Radio Ink Magazine November 8, 2021

My love affair with radio is no secret. Anyone who knows me knows there is a place in my heart that belongs to radio. But if I have gained anything over the past few years — even before COVID — it’s a healthy respect and admiration for all broadcast. Radio and television. It hit home when my hometown, Dayton, was struck by tragic events in May and August of 2019. A devastating tornado was followed months later by a horrific shooting incident that left nine people dead on a popular street one Saturday night. Throughout the tragedy of those incidents, what stood out to me was the coverage and the comfort broadcasters, radio and television, provided the market in a timely and respectful fashion. Radio did what radio always does best —…

Did you know that mood and mode share the same root word? 1 I point this out because you cannot take your listener where you want them to go until you first meet them where they are. And where they are is in one of two different moods, or modes, of shopping: transactional mode and relational mode. Each of us operates in both modes, but we tend to choose our mode according to the category. If the category in question is one in which you 1) have no interest; 2) have a name in mind that you feel good about 2 ; and 3) are willing to spend money to save time, you will approach that purchase in relational mode. If the category in question is one in which you 1) have an…

For a long time, the hard part about getting podcasting implemented as part of the regular day-to-day for broadcasters was convincing the talent and the programmers that podcasts were important, wouldn’t hurt their ratings, and would increase the brand awareness for both the station and the talent. We’re now seeing that podcasts are a part of almost every talent’s repertoire and a key to success for the modern radio broadcaster. Now the big question is, “How do we make money off these things?” That is where it can get tricky and requires more creative tactics for the local radio sellers. Here are some ideas that have been working in the broadcast community, and hopefully they can inspire you as you move from creating podcasts to monetizing them. • Don’t sell by CPM. Most…

A recent Audiocon presentation by iHeart-Media highlighted multiple insights on the growing importance for businesses of building an audio brand. None more important than one statistic getting free rent in my head since I heard it: “Thirty percent of people’s time is now spent on audio, but only 8% of brands are spending on audio.” This is more than an opportunity; it’s a wide gap that needs to be tightened so all audio listening platforms can rise to meet this demand together. Radio is facing many challenges, including the bandwidth to integrate podcasting revenue strategies into an already strained and overworked sales and production staff. But what if you were to set aside those concerns for the time it takes to read this article, and we took a minute or two…

A week doesn’t go by without someone, usually a former broadcaster, telling me how radio is dying and that the digital streaming platforms — Apple Music Radio, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more — are bringing about the industry’s death. My response varies depending upon what I perceive to be the intelligence and experience level of the soothsayer. The reality of the situation is that radio, for the most part, has suffered some serious self-inflicted wounds — and at a most inopportune time, as the level of competition from other media is increasing. Radio has done a lot to degrade the listening experience. That includes increasing the commercial load, lowering production standards for those same commercials, diminishing the value of personalities, degrading audio quality, less marketing and promotion to offset natural cume…

Keeping account executives motivated can sometimes be a challenge. Throughout COVID-19, AEs lost accounts and were financially strained, distracted, and discouraged, and many are still rebuilding their account lists. Post-pandemic, I incorporated a few new ideas to help keep my team focused and motivated. I told myself, “It’s time to make radio fun again.” Below, you will find six ideas to help motivate your team. 1. Celebrate the small wins. We’re all looking for the big fish, so sometimes the small wins are overlooked. Even if it’s not a contract, but, for example, filtering through the gatekeeper that landed the AE with the decisionmaker, that’s a small win. Celebrate it in your meetings or one-on-ones. Recognize the big and small wins. It builds morale. 2. Develop goals for growth, beyond your company. You’re…