Hollywood Blvd:

[Radio_bored-Op]

As a "TOURIST" I am sooo into the "hollywood" side of southern california..
But I know and understand the residents really live in the "areas" and
while they acknowledge the glitz and glamour is there, they don't embrace
it as much as I would think - why?

Why doesn't (say kiis fm) have interns walking the Hollywood Blvd,
and handing out tee shirts, CDs, stickers etc... Yes, Kiis-FM is live
from the Lucky Strike (area) nightclub, but that is a contracted
club only gig... >Wonders why how busy the hollywood blvd is
...say, on a saturday afternoon... thanks in advance, for the info...

conversely the famous sunset blvd doesn't seem to have one
AREA that draws a cluster of people ( like hollywood blvd) does..
the nightLife and the club district seems to have crowds but they
are going into/to each of the various clubs...

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

Other examples:

Cedar Point ( Sandusky, OH ) used to give traffic reports for the famous theme park...
on an am news and FM music channel...
-
Las Vegas:
Stations there pretty much ignore the strip...
also, advertisers (such as Mandalay Bay) will advertise
in phoenix, la, (etc) but not much, if any dollars
spent in close proxy to las vegas nevada...

I get the concept -
but don't understand why FM stations
doesn't embrace the glamour and glitz of h'wood...

 

[Jay Walker]

As a "TOURIST" I am sooo into the "hollywood" side of southern california..
But I know and understand the residents really live in the "areas" and
while they acknowledge the glitz and glamour is there, they don't embrace
it as much as I would think - why?

Why doesn't (say kiis fm) have interns walking the Hollywood Blvd,
and handing out tee shirts, CDs, stickers etc... Yes, Kiis-FM is live
from the Lucky Strike (area) nightclub, but that is a contracted
club only gig... >Wonders why how busy the hollywood blvd is
...say, on a saturday afternoon... thanks in advance, for the info...

conversely the famous sunset blvd doesn't seem to have one
AREA that draws a cluster of people ( like hollywood blvd) does..
the nightLife and the club district seems to have crowds but they
are going into/to each of the various clubs...

I'd guess the reason is "TOURISTS" are not packing an LA PPM meter...

 

[michael hagerty]

As a "TOURIST" I am sooo into the "hollywood" side of southern california..
But I know and understand the residents really live in the "areas" and
while they acknowledge the glitz and glamour is there, they don't embrace
it as much as I would think - why?

Why doesn't (say kiis fm) have interns walking the Hollywood Blvd,
and handing out tee shirts, CDs, stickers etc... Yes, Kiis-FM is live
from the Lucky Strike (area) nightclub, but that is a contracted
club only gig... >Wonders why how busy the hollywood blvd is
...say, on a saturday afternoon... thanks in advance, for the info...

conversely the famous sunset blvd doesn't seem to have one
AREA that draws a cluster of people ( like hollywood blvd) does..
the nightLife and the club district seems to have crowds but they
are going into/to each of the various clubs...

I'd guess the reason is "TOURISTS" are not packing an LA PPM meter...

Exactly. There is zero upside to justify the expense.

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

I guess im "Old" at age 38 -
I recall not too long ago,
"sometimes" stations wanted to do stuff...
for the sake/bragging rights, or for the listener....

 

[michael hagerty]

I guess im "Old" at age 38 -
I recall not too long ago,
"sometimes" stations wanted to do stuff...
for the sake/bragging rights, or for the listener....

They did it because audience measurement was inexact and could be influenced. People with ratings diaries almost never filled them in as they listened. Instead, hours or days later, they'd guess at what they listened to and when. A lot of people wrote down the first station they could think of, whether they listened or not. It was beneficial to have a high profile.

Now, with PPM, recall is no longer a factor. Actual listening is measured.

 

[Jay Walker]

In my years of experience we were always much more mercenary in our external marketing. T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, Bumper Stickers cost money and usually were used to reward listeners for "listening" and including the station in their daily routine. A "thank you" if you will.

Shotgunning T-Shirts into random crowds, or random collected gatherings of people served no useful purpose other than keeping the t-shirt/coffee mug/bumper sticker vendors in business.

Exceptions were events like "The State Fair of Texas", or the "Taste of Chicago" where swag give-aways were generally initiated by using an over the air "call to action" as in "Stop by the Kxxx Booth for your free State Fair Party Pack" again as a reward for listening and including the station in their day to day...

By the way events such as these drew 250 to 300k people per day easily. Freebies available at your booth via a "call to action" generated "feet at the door" and made an impression on clients who may have been at the event. A win, win marketing wise...

Jay Walker

 

[davideduardo]

I get the concept -
but don't understand why FM stations
doesn't embrace the glamour and glitz of h'wood...

Glamour? I was at three different radio operations located on Hollywood Blvd. over the years.

I did not see glamour or glitz. I saw panhandlers, Scientologists and tattoo parlors.

