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LOUISIANA WATER PARK WON'T TRADE WITH BLACK RADIO

N

nocajunmoon

Guest
BLUE BAYOU WATER PARK
DIXIE LANDING AMUSEMENT PARK..

IF YOU'RE BLACK, WE'LL TAKE YOUR
MONEY, BUT YOUR NOT INVITED..

Dear Editor,

On Tuesday, May 14, 2008, I was told
by Liz Harrison, Marketing DIrector
of Blue Bayou Water Park and Dixie
Landing Amusement Park, that they
have no plans to continue their
long-term practice with KBZE 105.9FM,
of trading 100 or more admission tickets
to the parks, in exchange for double
that value in radio advertising.

Liz Harrison said that their summer concert
series has country and pop artists, so their
radio concern will be for these formats.

"We have no interest in an African-American
audience," she said.

I replied to her, "Do you realize that is blatant
racial discrimination?"

She replied, "You call it what you will, I call
it free enterprise."

I am asking that all African Americans who listen
to either of my radio stations, call and voice
their opinion to Ms. Harrison. The number
at Blue Bayou is 1-225-753-3333.

Her e-mail address is: [email protected].

As a side note, we have confirmed that
Blue Bayou also does not do business
with any Black Radio in Baton Rouge,
or the African-American owned Louisiana Weekly,
the state's oldest weekly newspaper, and one of
this country's oldest African American owned
news publications.

Should any of you have further questions on this,
please do not hestiate to call me at 985-312-2154,
or e-mail me at [email protected].

It's time we bring issues like this infront of the
public.

WE ALL LOVE OUR CHILDREN. BUT WE
ALL WORK HARD FOR OUR MONEY AS WELL.

Sincerely,

Howard J. Castay, Jr.
President & General Manger
KBZE 105.9FM
and KFRA 1390AM
 
I completely support Blue Bayou, or any other advertisers wishing to "target" their advertising dollars, and frankly, Mr. Castay, I resent your introduction of "racism" into the matter. African Americans have for too long been the victims of TRUE racism, and your decision to make a matter of advertising "marketing and targeting" a "race" issue is dispicable. You should be ashamed of yourself. After all blacks have been through, for you to lashout because your family and employee's or listeners can't visit the water park for free is borderline sick.

If their target is "Country" because of the acts they bring in, be adult enough to understand the first rule of marketing... spend money (yes, trade is still "money") where you can get the best return and in a marketing vehicle that supports your "target demo."

You screaming "RACISM" over this may insure that may of us don't hear "RACISM" when it's real, much like what happened in Europe in the 1940's, and our country for the last 200 years. You've posted this on 3 different threads purely for "vindetta" purpose... and you run a gospel station at that. Shame.

My oh my.
I guess just 'cause you know the "Word" don't mean you "Walk" the Word, huh?
 
a few thoughts for you -

first...check that park in the middle of its rush hour....you'll see blacks support it....

my purpose for the letter is - hey, we'll take your money, but frankly, you won't be invited...

second - they don't use Black Radio in Baton Rouge at all - and those are the dollars that flood that park

Third - If you check my radio station isn't all gospel...it's an urban mix...

Fourth - we use almost all of those tickets as incentives for children, low income whose parents can't afford to get into that park. We give them
the ability to do so... I give 5 to one son and his kids, and 4 to the other son and his kids...my wife has not yet even gone, since we have owned both
radio stations...

trust me sir, this isn't for me and my family,.....IT'S FOR NOT ONLY KNOWING THE "WORD" BUT "walking the word out"!
 
Unfortunately as Liz put it, it is free enterprise, ad clients can spend their ad dollars or barter any way they see fit and boy can they be fickle.

I will check with a sales buddy of mine, but I think blue bayou has an exclusivity agreement with Clear Channel in the Baton Rouge DMA which happens to have no Black targeted C.C. stations. Blue bayou only had all the C.C. stations on the concert sponsor banner a few years ago. I am almost positive I have heard their ads on Hot 107.9 in Lafayette which is Rythmic station owned by Regent. Im not sure what DMA your station is considered, but that may be something to do with it.
 
Mr. Castay:

I appreciate many of your points. However, I think they should be addressed with Blue Bayou upper management or ownership rather than a public forum.

No one would, or should, dispute the fact that African-Americans frequent Blue Bayou.

African-Americans are free to, and do, listen to Pop and Country radio, and, I'm sure, they watch tv as well. So, they're going to hear/see the Blue Bayou message regardless of who the marketing director thinks she's reaching.

Whether they trade or not with you is between you and them. Maybe they're not targetting the African-American audience in Morgan City/Patterson. Maybe they're not targetting Morgan City at all. Whatever the fact, the "marketing director" is an idiot if she made those statements to you. Her employer should be made aware of them.

However, not targetting the African-American audience is not "blatant racial discrimination". Nor is not running ads in a truly blatantly racial publication like Louisiana Weekly. I would not hold them up as your standard bearer for racial equality.

Any business is free to advertise or not advertise with whomever they wish and, while the marketing director's comments were unfortunate, ignorant and stupid, I could be wrong but, I don't think this is the place for that discussion.

The last point is, it shouldn't matter to anyone what you do with the trade at your station. It's your inventory. It's your business.

Again, just my opinions, but if I owned Blue Bayou, I'd want to hear it from you. Also, don't call and email her: call her boss.
 
Wait a minute. A client of your station doesn't RENEW a buy and you blast them on an internet forum?


