(SALES) Out-Of-The-Box Selling

10-24-2014

Creativity often requires a certain amount of courage. Now and then we all need to be bold enough to do things the client doesn?t expect, and things none of your competitors would ever dream of doing.

Back in 1996 I changed our station format from Elevator Music to Adult Contemporary. Formerly, we used our dusty old call letters, but I decided to change to the new STAR 94.

The day we made the change, I broadcast nothing from 6 a.m. until noon but the sound of carpenters hammering, sawing, and chatting, and lumber clattering.

I ran liners a couple of times an hour saying we were building a new radio station, the public was freaked out!

They sent police to our studios, two live TV crews, and hundreds of people gathered outside. We disabled the phones and didn?t let anyone inside, including the cops. Even my mother called my cell to say that we had ?left the mic on? and ?the workers didn?t know they were on the air.?

Finally, at high noon, we started our new format with new jingles, new liners, and opened the doors.

It was the best publicity we could have imagined. We even made the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. TV news!

About a month later, on a Monday, my sales rep, Howard, stopped in one morning at a bicycle shop that had just opened and was airing commercials on several other stations about their grand opening coming up that Saturday.

The bike shop owners were polite, but they told Howard they?d never heard of STAR 94, and that they?d spent all their G.O. budget (always a lie!).

?But we?ll listen to your station, Howard, so be sure to keep in touch,? they said.

Now, 98 percent of reps would have wished them good luck on their grand opening and planned a return visit maybe a month or so later. However, I?d trained Howard differently.

He told the owners he was certain that STAR 94 had their audience, and that we would have a successful and long-term relationship. He then said, ?I?d like to do something for your grand opening, as a gift to you.?

Puzzled, the owners asked what it was.  Howard got our PD on the phone and had him do a taped interview with the owners about their business and the grand opening. This was at 10 a.m. on a Monday!
The PD captured snippets from the interview and created a beautiful 60-second commercial. He called the owners to explain that we would air the commercial at 3 p.m. that afternoon. The surprised owners tuned us in right away, and later that afternoon they heard the commercial ? and loved it.

Tuesday morning, Howard got a call from them, thanking him and saying that ours was the best commercial any station had produced. They then said (surprise, surprise) that they had found another $700 and wanted to run that commercial the rest of the week, up to their grand opening. They even asked if they could have two copies for two other stations to run.

It cost us only a small amount of time to produce the spot and one minute of free air-time. That bike shop has been one of our longest-running clients.

I should add that, prior to changing our ?name? and format, we were not even considered a ?player? by the other 20 stations in the market, but we scared them out of their sleep with creative, out-of-the-box thinking, and over the following months and years we?ve stolen many clients from them.

BOTTOM LINE: If it hasn?t been done before, that in itself may be the best reason for doing it. The comfort of being ?in the box? is a sort of first cousin of laziness. Next time you?re packing a sandwich before heading out to work in the morning, pack a couple of ounces of outside-the-box boldness.

Gary Ratcliff is the owner of High Impact Communications, Inc. and a broadcast sales author. Visit his LinkedIn page HERE.

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(AUDIO) How Many Spots Will Your Listeners Tolerate?

10-23-14

Bridge ratings CEO Dave Van Dyke is a long-time, successful radio programmer and manager having worked at companies including ABC Radio Networks, KCBS-FM in Los Angeles where he pioneered the Classic Hits format with the ARROW 93 brand, and as VP/GM of CBS-owned WODS-FM Boston. He recently released new research about the News/Talk format and how time spent listening was eroding due to listener fatigue. Specifically, his research showed fatigue was setting in over the frequency of the topics being discussed on talk radio. You can see that study HERE. It's one of many research studies Van Dyke's media consumption analysis research firm releases every year. We spoke to Van Dyke this week, not only to dig deeper into the details of his News/Talk study, also to ask him two of our favorite questions: How do listeners respond to radio's overloaded stopsets? And how many spots per stopset is too many? You may not like the answer you hear on that one. Here's our interview with Dave Van Dyke. 

Check out Van Dyke's LinkedIn page HERE
Contact him directly via e-mail at dvd@bridgeratings.com

(10/23/2014 11:16:47 AM)
What is it, I wonder, about station owners and managers that a pro like Van Dyke has to state the ridiculously obvious - and then hope that somebody else catches on....?

I do wonder also if these guys don't have their "bug-out kits" already packed and handy - ready to get out of Dodge at the first serious tremor or rumble in the terra firma.

They're in a trance, I tell ya!

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Dallas Station Holding Fundraiser For Ebola Victims

10-23-14

Today iHeartMedia's "Jagger Mornings," heard on 102.1 The Edge, will hold an on-air fundraiser for local Ebola victims -- nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, and the family of Thomas Duncan. The morning show will broadcast live from the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and ask the community for support. Guests include Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Donations will help support the victims and their families while they rebuild their lives in the wake of the recent Ebola outbreak.

(10/23/2014 9:14:07 PM)
Circle the wagons and pass the hat! Americans have ebola. It's time we did something. This isn't Africa, after all.

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NAB Gives LeGeyt More Responsibility

10-23-14

A new position is created for Curtis LeGeyt at the NAB: senior vice president, public policy. LeGeyt is now the NAB's principal liaison to the White House and executive departments. He'll also maintain his current responsibilities for Congressional advocacy and political strategy in the NAB Government Relations department. NAB CEO Gordon Smith said "Curtis's consensus-building style and strong political acumen have served NAB membership well. In a relatively short time, Curtis has demonstrated a tenacious advocacy for free and local broadcasting and a substantive command of difficult public policy issues that make him well suited for this expanded role."

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TALENT)We've Been Hypno-tized

10-24-2014

When I monitor music-radio stations, I am reminded of airline crews who are wandering through the cabin telling everyone on board there was just a minor glitch, everything is under control, and all passengers should remain calm. A few in window seats behind the wing, however, are watching as engine parts melt and fall away in flames. ?Oh, nurse?!?

On the surface, and if one is paying attention only to the trades, radio is doing swimmingly. Things are mostly jolly ? according to the cheerleaders, pundits, and apologists. There is still a lot of penetration; listening hours are pretty good, and bankers and loan sharks are not threatening to foreclose on corporate loans anytime soon. Stations are being bought and sold and inventories are still moving. Expenses continue to be chiseled away. We?re good. No. Really. We?re good.

If only corporate radio could black out the window seats, none would be the wiser and the sham could continue unabated and without challenge. Any good magician knows that ?misdirection? is the most important part of pulling off the act. Up until recently, radio has been able to pull a Buick out of a rabbit?s butt. Unfortunately, more of the audience, and in radio?s case advertisers as well, are catching on, realizing there is no magic here. Shoddy trickery is, instead, revealed.

Plus, it needs to be pointed out that radio doesn?t have much of a modern/contemporary act. It continues to stage the same old tricks as it has for decades ? and in the same old ways. Audiences and advertisers are beginning to figure this out and are arriving in ill humor with baskets of rotting vegetables and gourds of well-constructed epithets.

Over the last year, radio has been terrified by a number of issues, including the serious limitations of possibly being eliminated as the first-choice media on car dashboards. There is also the disappointment in the performance and returns from online streaming. A number of managers of my acquaintance were boldly enthusiastic about streaming. One even proclaimed, ?This is going to save our bacon!?

Assuming these and other technical matters are dealt with satisfactorily, the results will be that radio will have only delayed a significant demise from sooner to later. What with the burning, melting engine, the scene of the crash will only have been moved to slightly further downrange. Solving the technical issues will only keep us right where we are. Status quo maintained, for a while. No more than that will have been accomplished.

I fondly remember my dad reading me the ?funny papers.? One of my favorites was ?Mandrake, The Magician.? He and his scantily sidekick, Lothar would fight crime and immorality the old-fashioned way ? with brutality and hypnosis. When Mandrake gestured hypnotically, experiences of reality changed drastically.

Radio doesn?t know it yet, but we also have access to the same powers as Mandrake. And we don?t need Lothar?s backup muscle either. Further, this power is embedded in, and enabled by, the exquisite and elegant use of radio?s powerful ?prime technology? ?  language.

This, to me, is a magnificent irony. We (radio) have put zero consideration, research, or effort into finding out how, specifically, to take advantage of this fantastic resource. Truth be told, radio has gone out of its way to suppress the use of the language to the point where the next, logical step is in finding ways to limit on-air speakers and deliverers of commercial content to whistles, snorts, and grunts. Since radio is an audio-only medium, even though it looks so cool we can?t even gesture hypnotically.

We can still, however, exercise influence. We can still be more appealing. We can still be more effective for our clients. We can stop performing our main featured attraction as the lost cause it is ? ?More of the Best Music? ? a ridiculous and insulting claim and a horrible strategy for accumulating and holding audiences. Besides radio, there are other just as easily accessed platforms for streaming tunes.

