Skip to content

Local?

I’m a fan of Mark Ramsey’s blog “Hear 2.0.” Mark always has an interesting take on things pertinent to where Radio is at the moment. He’s also a big believer in the importance of content as am I.

He posted about “local” Radio last week. His comments revolved around how “local”  wasn’t relevant anymore due to the ever expanding ways we get our entertainment and information. If we use the word to describe the delivery device, I agree.

To me, “local” has always been about the content. If it’s of interest to the person hearing it, if it affects their life in some way, then it truly is “local” to them.

I’m not taking issue with Mark’s post, just humbly adding to it.

It’s getting harder and harder to remain the source for all things “local” to your listeners. The folks at BMW are about to make it even harder.

We’ve all heard that soon every car will be Internet capable opening up every Internet station and terrestrial station that streams to what has been local Radio’s stronghold.

Well, soon is now.

Up until now there wasn’t much progress being made in this area. This puts it right in our laps. It’s impossible to continue to ignore what we’ve known but have put off dealing with – the need to be hyper focused on Content.

Unless we become a “can’t miss” entertainment spot on the dial, we will be lost in the hundreds of choices consumers will soon have at their fingertips – in the car.

Consider this as you make your next hire; without playmakers in every position you’re not only vulnerable to the station across the street, you risk being replaced by any number of Radio choices from all over the world.

Make sure your on-air product is focused on the needs of your target audience. Do whatever is necessary to ascertain those needs and interests.

 As Mark points out, and BMW is about to exacerbate, when it comes to delivery devices there is no “local” anymore. You must entertain and inform your listener consistently to remain relevant to remain “local.”

Bob Glasco

Glasco Media

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – March 8, 2010

Creativity…

What’s new at your Radio station? If the answer is “nothing,” Houston, we have a problem. 

One of the biggest issues Radio stations face today is the silent killer of ratings and revenue known as “The Rut.” It’s where creativity runs to hide.

Its causes vary. “We’ve always done it this way.” “I don’t have time to think, I barely have time to do.” “I’ve got three stations to program and an airshift to do.”

As cost-cutting continues to consolidate jobs and turn what were already busy people into sleep-deprived, pressure-driven humanoids on auto pilot, we have seen a slowdown in the very thing that make Radio work: Creativity.

Regardless of whether you are on the programming, sales, engineering or management side, your creative force is most likely what got you into the business. It’s also a large factor in your success so far.

Most importantly it is at the very core of what will sustain Radio and insure its future in the increasingly crowded entertainment world.

As I said last week, Radio is the only audio delivery device that creates its own content. And that to survive and grow Radio must become known as THE audio content provider.

This will only happen if we continue to be a home for creative minds and we give those minds the time and the tools to create.

Who are the creative thinkers in your company…the Playmakers? Are they being bogged down with execution? More than likely that is the case. We try to hang on to creative minds even when cuts must be made. The problem comes when we cut off their ability to exercise their creativity by piling on the chores that must be completed everyday to keep a Radio station on the air.

It’s also worth noting that even the Playmakers are subject to the pitfalls of being human namely the need for the personal satisfaction that comes with accomplishing something no matter how small. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of day-to-day in a Radio station or any other business. These are the things we can cross off a to-do list and feel good about. They are also creative time killers. 

When you’re looking at your personnel flow chart, remember that everyone has to have time to create. Creativity can only happen if you leave some of those who have the ability to execute in place and give them adequate time to decompress, daydream, stare at the ceiling and, ultimately, be creative. Without that creativity your Radio station will soon be nothing more than noise to your listeners and a dark hole to your advertisers.

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – March 1, 2010

More Competition?

Here we go again. Another expert forecasts more doom and gloom for the Radio business. This time it’s Bob Struble, President and CEO of Ibiquity Digital.

To be fair, he doesn’t predict our demise but he does have a few observations after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as quoted in All Access last week that on the surface don’t appear to be too encouraging. Here’s a piece of the column:

I observed the continued development of new competition for AM/FM. I believe this trend will intensify in coming years. A few specific examples from the floor: Mobile DTV is here. Manufacturers launched the first devices supporting QUALCOMM’s FLO TV service and the first portable TVs incorporating the ATSC mobile DTV standard (including one with HD Radio Technology built in).

“The next wave of Internet radios, devices which look and act like regular radios but use WiFi networks to tune in thousands of Internet stations, were displayed. Automakers upped the ante on new infotainment services for cars with integrated in-vehicle mobile phone and internet, iPod/MP3 functionality, satellite radio and real time traffic and navigation.”

We’re all aware of the avalanche of personal entertainment devices over the last few years. Who would have thought just ten years ago that mobile technology would be where it is today.

There’s one reason why I continue to be positive about Radio’s future: None of these devices create content. Radio is the only audio delivery device that creates its own content … at least for now.