Talk about typical New Orleans unprofessional behavior. Maybe Blue Bayou noticed not all tickets given to your station previously had been redeemed. Maybe they were not impressed with your ratings and effectiveness.

You just seem upset that you don't get 100 free tx. In New Orleans I'm sure only 20 of those tx are given out on-air, and the rest go directly into the pockets of management & sales.
 
Rex Tremendae said:
Wait a minute. A client of your station doesn't RENEW a buy and you blast them on an internet forum?


Talk about typical New Orleans unprofessional behavior. Maybe Blue Bayou noticed not all tickets given to your station previously had been redeemed. Maybe they were not impressed with your ratings and effectiveness.

You just seem upset that you don't get 100 free tx. In New Orleans I'm sure only 20 of those tx are given out on-air, and the rest go directly into the pockets of management & sales.
Click to expand...

WTF is "typical New Orleans unprofessional behavior???" The station is located in Morgan City and doesn't serve New Orleans.
 
Rex Tremendae said:
Wait a minute. A client of your station doesn't RENEW a buy and you blast them on an internet forum?


Talk about typical New Orleans unprofessional behavior. Maybe Blue Bayou noticed not all tickets given to your station previously had been redeemed. Maybe they were not impressed with your ratings and effectiveness.

You just seem upset that you don't get 100 free tx. In New Orleans I'm sure only 20 of those tx are given out on-air, and the rest go directly into the pockets of management & sales.
Click to expand...

91 of the 100 tickets go to low income, at-risk kids.

9 go in my pocket.

No $ has ever been received.

It's called No Urban Dictate. Check this out - http://www.targetmarketnews.com/storyid12190701.htm

BB - no black radio in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.

Doesn't radio solicit advertising?
 
FCC adopts proposal to eliminate 'No Urban Dictates' advertising practices

By Ken Smikle
Target Market News
(December 19, 2007) The Federal Communications Commission at yesterday's monthly meeting took what is being called an historic step to address the discriminatory advertising practice that exclude black-oriented and Hispanic-oriented radio stations from receiving a fair share of advertising revenues.

The the use of the "no urban dictate" policy, as it�s called, occurs when advertisers and their agencies intentionally by-pass urban and Latino stations, supposedly because the advertiser client has dictated that its ads not be placed with those outlets. African-American broadcasters have long said the unspoken policy existed. The issue was first brought to the FCC by the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) 23 years ago.

[EDIT]





nocajunmoon said:
BLUE BAYOU WATER PARK
DIXIE LANDING AMUSEMENT PARK..

IF YOU'RE BLACK, WE'LL TAKE YOUR
MONEY, BUT YOUR NOT INVITED..

Dear Editor,

On Tuesday, May 14, 2008, I was told
by Liz Harrison, Marketing DIrector
of Blue Bayou Water Park and Dixie
Landing Amusement Park, that they
have no plans to continue their
long-term practice with KBZE 105.9FM,
of trading 100 or more admission tickets
to the parks, in exchange for double
that value in radio advertising.

Liz Harrison said that their summer concert
series has country and pop artists, so their
radio concern will be for these formats.

"We have no interest in an African-American
audience," she said.

I replied to her, "Do you realize that is blatant
racial discrimination?"

She replied, "You call it what you will, I call
it free enterprise."

I am asking that all African Americans who listen
to either of my radio stations, call and voice
their opinion to Ms. Harrison. The number
at Blue Bayou is 1-225-753-3333.

Her e-mail address is: [email protected].

As a side note, we have confirmed that
Blue Bayou also does not do business
with any Black Radio in Baton Rouge,
or the African-American owned Louisiana Weekly,
the state's oldest weekly newspaper, and one of
this country's oldest African American owned
news publications.

Should any of you have further questions on this,
please do not hestiate to call me at 985-312-2154,
or e-mail me at [email protected].

It's time we bring issues like this infront of the
public.

WE ALL LOVE OUR CHILDREN. BUT WE
ALL WORK HARD FOR OUR MONEY AS WELL.

Sincerely,

Howard J. Castay, Jr.
President & General Manger
KBZE 105.9FM
and KFRA 1390AM
Click to expand...


[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyrighted. When available, users should properly cite their sources using URLs to help others find the original material.]
 
Wait a minute..Name a black business that advertises on 101.5 WYNK or C107.5? Ever heard Jessy Jackson on 99.5 ask White people to show up at a function?

Blue Bayou is just targeting the audience that buys tickets to the park.
 
nocajunmoon said:
a "no urban dictate" policy occurs when advertisers and their agencies intentionally by-pass urban and Latino stations, supposedly because the advertiser client has dictated that its ads not be placed with those outlets.
Click to expand...

So if I wanted to re-open the "Snake Farm" in LaPlace and wanted to advertise on the RajunCajun and Bayou, I'm now considered a racist because those folks ain't crazy about them cridders? As if it's not enough the government is screwing us on gas prices by not drilling anywhere offshore but Louisiana & Texas, now they have the right to tell businesses how the must spend their money and spend it where they might not want it. I guess if I buy TV, I'll have to include "BET"? Quit crying racism and go beat the pavement for them advertising buck.
 
Not exactly. I'm tired of someone crying victim everytime they constructively make themselves into a victim. It's old and tired.

*breaks out little teeny weeny violin*
 
Let's make the world a better place. Let's remove one's rights to choose who he will trade and spend his money with.

Don't cry wolf unless there is a wolf. