sowny.net | The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

March 26, 2016 11:42 am  #1


Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

A key reason for our industry's flat-lining revenue performance is put into perspective when we see that 21 TTC ticket collectors earned more than $100k last year.  Radio is in a battle unlike any before it.  Never before have we been confronted by so many challengers for our listeners' attention and our advertisers' dollars.  So, let's talk about where our focus needs to be and the solutions required in making radio a more powerful force.

If you were outside radio and given money to invest, would you do so in a flat-lining industry?  The answer that most people would give, evidences the necessity of culture change that comes from taking immediate, fruitful, and practical action in all areas of our business, at all levels.  

The need to identify, financially invest in, and build on admin., sales, and programming talent and skills has never been greater.

We see the best and the brightest minds lured by the dollars, the sense of accomplishment and the strength of the futures found in the pharma and investment industries, among others.   Even though many of those less qualified would almost pay us to work in radio, we need to restructure our thinking about administration, sales and programming to compete for the best and the brightest - at the entry level, at the mid-management level, at the senior levels, and in the local and national investor communities.  

Where unique aptitudes and interpersonal skill sets are required, the short-term thinking in choosing to "get away" with paying so many in administration, sales or programming, the modest wages of which our industry is well-known - just because we can - amounts to very costly and self-limiting churn.  We've got to focus on building a more sustainable and more profitable future for owners/investors, management and staff.  

Our industry's focus over the past years has been on acquiring assets and building scale.  Guess what?  Our advertisers care far less about our scale than they do about their results that they can only hope they get when we pry their money from their increasingly reluctant and skeptical hands.  

Our ROI selling approaches may justify our setting a low bar for expectations just to get advertisers' business, but they don't help them quantify or maximize their results.  That's evidenced in the drift of their dollars to media that can specifically quantify and significantly increase advertisers' results - and regularly report on these results.  

There are thousands of documented cases in which radio has done so - more profitably than our digital or legacy media competitors - but we in radio (no matter what wonderful digital developments we have in play) are steadfastly ignoring the very approaches that give our customers what they want.  Yet, we can so easily and more profitably change the present - and the future - of an industry that steadfastly clings to limited thinking.

Given free reign - whether you have it or not - what could you do this coming month, to begin to change the future at your company, for the better?  

Here's the article re twenty-one TTC ticket collectors earned more than $100k last year.

Last edited by Andy McNabb (March 26, 2016 1:05 pm)


Andy McNabb
AndyMcNabb.com
 

March 26, 2016 1:51 pm  #2


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

That ain't workin'
That's the way to do it
Sell tickets for the TTC
Money for nothin' and the chicks for free
 

 

March 27, 2016 5:58 pm  #3


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

No, I wouldn't invest money in radio advertising. Even if I wanted to, majority of radio stations would not take my money because if their desire to carry National companies rather than local business, with very few exceptions. Interesting considering many PDs like to push "local" on listeners. Although many big business are local to the listener they aren't exactly just local.

Listening patterns are all over the place with radio, so the effectiveness of an ad campaign would not benefit me if I were outside radio. However, I would not know that if I was outside radio.

 

 

March 28, 2016 10:10 pm  #4


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

WilliamT wrote:

I wouldn't invest money in radio advertising

Thank you for your enthusiastic support
 

 

March 28, 2016 10:36 pm  #5


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

Radio works just fine.   The reason you don't hear many smaller businesses is not because of the "wanting" national biz, it's a function of nation biz being able to afford the spots.    Most small and mid size markets are 90% local businesses.

 

March 29, 2016 4:57 pm  #6


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

geo wrote:

WilliamT wrote:

I wouldn't invest money in radio advertising

Thank you for your enthusiastic support
 

Did my answer strike a nerve?

 

March 29, 2016 5:12 pm  #7


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

WilliamT wrote:

Did my answer strike a nerve?

Simply wanted to continue with the dialogue.    How do you promote your own local business?    Local weekly newspaper?    Magazines?    Flyers?    Sponsor PeeWee Hockey?    What was it about local radio that caused you to stop considering it?       Any idea why local radio works in Wingham and Belleville/Trenton but (maybe) not in your community?



 

Last edited by geo (March 29, 2016 5:20 pm)

 

March 29, 2016 7:18 pm  #8


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

or how about the fact that national buys only represent about 20% of total radio ad revenue?  Most of that is major market purchasing.  in small markets that number is closer to 15%.

 

March 30, 2016 9:23 am  #9


Re: Radio's flat-lining revenue performance put into perspective

geo wrote:

WilliamT wrote:

Did my answer strike a nerve?

Simply wanted to continue with the dialogue.    How do you promote your own local business?    Local weekly newspaper?    Magazines?    Flyers?    Sponsor PeeWee Hockey?    What was it about local radio that caused you to stop considering it?       Any idea why local radio works in Wingham and Belleville/Trenton but (maybe) not in your community?
 

​Then continue the dialogue, I won't bite. I should have been more specific; I would not consider radio advertising in the big market. Small market? Yes I would strongly consider it. The lifestyle of today's big market listeners look at a computer screen either at work, home or their phone. I would have to consider taking the digital approach over radio. Smaller market radio stations do a better job, in my opinion, reaching the community. My business could be served well going with radio advertising.