A spaceman from the planet Doink, or even a guy from out of town, could be expected to, if he wanted to hear professionals exercising their command of the language, go immediately to a radio station. After all, these would be the professionals. I can imagine his disappointment, if not contempt, at finding a cesspool of incompetence mixed with bravado along with demonstrations of a deep and pervasive lack of respect for, and indifference about, audiences and advertisers.

Meanwhile, as a counselor, I am ethically bound to abstain from forcing anyone into an intervention, therapy, or coaching. However, when they do agree to participate, at some point in the preliminary conversation, they will ask me if I use ?hypnosis.? I explain that my approach and responsibility is not to put them into a trance. It is to get them out of the trance they are in already!

The analogy goes that life is made up of a series of ?trances? ? the guy-trance, the girl-trance, the submissive-employee trance, the boss-trance, the husband or wife trance, the dad trance, the mother?s-son trance, the driving trance, the three-beer trance, the bad-habits trance, the self-destructive behavior trance, the eating-sugar-until-we?re-fat, sick, and crazy trance, the particularly dangerous radio programmer?s trance, and so on.

While I can?t claim to know how, exactly, we arrived at this extraordinarily self-destructive positional trance by refusing to take into account the power of the delivery of our primary technology ? language ? I can speculate. Maybe, a few decades ago, Mandrake got with some radio owners and management and? gestured hypnotically. This may have been the time when their minds went ?tilt.? From then on, they may have transferred the same trance onto future generations of radio executives. Now, I can get them out of those trances. But, they have to ask me first.

Ronald T. Robinson has been involved in Canadian Radio since the '60s as a performer, writer and coach and has trained and certified as a personal counsellor. Ron makes the assertion that the most important communicative aspects of broadcasting, as they relate to Talent and Creative, have yet to be addressed. Check out his website www.voicetalentguy.com

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(SOCIAL) Questions That Make A Difference

10-24-2014

I have been very fortunate to work for some great broadcasters in my life. You may have had this experience too. These were guys who were interested in building great local brands. They worked with their team to dig in and become part of the local community and created a social network around their effort that included engaging charities, churches, politics (yes, politics), and the pulse of the local community. No, this isn?t a story of celebrating the old days of radio. This is an opportunity that stretches out in front of you today in your market through your radio station, your personal activity, and social media.

We all want to win. How do you best do that? People are always looking for the short cuts or the smart curbs to funnel you to the best results. Sometimes that may be looking at the way you see your own role in the market beyond the radio station walls. What are you doing personally to engage the movers and shakers in your market and bring them into your sphere of influence? What are you doing to really engage local bloggers, listeners with passion, and more people like those you most want to attract (including diary and meter households)?

If you think about your world in terms of always seeing how you help others on-air, in the market (personally), and in your social media, you can be more effective because you are thinking about it.

1. Is a certain percentage of your social media content strategy dedicated to engaging local high-passion charities important to the people in your target?
2. Are certain percentages of your social media content strategy dedicated to helping people accomplish something? And is that visual (video)? I am sometimes drunk with wonder as to why there are not radio personalities doing self-help or fix-it segments sponsored by someone locally in markets all across America.
3. Does your social media content strategy validate high-participation targets in your market in social media?
4. Do you try to bring value to the lives of local people and engage them in your radio station, website, and social media?

You could create additional questions that help you develop a fully lethal social media content strategy that is fun, effective, and excites your team about causes and passions all their own (but match with the radio station target).
I stand by my assessment that radio is the original social media. This isn?t new. We just have to use it and I hope you are already doing many of these things. If you are, good for you. If not, start experimenting with your social media content strategy. Don?t have a strategy and don?t know where to start? Call me. Or call someone you know to help you. You can do this.

Good luck and have fun. Radio is supposed to be fun ? and your social media should reflect that and be fun, too.

Loyd Ford is the digital revenue, direct marketing, ratings, and social media strategist for Rainmaker Pathway and Americalist Direct Marketing. Loyd 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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Burton Adds Seven Stations to His To Do List

10-23-14

JC Burton has been named VP of programming for seven stations owned by Cap City Communications in State College/Lewistown, PA. The stations are: WZWW (AC), WBHV (Top 40), WEMR (Rock), WOWY (Classic Hits/Oldies), WLAK (AC), WMRF (AC), WIEZ(News/Talk). The stations will be operated under Seven Mountains Media. Burton continues his duties as VP of programming for the company's Frankfort, KY stations which are WSTV (AC), WFKY(Country), WVKY(Country), and WKYW(Oldies). Burton says, "I'm looking forward to working with a great group of people and helping create awesome local programming in these markets."

The parent company of Cap City and Seven Mountains is Southern Belle, LLC.

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(MANAGER SPOTLIGHT) "The Man" In Minneapolis!

10-22-14

On October 27, Radio Ink's 2014 Best Managers in Radio list will be released to subscribers. In the issue, we feature over 30 of the best general managers and market managers in our industry today. One of the managers to make the 2014 list is  Dan Seeman, vice president and general manager of Hubbard Radio's Minneapolis-St. Paul cluster. He loves radio. He believes in radio and he believes in the impact radio can have on the lives of listeners and the businesses in the community. He's as passionate about radio today as he was when he started in the business 32 years ago.

Former colleague Gabe Hobbs says Dan has done an outstanding job with the Hubbard stations in Minneapolis. "From ratings to billing to morale and a production atmosphere where there is no fear like you find in so many places these days. He has a top-rated and top-billing contemporary music station in KSTP-FM. Award-winning as well, recognized constantly by his peers. KSTP-AM went through a very difficult transition in the face of huge attacks from Clear Channel and CBS. He successfully transitioned from news/talk to sports and that was in the face of new FM competition and losing the Twins. The biggest accomplishment is probably believing and staying the course on the nation's only female-targeted talk radio station with KTMY-FM. They are great in Women 25-54 and the billing is excellent as well. What a terrific operation."

Let's lean more about what makes Dan Seeman a great leader in radio.

What motivates you every day?
Seeman: I see radio work every single day. I see it grow our advertising partners? businesses. I see excited and passionate listeners at our events. I see lives being changed at Ronald McDonald House, Courage Center, and the University of Minnesota Children?s Hospital. I see conversations continue online and on social media. I love the characters and personalities that this business attracts. 

Flexibility and empathy are key when you are managing a group of radio stations. KS95 is a top music station in the market. It has completely different challenges than the two talk stations. The goals and objectives of each of the radio stations, along with the changing media landscape, require flexibility. I still have the same passion I had for the business 32 years ago, but it?s a very different business than when I started. I love to embrace change. We are blessed to be in a business that can literally change lives. The experiences in the community, with listeners and our community partners, motivates me every single day.

What is the number one challenge that keeps you up at night?
Seeman: The media landscape has gone through dramatic changes the past 10 years. Choices for audio entertainment and information are endless. Keeping up with the way that consumers use audio media is the biggest challenge we face. Radio?s biggest asset used to be distribution. Today, consumption is controlled by the listener, not the media company. We have to be in the content business. That?s why I am bullish about Hubbard Radio Minneapolis-St. Paul. We create great content, both on-air and online. myTalk 107.1 is a one-of-a-kind radio station, providing entertaining talk about people and pop culture live and local all day. 

We own the content. We distribute it through a traditional radio channel at 107.1 FM, but also through streaming, podcasting, mobile, and written content on our website. When people in Minneapolis-St. Paul want our perspective on entertainment news, they have to access our content through a number of different channels of distribution. The same can be said about 1500 ESPN. Our website has such excellent written sports coverage that we actually have more unique users to the website than we have cume to the radio station. KS95, our Hot AC music station, has personalities, information, and entertainment that you can?t find on Pandora or on an iPod shuffle. KS95 is unique in that it has a morning drive-like show in afternoon drive. Moon & Staci are the perennial number one show in afternoon drive and recently won a Marconi Award for Large Market Personalities of the Year. 

Meanwhile, the KS95 morning show, Ryan & Shannon won this year?s Marconi Award for Large Market Personalities of the Year. I think we are demonstrating that we can create content and make it available through distribution channels that the consumers want.  Now we have to monetize it. That?s a challenge that keeps me up at night. (Pictured right with Dan is Zach Sobiech. Zach was a young man with cancer who KS95 met and produced a song he wrote called "Clouds" which went viral and helped raise over $750,000 for the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund)

What role does digital play at your radio station today, specifically in your sales department?
Seeman: Digital is our greatest opportunity for growth. We look at digital three ways: 1) as a brand extension for our radio stations, 2) as a marketing extension for our broadcast partners, and, 3) as a service company for non-traditional business partners. As a brand extension for our radio stations we are very active online and with social media. We have dedicated staff who provide unique content for the websites. 1500ESPN.com has full-time focused staff that provides unique content and extensive coverage of Minnesota sports. On mytalk1071.com we have focused attention on curating the biggest entertainment and pop culture news of the day, adding our opinion on the news. KS95 digital assets include a fully responsive website, an interactive streaming player, a Ryan & Shannon Alarm Clock app, and much more. The three brands get full-time attention from a social media manager and the entire airstaff, who all understand that social media is a critical extension of our brand. The largest growth of our digital department has been as a service company, providing digital and social media services to our client partners.  We have the capability to manage social media, SEO/SEM, and digital marketing for other companies. We think it?s a natural extension to our broadcast advertisers and an opportunity for new business with non-traditional advertisers.

