4-7-2014
Greetings from Las Vegas! Home to the 100,000 tech-happy television, radio, Internet/digital, mobile, how-to-get-movie-financing, and almost-everything-else-you-would-want-to-know folks at this year?s NAB Show.
As Marissa Mayer, Yahoo?s CEO, said at the World Economic Forum in January, ?The rapid adoption of smartphones and the applications that run on mobile devices will make 2014 a ?tipping point? that radically changes the way people work and live. Ms. Mayer also said 2014 would be the crossover year for Yahoo, which for the first time expects more traffic from its users on mobile phones and tablets than on personal computers. I often kid Margaret, my Liquid Fire sales seminar co-star, that her boyfriend is her Smartphone because he never leaves her side. It seems like everybody is on their cell phone all the time -- they can't be without it.
What does this sales guy know about technology? Not much, actually. Just how to sell it is about all.
In 2000, we did an 18-city seminar tour sponsored by Radio Ink magazine and a lot of help from the Radio Advertising Bureau. I had Dennis Heinz with me on that tour and our seminar included a section on developing and selling the Internet. Some TV and radio stations were just starting to figure it out in 2000. One of the pioneers was Nick Frost, the owner of SILK FM in Kelowna, British Columbia, who in 2000 started a small local community website called Castanet.net. On that tour, I do think we were about seven years ahead of the curve on the selling of the Internet. True, there were some who were selling their content on their broadcast websites, though they were few and far between. Most were giving away their Internet.
2007 is when I saw the ?shift? take place with the SMLB (small-medium-large businesses) where they were ?Shifting? their advertising dollar and taking money out of traditional GRP (gross rating point) media like print, TV and radio and actually buying local internet media. The ?Great Recession? came in 2008/2009 and accelerated money being put into national and local internet media as SMLB were looking to hold their advertising dollar more accountable as they found out they could measure, source and track their online dollars.
Now, it?s 2014. 14 years from the ?start? of the media Internet revolution and seven years away from the ?shift? of where local media dollars are spent. We have finally arrived at the tipping point and I?m excited to see some of the sessions at this year?s NAB Show in Las Vegas. Here are a few of them that I will be looking at closely:
-- ?Mythology Entertainment: Innovative Storytelling in Mythic Proportion.? This is about discovering, developing, packaging, and producing high-profile motion picture projects. This one is for my personal use and a personal interest of mine.
-- The seminar called ?The Players? with George Leith and Vendasta Technologies from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I see the struggles that SMLB have with their online presence and how they manage, or do not manage, their Web and social media strategies. From managing their online presence to having a full-blown digital agency, Vendasta has been making waves all over North America, especially through the print media sales reps. Maybe it?s time the huge sales forces in the broadcasting industry got on board helping SMLB with their digital footprint.
Being an obvious fan of Erica Farber and the Radio Advertising Bureau, I?m looking forward to the sessions the RAB has a part in producing:
-- RAB?s ?Rapid Fire Revenue Generators for Small and Medium Market Radio? hosted by Gary Shorman from Eagle Communications. I?m excited to see the ideas that come out of this session in rapid fire.
-- ?40 Secrets To Successful Radio Management?: Overall, top to bottom, this looks like a really good Tuesday afternoon. This includes a leadership segment by Steve Newberry and a part on motivating your employees by Deon Livingston. Then there?s time management with Matt Sunshine, and I always know Laurie Kahn ?brings it? on hiring the right people.
Just a couple others that I noticed: ?Gannett Broadcasting Panel: Current Trends and Thoughts on Interactive TV.? And I want to see what Rick Ducey and BIA/Kelsey have to say about ?Main Street: The SMB Perspective.?
And there is, of course, the NAB Show Opening Party at Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub that we can?t miss.
See you there!
Sean Luce is the Head National Instructor at Luce Performance Group International and can be reached at Sean@luceperformancegroup.com or www.luceperformancegroup.com.
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