I realize this is a song you’ve heard from a variety of singers over the past couple of years but let me add one more verse. Radio must continue to be a CONTENT provider to stay alive. In fact, it must establish itself as THE content provider. Remember, “First in wins.”

 That means investing in the tools and people responsible for producing something consumers want to hear on their audio delivery device.

  It is your future. Don’t let Apple or anyone else steal it from you.

 Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – February 22, 2010

Winning…

This Olympic week “winning” is more top of mind than usual as talented athletes from around the world put their minds and bodies to the ultimate test.

The last two years we’ve all heard more than enough about “losing” in Radio and in business in general. Maybe it’s time to adopt an Olympic mentality and start thinking and talking about “winning.”

What is a “win” should be an easy question to answer, but it can be deceptively difficult.

You could be simplistic and say a win happens when you stop losing. In fact, that’s exactly what an owner from Texas said to me early in my consulting career when I asked him what his goal was. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Son, I’ve only got one goal right now and that is to stop losing so much @#$% money on this @&^% place!”

In Radio, winning is usually measured by things like ROI, Arbitron ratings and cash flow. In fact, it should be measured by all three. After all, it is possible to win in Arbitron but not in the other two if it costs more than you make to get a higher share or ranking. It’s also possible to win financially but at the expense of your ratings and eventually your financial future. Unfortunately, there is a lot of this very thing going on right now in our business.

To really win, that is for today and your tomorrows, consider this:

  • Start with a strategic plan. Be careful not to confuse this with tactics. Your strategy sets your course of action. Tactics are used in executing your strategy.
  • Know what a win really is for your Radio station. Does it have to be number one to be successful? If you don’t know you better figure it out before you start. Without this you won’t be able to decide on your strategy or to draft a plan.
  • Once you’ve decided on your goal, the one that brings success to the station, start working on the tactical design. What do you need to be famous for in the marketplace in order to achieve your goal? Who do you need to target? What kind of product do you need to produce? What should your marketing plan consist of?

Once the plan is complete, it’s time to execute. In the 20+ years that I’ve been a consultant this is where most plans that fail come up short. In most cases this is caused by the owner or manager thinking with the heart instead of the head in the planning meeting.  They made decisions that were not realistic.

This message could go on for several pages on the topic of good execution and successful planning, but let’s leave it at this: plan with your head not your heart and once you are in the execution mode go all out, and be prepared to lose. That’s right, I said be prepared to lose. If you don’t, you won’t go all out and that will surely lead to failure.

Please forgive the shameless solicitation but strategic planning and assistance with the execution of the plan is one of our specialties. We begin every consulting relationship with this meeting. If you already have a plan in place we review it to insure it’s still valid and discover where the execution may need help. If you don’t have one, I urge you to call us or someone with the expertise to guide you in developing one for your station. It’s vital to your short and long term success.

Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903  

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – February 15, 2010

Change….

For most human beings ”change” can be the scariest thing that ever happens to them. For others it is the most invigorating. 

Regardless of which side your emotional makeup puts you, it is imperative in business and life that you know how to handle it, and make it work for you and your company.

Keith Yamashita may be the most influential consultant you’ve never heard of.  For nearly a decade, his firm’s eclectic team of designers, writers, and technologists (plus a poet, a sociologist, an ex-attorney, and not a single MBA) has tackled tough problems for some of the world’s most powerful companies. 

Here’s a crash course from Keith on the art and science (mostly art) of creating strategy and unleashing change.  (My thoughts are in italics.)

*Outlaw PowerPoint. Write down your vision as a story — with a beginning, middle, and end — to clarify what must change first.  For us radio types it might be like writing a long promo.

*Don’t rely on words alone. Bring your thinking to life: Create an exhibit, use diagrams, prototype ideas.

*Make strategy an everyday act. The creation and re-creation of strategy shouldn’t be a process that you undertake only when budgets are due.  Keep your strategic plan close at hand and top of mind.  If your plan is sound, it will answer most of the questions that come along in your day.

*Argue forcefully against your most dearly held hypotheses.  Only then will you know if they stand up to scrutiny.  (Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and your strategy.  It’s the only way you and your plan will get better.)

*Make decisions, right or wrong. There’s nothing worse than waffling.  (Amen.)

*Take over your station.  Airtime is everything.  Reinforce your messages in everything that you do.  Use every ad, press release, store, package, and event to tell your story.

*Embrace thine enemy.  Make a list of the people who could legitimately stop your big idea from taking root.  Befriend them.  Convince them.  Make it their responsibility to improve on your vision.

*Don’t hold meetings longer than two hours.  (Otherwise they’re workshops, which require more planning.)  Don’t walk out of a meeting without assigning a name to every item that needs follow-up.  (And, who is responsible for making it happen.)

