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Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Dave Santrella, President of Broadcast Media at the Salem Media Group.

In this edition of Radio on Main Street, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB speaks with Dave Santrella, President of Broadcast Media at the Salem Media Group. Salem is a multi-media company specifically targeted to audiences interested in Christian, family-themed content and conservative values.  The radio division focuses on three strategic programming formats reaching that audience.

Although their revenue model is slightly different, the company faces similar issues as secular radio. As Dave says, “At the end of the day, it all starts with a phone call. People buy from people and we all need to provide reasons to make someone want to meet with us.”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media.

Understanding how radio listeners consume media and how technology affects their habits and behaviors as radio listeners is important information to know.  Since the early 2000’s Jacobs Media, whose focus is guiding media companies in this age of digital disruption, has been aggregating multiple radio station databases to generate and publish a national study entitled “Tech Survey.”

In this edition of Radio on Main Street, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB speaks with Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media.  Having recently released the 2018 survey results Fred shares some of the important learnings and strategic takeaways.

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Jeffrey Hedquist, Known as “Advertising’s Storyteller.”

In this episode, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB, speaks with Jeffrey Hedquist. Jeffrey is known as “advertising’s storyteller.” He is a commercial creator who has won hundreds of advertising awards and works directly with advertisers, agencies and radio stations.

An advocate for advertisers, he believes strongly in using the power of storytelling to help tell the advertisers message. His message to radio is to not write commercials but to create stories that engage the listener. More importantly, stories that engage the listeners are stories about the listeners.

Radio on Main Street from the Radio Mercury Awards:  What Makes a Great Radio Commercial

What makes a great radio commercial?  We put that question to the attendees of The Radio Mercury Awards held May 31st at the Cutting Room in New York.  The Radio Mercury Awards is the only competition exclusively devoted to radio and was established in 1992 to encourage and reward the development of effective and creative radio commercials. This year’s theme was “Sound Makes the Story.”

In this special edition of the Radio on Main Street Podcast, we turned on our microphones as our guests gathered for this year’s event and asked them to share with us, what makes a great radio commercial.

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Ruth Presslaff, Founder and President of Presslaff Interactive Revenue

One word dominating the media world today is data and its importance in understanding our listeners, helping agencies and advertisers with their buying decisions, and analyzing the success of their marketing campaigns.

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB, speaks with Ruth Presslaff, Founder and President of Presslaff Interactive Revenue. You may have read Ruth’s company was recently acquired by Second Street and working in tandem, both companies are working with local media companies on their data and email strategies. How do we know what data to look at, to use and to collect? In each case the data needs to be relevant for our listeners and effective for our advertisers.

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Bill McElveen, Executive Vice President of the Eastern Region for Alpha Media

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB, speaks with Bill McElveen, Executive Vice President of the Eastern Region for Alpha Media.  One of the many strengths of local radio is the difference it makes in a person’s life. It is truly the voice of the local community.

Listen as they discuss the state of local broadcasting, the importance of creating remarkable content and the need for the industry to focus on creating value for the advertiser.

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Craig Swagler, General Manager of CBS News Radio Network

News by definition is meant to inform and provide all of us with information we need to make the best possible decisions we can that affect our lives and our communities.

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB, speaks with Craig Swagler, General Manager of CBS News Radio Network. They discuss the state of news in general and its importance in radio today.

In the Age of Outcome, Radio Has Some Great Stories to Tell

Author: Tammy Greenberg, SVP Business Development, RAB

At a recent MediaPost conference, one of the panelists responded to a question posed to him by stating that we have left the “exposure age” and we are now in the “age of outcome.” He further expressed his opinion that marketers, agencies and all media must continue to evolve to measure outcome in robust, transparent, statistically significant ways.

Data helps us reveal insights and craft stories of real outcome that enable advertisers to create relevant messaging for their audiences – messaging that will ultimately equate to high value touches with their consumers.

Continue reading “In the Age of Outcome, Radio Has Some Great Stories to Tell”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Ralph Martin, Music Education Coordinator for the Vacaville Christian School’s Radio Conservatory

This past week, April 21 to 28, a little known but exciting part of radio’s landscape was celebrated – it was high school radio week.  With multiple high school stations broadcasting across the country, Erica Farber, President & CEO of the RAB, connected with Ralph Martin, Music Education Coordinator for the Vacaville Christian School’s Radio Conservatory where for the last four years they have officially been broadcasting 24/7 KVCB, 100.9 FM in Vacaville, California, a town located about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.

