SirRoxalot has a great point. When I was growing up in the 50's the top station in my town was a Top-40 KTKT. Their jocks were always out promoting the station: at high school functions, at sock hops, at the local roller skating rinks, at new business openings and one even had a classic fire truck he rolled out on occasion. In cooperation with a couple of sponsors they distributed a weekly top-40 list along with up and coming tunes. At one time this station had 50 percent of the towns listeners - an unheard of number. They were always in your face. I have never seen anything like it since.
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"Radio is Dead" - Chapter 37
- Thread starter SirRoxalot
- Start date
When you were growing up, DJs didn't have managers and personal contracts. However, that doesn't mean radio stations don't do promotion or appear at events. Before Covid, many of the stations in your market had regular promotional events where the station van or SUV appears and gives away swag. They appear at live events, from concerts to sports events. When was the last time you went to a concert or hockey game? How would you know that radio stations aren't there?
BTW KNIX is a finalist for this Sunday's ACM Awards. One of the key elements in qualifying for the ACMs is local promotion activities:
ACM Announces Radio Awards Nominees for 56th Awards
The Academy of Country Music is announcing today (Feb. 9) its Radio Awards nominees for the 56th ACM Awards [...]
musicrow.com
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I don't know about personal contracts but the DJ's I met did have managers. They were the ones that hired/fired and built the station playlist (usually at a round table with the other jocks).
I didn't say they don't do promotions but it isn't anywhere near what they used to do. Tossing t-shirts during a hockey game isn't a huge promotion as there is no opportunity for personal contact. That used to be a big deal. You could walk up and talk with the station rep (wasn't always a DJ). Not possible at a concert or hockey game. BTW, I have been an avid hockey fan since 1970 but our local team decided to play their games more than 50 miles across town and in heavy traffic. ASU is building a stadium here on the East Side so I will support the Sun Devils when they begin playing.
We have two iHeart stations whose DJ's appear on a local Fox morning show for a few minutes at a time. One is what I would call MOR and the other is Country. They talk with the morning show personalities but no contact with listeners. The Country station does promote itself at Country Thunder but that is just once per year. The other station supports civic events such as the Pat Tillman Run each year but unless you listen to that station you don't hear much about other events.
20 years ago I received a t-shirt and a dollar bill from KNIX. Didn't listen to it then and don't listen to it now. They be buying votes?
Not station managers, but personal talent managers who get a percentage from all of the personal appearances the DJ makes. Two very different things. I'm talking about someone who works FOR the DJ, not the other way around.
Sure it is. Radio stations in most towns with pro sports teams (including Phoenix) set up their van and a table in the parking lot or just outside the front door to the arena. The last time you brought this up, I posted pictures. People walk up to the table, chat with the staff, maybe get a t-shirt. Happens all the time. That is the low level of station promotion. Higher up the food chain would be holding listener appreciation shows in the station or local clubs. I can tell you that promotion has become a profession, and radio promotion staffs have their own conventions where they share ideas. If you'd go to the NAB Radio show or the Country Radio Seminar, you might know what I mean. And no, radio stations can't buy awards. That's not how it works.
And that's indeed a big generational difference. Automotive is a great example: Used to be that brand loyalty was a top consideration when buying that next automobile. Remember when your dad, or your friend's dad used to only drive Chevy's/Ford/Chrysler's? Or what about when your friend only listened to KXXX and you preferred the same format but on KXXY? Brand loyalty essentially diminished as Baby Boomers dropped out of the preferred demographics. Considering the level of competition for business anymore, advertisers look at buying ads that give them the most saturation or reach. If a prospective car buyer just happens to remember your spot before their interest fades, they're more likely to buy that brand or from your dealership. Would they buy the same brand when the first one gets worn and unreliable? Probably not.
I really miss the attitudes about promotion at the first station I worked at in the early 90s. It was a combo 1kW AM talker / 50kW FM CHR in a smaller market (but adjacent to a large market and the FM had some penetration there). The FM had been #1 there for years and though it was a smaller market station, lots of record reps still visited (and paid for stuff like jingle packages, promo items with the station logo on them, etc.). That station also had their name and logo in R&R and Billboard magazines a fair amount.
The FM had local jocks 24/7, and most all the airstaff were younger, eager for exposure and hungry to get out in the community. That in mind, on most summer weekends when not doing remote broadcasts or working an airshift, they'd often take the station's logo truck to area parks and public pools with a portable self-powered speaker and mic and hand out prizes and giveaways. They had a "party patrol" on weekend evenings where listeners could call in from parties at their houses, and if the staff out in the truck were within a reasonable driving distance, they'd stop by with prizes and may even do a live break from your house. Unfortunately the station was sold a year or 2 later to a company that terminated all local programming except mornings, and since then the station's been sold at least once more and both the AM and FM flipped formats and calls a few times and are running satellite programming 24/7, controlled by a computer in a closet somewhere. The FM has slipped to # 5 in the market, unfortunately.
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Promotion budgets were cut to shreds long before the pandemic, especially at the hundreds of stations affected by multiple bankruptcies and/or overwhelming debt. It all began with consolidation and "synergies" and the cuts have never really stopped. Just look at iHeart's history.
Maybe you didn't read where I said promotion brings in revenue. I know of many stations owned by previously bankrupted companies that have more promotion staff than air talent. Before the pandemic, their van was scheduled practically every day. I can show you pictures if you don't believe me.
In another thread, I read that Katz has so much business because of this programatic buying. I don't think that Katz should have a monopoly on national radio representation. But, if no one else can step up, major groups not named iHeartMedia will continue to use them. National rep competition will increase national ad revenue for everyone.