*Startle people.  Break out of your comfort zone, and do something unexpected.  Run an offbeat ad (promo).  Institute casual-dress Tuesdays.

*Don’t throw anything out.  Don’t kill ideas that won’t work right now.  Someday soon, the world might be ready for them.

Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , .

No comments

By admin – February 8, 2010

Motivation…

Motivation

“Incentive,” “inspiration,” “drive,” “enthusiasm,” “reason,” “purpose.” All these words can be found when you look for a definition of motivation.

 When I Googled “motivation” I got over seven million hits and some great quotes:

 ”Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein

  • Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do. – Confucius
  • “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” – Immanuel Kant
  • “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali.

 Great thought provoking words.

So, what motivates you?  Are you motivated by the need to provide for your family? Or maybe it’s your ego? What influence do your friends have?

In the end is fear what really motivates you? It is for me.

I’m afraid the world will pass me by if I ever stop running to keep up. Does that make me a workaholic? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Instead I think it makes me a person who is honest with himself and has learned to harness the fear we all have and make it a positive.

There are those of us who are frozen by our inner fears. These folks stopped evolving after their first success, if they were fortunate to have one. They were afraid to change.

Our biggest fear, I believe, is losing control; whether it’s of our body, mind or circumstance. The unpleasant reality is we never really have control over any of these, just varying levels of influence.

Without a clear-cut grasp of what is really motivating your actions and thoughts, you will be like a car with no steering wheel, or a business with no plan.

Think about it: Your true motivation is your life strategy. It’s what makes you live your life the way you do. In life as in business, if you don’t have a strategy or don’t know what your strategy is…

Recognize what really motivates you. Use it for “incentive,” “inspiration,” “drive,” “enthusiasm,” “reason,” “purpose” to keep learning and growing. 

Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , .

No comments

By admin – February 1, 2010

Influence…

Influence…..

Is there a single person in this world who isn’t trying to influence someone to do or say something? Our whole life revolves around our power to influence our surroundings to give us a better to life – to enable us to be happy.

But where does the power to influence come from?

When we are young just about everything and everyone influences us. We have very little free will. We’re told when to get up, when and what to eat, what to say and when to go to bed. Of course, if you’ve ever been in the armed services you know that carries over to your adult life, too!

As we begin life’s road toward maturity it’s get a bit harder to influence us. Anyone who has ever had children knows that.

By the time we hit maturity we’ve gained just enough knowledge about the world to be somewhat cynical of anything or anyone we are not familiar with.

So, how do we get to know people? Facts and factoids about products and issues of the day?

The Internet, of course.

We can easily and quickly spread our opinions and thoughts to more people than we ever could influence before. That ability to influence is what makes Social Networking the next “Big Thing” for marketers.

Whether we are marketing ourselves to potential listeners/viewers/readers or our advertiser’s products, done the right way we can make our message much more impactful by joining in the conversation in these various spaces.

That doesn’t mean out and out plugs for whatever you’re pushing. It does mean being an active and known participant in the conversation(s).

The secret is to become familiar to your potential audience. What does familiarity bring?

Credibility.

Credibility is Valhalla for marketers, and the Big Step that leads to the ability to influence.

Go here for information on how you might start a group discussion that will allow you to build credibility and influence. It’s OK to click. I don’t make any money from the click and I’m not associated with the company. It’s just one good way in.

Be careful though. As you consider your point of view on your favorite social networking site remember; anything you say can and will be used against you… 

Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – January 25, 2010

It’s About The Customer…

My good friend, former client and colleague Ray Edwards is renowned in the Internet marketing world as a copywriter and speaker. He recently had some thoughts on connecting to a potential customer. Our listeners and advertisers are our customers. His words will teach (or reminded you of) some keys to a successful relationship with both. 

Most copywriters and marketers would agree that if you could read your prospect’s mind, you could be a lot more successful writing copy for – and selling stuff to – those prospects.

Because you’d know their world.

You’d understand their pain.

You’d know their deepest fears, and you’d understand their highest aspirations.

So how do you do that? Here are seven practical tips. They sound simple, but when you actually use them their impact can be profound:

  1. Learn everything you can about your prospect. If you’re in direct marketing, it’s easy: just look at their data cards. When you have demographics, you can infer a lot about the “average” person who represents the group. If you don’t have that kind of data… guess. It’s a lot more accurate than what most marketers do (which is: they don’t bother with any of this stuff).
  2. Imagine yourself living your prospect’s typical day. Go through it step by step – from rising out of bed in the morning to getting back into the sack at night. Use all five of your senses: what do you see, hear, feel, taste, touch and smell? Make notes.
  3. Think about their biggest fear – the one that wakes them up at 3 in the morning in a cold sweat.
  4. Think about their highest aspiration – what do they dream of? Not the little dreams (the ones we all tell our buddies), but the big dream in their “secret heart” (the dream that they don’t dare tell anyone).
  5. Go where they live. Find a neighborhood that is like your prospect’s and walk through it (driving doesn’t work – looking at it through a window is just more TV… nice to look at but not REAL). Talk to people.
  6. Read what they read. Read their magazines, newspapers, blogs and Twitter.
  7. Watch what they watch. Watch the TV shows your prospects watch. Especially the ones that don’t interest you.