What would the people you manage say about you? 
Seeman: If they are all sitting in a room without me it probably means the meeting is supposed to start and I?m late again. Passionate (sometimes misguided), cares about the community, creative (but not as creative as he thinks), nice guy (most of the time), strong advocate for our business, funny, and informal (but not as funny as he thinks). The ability to maintain balance and fairness between sales and programming. Not a knee jerk manager, understands the ebb and flow of the business, which leads to a stable, creative, successful environment.  Bottom-line focused, but does not sacrifice marketing of the brands. Fair.
(pictured left are Senator Amy Klobuchar, Dan Seeman (holding Service to America Award), Rob Sobiech and Laura Sobiech, parents of Zach Sobiech who the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund is named after, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.)

Congratulate Dan on being one of Radio Ink's Best Managers in 2014 DSeeman@hbi.com

(10/23/2014 8:31:44 AM)
I'm proud to have known, worked with and work for Dan Seeman for 30 years. I don't want this to go to his head, :-), but he is TRULY the best manager I have ever worked for. Radio could use more managers like Dan. It's about time he was recognized for his tremendous efforts in the industry.

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Beasley Q3 Down 5%

10-24-14

Wilmington and Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville are the markets that dragged down Beasley in the third quarter. Those two markets offset revenue increase in las Vegas and Fort Myers and caused the company to fall $700,000 short of the same revenue figure it generated in the third quarter of 2013. CEO George Beasley said, "We don?t believe third quarter operating results from continuing operations reflect the strength, ratings and local relevance of our platform, as the lower level of reported net revenue from continuing operations is temporarily mis-matched with certain expenses that will be better amortized across the Company?s larger revenue base once we complete the asset exchange with CBS Radio."On October 1, Beasley agreed to swap five stations in Miami and Philadelphia for 14 CBS stations in Tampa, Charlotte and Philadelphia.

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(SALES) Get Better Or Get Out

10-24-2014

Here?s a dialogue I had this week with two sellers I?m coaching:

Me: How do you feel about telling your clients you?re in training?

Seller #1 (With 3 years of sales experience): What would the purpose be? After all, I?ve been in this business for a few years already.

Seller #2: (New Seller): Telling my clients I?m in training might make them doubt my abilities. They may think I don?t know what I?m doing.

I have the honor of writing for Radio Ink every week. I also have the privilege of working with sellers and sales managers each week to help them become even more successful. I want to live out my passion of making big things happen for others by being the best marketer, writer, and coach I can be. I read, research, and study constantly. I try to read a new book every week, read dozens of articles, and watch Ted talks. In other words, I?m always in training. Does my telling you that I?m in training make you think more or less of me?

I?ve spent the last 28 years on the streets selling and managing. If I?m honest with myself, the reason I was hesitant to do seminars, teaching, and training full time was because of a false belief I had regarding teaching. You?ve no doubt heard the cliche: Those who can, do; those who can?t, teach. I didn?t want to be ?that guy.? So I kept doing; in fact I?m still selling today.

You?ve probably been to a seminar or worked with a manager and said to yourself: ?This person hasn?t sold anything in the real world for 20 years.? Again, I never want to be that guy. So each week I?m committed to training, becoming better, learning more, developing my skills, and putting that new knowledge to work in my selling and teaching/coaching career.

Telling your clients you just attended a seminar, read a book, or got some coaching and have new information to share with them is a great way to set yourself apart. It tells them that you are interested in being the very best ?partner? you can be for them. I believe it?s foolish to assume you know everything, and even more foolish to assume your clients will ever think you know everything. I don?t believe anybody expects us to know everything. The goal is to do better and be better this year than you were last year. That is possible only through continuous training.

Look at any profession and you will find not only a desire, but a requirement for ongoing training. Doctors and lawyers have mandatory annual continuing education to maintain their licenses. Professional football players go to training camp every year and practice every week for their one game. Professionals are always in training. I?ve often wondered how the profession of sales would change if we worked like professional athletes; practice four days a week and play/work one day a week. Imagine if you relentlessly practiced Monday through Thursday and presented or met with clients only on Friday? Settle down managers, I?m not suggesting a one-day work week. However, think about how much better you would be on Friday if you practiced four days straight before getting in front of your clients.

Legendary management expert Peter Drucker coined the phrase ?knowledge worker.? This is a person who earns a living largely with his/her mind rather than with his/her hands. In 1996, Drucker said that knowledge workers were able to retain in their mind 75 percent of the information they needed to do their jobs. By 2006, with the explosion of technology, the massive availability of new information, and the rapid pace of change in business, knowledge workers were able to retain in their mind only 8-10 percent of the information necessary to do their jobs.

Consider this conversation that would have been common just 12 years ago:

Client: I?ve been hearing a lot about this World Wide Web and websites; what do you think of that?

Seller not in training: I have no idea. I?m guessing it?s just a fad; I really haven?t looked into it. How do you like the copy for this week?s ad?

Seller in training: I was just reading about that in the Wall Street Journal and I attended a class at the local university to learn more. I think?

The 1991-2001 decade is considered the era of the ?dot-com boom and bust.?  Companies started using websites in 2002. Just 12 years ago. LinkedIn started in 2003, Facebook started in 2004, Twitter started in 2006, and SnapChat started in 2011. If you?re not well trained on these relatively new resources for clients, you can?t help them. But somebody else will.

?To know and not to do, is not to know.? -- Chris Lytle

Doing. That?s the second, and frankly the most important, part of a commitment to training. Learning new information, new concepts, and new technology is an exercise in futility unless you do something with that new knowledge. Chris Lytle is my partner, mentor, and trainer in my career of public speaking and sales training. At the conclusion of his seminars he says: ?Education without action is entertainment. I hope you had fun today, but training that doesn?t change your behavior is as useless as a parachute that opens on the first bounce.?

What are the implications for your career? As I told those two sellers I was coaching this week, if you?re not on a quest to constantly learn new things and improve your skills, you?re in trouble. If you are on that quest, you will never have to worry about becoming obsolete.

 And be proud to share with your clients that you are constantly ?in training.?

Jeff Schmidt is EVP and partner at Sparque, Inc. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@Sparque.biz

Twitter: @JeffreyASchmidt
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schmidtjeffrey

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KWTO Springfield to Flip to ESPN

10-24-14

Meyer Communications in Springfield, Missouri will flip from Fox Sports to ESPN on January 1. KWTO is a 100,000 watt FM called "98.7 The Jock." It's a three year deal between the station and the sports network. Meyer Communications President Ken Meyer said, "We are proud to be able to reward our loyal listeners by adding the ESPN radio affiliation to The Jock. By adding ESPN to our 100,000 watt signal, we are greatly increasing the coverage area for area sports fans. This is not only great for the fans, but for advertisers too. We will be creating an excellent opportunity for area businesses to reach the greatest number of loyal listeners and potential customers."

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Pandora More Than Doubles Local Advertising Revenue

10-23-14
The Internet Pure-play reported Q3 revenue of $239.6 million on Thursday afternoon, which is an increase of 40% over the same three months in 2013. Mobile revenue increased 50% to $188 million and now makes up about 78% of Pandora's overall revenue. And the big number radio should be looking at was the local revenue number which is up 118% to $41.8 million. That's where Pandora directly targets radio's advertising dollars. Pandora also says it now has 9.06% of all radio listening in the United States. Pandora now has 109 local salespeople in 37 markets. An inside sales office addresses more than another 150 DMA's with more sales investment on the way. CFO Mike Herring said, "Our sales force is operating very well. Pricing has been very strong and we are hitting sell out points in certain markets as advertisers compete for prime positions.."

(10/24/2014 11:45:48 AM)
Wonder how much of that is coming directly out of radio's pocket?

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NBC Sports Radio Launches Digital Only Show

10-24-14

NBCSportsRadio.com debuts its first-ever digital-only show, The 2 Robbies ?Football? Show, a Premier League-focused program hosted by NBC Sports Group analysts Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe. The first show is this Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The weekly one-hour Saturday show follows NBC Sports Group?s live Premier League match coverage. The 2 Robbies ?Football? Show will focus on the Premier League and international soccer, featuring commentary and analysis from Earle and Mustoe who will take calls and answer questions from listeners. The show will also feature interviews with top names in the sport, including current and former players, managers and analysts.

