Week of April 28, 2008

Friday 5/2, 2008

As the earnings for public radio companies roll out, be aware of the numbers and the projections for Q2. With the collapse of national business in radio, you might assume the worst for the rest of the year. Make plans to offset that with online revenue. Pay the commission for real money online to salespeople who make it happen. You will have a lot of savings in the commission you don't pay to the national rep. Have a great weekend!

Thursday 5/1, 2008

Okay, I'll say it: HD is not working as we had all hoped. (Someone described HD as Huge Disaster -- yikes!) The Internet and streaming have more potential at this point. Here's a good way to check. Have you or any on your staff spent any money buying an HD radio? (Not including the freebies distributed.) Do you have one in your car? Does your PD? Ho-hum!

Wednesday 4/30, 2008

I have just spent the weekend looking at content online. Perhaps suggesting to your programmers that there is a lot of creativity out there to discover using the Internet as a new place for ideas, is a good idea! It's time to break out of the old radio thinking and look for new ideas emanating from the web. Reject any marketing/contest idea that does NOT include an online component. The times they are a changing!

Tuesday 4/29, 2008

Isn't it time to start taking on line revenue seriously? Banner ads and "value added" are not taking advantage of a business that is bigger than radio and growing at 30%+ per year. Adding at least one full-time online sales person is a start. A cluster should have at least five or more to take full advantage of the revenue available. This is a huge platform for radio. Understanding this new opportunity is a must.

Monday 4/28, 2008

With all the discussion of Arbitron sample on All Access this past month, might I offer a suggestion to Arbitron from a GM that must pay for the research you provide? 1. Please spend whatever it takes to get PPM right. It's a new product and credibility is VERY important. Perhaps overspending in development may pay off in credibility down the road. 2. When everything else fails ... try honesty. Please! It's only our career!