers. Social media is really all about validation. You can bet listeners make decisions about what to share based on how it may make them look to the people they care about. This includes making them look smart or even funny. Keeping these things in mind with your content can make your sharing go sky high.

2. Using the familiar allows listeners to focus quickly on content and encourages sharing. This can be content that is related to stars in your format, something local that is specifically in the news or the now, or something else that is creating buzz while being familiar to be safe to share. Make your content hyper-familiar and it?s like being in the fast lane for sharing.

3. Use Funny. Yes, people are much more likely to share something that is purely funny. This is essentially the value of mixing the percentage of content in your strategy. You do have an overall strategic plan for what you are sharing in social media, right? If not, I suggest you develop a social media plan with real strategy to help you define how much and what kind of sharing you want to see on the social media platforms you are using, how you drive people back to your website and on-air, and how you focus on what listeners want, all while highlighting your station by ?association.?

As a final note, sharing or ?going viral? often starts with the visual and the headline. You want a visual that looks like it belongs to a quick story that won?t waste your time. And you want to have a headline that truly grabs. You can look for examples related to your subject ahead of time and try to make sure you have a headline that will truly move the needle in sampling the story behind the headline. This gives you the opportunity for sharing and going ?viral.?

In the end, it all comes down to what you?ve known all along: Great content wins. Now, I won?t go as far as most will and say ?content is king.? It isn?t. Money is king, but everyone knows that on some level content leads to money. And money and profit are the goals of broadcasters today.

Marketing and has programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, and WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY. Learn more about Loyd here:  http://about.me/loydford. Get his radio-social media content sent directly to your smart phone or email for free here:  www.rainmakerpathway.wordpress.com. Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE.  Visit his Facebook radio social media page HERE.

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Cody Alan on CMT Launches This Weekend

3-20-14

CMT All Access with Cody Alan kicks off this weekend on more than 100 affiliates. The one-hour, Country music and entertainment program will welcome six-time Grammy Award winning Country artist Carrie Underwood. Among the stations debuting the program this weekend are: WSIX-FM in Nashville, WMZQ-FM in Washington, D.C., WUBL-FM in Atlanta, KNIX-FM in Phoenix, KEEY-FM in Minneapolis, and  WFUS-FM in Tampa.



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SALES)Managing "The Sweet Spot"

3-19-2014

A rule of thumb as a sales manager is you should know, within about 90 days of hiring a sales rep, if they?re going to work out for you.

The exact timeframe varies depending on their sales experience, or their lack thereof. My belief is that with ?no experience? sales reps, you hire slow and fire fast. If you have your finger on the pulse of your department, you should know if your new rep is going to make it or not. What about the Henry Petersons of the world? The reps that are not going to be your top billers -- maybe ever. The reps that just comes in daily and gives it their best. How do we treat them? Are we always giving praise to the top billers and somehow leave the Henry Petersons to feel left out? I know coaching football and being a sales manager are two totally different professions. However, the parallels of sports and business -- especially sales -- are obvious.

I think sometimes we overlook the Henrys in our sales departments. We do play favorites a lot with those up-and-coming sales reps who dominate starting out, while someone like Henry gets lost in the shuffle because maybe they don?t fit ?the eye test.? Often the Henrys leave your sales team and show up somewhere else doing an exceptional job, when we counted them out or left them on the bench long ago. Often we overlook the value that a Henry Peterson brings outside of just his billing numbers. There are reps that play the role like a Director of Mirth -- a person who keeps things lively and entertaining in the sales bull pen with some well-conceived jokes. Are there any reps in your sales department that kind of act as the glue that holds everything together? In many sales departments, they are not the top biller. We need to make sure we recognize these reps.

In my sales seminars, I use the story of Henry Peterson to illustrate that there are important people to the overall health and wealth of a sales team beyond their individual numbers.