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Dave Ramsey On The Big Screen

10-23-14

Six-hundred movie theaters will be showing ?Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze Present: The Legacy Journey? on Wednesday, November 19. The event was taped in front of a live audience in Grand Rapids in September. Ramsey says, ?The Legacy Journey is about you taking control of your money; being debt-free, saving and investing. When you start to see your future becoming secure, you will naturally become concerned with the next generations of your family. When you do the things we teach, your vision expands and you start to see the world?s needs and how you can make a difference.? The event is being presented by Fathom Events. For a list of theaters visit fathomevents.com.

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WILV-FM's Megan Reed Battling Cancers

10-24-14

The Chicagoland Radio and Media Blog has the details about WILV-FM (Chicago) midday host Megan Reed who's been off the air this month. Reed went to the doctor for pain in her back and doctors discovered Reed had breast cancer. The cancer has spread and tumors have been found in her head. She's already had surgery and radiation begins next week.  Senior Vice President of Programming for Hubbard Radio Greg Solk sent out a memo to the WILV-FM staff which you can read HERE.

(10/23/2014 9:06:55 PM)
Get well soon, Megan! We're all in your corner.

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iHeartRadio Goes Live In Apple's CarPlay

10-23-14

The CarPlay integration, originally announced in March, is another step for iHeartRadio's auto offerings and places the app right in the car's dashboard. iHeartRadio's users can access live radio, custom stations, and talk show content, and browse additional content recommended "for you" based on listening preferences. All users need to start listening right away is a CarPlay-enabled stereo system in the car which connects via a USB cable to a compatible iPhone with iHeartRadio downloaded on it.

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Blakely Jumps From NPR To MPR

10-23-14

Minnesota Public Radio has hired Jonathan Blakely as its new program director. Blakley helped launch all-news WKZO in Kalamazoo and also worked at Detroit?s WWJ. At NPR, Blakley worked as a producer/editor overseeing its Baghdad bureau operations during the war. He has produced stories from the Philippines, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti. Part of Blakely's new job will be to oversee six new podcasts being launched by MPR. The six new podcasts are:

Counter Stories - A weekly conversation on life and the news in Minnesota, from the perspective of members of the state?s communities of color. The show will feature regular panelists Don Eubanks, assistant professor of Social Work at Metro State University and member of Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe; Luz Frias with the Minneapolis Foundation; Anthony Galloway, West Metro learning specialist; and Hlee Lee, a Hmong creative professional.

Pedal Hub - A weekly discussion devoted to biking and biking enthusiasts in the Twin Cities. Featuring Gene Oberpriller, owner of One on One Bike Studio in Minneapolis; Amber Dallman, physical activity coordinator for the State Health Department and spokeswoman for St. Paul Women on Bikes; and Patrick Stephenson, founder of 30 Days of Biking and Star Tribune biking blogger.

Pop Till We Drop - Three 20-somethings take on our pop-culture-obsessed world, featuring University of Minnesota Radio K alums Tess Weinberg, Alex Gaterud, and Shelby Thomason.

Minnesota Next - An interview series exploring Minnesota's future from the point of view of people who will be living in it. It will be hosted by card-carrying millennial Maddy Mahon, an MPR News producer.

The Interpreters - A weekly podcast on culture, how we live, how we communicate with each other, what we value, traditions, and trends. Regular panelists are writer and artist Andy Sturdevant; Molly Priesmeyer, writer and Star Tribune blogger; Ben Heywood, executive director of the Soap Factory in Minneapolis; and Saymoukda Vongsay, a playwright and poet.

Hallberg?s Picture of Health - Weekly conversations between MPR News medical commentator Dr. John Hallberg and All Things Considered host Tom Crann, exploring health, wellness, healthcare, and medicine.

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Stitcher Sold to Deezer

10-24-14

Digital music service Deezer is acquiring Stitcher. Stitcher is a content app that focuses on talk with 25,000 news, sports and entertainment shows both live and available via Podcast. Stitcher currently carries eight out of the top ten terrestrial radio shows and features content from over 12,000 content providers, including NPR, BBC, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, This American Life, Marc Maron, CBS Radio News and others. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Deezer founder Daniel Marhely said, "Almost every music listener listens to some form of talk radio, whether it is news, entertainment or sports. We see the ability to deliver better talk streaming solutions in the same way that we are doing in music to super serve the needs of our global audience of 16 million users and growing. The acquisition of Stitcher helps us realize this opportunity."

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Newspaper Ad Revenue Dropped $40 Billion in a Decade

10-24-14

When we shed a tear for radio because it runs into a flat quarter or a year with no growth, imagine how employees of the newspaper industry feel. Not that too many radio people will feel sorry for their print competitors, radio salespeople always believed that industry was getting more ad revenue than it should have been. The Atlantic reports details from a Brooking Institution essay that says from 2000 to 2013 ad revenue spent in newspapers declined from $63.5 billion to $23 billion. By comparison, Google took in over $50 billion in 2013, advertising spent on mobile is expected to be about $18 billion in 2014 and most estimates have radio industry revenue at about $17 billion.

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Like Radio, TV Ad Spending At A Standstill Thanks To Digital

10-24-14

Broadcasting and Cable reports ad spending on TV dropped 1 percent in the third quarter. The magazine cites new data from Standard Media Index. Broadcast network advertising was down 4 percent in the quarter, while spending on cable was up 2 percent. Overall, the SMI shows ad spending across all media up 3 percent in the quarter, with most of the gains coming from the digital sector, which was up 20 percent.

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Nielsen Q3 Revenues Increases

10-24-14

Nielsen reported revenues for the third quarter of $1.6 billion, an increase of 13.3 percent compared to Q3 2013. When Nielsen backs out the Arbitron and Harris acquisitions, revenue increased 2.5 percent. Revenues within Nielsen's buy segment were up 3.5 percent to $878 million. Excluding Harris, buy revenues grew 2.0 percent. Revenues within Nielsen's watch segment increased 28.8 percent to $694 million. Excluding the Arbitron acquisition, watch revenues increased 5.2 percent. The Nielsen board also approved a new share repurchase program for up to $1 billion of Nielsen?s outstanding common stock.

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Nielsen CEO To Radio: "We'll Keep You Posted"

10-24-14

As dollars continue to flow to digital, and television moves forward with cross-platform measurement, radio continues to sit on the sidelines and wait. And this comes at a time when more and more people are admitting radio is losing ad revenue to digital, and radio managers admit their listeners are migrating to mobile devices. What we heard Thursday from CEO Mitch Barns about Nielsen's cross-platform system for audio was very little.

Barns said he couldn't be more pleased with integration of the Arbitron acquisition. But there was no additional detail about the cross-platform measurement system radio is waiting for. Barns said, "We are making progress on a digital measurement solution. We'll be sure to keep you posted." That was it. The company is very jacked up about how they are making steady progress on measuring television across all platforms. Last we heard the new audio cross-platform system was just about ready to roll out, however radio industry executives could not agree on exactly who should be allowed to be measured with them. In other words, Internet pure-plays like Pandora, which the radio industry does not consider radio.

(10/24/2014 2:14:55 PM)
It is this very ratings system that is responsible for radio programming to get ratings and not programming to get listeners. I can't believe that this industry pays a fortune to Nielsen and that Nielsen will not provide a method to measure all listening.

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AudioHQ Inks Rep Deal With TeshMedia

10-23-14

Digital audio ad sales company AudioHQ has entered into a distribution and sales partnership with Intelligence For Your Life which will bring John Tesh, Connie Sellecca, and Gib Gerard?s lifestyle content to digital platforms. The content will include on-demand audio, podcasts, short-form features, and 24/7 streaming channels. Tesh said of the deal, "I?ve known Jeff McCarthy for a long time, and Jeff and Matt Cutair are experts at integrating brand partners with lifestyle content. We are looking forward to taking our 8 million loyal listeners to new platforms and growing our audience with them.?

AudioHQ CRO Jeff McCarthy added, ?AudioHQ is focused on aligning advertisers with premium content. There are no better content creators in the lifestyle and entertainment marketplace than John and the rest of the team at TeshMedia Group. We are excited about the customized marketing opportunities that this will bring to our advertising partners."

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Car Only One Aspect Of Mobile Game

10-16-14

Day 2 of DASH included a panel called "The Future of Mobility" and featured Tim Ericson, the CEO of Zagster, Zipcar Vice President of New Markets Dan Curtin, and Ken Laberteaux, the Sr. Principal Scientist at the Toyota Research Institute ? North America. The panel was moderated by NextEnergy's Tim Johnson (pictured). The message to broadcasters was they must look beyond the traditional audio companies to reach the most consumers. It was suggested that many people are considering different modes of transportation every time they?re looking to travel, from Zipcars to Uber to bicycles, and not just their cars. Ericson said, ?The car is one of those components but it?s not the component anymore.? And that?s especially true of Millennials.

