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10-16-2012
Bruce Mittman is in a unique position. Not only is he the CEO of a successful advertising firm in Boston, he owns radio stations in upstate New York. Mittman purchased the upstate New York (Watertown) stations with former Pilot Communications owner Jim Levin. His advertising agency bills over $30 million a year and includes prominent clients such as the Subaru Dealers of Boston. In his dual role, Mittman has to buy radio for his clients and sell radio to local advertisers for his stations. He says there is a perspective, outside the industry, that radio is dead and satellite and digital now own the audio space. He also says radio salespeople do not sell radio, they respond to avails, and radio no longer markets itself the way it used to.
Take a listen to Buzz Knight's full interview with Bruce Mittman.
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.
Read more articles by Buzz Knight HERE
(10/16/2012 5:03:39 PM)
Ever heard a station rep say "We aren't qualified or staffed to produce the kind of campaign you need, Mr. Advertiser. Maybe an agency or some other station is the way to go."...? Didn't think so.
(10/16/2012 11:28:38 AM)
Lets play Wack-A-Rep. Stop characterizing radio reps as spot schlepping vermin. agencies don't want radio's help. once in a while you might find an agency who is open to an idea but for the most part advertising agencies are closed minded and controlled centered. agencies always have to have a bad guy, that's the game they play. agencies need to realize the resources they are over-looking in radio.
(10/16/2012 10:52:49 AM)
From a Top 5 Market perspective, this is bogus. Top 5 Market sellers know there is no success without local direct accounts and nurturing that business. This may be true for the small brand, small market broadcast companies. Over here in the big leagues, this isn't a worry. If we only worked avails, we wouldn't have over 25% of our sellers making over 150k per year.
(10/16/2012 10:44:49 AM)
Agree fully, Tony. However, when the rep shows up with "Wanna buy some spots?" they do so because a.) they have no consulting expertise on which they can consult and, b.) they have no spots that will do the job.
As to marketing the station: We already have "Playing the best music of all time - forty minutes - commercial-free." I mean, that's a description of advertiser heaven... is it not? What more could they possibly want?
Someone once said that radio is in the business of moving products off our clients' shelves. Ratings and great content aside, that's 100% accurate.
Radio sellers are more concerned about submitting the order and getting to the next avail. Once the client is on the air, most AEs stop paying attention.
What they should be doing is worrying about the creativity and effectiveness of the campaign they just sold.
Consultative selling, not order taking, will reduce churn and increase revenue.
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