If you do this, you’ll develop the apparent ability to read your prospect’s mind.

And you’ll sell more.

But something funny about this is: you’ll also most likely care more. And that’s far more important than any selling technique.

The world’s a funny place, ain’t it?

Bob Glasco

Glasco Media

480-488-0903

bob@glascomedia.com

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – January 17, 2010

Revenue Ideas

Last week I mentioned increasing your online presence as a way to more revenue. The folks at Audio4cast have published eight ways to increase your presence that will surely lead to more revenue.

  1. Dedicate a full time position to creating online content for your website and stream. This is not the webmaster – not the person who writes the code. I’m hoping most stations already have that person. This is the Director of Digital Content who spends all day every day making your website, stream and various extensions interesting to your audience. The rest of this list has a lot to do with them.
  2. Put all the local information you provide on your website. I don’t just mean a news feed, I mean all the local stuff you say on-air. And tell your listeners it’s there. Refer your listeners to your website constantly. WCBS AM in New York does a great job with this. They constantly refer to the “Mentioned On Air” section of their website during newscasts, and they have their web guy do a segment every day on-air talking about what’s new and interesting on their site.
  3. Use Twitter to connect with your audience. Get your audience to follow you on Twitter and then give them information everyday. Local news stories, personal updates from station personalities, information about station promotions, ways to win stuff, even information from your advertisers. Do not use Twitter merely as a way to promote your station – that’s sure to backfire. Instead, use it as a way to deliver relevant information to your audience. Return the follow to everyone that follows you and always include a link to your site.
  4. Register your listeners online. There’s no reason not to register people who want to listen to your stream. Targeted advertising is the way of the future and it’s coming fast. You should be registering your audience with their age range, email address and gender. Find a platform that makes it easy for them to register and login or stay logged in so it doesn’t make it hard for them to listen to your stream.
  5. Develop a side channel for your stream. Something that is related to your station’s programming or audience. If you’re a news station, try some Adult Hits. A CHR station could do a kids channel. A rock station could do something edgier, or something that features local artists. There are a bunch of services out there that will develop and brand a side channel for you. You have the audience so why not expand what you’re doing to give them more to listen to and more reasons to love you.
  6. Stop running broadcast commercials on your stream. Resolve now, once and for all, that you will not run any commercials with phone numbers on your stream; that every commercial will have an interactive call to action. Visit our website, click on the banner now, send a text to xxx and we’ll send you a link. Those are the ways that your streaming audience wants to interact with your advertisers and it’s up to you to make sure advertisers understand how to use your stream effectively.
  7. Develop a section of your website that supports your advertisers on-air and online campaigns. Let your advertisers list their offers, link to their websites. Then tell your listeners that they can get information on any of the ads they hear on air or online by visiting your website anytime. It will boost sales for your advertisers and boost renewals for your station.
  8. Get your mobile platform in shape. Consider having an app built that makes it easy for your mobile audience to connect to your stream. Partner with portals that let your listeners connect via their phones – both smartphones and feature phones. Then promote the heck out of it.

For help with strategic planning, tactical ideas, talent coaching or recruitment or any programming or marketing issue call us anytime. You’ll find were not “the same old rodeo” when it comes to consulting. We take ownership of the station and treat it as if it were our own.

 

Bob Glasco

Glasco Media

480-488-0903

bob@glascomedia.com

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , , .

1 comment

By admin – January 11, 2010

What if

What if

Let’s start the New Year off by having a little fun. Let’s play “what if.” 

What if Radio station owners could multiply their revenue sources without taking on new properties or new debt? 

What if owners could multiply their net income by….?

What if there was a new home for talented people to stretch themselves while creating truly compelling content?

What if advertisers were presented with a whole new way to integrate their message over mass media and the Internet?

What if Radio was “new” again due to the innovations introduced to the marketplace?

What if consumers discovered a whole new entertainment service that not only entertained but brought them information about how to get more enjoyment out of life?

What if Radio station websites became portals to unique entertainment experiences rather than a rehash of what’s been on the Radio?

What if each Radio station was really two stations, each with their own staff and unique content, one over the air and one over the Internet?

What if each Radio station had two separate sales staffs, one trained to sell over the air, and one trained to sell over the Internet but both trained to integrate with the other?

What if Radio started investing in itself again?

What if?  

Why Not?

Bob Glasco

bob@glascomedia.com

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , .

No comments

By admin – January 3, 2010