As a generation, the panel agreed that Millennials are not placing as much value on the status of their cars. That's in part because of the available options, but the importance of social connectivity is most often placed above the make and model of a vehicle. Toyota Research Institute?s Ken Laberteaux said, "People in their 20s often attach to a brand (toothpaste, soap, car brand); when you see a lot of twenty-somethings saying 'we don?t want your product at all,' that makes auto companies very nervous." He explained that while Gen Z?s lack of engagement with cars is currently troubling auto companies, it?s more important to focus on a few years down the road. ?The much more impactful question is, ?What will happen to these people once they start families???

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WSYR's Joe Galuski Battling Cancer

10-21-14

For the past five weeks, Mark Wainwright and George Kilpatrick have been filling in for Joe Galuski who is the morning man on iHeartMedia's WSYR in Syracuse. This morning, Galuski went on the air to explain why. "Five weeks ago I was diagnosed with cancer," Galuski said when calling in to his own show. He's battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and it's his second bout with lymphoma, having dealt with a "smaller form" back in 1992. Galuski said the cancer he has now is stronger, but he's confident he will be able to "knock it out." Galuski has been on the air at WSYR since 1988. You can listen to the entire interview HERE.

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The President Turns To Radio For Help

10-21-14

Sensing he sees the Senate slipping from the grasp of the Democrats, President Obama turned to radio Tuesday to try to turn out more voters. He appeared on The Rickey Smiley Morning Show and Al Sharpton's program Tuesday. He's called in to seven syndicated radio shows so far this week, mostly appealing to the African American community to get out the vote.

According to the AP, President Obama told Smiley, "We do not vote, unfortunately, in midterm elections at as high a rate as we do during presidential elections. I'll bet there are a whole bunch of folks listening to your show who may not even know that there's an election going on. I need everybody to go vote." Most political prognosticators are saying the Republicans have a good chance to take the Senate but many races are too close to call. Democratic candidates are snubbing the President in their hometowns which is part of the reason he's doing these interviews.

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Smith Joins DMR As VP

10-21-14

After working in radio for 20 years with Cox, CBS Radio, and Hubbard, Doug Smith has signed on with DMR/Interactive as vice president/marketing strategy. "Radio has an amazing story," Smith said, "and I'm fortunate to partner with clients and help them engage the Nielsen households that matter most. Building relationships has been the key throughout my career and it's what DMR/Interactive is all about."

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TALENT)Thorns In The Paw

10-17-2014

Like the traveler who found an enraged lion along the road and pulled the thorn from its paw, I, and others, have been diligent and eager to provide radio with a great service. Fortunately for the traveler, the lion had the good sense to keep still while the thorn was extracted. Radio, instead, continues to rip ?Dudley Do Rights? thorax to abdomen ? and continue to suffer as a result.

Even as owners and managers puff themselves up to full girth to exclaim the viability or superiority of radio, the rattiest of the rank-and-file on up to large portions of a subjugated and disheartened officer corps, know they are engaged in a freezing, bitter retreat.

With reference only to radio?s model of communications from on-air and creative departments, there are so many flawed strategies, methodologies, and philosophical positions cued for transformations that a book could be written to explain the required adjustments that are so desperately needed. And I mean right now!

I would write that book if I believed there was an audience for it. I do not believe there is that audience. This is the case, even as nobody is willing to engage me with any counter-arguments whatsoever to the points I have been introducing all along. Indifference prevails.

So far as ownership and management, along with the vast majority of on-air and creative personnel are concerned, there is no particular need for any adjustments in these models at all. Further, and not surprisingly, there is no desire to reconsider the approaches we have all been using for like, forever.

Some of the necessary adjustments are significant and transformational. Others are less strange, but still important, especially when one considers that an audience?s exposure to these factors is consistent and over a long period of time. The cumulative effects can be speculated ? and spectacular. They are all extremely toxic and do indeed spoil the influence and acceptance we might otherwise enjoy.

During my recent drive through the night, I found only stations that were completely without ?live? performers, and what spoken word portions there were had been plugged with poorly constructed and poorly delivered examples of stations? self-congratulatory braggadocio.

One of the more common terms spread all over the airwaves like so much cheap, spoiling margarine was as follows: ?WXXX ? today?s BEST Rock,? ?CXXX ? The BEST Country,? and my favorite ? ?CXXX- The BEST of the BEST.? And that was from a major market station. Those examples alone demonstrate to my satisfaction that programmers have lost their minds and forgotten they put them into storage. They no longer actually listen to their radio stations. They listen for flaws in their formats ? tragically crippling and flawed formats at that.

Meanwhile, back to ?The BEST.? These statements beg a series of follow-up questions.
1. ?Best? ? according to whom?
2. ?Best? ? compared to what?
3. ?Best? ? under what circumstances?
4. ?Best? ? until what happens?
5. ?Best? ? using what criteria?

It is too easy for audiences to make quick comparisons for radio stations to make such arrogant claims ? with expectations that anyone would or could actually believe them. And yes, I realize these mindful machinations are not made at a conscious level ? not regularly. These are unconscious considerations, coming from the place where the heavy decisions are made?and where there be monsters.

?Best? meanwhile, is just one of a number of words that fall into the same linguistic category, that of ?absolute quantifiers.? These are words that disallow a listener to come to any other conclusion and, as such, are words that are forcibly arbitrary. This is not a wise strategy for a station that is working to earn listenership, credibility, acceptance, and influence. Employees might be obliged to accept a manager?s statement of ?Because I say so.? That is, if they want to keep their jobs. Listeners, on the other hand, can simply flip us the bird and change the station. Or get off the radio altogether while drawing on some other medium.

A few other ?absolute quantifiers? are ?every,? ?always,? ?none,? ?only,? and ?never.? Unless there is verifiable and acceptable evidence to back up such claims or statements, speakers and writers use them at their peril. Listeners (unconsciously) recoil.

Readers of this piece ? radio?s leadership and line workers ? might wonder how it is they are leaning about this one, little tidbit now, especially since the information has been available for over 30 years. The answer, though harsh, is obvious. Radio?s more recent crop of leadership has had no interest whatsoever in improving the products and services they supposedly are rendering. They are only interested in taking profits. (As an aside if there was ever an example of the failure of unbridled capitalism, corporate radio gets a very high branch on which to perch.)

Still, as radio is in serious jeopardy, despite the bleatings of cheerleaders and apologists, addressing and correcting this one, seemingly insignificant but still important aspect of radio?s model-of-communication can begin to have serious, worthwhile results. Making the change can be done by the simple behavior of issuing a memo. I wonder how many will do it.

I, and a few others, am on the lookout for an owner or manager who will let someone take out the thorns, bind the wounds and do the physio. They will, however, be required to lie still for a while. Things will work out. We could then be like the traveler and the lion that became great friends, walking into a setting sun horizon, whistling a happy tune. Gosh. That would be just terrific.

Ronald T. Robinson has been involved in Canadian Radio since the '60s as a performer, writer and coach and has trained and certified as a personal counsellor. Ron makes the assertion that the most important communicative aspects of broadcasting, as they relate to Talent and Creative, have yet to be addressed. Check out his website www.voicetalentguy.com

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The Connected Car Lives On

Something unexpected can result in a sea change. That was the case when Radio Ink unintentionally focused on something that had been below the radar concerning the connected car. We had been monitoring the connected car, we knew it was coming, and we knew it would impact how people use audio in the car.

What we did not know, however, was that we would discover a dirty little secret: Radio was losing its relevance in the eyes of many automakers. That part we discovered quite by accident, when I asked some probing questions at Convergence 2013 after I thought I heard one of our connected car panelists talk about dropping AM/FM from the car. Of course, by now you know I spoke out about this possibility -- raising both fear and disbelief in the radio industry. I recently addressed this issue in another piece I wrote.

This week we wrapped up the second annual DASH conference, which was rooted in that discussion with the car manufacturers onstage at Convergence . Like a character in a sitcom who's spun off into a new show, this hot topic panel at Convergence was spun off into its own conference in Detroit.

I partnered Radio Ink with Jacobs Media and with connected-car consultant Valerie Shuman -- Jacobs for their deep connections in the car business and their consulting and app building with various brands, and Shuman because of her close relationships within the connected car tribe.

That simple idea has turned into a significant movement we never really expected. Our intent was to create a dialogue between radio and the car companies, first and foremost to make sure they understand the unvarnished truth about radio -- its audiences, its pros, its cons, and, most critically, the fact that radio is not a wounded and dying medium, as their Silicon Valley consultants had led them to believe.

Not only are we making good progress on this step, we have the automobile industry deeply interested in radio and in creating that dialogue. This week's conference was not only much bigger than last year's, the increases came largely from the automotive industry, and nearly 20 related industries, dominating the room.

You can read the stories (at www.radioink.com) and see some of the video from the conference, but the thing I think we are most proud of is that this dialogue has not died down. Nobody's losing interest; in fact, there's been more conversation than ever. We have managed to help Detroit understand the importance of radio and what we can offer. Magical moments occurred when our roundtable discussions gave groups problems to discuss, and as car company executives at high levels talked with radio managers, programmers, and even some tech people about how they can improve one another's business. Word got out about DASH, and the automotive industry was present in full force.