In honor of this special occasion, the station had just come off a live 24 hour marathon inviting local bands and broadcast alumni alongside their current student broadcasters.  As we think about the next generation of broadcasters, Ralph shares that “our kids are going to be OK.”  It’s a positive outlook on the future of broadcasting and the future of our society in general.  If you want to hear for yourself, you can stream the station at kvcb-online.com and click “Listen Live.”

HD Radio – Driving Radio’s Digital Dash

Author: Rick Greenhut, Director – Broadcast Business Development, Xperi / HD Radio

Increase spot impact by 550%

Wouldn’t it be great if a radio station could offer their biggest local auto dealer client the opportunity to increase their name recognition? How about enabling the agency for a home improvement chain to demonstrably enhance the effectiveness of their radio advertising? Federal legislation taking effect this May (and broadcasters’ investment in HD Radio technology) helps radio maintain preeminence in tomorrow’s dashboard while benefiting agencies and advertisers alike.

Continue reading “HD Radio – Driving Radio’s Digital Dash”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Charlie Sislen, Partner of Research Director Inc.

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB speaks with Charlie Sislen, Partner of Research Director Inc. With a focused approach they work with  programming and sales departments at radio stations to help them interpret their ratings, turn their data into knowledge and turn that knowledge into revenue.

In this podcast they discuss the importance of research, how to understand research, and how to use research to help radio tell its great story.

Radio’s Connection – On-air and Socially, Counts.

Author:  Fred Jacobs, President, Jacobs Media.

Since its inception, social media has been a much-discussed digital platform – especially in radio circles. The low cost of entry, the ease of interaction and its widespread popularity has made for a great opportunity for radio brands to connect with audiences in ways that were once not even possible.

In recent weeks, we’re learning more about the true toll of social media networks on our privacy and personal information. If we didn’t realize it before, we do now: there’s a cost to social media. Mark Zuckerberg did not provide us with a conduit to our friends, families, and listeners as a public service. He’s been monetizing our data. And we’ve been gladly checking off the “accept terms and conditions” box as we scroll through our news feeds.

Continue reading “Radio’s Connection – On-air and Socially, Counts.”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Paul Brenner, President of Tag Station and NextRadio

In this edition, Erica Farber, President and CEO of the RAB and Paul Brenner, President of Tag Station and NextRadio reconnect. We have heard a lot about FM chips in mobile devices but there is much more going on at NextRadio. Paul and his team provide stations with analytics to help advertisers and agencies capture ROI.

In this podcast they discuss how NextRadio has shifted gears and the current opportunities available for radio.

Radio’s Employed Audience: A True Competitive Advantage

Author: Andrew Curran, President and COO, DMR/Interactive

BIA Advisory Services reports that in 2017, revenue for AM/FM radio  “experienced a 0.2% drop from 2016 to end the year at $13.87 billion.”

This lackluster performance took place as consumer confidence was the highest it had been since 2000 and unemployment was its lowest, helping fuel a stock market boom.

Compounding the issue, BIA lists radio as the 5th most significant local advertising platform, behind direct mail, television, newspapers and mobile.

Continue reading “Radio’s Employed Audience: A True Competitive Advantage”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Seth Resler, the Digital Dot Connector for Jacobs Media Strategies

One of the big stories that continues to dominate the news is regarding Facebook and the disclosure that a third party British consulting firm used the social network to gather data on millions of people and in turn use that data for strategic communication for the electoral process.

With social media playing a large role in radio’s promotion and marketing efforts Erica Farber, President & CEO of the RAB thought it was a good time to reconnect with Seth Resler, the Digital Dot Connector for Jacobs Media Strategies.  Seth believes that Facebook’s problems are absolutely going to impact radio and to expect major changes in the future from this social media giant

Audio is Booming – Turn Up Your
Radio Strategy

Author: Jateen Parekh,  CTO and Co-Founder, Jelli.