I spent several years at Hollywood and Highland, a block or two from The Chinese. Lots of tourist.s.. you had to drive away to get a decent meal.

Then a half a decade at Hollywood and Vine, where I watched the clients of the tattoo establishment come and go and observed the frequent drug and weapons busts at the sleazy clubs nearby.

The period at Hollywood and Wilton was marred by the '92 riots where they tried to burn our building and looted the Pier 1 Imports across the way.

It's getting better, and tourists are being seen more and more. But the place to go for locals is City Walk at Universal Studios, not H'wood Blvd. The Boulevard is pretty much for tourists except Oscar night or when some other happening is going on.

Locals think of Hollywood Boulevard as touristy, hard to park, full of mopvie star look alikes and other tourist trap-like thinks, with an assortment of pickpockets and scam artists running around. You go once and see the Wax Museum and never go again.

 

[LKellerIII]

Hollywood Blvd was a sleazy pit as early as the late 60s, maybe earlier.

 

[davideduardo]

Hollywood Blvd was a sleazy pit as early as the late 60s, maybe earlier.

It's so sleazy even Madonna would not be caught dead there...

 

[michael hagerty]

Hollywood Blvd was a sleazy pit as early as the late 60s, maybe earlier.

Mid-60s at night. Daytime was okay until '68 or so. Believe it or not, there was a miniature golf course on the south side of Hollywood Blvd. west of Western when I was a kid. My parents took me fairly often.

Apart from dinners at Musso and Frank, the last time I recall going to Hollywood Blvd. deliberately was to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Chinese when it opened.

 

[TheBigA]

Glamour? I was at three different radio operations located on Hollywood Blvd. over the years.

I did not see glamour or glitz. I saw panhandlers, Scientologists and tattoo parlors.

I agree there's not a lot of "glamour," but they've done a great job of cleaning up the area around the Chinese Mann (as we called it) with the construction of the Kodak Theater, the restoration of the El Capitan and production of Jimmy Kimmel show, and the huge shopping mall there.

Having said that, even though it's cleaner than it used to be, I agree that courting tourists doesn't do much for building cume. I've seen more locals at CityWalk.

 

[RadioPro65]

Back to the original question of why radio doesn't give more attention to Hollywood, while it's true that tourists don't help PPM ratings, the businesses that target those tourists advertise, and radio stations in such markets, I'm sure, would like more of those ad spend dollars. Do radio stations in Las Vegas and Atlantic City target tourists for their respective casinos? You bet! And they win a lot of ad spend that otherwise might go to non-radio digital and (gulp) even the dying print industry. All significant tourist draws in all markets, PPM or diary, should be coordinated targets of radio programming and sales departments. Unless a 1% or 2% ad revenue growth rate is already too much for the terrestrial broadcasters in such markets.

 

[recto101]

When did the Film and Broadcasting industry for the LA Branch decide that San Fernando Valley, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood(LA District) and Miracle Mile(where CBS Radio LA are Located) are better locations for doing business in the Southland?

 

[davideduardo]

Back to the original question of why radio doesn't give more attention to Hollywood, while it's true that tourists don't help PPM ratings, the businesses that target those tourists advertise, and radio stations in such markets, I'm sure, would like more of those ad spend dollars. Do radio stations in Las Vegas and Atlantic City target tourists for their respective casinos? You bet!

Casinos and hotels in Las Vegas buy a lot of radio, but it is for locals, not visitors.

Disneyland and Universal Studios and Knotts buy quite a lot of radio in LA, but it is for locals: discounts if your CDL shows an LA or OC Zip Code, etc.

Attractions don't use radio or local TV to target tourists because there is no one station or set of stations that is likely to be an efficient deliverer of tourists because tourists don't spend a lot of time listening to the radio.

Returning to Hollywood, there is no major attraction there that could afford $500 radio spots. We have the Wax Museum, the Ripley museum, the Chinese Theatre, and the view of the Hollywood sign. Most of the movie studios are not in Hollywood, and the decent tours are the ones in the San Fernando Valley.

The businesses along Hollywood Boulevard are, in a majority of cases, there to capture the tourist walk-buys, and if they advertise it is in those hotel magazines and hand-outs and those little attraction cards hotels display in a rack.

I worked and consulted for 35 years in one of the prime tourist destinations in the world... one with casinos, shows, beautiful beaches and a year-round great climate. As much as 10% of local employment was tourist related. I never saw a dime in tourist-targeted money on the stations I managed and sold for. I did see limited money for shows of interest to local residents at the hotels, and things like that... but there was no money placed on local radio to reach tourists, ever.

Local attractions do advertise locally... but for local residents. Anything else is a wasted effort and wasted money.

 

[davideduardo]

When did the Film and Broadcasting industry for the LA Branch decide that San Fernando Valley, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood(LA District) and Miracle Mile(where CBS Radio LA are Located) are better locations for doing business in the Southland?