The good news is that we had about the same number of radio people present as last year, with a few new people. But the bad news is that, as WGN's Jimmy de Castro put it, "I cannot believe more radio people are not here. I'm going to make sure every possible person is here next year. They have no idea how important this is because they have not heard what we heard here this week, and have no way of knowing unless they attend." I was approached by several enthusiastic attendees who said the information they received was monumental.

Amazing to me was that the "big guys," people who handle the marketing budgets for the major car brands, didn't just show up for a quick onstage appearance, but sat in the audience two full days, taking notes and being actively engaged. They were asking for our ideas on problems they are looking to solve, but also giving us the reality we face, as they see it.

Keynote speaker Gary Shapiro opened the conference; as head of the Consumer Electronics Association, he's possibly the most powerful man in the world of innovation and electronics, and he's becoming hugely influential in the auto industry as the International Consumer Electronics Show introduces a new section on automotive technology. And he wasn't so kind about radio.

Though gracious, Shapiro suggested that radio had ample warning from him and others (including yours truly) that radio had to migrate to digital or it would one day be reinvented by others outside the industry. "Why didn't you invent Pandora or Spotify?" he said. "You knew this day was coming. You should have invested to invent your new digital competition so you can control it." It was sobering, but inspirational at the same time. He suggested that radio can still step up to digital in a much bigger way -- and must, because the migration by consumers to digital is inevitable.

Everyone in attendance was encouraged about radio. Our show of strength and interest in helping the automotive industry did not go unnoticed. And now, for the second year running, radio has stood out as an industry that wants to show their biggest spending category that we are committed to them.

The effort is far from over. Auto companies are currently designing 2018 models. In 2015, they are expecting 40 percent of car owners to purchase cars that have in-car connectivity (without involving a smartphone). They are designing updatable software so current models won't be entirely rendered obsolete as technology improves.

Yet those who buy 2015 models are living with decisions made five years ago, many of which involve hard-to-navigate radios. One manufacturer said they're trying to get things to the point where the consumer does not need 30 minutes of instruction to use the entertainment unit and where they can easily set stations and presets without pulling over. These user interface decisions were made long ago, and only now are some understanding the problems and addressing the issues -- many of which would have been ignored had it not been for radio stepping in and raising awareness of how consumers interact with their radio stations.

This is a shining moment in my career and those of my partners in the DASH conference. But this discussion is far from over, and radio must keep positive pressure on the industry to continue this dialogue, and to improve the dialogue at the dealer level as well. Our interaction with dealers and stations opened some incredible discussions about the problems and needs they face, and they even called for radio to step up and help. That would never have happened without DASH.

Though I still think that there is a Silicon Valley mindset within the auto industry -- which overall is a good thing -- we have made some progress in helping the industry understand more about consumers and their use of radio and the important role it plays in their world. I think most, not all, are moving away from the idea that they want radio only  in digital form, though clearly digital radio is high on their list because of the metrics and measurability that go with it. Calls for radio to move in this direction as rapidly as possible were frequent and very much noted by the attendees.

Thanks are in order for our partners in this event for a job well done, and for the team at Radio Ink for their role. Most important, thanks need to go to the auto industry for showing incredible receptivity and open-mindednes,s and to the radio people in attendance who have had their minds opened to things that are changing consumers and in-car audio use forever.

Momentum is building. These events are already having a significant impact on how radio interacts with consumers in the car, and that will only increase in the coming years. Congratulations to all.

Eric Rhoads

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Radio Still Matters to Auto Dealers

10-17-15
On a panel that combined auto dealers with radio managers the theme was, "with great technology comes great responsibility." While connected cars have great tech capabilities, they also require a lot of knowledge to operate. An advantage for radio if it keeps its content strong is that, as the auto dealers on the panel explained, consumers simply do not want to wait around to learn how to properly use the technology, most car buyers absolutely want their phones paired.

Shuman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram President Bob Shuman (pictured) said, ?It takes 30 minutes to explain the full user experience for the connected car and most consumers don?t want to take that time.? The panel concluded that this relationship was vital and radio & advertisers get hurt if AM/FM is diminished during car buying process ? "local broadcasters bring people to dealerships."

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Oxley Praises LDR's TopicPulse

10-21-14

Receiving praise from the number-one billing station in America is a pretty good thing. Hubbard Senior VP and GM of WTOP in Washington, DC, Joel Oxley says, "TopicPulse has been a difference-maker and smart addition to our newsroom toolkit. The more information we have to track what our audience is interested in, the greater the opportunity is to better serve their needs, and TopicPulse helps us get there.? WTOP-FM in DC partnered with LDR Interactive to bring TopicPulse to its ?glass-enclosed nerve-center newsroom? to track the social media engagement within the beltway. So, what is TopicPulse?

TopicPulse is a real-time social media monitoring system for newsrooms and content producers that scans social media, including Twitter and Facebook, local message boards, and news sources, to track trending topics in a local market. Producers can also access trending video and images, and see which primary demo (gender and age group) is most inclined to engage with the topic on social media. TopicPulse also features a Tweetmap that showcases the market's most popular tweets and hashtags on a local map, enabling producers to create hyper-local content based on up-to-the-minute social trends.

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Geller: Focus On Personal Connections

10-16-14

Building a broadcast base has nothing to do with radio itself, according to Valerie Geller, who spoke at DASH in Detroit on Thursday. Instead, Geller said, "It has everything to do with human beings connecting with other human beings.? To engage listeners, Geller's three-point plan for broadcasters is to tell the truth, make it matter, and never be boring. She stressed that it's essential for radio companies to target millennials by being on every available platform, and the content must be relevant to the audience. Geller detailed her criteria for keeping content interesting:

Geller says broadcasters must be focused (what always works: health, heart, money, transformative); engage the listener (ask, "What's in this for the listener?"); and  have an opinion or position (that's what makes it interesting).

And, be a storyteller. What happened? Where? Why? Who? How? After that, she says the rest is easy, because people crave the kind of engaging and emotional content radio can provide. "Human beings are tribal, and radio is the drumbeat that connects the tribe," Geller said. "The audience wants to be entertained, informed, inspired, persuaded, and connected."

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(SALES) "No" Is A Good Word!

10-15-2014

Most sales reps make the following mistake ? at least until they get beaten up enough times to know better. They develop their well-oiled  9-minute, 17-second sales ?pitch,? rehearse it till they?ve got it down pat, then deliver it without letting the client say a word until they?re done.

The problem? When the client finally speaks, and says ?No,? the rep has no idea where he lost him, and finds it difficult or even impossible to retrace and find out.

Don?t do that! Tell the client short bits at a time. Follow each point with a question, such as: ?Knowing what you know now, is this something you could get excited about?? If the client says ?no,? the rep knows (s)he has to change direction right there and resolve the objection. The client?s ?no? acts like a rudder on a boat, enabling the rep to ?tack? or steer in a different direction each time (s)he hears it. Make all the corrections and all the client can say is ?yes.?

When you think you?ve done everything right, including making all the mid-course corrections, and the client still says ?no,? don?t wimp out! Ask him why.

This is especially important when the client gives you a lame ?I don?t know,? or ?I need to think about it.? (No one needs to ?think about it.?) The client knows then and there if he?s going to buy. It?s my experience that most  advertisers give those lame answers when they want to get rid of the rep for now, hoping to postpone the decision they know they need to make, at least until the rep comes back weeks or months later.

It?s really cruel to lead a rep along with ?I need to think about it,? but at that moment the client does not want an argument or a rehashing of the sales pitch. He just hopes the rep gives up.

Stand up for yourself. You?re not there to waste your time or his. Ask the advertiser what he has to think about ? make him tell you. Take each point, one at a time, and ask how he feels about each.

Many times, it comes down to money. In that case, you might offer to stretch out the billing or cut back the number of impressions, take his credit card, or whatever the client can handle. You have to be brave enough, strong enough, to find out what the ?no? was really about.

Another strategy? Tell the client you thought you had prepared well for the presentation and had answers for any objections he might have. Beat yourself up right in front of him for not doing a good job. No client likes to see a rep beat himself up. Most will try to make you feel better by explaining why you haven?t sold them. Armed with that explanation, you may then get a second chance.

Remember, when a client says he needs to ?think about it,? or asks you to come back at a later time, he?s really about to take out his little business card and hand it to you?the one that says, ?Thursday isn?t good for me?how about never?? 

Everyone knows the hardest part of the job is ?chasing? clients. Coming back later after the client ?thinks about it? is almost always a waste of your time and his ? valuable time you could be spending on other clients. Don?t let advertisers do this to you. Far better to learn to close the sale on the spot, or at least to dig hard to unearth the client?s objections and work to overcome them.