Digital has transformed advertising in the last few years but audio as a medium has been left behind. Jateen Parekh, the CTO and co-founder at Jelli, shared his thoughts on the matter in an Adweek article entitled “Brands Need to Join the 21st Century and Tap Into Radio Advertising.”

In his piece, Jateen points to the fact that radio is a massive market – bigger than TV – that marketers have largely ignored, primarily because of the medium’s particular challenges.

Continue reading “Audio is Booming – Turn Up Your
Radio Strategy”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Mike Sherry, Vice President Sales for Forever Media

Erica Farber, President & CEO of the RAB sat down with Mike Sherry, Vice President Sales for Forever Media.

Forever Media has a company creed that details five responsibilities with the first one being to the advertisers that invest in their stations.  It states they, being the company, must always remember the customer expects and deserves results and increased profits.  With oversight of revenue for 51 stations in nine markets, Mike strongly believes everyone in radio sales today needs to focus on selling radio’s value.  And if everyone has pride in their radio stations and sells that value on a local basis, radio will continue to thrive.

Falling in Love with Radio

Author:  Pat Walsh, President & Chief Operating Officer, Emmis Communications

When the team at Emmis sits down to talk about what sets radio apart for our advertising clients, the discussion always leads back to the power of connection. Radio’s connection is an intensely personal relationship with personalities and content that has become a central part of the lives of nearly every American. The fact that this powerful connection comes in the form of an entertaining and ever expanding LOCAL content portfolio that includes broadcast audio content, events that excite and engage, and digital content that combines the power of audio, video and social, makes radio a truly special partner to the advertising community. Delivering on this intimate and connected local relationship makes radio a trusted friend in just about every American’s daily life. This type of relationship is what enables radio to continue to reach and resonate in the lives of 93% of Americans but it’s the trusted partnership radio has with its vast audience that feels special at this time of year.

Continue reading “Falling in Love with Radio”

Radio on Main Street Podcast Featuring Cristina Ceresoli Senior Vice President for Retail Strategy at the National
Retail Federation

Erica Farber, President & CEO of the RAB, spoke recently with Cristina Ceresoli, Senior Vice President for Retail Strategy at the National Retail Federation.

Cristina is responsible for NRF’s product offering and event content strategy with a specific focus on the customer experience and digital expansion for the retail industry. There are positive indicators coming from the retail sector which is good news for local Radio. As Cristina discusses, retail has the opportunity to connect and delight their customers something the Radio industry knows a lot about.

Radio Wins in Chicago – A Case Study

“Radio is the most important thing we use on the media side because it touches so many people.” 
Ed Wehmer, Founder, President & CEO, Wintrust Financial Corp.

“It’s personal, it’s daily & we can tell our story in an evolving way on radio.  That’s hard to do in other media.”
Diana Sikes, Senior Vice President, Art Van Furniture 

“We can target different demographics, change the message.  It’s a tremendous, flexible medium.” 
Roy Spencer, President & Owner, PermaSeal Basement Systems

“Radio is the core of our influence strategy.” 
John Alfirevich, Dealer Operator of Apple Chevrolet and President of the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers Association

These are real, current testimonials that speak to the effectiveness of radio and are highlights from a bi-product of the Radio Broadcasters of Chicagoland (RBC), a committee of the Illinois Broadcasters Association, focused on demonstrating the power, influence and evolution of radio as the most effective results-driven medium through innovative collaboration.

These testimonials represent phase 2 of what is called an “RBC Roadblock” concept where more than 40 radio stations in a single major market (Chicago) simultaneously air the :60 spot.  Phase 1 of the Roadblock campaign was first introduced through an unprecedented and uninterrupted “live” 30-minute “Town Hall Meeting” conversation between Hall of Fame broadcaster Bill Kurtis and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Since then, the “roadblock” concept has been used to support fundraising efforts for 2017 hurricane victims and, more recently, this campaign featured advertisers who believe strongly in the medium of radio.

The results have been terrific.  Click here for the case study.

Results:

Inaugural Event: Chicago Radio Town Hall Meeting

One third of the population listened to the broadcast.

7 in 10 Chicagoans were aware of the event, with nearly half knowing  about it prior to the air date.

88% of those who tuned in listened to all or most of the broadcast.

Eight in 10 adults dialed in to their preferred station.

The location of listening was equally split between those listening at home and away from home.