Radio Ink Magazine January 11, 2021

The past year has altered life in many ways. It goes without saying that there are many devastating stories that have resulted from the pandemic. As someone wisely noted, we may be in the same storm, but we are all in different boats. Which brings to mind another part of this human drama in which we find ourselves. It’s that revealing slice of life we could not have dreamed of at the dawn of 2020, the one that turned back the curtain on certain previously understood formalities. We may be socially distanced and masked in public, but we’ve become more up close and personal than ever before. And we’ve gotten to know each other in ways we could not have imagined a year ago. Beyond the six feet that distance us and…

This is what good marketers see when they close their eyes: 1. Win the heart and the mind will follow. The mind of the customer will always create logic to justify what the heart has already decided. 2. We buy what we buy to remind ourselves — and announce to the world around us — who we are. 3. A tribe is made up of self-selected insiders. 4. Identify a tribe (an affinity group). 5. Develop that tribe. 6. Market to the tribe you have developed. 7. Gathering your tribe is easy: In your first encounter, make sure they win big. Give them far more than they gave you. 8. All of the above can be summarized in two words: identity reinforcement. 9. Entertainment purchases the time and attention of a too-busy public. 10. Television and radio, YouTube videos, blog…

2020 should teach us that radio is the strongest, most directly connected medium for immediate and vital information, companionship, and, now, innovation. I for one have more promotions, ideas for client categories, and planned-out promotional schedules than I have in my entire career. 2020 can be the year that makes us look at everything as an industry and find the things that matter most. Like our connection to our audience, how many people we keep company during a pandemic when they may otherwise be alone, and, most of all, recognizing the people from your team who stepped up, put their heads down, and were there for their station and their community no matter what was happening in the world around them. To me, steady, calming leadership that brings people together is how…

This has likely been the most challenging period for this generation of managers. There’s no need to recount the pain, obstacles, fear, and unnerving demands we have all encountered. And if you did not know it before, you know it now: Job One is managing people and problems. Certainly, there is no blueprint for what we are enduring, or what we have learned along the way. But when we faced other issues, like a deep recession and 9/11, we pivoted, adjusted, and survived. This will end, we will return to pre-COVID conditions, and we will be better prepared for the next crisis. The editors at Radio Ink asked if I would share some of what our leadership team enacted during 2020 to keep our organization calm, energized, hopeful, and performing at its…

Just south of Denver off of I-25, on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, is Franktown, Colorado. Front Range Landscape and Nursery has been in business in the area for nearly 50 years. “My dad started the business in 1974,” says owner Hubert Aguirre. “I took it over because I guess it’s just in the blood. When my dad ran the business, there wasn’t much advertising being done. It’s probably over the last seven to eight years we are doing more radio, some television and print.” The 30 employees at this business specializing in landscaping and selling large trees have been busy — very busy, according to Aguirre, even during the pandemic. “I’ve been a steady advertiser during COVID,” he says. “We have been the fortunate ones; we have been…

2020 will go down as one of the worst years in the history of radio, thanks to COVID-19. We started to see something of a recovery toward the end of the year and heading into 2021, but there’s still a long way to go. We asked several of Radio Ink’s 2020 Best Managers how they see the radio industry coming out of this situation. Here’s what they had to say. Radio has adapted and changed constantly over the last 100 years. I am confident, as we start the next 100 years, we are ready to meet the new challenges of our post-pandemic world. This crisis has accelerated the need to adapt and prepare for the future. I believe as long as radio stays focused on making a difference in the lives…