BOTTOM LINE: Use ?No? as a helpful road sign ? it means the advertiser has an objection. Find out what it is and turn your sales pitch in a different direction, even make a U-turn if necessary. ?I need to think about it? is just another objection. Find out what he needs to think about and make a final effort to close the sale now!

Gary Ratcliff is the owner of High Impact Communications, Inc. and a broadcast sales author. Visit his LinkedIn page HERE.

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(SALES MANAGEMENT) Practice Makes Perfect

10-20-2014

The title alone should be sufficient. The phrase sounds like something you would hear from Mr. Obvious and I suspect some of my readers are sarcastically mimicking Homer Simpson?s, ?D?oh!? Of course practice makes perfect ? everybody knows that!

Yes, they do. Everybody knows it and yet almost nobody does it. How about you? How often do you actually practice your sales techniques?

As a sales manager, I could predict the collective groan from my sellers when I announced that a meeting would be devoted to role-playing. I always invited my staff to rehearse their client presentations with me but I got very few RSVPs. Practicing takes time ? a valuable commodity to busy account executives ? so most sellers prefer to hone their techniques by testing the results with actual customers. While this approach may (slowly) improve performance, it hardly qualifies as practice. (One hopes our surgeons follow a different path.)

This conundrum ? recognizing the value of practice but refusing to do so ? is thoughtfully addressed in The Knowing-Doing Gap written by Pfeffer and Sutton (2000). The book offers many examples of intellectual failures and its subtitle ? How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action ? invites substitution of ?Sellers? for ?Companies.? Perhaps I can encourage my readers to add a practice regimen with some impressive name-dropping.

Besides being famous and wealthy, Tiger Woods, Lebron James, and Roger Federer share two other significant traits. First, their arduous practice habits are the stuff of legend. Although naturally gifted, these men outwork their competition with relentless rehearsals. Second, they are elite performers in their respective fields.

And these characteristics are not unique to athletes. I worked alongside billionaire Mark Cuban in a Bloomington bar while we both attended Indiana University ? I was the deejay spinning records, he was the manager. Mark wasn?t particularly interested in the club business but he seized the opportunity to perfect his entrepreneurial marketing ideas. Supported by a cadre of his rugby pals, Cuban managed the hottest bar in this college town. So, how did that ?practice thing? work out for him?

I?m not going to suggest that forcing yourself to practice will add nine 0?s to your net worth. But I will argue that structured rehearsal of your techniques can put ?elite? performance within your grasp. If achieving that lofty status is of interest to you, use the following guidelines to shape your efforts.

What to practice? Virtually everything you do. The Client Needs Analysis questionnaire, face-to-face presentations, and closing techniques are prime examples of selling-process functions that will undoubtedly benefit from rehearsals.

How to practice? Critique your own style (facial expressions, hand gestures) in front of a full-length mirror. Because they share your industry knowledge, rehearsing for your peers can identify content gaps or errors. Practicing in front of family and friends will test your ability to hold audience attention. For better or worse, those closest to you are likely to be your harshest critics.

I recognize that sellers are (or should be) really busy and they are understandably reluctant to add tasks that don?t offer a direct revenue-producing component. But part of establishing priorities includes incorporating long-term versus short-term values. Attaining elite level status really is a marathon, not a sprint. And that route will be measurably shorter for account executives who carve out the time for practice, practice, practice.

Jon E. Horton is the author of The 22 Unbreakable Laws of Selling available in both paperback and Kindle versions from Amazon.com. For more of his blogs, please visit www.JonEHorton.com. Comments to Jon@JonEHorton.com.

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College FM In Springfield Sells For $1.3 Million

10-21-14

Greg Guy and Jason James of Patrick Communications fill us in on the details in Missouri. 100,000-watt KWFC-FM (airing a Southern Gospel format) is sold to Radio Training Network, which is run by James Campbell. Radio Training also owns KWND-FM in Springfield, as well as 24 other stations in 14 markets. The seller was Baptist Bible College.

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Kassan To Co-Chair Forecast 2015

8-25-14

MediaLink founder and Chairman/CEO Michael Kassan will serve as advertiser co-chair for Forecast 2015, set for November 19, 2014, in New York. Kassan joins co-chair Katz Media Group CEO Mark Rosenthal. "Advertisers have become a critical part of our annual Forecast conference, and we are pleased to continue our history of attracting the very finest in the industry," said Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads. "Michael Kassan has a brilliant mind. As CEO of MediaLink, a company that strategically connects the dots between Silicon Valley, Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and Wall Street, he can provide powerful insights as well as some great changes to our format this year."

Kassan said, "I?m excited to be co-chairing the Forecast event with Mark Rosenthal. As a longtime part of the ad industry, I've worked across different forms of media and am convinced of the huge value of radio -- so much so that I do a monthly radio show, MediaLinked, where I talk with thought leaders in the advertising and marketing community. Radio has evolved over the years, but it certainly remains an important and vibrant way for marketers to reach consumers. I'm thrilled to help bring agencies, advertisers, and radio executives together to discuss the landscape of the radio industry and its future.?

Kassan founded MediaLink in 2003 as a transformational partner for leading media, marketing, and technology companies. MediaLink guides its clients through an ever-more-fragmented media landscape. As its CEO, Kassan led the strategic advisory firm's expansion into executive search, agency benchmarking/review, and marketing optimization. Kassan himself is a special adviser to numerous CEOs on issues from corporate strategy and partnerships to mergers and acquisitions. He is also a noted blogger and an in-demand speaker at industry conferences, and hosts MediaLinked: Inside Advertising and Media with Michael Kassan on WOR/New York and iHeartRadio.

Radio Ink EVP/GM Deborah Parenti said, "It's always a challenge to up the game, but Forecast 2015 has every indication of delivering the broadest-ranging, yet most strategically focused, agenda in its 12-year history. Michael Kassan understands not only the importance of tomorrow's platforms, business models, systems, and processes but how they will impact the business of radio over the coming years and how the industry should be prepared to take advantage of them."

Register for Forecast HERE

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WYD To Rep Spreaker For Ad Sales

10-21-2014

Spreaker is an international digital company that provides broadcasters, musicians, and producers a platform where they can listen to original content or upload their own content and distribute it on http://www.spreaker.com/. Ron Hartenbum's WYD Media will now represent Spreaker nationally for advertising sales. WYD will also assist Spreaker with overall brand management. Hartenbaum said, ?The platform is an organic community of people who really want to be there and are actively participating. I?m excited about tapping into that marketplace by creating and aggregating cohesive content with Francesco and our clients.? 

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Guthrie to Talk With Farber, Smith

10-17-14
Cox Media Group EVP/Radio Kim Guthrie will be at Forecast 2015 -- and we hope you'll be there too! If you're at the Harvard Club on November 19, you'll have a chance to hear Guthrie talk with RAB President/CEO Erica Farber and NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith in a conversation onstage and off the record (Forecast has a no-press policy). These industry leaders are set to talk candidly about the state of the business, as well as their initiatives, objectives, and vision for the year ahead.

At the RAB, Farber sets the tone for how radio presents itself to advertisers, while Smith represents radio in DC as the head of one of the country's most influential trade associations. Very different roles, but both key to radio's future -- and you shouldn't miss what they have to say. Register for Forecast today.

Kim Guthrie is Cox Media Group's (CMG) executive vice president/radio, with oversight of all of CMG's radio markets. Prior to this role, Guthrie was SVP of radio for Cox Media Group, and before that, she was group VP, overseeing 31 CMG TV and radio properties. She also previously held the position of regional vice president for Cox Radio. Guthrie joined Cox Radio in 1998 as VP/GM for its Long Island, New York properties. She was elected to the NAB board this year and also serves on the executive board for the RAB.

Erica Farber is president and CEO of the RAB. She joined the organization in January of 2012 as EVP for membership, services, and professional development and rose to her current post later in the year. Before that she was CEO of radio consulting and Internet service provider the Farber Connection, founded in 2010. During her 15-year tenure at Radio & Records, she served as COO, president, publisher, and CEO. Earlier in her career, Farber was VP/Radio Development Director at Interep.

Gordon Smith is president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters. Before joining NAB, he served as a two-term U.S. senator from Oregon and later as senior adviser in the Washington offices of Covington & Burling, LLP. During his tenure in the Senate, Smith's committee assignments included the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the panel that oversees all broadcast-related legislation.

Register today:

Forecast 2015
November 19, 2014
Harvard Club
New York
www.radioinkforecast.com

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Garcia Adds Chief Revenue Duties At SBS

10-21-14

Spanish Broadcasting System has appointed Eric Garcia as radio division revenue chief. He'll be responsible for revenue at all of the SBS radio properties and report to SBS COO Albert Rodriguez. Garcia will continue in his role as GM of the SBS New York radio stations. He has been with SBS since 2004. Before that he was VP of sales for WSKQ-Mega 97.9 FM and WPAT-Amor 93.1 FM in New York.