Decades ago, Henry Peterson was a high school football player in Virginia. Henry was a very fine athlete and a good student. Henry wanted to go to college, and he wanted to play college football for a coach he really respected. He wanted to go to Georgetown and play for Coach Lou Little. The equivalent today of a high school player wanting to go play for Nick Saban at Alabama. Coach Little would later go on to fame coaching at Columbia University. Henry enrolled at Georgetown and tried out (walked on) for the football team. He wasn?t a star anymore because he was surrounded by so many high school scholarship athletes. Henry just barely made the team.

Henry Peterson sat on Coach Little?s bench for four years. Yet, Coach Little described Henry this way: ?Henry, he?s a special guy; he doesn?t play much because his talent level isn?t up to the other guys. But Henry, he?s the glue that holds this team together. He?s the spirit of the team.? Coach Little went on to describe what the glue that holds the team together means: ?The spirit of it all in every system, family systems, sports teams, company teams. There are people whose function is not to be brilliant, not to be the Einstein, but (to be) the collaborators in the best sense of the word, the people who keep the team going and motivated. That?s what Henry?s role was on our Georgetown team.?

In Henry Peterson?s senior year, one week before Georgetown?s biggest game of the year, his father died. Henry was thrust into a conflict situation. He knew he had to go home to see his mother, brothers, and sisters. Yes, in his mind he was abandoning the team. Coach Lou Little had no misgivings; he knew where Henry should be. He said, ?You go home kid, you go home and be with your mother, brothers, and sisters.? Henry responded, ?But coach, what about the team?? Coach Little said, ?You go home and on game day we?ll say a prayer for you.?

During the middle of the week, Coach Little called Henry. ?How you doing son?? Henry said, ?It?s terrible coach; this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I don?t know what to do.? Coach Little exhorts, ?You stay where you are kid, and take care of your mother, brothers, and sisters.? Henry did take care of his family and he buried his father.

Game day arrived and who walked into the Georgetown locker room? None other than Henry Peterson in full gear. Coach Little hit the roof. ?What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go home and take care of your family!? Henry responded, ?I did take care of them coach, but I had to come. And coach, can you do me a favor??

?Anything,? was Coach Little?s response, ?anything you want.?

?Coach, I want to start.? Henry said.

?Well, not anything Henry. This game?s more important than you and me,? was Coach Little?s reply. ?You?ve been sitting on my bench for four years, I just can?t put you in -- a lot?s riding on this game.? Henry pleaded, ?Just this once coach.?

Lou Little finally gave in, but with a stipulation. ?The first time you make an error of any sort that compromises this team?s effort, you?re coming out! Understand??

Henry got his wish and they shook hands on it.

Henry Peterson started that Georgetown vs. Fordham game and proceeded to run for 171 yards and three touchdowns. If you follow football, you know that?s as close to single-handedly winning the game as it ever gets. Henry was not off the field for more than 30 seconds when Coach Little came rushing over to him half furious and half amazed and asked Henry, ?Why didn?t you tell me you could do that? You?ve been sitting on my bench for four years!?

Henry said, ?Coach, did you ever meet my father?? ?No,? said Coach Little. Henry continued, ?Did you ever see us in the springtime walking hand in arm, around the campus, and I would be pointing things out and talking to him??

?Yes, a couple times. What?s your point?? asked Coach Little.

?Coach,? said Henry, ?my father was blind, and today was the first time he could ever see me play.?

Henry Peterson went on to a great career in sales. His determination to be a part of his team?s effort in the biggest game of the year set the tone for the game. Henry called that moment his ?sweet spot in time.? All of us have that sweet spot Henry talked about, that time when he knew that his potential was far greater than anything he ever had accomplished or considered before.

(For Kimberly "Liquid Fire" Futrell)

Sean Luce is the Head Instructor for the Luce Performance Group International and can be reached at Sean@luceperformancegroup.com or www.luceperformancegroup.com. Sean?s new book The Liquid Fire can be found on Amazon.com.

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