You can also say that Phoenix's NHL franchise has made mistakes with choosing media partners. They're stuck on an AM sports station with a decent morning show but a local afternoon show that sounds like a car dealership infomercial. The big sports station doesn't talk much about hockey because that's the one sports franchise they DON'T carry (and they do like talking about the teams they carry).
The reason the Coyotes chose that AM station is it's owned by iHeart, and they created an iHeartRadio station completely around the team. The station produces lots of daily content for the team that is way beyond anything they would have received from the other station. In fact iHeart is doing the same thing for the Oakland A's. In addition the teams get a lot of on-air promo on the company's higher rated FM stations.
Arizona Coyotes' radio move to Fox Sports 910, iHeartMedia more than a dial change
The Coyotes now have a consistent home for their content, which can be streamed via app and out of market.
www.azcentral.com
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But for those of us (a majority I am guessing) who don't listen to Fox Sports coverage of the Coyotes is pitiful. I have seen exactly one segment in depth and that was to complain they had been losing their playoff hopes. Seems like negative news is the only news.The reason the Coyotes chose that AM station is it's owned by iHeart, and they created an iHeartRadio station completely around the team. The station produces lots of daily content for the team that is way beyond anything they would have received from the other station. In fact iHeart is doing the same thing for the Oakland A's. In addition the teams get a lot of on-air promo on the company's higher rated FM stations.
Arizona Coyotes' radio move to Fox Sports 910, iHeartMedia more than a dial change
The Coyotes now have a consistent home for their content, which can be streamed via app and out of market.www.azcentral.com
BTW just announced this morning that KNIX Phoenix is ACM Major Market radio station of the year, and one of their live & local DJs, Lori Lewis, is Major Market personality. The ACM honors radio stations and personalities in Major, Large, Medium, and Small markets. The Small market winner is KKNU in Eugene, and they feature all live & local talent. Eugene is outside the Top 100 markets.
There's a lot of mythology that there are no live & local personalities any more, or radio stations don't do any local promotion in their markets, and these awards demonstrate the the opposite is true. Do some stations use syndication? Sure. Have some stations stopped doing promotion? Sure. But a lot are still operating as live & local operations, and they get rewarded for it.
There is a small station where I live that used to be owned by the man who was also morning DJ and he would go out to businesses and broadcast live during breaks in programming. Except for the morning show, it has mostly played music delivered by satellite for as long as that man owned the station. Now a college owns it and he's still there, and supposedly students learn about broadcasting by working for the station.
I know of a station in Myrtle Beach SC that has DJs go out in a van and make appearances at businesses, although this is the station that seems to be the only one with music retired people who don't like country or classical music will listen to.
I'm on the young side of old. On my next birthday in approximately 5 weeks I will begin my last year in my 30s, even though I don't look it. (That's a bad selfie). Throw on my Yankees or Giants hat and put a diamond stud earring in each of my ears and I can pass for late 20s. I still listen to terrestrial radio. Listening on my phone is a hassle because there is not one universal streaming app for all the stations I like listening to.
HOT 93.7 is a Hip-Hop station that is owned by Audacy and thus is only available on the Audacy app.
96.1 Kool Radio is a 60s-80s Classic Hits station that is independently owned by Full Power Radio. They are only available on the Tune-In App.
The River 105.9 The River is a 70s-90s Classic Hits station that is owned by iHeart and thus is only available on the iHeart app.
98.5 Bomba Radio is a Spanish CHR station hat is independently owned by Full Power Radio. They are only available on the Tune-In App.
I shouldn't have to have 3 different apps on my phone to listen to my favorite stations.
99% of my favorite TV shows are on COX Cable. I don't have to subscribe to anything else. The only thing not on COX Cable is ME-TV. I have a cheap antenna I bought at Walmart to watch ME-TV. I don't know if COX will add it because WHCT Channel 35.1 is a LowPower Station, but Comcast recently added it to the line up of some of their systems.
HOT 93.7 is a Hip-Hop station that is owned by Audacy and thus is only available on the Audacy app.
96.1 Kool Radio is a 60s-80s Classic Hits station that is independently owned by Full Power Radio. They are only available on the Tune-In App.
The River 105.9 The River is a 70s-90s Classic Hits station that is owned by iHeart and thus is only available on the iHeart app.
98.5 Bomba Radio is a Spanish CHR station hat is independently owned by Full Power Radio. They are only available on the Tune-In App.
I shouldn't have to have 3 different apps on my phone to listen to my favorite stations.
99% of my favorite TV shows are on COX Cable. I don't have to subscribe to anything else. The only thing not on COX Cable is ME-TV. I have a cheap antenna I bought at Walmart to watch ME-TV. I don't know if COX will add it because WHCT Channel 35.1 is a LowPower Station, but Comcast recently added it to the line up of some of their systems.
I guess that's why Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant are getting so popular. To me, it's not worth the invasion of privacy to have one of those services listening all the time, but they do make it easy to tune your favorite station.
You make an interesting point. All during the 80s and 90s, when every office had its clock radio, with tinny 4 inch speaker, playing an FM station, I always wondered why people kept saying that FM was so much better because of the "fidelity", when many people were listening on devices that really had none, to where AM and FM really were no different.
"At KYW News Radio, our listeners are also our advertisers!... Our advertisers are also our listeners!... Like [name of KYW listener whose business advertises thereon], Philadelphia is 'sold' on KYW News Radio!"
Background sound in an office isn’t the same as car and home. (And certainly not all offices were listening just to clock radios.) And for that matter, not all of the connected home speakers are the same or being used for the same purpose as overly broad swipes at entire age groups suggest. My home office has a third generation Echo. Don’t need a high-end device, just something that can play some decent sounding background music and provide notices. And I’m far from a millennial. (For that matter, if Amazon wants to listen to my mundane requests for weather info, and to play music, have at it. They algorithms will be bored to tears.)
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