Rodriguez said, "My appointment of Eric Garcia to a senior leadership role in SBS represents complete confidence that he will do an excellent job. He has demonstrated a capacity for leadership and management skills in improving New York?s station performance. We are asking him to extend those abilities to our other radio markets, please join me in welcoming Eric to his new position.?

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TV Gets Cross-Platform Ratings System

10-22-14

As Nielsen waits for the radio in-fighting to end over whether or not to measure Pandora as part of an online ratings service, Television is getting exactly what radio needs. It was announced Tuesday that Adobe and Nielsen are partnering to build a cross-platform system for measuring online TV, video and other digital content across the Web and apps. As the radio industry watches services like Pandora (see story #1) chip away at its revenue and listeners migrate to other devices, there is still no final decision on who will be measured by a new audio cross-platform ratings service from Nielsen, which is just about ready to be rolled out.

The service for Television, which begins in 2015,  is a collaboration of Nielsen's digital audience measurement products with Adobe Analytics and Adobe Primetime, digital analytics and online TV delivery platforms.  ESPN, IPG Mediabrands, Sony Pictures Television, Starcom MediaVest Group, Turner Broadcasting, Univision Communications Inc., Viacom and others will be part of the rollout of the new ratings system.

Read more about the TV announcement HERE

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Westwood One Extends Partnership with vCreative

10-21-14

Like many stations across the country, Westwood One is a client of vCreative using the popular management software in-house. The two companies have announced a new multi-year deal to continue that relationship. vCreative?s cloud-based terrestrial and digital software allows continuity, traffic, and production departments to work easily together. vCreative President Jinny Laderer said, "We look forward to working with (Westwood One's COO) Charles Steinhauer and a new and improved Westwood One. Steinhauer added, "vCreative is a great partner for Cumulus and the radio industry at large as they continue to innovate and improve station work flow. Westwood One is proud to extend our partnership with Jinny and her team as we continue to represent the best and brightest companies in the marketplace.?

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(SALES) What's Working At The Coalface

10-20-2014

Whit Adamson, the president of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, calls it ?pioneering.? I call it getting out in the field and seeing sales reps on their turf. I recently followed up with some sales reps who attended one of my seminars to see what they actually took back with them and what they are applying in the field. I was kind of startled.

Here are some of the results and maybe you and your staff can go over these points to see if you are using them in your sales department.

1) 100 percent closing ratio with the decision-maker once you get them on the phone. I always tell reps that in order to be a great rep, you have to learn how to set up appointments on the phone, so you are not just driving around all day and wasting time, gas, rubber, and causing wear-and-tear on your car. She said she gets 100 percent appointments. I asked her how she does that. She said she offers them two options at the 10, 20, 40, and 50. Never fails she says. In other words, she gives them two times like 11:10 a.m. or 2:40 p.m. They think I?m the busiest person in the market and the demand to see me is more than anybody else. ?Once I get that appointment,? she says, ?I sell them almost every time.?

2) Enthusiasm. I always say enthusiasm is half the battle with sales. Showing up is the first half. If you have enthusiasm about your product, then you will be successful selling your stations and your digital. I went to the turf of Verla Price, General Manager of Forever Communications in Jackson, Tennessee ? and I saw ?The Chant.? It was different than any I have used. I have to say it?s probably better. Verla has a specific chant her reps use as they are clapping away over about a 30-second period. I use table aerobics; Verla has a high-revving chant. What I loved about it was every rep is on board. That?s their culture. More than anything it?s the excitement that I saw and the passion they did it with. Maybe you can email Verla and have her send it to you. Vprice@forevercomm.com.

3) Listening and Bond speed-dating. My first unexpected call was on Katie Gambill?s group at 5 Star Media Group. Katie knew I was coming, though the reps didn?t. Derron Steenbergen lined up groups of three, with two reps each. The third group had Margaret our ?Bond girl? across from another sales rep. They had 60 seconds to learn as much about each other as they could. Derron set it up with Margaret in advance so she would do nothing but talk about herself during their 60 seconds. It resonated with those reps about how much we, as reps, tend to talk and don?t listen. They saw something of themselves in Margaret, where all we do is talk on the sales call. We should be asking questions, with 75 percent of the questions being opened-ended Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions, and 25 percent being closed-ended questions that guide and lead you in the selling process.

I could go on and on with what I learned in the field last week in Tennessee. I teach reps to go to the prospect/client; get out of the office and see them and develop that relationship with them. It was a good week of pioneering.

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.

(10/21/2014 12:47:21 AM)
Thank you Dick Taylor. We had a great week. Two months after and those TAB reps are really dialed in. It was exceptional to see their passion and how excited they are selling. I was kind of blown away in a few markets really. Some really...really great reps selling in Tennessee and Kentucky these days!
(10/21/2014 12:44:10 AM)
Thank you Whit Adamson and Doug Combs from the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. I learned a bunch. I also learned that unless you have an exceptional State Broadcast Association supporting you on doing something like what we did last week...no chance. You made that work for your stations and they love TAB. I would know-I was there in Clarksville when they chanted "We Love TAB."
(10/20/2014 11:34:36 AM)
Sean worked hard all week for us, both with his travels to meet directly with our stations and from the TAB Conference Room where we could schedule a tightly wound shift of meetings. It was the perfect compliment and follow up to our full day of sales training during our Annual Conference. The TAB learned, Sean learned, our sales people learned and the clients will benefit.
(10/20/2014 9:57:49 AM)
Sean, great advice and it's all true. The scheduling choice offer is a great way to get an appointment via the phone. Verla's picture is next to the word ENTHUSIASM in my dictionary and having Margaret go on & on & on about herself was illuminating about how NOT to learn about your customer. Your training in Tennessee at the TAB was stellar. I'm glad I had a chance to experience it first hand -- or as Whit says "do a little pioneering."

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(SALES) More Big Thinking From Small Markets

10-20-2014

There is no question now that broadcast radio and television stations are losing revenue share to search engines like Google. Local direct decision-makers are taking dollars previously spent in broadcast and plowing them into search-engine marketing companies.

Leave it to a smart small-market manager like Bud Kitchens with East Texas Broadcasting, Inc. to come up with talking points we can all use to dissuade our clients from spending their budgets on search engines.

Bud ran across an article about a local direct client, a locksmith, who is suing Google and other search engines for allegedly violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO. The suit alleges that the search sites purposefully load false listings, making legitimate businesses pay more to be at the top of the search listings.

The lawsuit claims that Google, Yellowbook, Ziplocal, and others are including fraudulent locksmith companies in their search results, deliberately deceiving consumers and causing the locksmith service direct monetary harm.

Bud is telling his clients that it is better to be sought after than searched for. A good broadcast campaign shows consumers why it?s in their best interest to seek after our client?s business. He says that using a search engine is kind of like playing Russian Roulette. You don?t know who will be chosen and called. Bud says that a good spot with a catchy phone number works better than any search engine or Yellow Pages.

Being sought after is definitely better than having to be searched for. Spread the word, because Bud Kitchens is right.

Paul Weyland is a local direct sales trainer, author, and broadcast consultant. Contact Paul at 512 236 1222 or at www.paulweyland.com . Paul?s books, Successful Local Broadcast Sales and Think Like an Adman, Sell Like a Madman are available on amazon.com or Paul?s website.

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Would You Give This Candidate Free Airtime?

10-21-14

This plea for free airtime comes from Republican incumbent Clayton Fiscus who says because his opponent John Pulasky reads the weather on KATL-AM in Miles City, he deserves an equal amount of time from the station to campaign. KATL station manager Donald Richard told the Billings Gazette it's not going to happen. "It might be possible to receive faint audio of KATL 770 AM?s signal in Billings, but Billings isn?t part of the area in which KATL provides ?city-grade? service, neither is the legislative district for which Fiscus and Pulasky are competing. If you look at the line, what we consider our city-grade line, we?re 30 miles, 40 miles from Billings. The FCC sets up protections for radio stations.? The Gazette reports Fiscus cost Pulasky his job at Northern Broadcasting five months earlier, where he did the weather for 24 years.

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR SALESPEOPLE

3-26-14

The Programming Department at your radio station is very good at telling us when they hire a new PD, morning show or afternoon drive jock. And we love to write about them. We also know how important salespeople and sales managers are. They are grinding it out on the streets with more competition than ever in an economy without a Mustang engine. We also want to brag about your sellers. Tell us all about your new sales hires, Sales Manager promotions or company award winners. Everyone loves to see their name in lights...some like the extra pat on the back more than money in their pocket. Send all the details - and a photo - to edryantheeditor@gmail.com

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Man Who Jumped From Tower Was 38

10-21-14

Police have identified the man who jumped off a tower owned by Press Communications in Neptune, New Jersey. Thirty-eight-year-old Christopher Zweidinger of Manchester was pronounced dead at the scene after jumping from 200 feet up. NJ.com reports Zweidinger?s vehicle was found at the scene, and his identification and a suicide note was found inside. It's the second suicide from the tower this year. 

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