Much of the the entertainment industry moved out of Hollywood for the most part many decades ago. Warner Brothers in Studio City, Disney in Burbank, Universal in Universal City, Dreamworks to the West Side, etc. A few things are left like the Sunset Gower studios, but most things are not there and have not been there for a long time.

Record companies moved out, too.

In radio, consolidation pulled stations like KFI (Koreatown) and KIIS (Sunset and Vine) and KBIG (Sunset) and others into new quarters in Burbank near Disney. Liberman put KBUE/A, KHJ (from 5757 Hollywood) and KRCA into one building in Burbank. HBC / Univision could not fit more stations in the decrepit Hollywood and Vine location and moved to Glendale. CBS pulled KFWB out of the quonset hut and KNX off of the old Sunset building and KROQ out of Burbank and so on...

SBS moved from Sunset at the 101 to the West Side when they added 96.3 to have nicer digs and more space. KWKW moved from Hollywood and Highland to Universal City to have space for corporate and KIRN, too.

The main reason why most of the stations did not stay in Hollywood is the fact that it was not the most efficient, pleasant and safe place to have a station. The old buildings, for the most part, could not withstand a big quake, and many could not accommodate emergency generators due to code issues... and the staff did not like the area... making it hard to recruit people.

 

[davideduardo]

Apart from dinners at Musso and Frank, the last time I recall going to Hollywood Blvd. deliberately was to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Chinese when it opened.

The makeover of Hollywood at Vine is quite incredible. The old Broadway Building was gutted and made into lofts. There is shopping, great restaurants and even a W Hotel where the Metro station is. Overall, either buildings were renovated or razed and new construction made.

 

[henry]

I've been trying for years to move to SoCal. When my friends say I want to "move to L.A.," I quickly correct them.

There is NOTHING glamorous about the city of Los Angeles, nor has there been since the mid-1970s. It's full of homeless, criminally insane, panhandling, etc. Those that move to L.A. (other than for a cushy job downtown) are hoping to "break into the [old, outdated, dying] biz." It's miserable, and they make minimum wage 10 hours a week at a coffee shop, splitting a studio. Those lucky enough to "own," pay horrible taxes for no services.

Lately, the entire state of California is quickly following Los Angeles into the toilet -- and my SoCal dreams are on hold indefinitely. Much better to visit, than to pay $2000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

What would KIIS have to gain making the effort? PPM says "more music, less talk," so they can't get soundbytes from people off Hollywood Blvd. Facebook and Twitter are cheaper than printing bumper stickers and swag. As Pandora and Spotify's model wins in the decades ahead, KIIS will sound more like them as it slowly dies off.

It's sad -- but there's good news. I work for a non-comm station (outside of CA) which actually puts some passion into its radio content. And I really doubt we're the only one. Look at what KPCC has been doing. It's ALMOST listenable. A huge improvement from 5+ years ago.

Every industry is getting tossed upside down. We're at a point in history BIGGER than the industrial revolution. It's HUGE! Radio is not alone in the earthquake of change. Time to just embrace it and figure out how to take out skills into the 21st century. Odds are that if you are under 35 (like me), the job you'll do for the majority of your career hasn't even been invented yet.

 

[TheBigA]

Much of the the entertainment industry moved out of Hollywood for the most part many decades ago.

Lots of great books on the history of the movie business. So much of the story is the search for cheap land. The studios needed a lot of land for sound stages and back lots. But that land became too expensive for such things. Paramount on Melrose is probably the last of the old Hollywood studios. More than 50 years ago, MGM sold off its back lot for tract housing in Culver City. Now it's Sony Studios. Universal turned a bunch of its property into a theme park. I'm amazed every time I go there how much land is taken up with vaults and storage of archives and props. Same with Warners and Fox. If you can't combine that property with other functions, it's sold off for housing or other uses. TV production saved the studios. Otherwise, they would all be gone today.

 

[michael hagerty]

Much of the the entertainment industry moved out of Hollywood for the most part many decades ago.

Lots of great books on the history of the movie business. So much of the story is the search for cheap land. The studios needed a lot of land for sound stages and back lots. But that land became too expensive for such things. Paramount on Melrose is probably the last of the old Hollywood studios. More than 50 years ago, MGM sold off its back lot for tract housing in Culver City. Now it's Sony Studios. Universal turned a bunch of its property into a theme park. I'm amazed every time I go there how much land is taken up with vaults and storage of archives and props. Same with Warners and Fox. If you can't combine that property with other functions, it's sold off for housing or other uses. TV production saved the studios. Otherwise, they would all be gone today.

Unless I'm mistaken, Paramount is the last big-name movie studio in Hollywood, KTLA the last major TV station, there are no radio stations currently based in Hollywood, and the once-vibrant record biz is represented by Capitol. Everyone else is long gone.