Hey, Bob Visotcky: WHY bother???????

[ChannelFlipper]

I've never understood the trimulcast. What is the point if you cannot sell the total audience you are serving? I don't really listen to the station, so correct me if I am wrong, but they don't get a lot of national buys, so most spots are local. A retailer in TO is not paying for the audience in OC and the high desert, so those sticks don't make any money while the TO retailer's spot is on. The whole point of consolidation is synergy in either revenue enhancement or cost savings. I see little of each with this trimulcast.

 

[davideduardo]

So his sales people have to sell the station to retailers. Tough market now, tell the retailers that people in Orange County will be tuning in to 92.7. So they will ask, what are JILL-FM's ratings? Better have an intelligent answer to that question. Good luck with that.

JILL-FM sales person: "Yes but it's the "all totally new JILL-FM!!!!" 8)

Local direct is why smaller market radio is not off in sales anywhere near what larger, agency dependent markets are. Going for direct is, today, the best option for limited coverage situations.

Local direct is a relationship sell, not a ratings sell. This is what most smaller and small market stations do... since they don't even have ratings. You sell results, not ratings. And you save the ratings expense, too.

 

[Shoot From Hip]

So his sales people have to sell the station to retailers. Tough market now, tell the retailers that people in Orange County will be tuning in to 92.7. So they will ask, what are JILL-FM's ratings? Better have an intelligent answer to that question. Good luck with that.

JILL-FM sales person: "Yes but it's the "all totally new JILL-FM!!!!" 8)

When you're selling a situation like this, the real issue is results more than it is ratings-- whether those ads can make a retailer's phone ring. If they do, an advertiser may continue...and if not, then the rates aren't really relevant because there's no ROI.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

David, and Shoot, good points.... The trick is to get a committment first, that's my point. Most of these smaller businesses still have no idea who or what JILL-FM is.... (trust me I know from first hand experience)... Many of them are unwilling to commit $$$ to an unknown and of course they won't/can't spend the $$$ to place on a KOST or KTWV, etc.

BTW I noticed the new JILL-FM playlist also shares some titles with The Wave in addition to KOST.

 

[radiojomo]

The "new" Jill FM playlist isn't very new at all. That's how the station sounded before people were interested in Bob V. moving in. I don't know why it sounded so different in the past few weeks. It was a decent sounding Gold Based Hot AC a few weeks ago and now it's back to it's bland "Adult Hits" format. The only way it's changed it that its almost phased out all current music in the past week. I think the new Jill FM playlist is still to come...

 

[RBB05]

If a 37 tear old female is their bullseye, how do they justify playing Oye Como Va by Carlos Santana in the middle of AM Drive this morning? The playlist is weird.

 

[DrLove]

Just as relevant as the last post - how do they (Jill) justify playing the song "One" by Three Dog Night or playing two songs in a row that are more than thirty years old? It's been happening. So, what are they thinking? Also, I'm beginning to hear some of the same oldies playing EVERY day. Hey, it's another K-Earth. Is that what we need?

 

[davideduardo]

If a 37 tear old female is their bullseye, how do they justify playing Oye Como Va by Carlos Santana in the middle of AM Drive this morning? The playlist is weird.

That song tends to research very, very well among 30+ females, both Hispanic and not.

 

[Hunter]

Local direct is why smaller market radio is not off in sales anywhere near what larger, agency dependent markets are. Going for direct is, today, the best option for limited coverage situations.

Local direct is a relationship sell, not a ratings sell. This is what most smaller and small market stations do... since they don't even have ratings. You sell results, not ratings. And you save the ratings expense, too.

Dave, your points about local sales and splitting the commercial feeds are right on. First of all, it will help each signal sound more local and should help with advertiser acceptance. Secondly, it gives them more to sell. The initial company goal is to get the station group billing $2 million, which is almost 3 times what they are doing now. They should consider putting a local person or two in victorville. They could generate at least $200,000 selling at an AUR under $10 if they had to and considering that their total billings are about $800,000 out of TO primarily, that would leave only $1 mil to be generated out of the OC.

These are not good economic times, but with effort, Bob should be able to put together a plan to hit their goals. Moving operations to the OC is a great move.

 

[RBB05]

The challenge for Bob's plan is that the station is more realistic as a retail sell, but at the $60 rates they are getting on a retail advertiser basis, there is no way to get near $2 million. Thus it would make sense to split the signals and have another team north, but it is not in his blue print.

 

[davideduardo]

The challenge for Bob's plan is that the station is more realistic as a retail sell, but at the $60 rates they are getting on a retail advertiser basis, there is no way to get near $2 million. Thus it would make sense to split the signals and have another team north, but it is not in his blue print.

At an 80% sell, that would mean about 130 spots a day, 6 days a week or about 700 spots a week. At $60, that's $42,000 a week or just undeer $175 k a month, which is just at $2 million a year. Add in remotes, traffic liners and other salable items, you can definitely and reasonably do $2 million at around a $60 average unite rate.

 

[OC Radio Geek]

The challenge for Bob's plan is that the station is more realistic as a retail sell, but at the $60 rates they are getting on a retail advertiser basis, there is no way to get near $2 million. Thus it would make sense to split the signals and have another team north, but it is not in his blue print.

At an 80% sell, that would mean about 130 spots a day, 6 days a week or about 700 spots a week. At $60, that's $42,000 a week or just undeer $175 k a month, which is just at $2 million a year. Add in remotes, traffic liners and other salable items, you can definitely and reasonably do $2 million at around a $60 average unite rate.

Yes, but do you think the station can actually do it? I don't.

 

[RBB05]

It is early July and the station is still getting whatever new make up Bob is going to give it, before he goes to the next bigger and better route. I think an 80% sell out any time in the near future is rather ambitious.