Radio Ink Magazine February 10, 2020

“A stupid decision that works out well becomes a brilliant decision in hindsight.” — Daniel Kahneman It’s a human trait most of us can relate to, one that both inspires dreamers and nourishes path seekers. It’s the age-old story of someone who defies all the odds to come out a winner. They started in a garage, didn’t graduate from college, peddled their product door-to-door, and eventually became industry icons, admired and respected in their field of expertise. Or they overcome physical limitations, poverty, or graduating at the bottom of their class, only to rise like cream to the top of their profession. These are great stories, ones that drive us to hang on a little longer and strive a little harder. And there’s nothing wrong with dreaming “the impossible dream.” Still, a strong argument can…

My most successful ads are typically the ones where I refrain from using logic, and choose instead to speak to the unconscious mind. Advertise your client’s product to the conscious mind of the customer and you will likely be met with doubt, lack of interest, and suspicion. But the unconscious mind greets you with none of these. Speaking to the unconscious is not nearly so complicated as it sounds. Here’s a recent example. A big jewelry store asked for ads that would trigger interest in star sapphires and in custom jewelry. The instructions I was given were typical of those received by most ad writers: “What makes a star sapphire different from regular sapphires is the asterism that lends a mystical element. Asterism is caused by small needle-like inclusions of the mineral rutile.…

Colin Walsh started Varo Money four years ago. His goal is to create the first fully digital bank in America because, he says, the banking system as it is set up today is not working for consumers. To accomplish his goal, he turned to radio to help get his message out. In late 2019, Varo Money announced a multimillion-dollar three-year marketing campaign with iHeartMedia. As part of the campaign, Varo plans to use all of iHeart’s platforms to promote the company, with radio being the workhorse. Radio Ink spoke to Walsh about why he chose radio and how he plans to use the medium to help his company grow and succeed. Radio Ink: Why did you decide to use radio to help get the word out? Colin Walsh: There are so many people…

Michael Rakeman and Brian Schiele have been helping people achieve the American dream of home ownership since 2002, and they took a leap of faith in September 2015, starting Fellowship Home Loans. Licensed in nearly 30 states, this NYC-based direct lender uses local radio and national syndicated radio, through Salem Radio Network, to connect with customers coast to coast. Rakeman shared with Radio Ink how the power of radio sets FHL apart from other mortgage companies. Radio Ink: You are in a very competitive business. What makes Fellowship Home Loans different? Rakeman: Mortgage companies are a dime a dozen these days. We are a direct lender. We use the same tools as other businesses, but the difference here is the people who make up the company. In every aspect of our business,…

This is one of my favorite questions to ponder. It has always amazed me how radio can be so vertical, even to its detriment. Most of us started out selling, and we sold one AM and one FM. Consolidation hit, and all of a sudden we were responsible for selling seven stations or more. As a whole, radio performed very poorly at maximizing all these new revenue streams. In smaller markets that did not or were not able to have separate staffs, we still had one or two dominant stations that received all the attention and the lion’s share of the revenue. Now we are adding digital products, and as an industry, we are failing. Radio is 8% or so of the total advertising pie. Digital is now exceeding 50%. Again,…

The simple, most basic truth you need to know is this: You can’t sell anything to anyone, anywhere, if they don’t trust you. Not more than once, anyway. Period. End of story. So ask yourself, where do you think you rank on the trust scale in your prospects’ and clients’ minds? Are you at the top of the scale? Consumer surveys have indicated that pharmacists rank high in trust — as opposed to politicians and, yes, salespeople. That said, how do you up your trust level? First, let’s examine how you achieve trust to begin with. Look in the mirror and see how you perform in each of these critical trust-building activities: Youearn trust. Nobody gives it to you. You can’t buy it. Just ask a politician. You build it yourself. The…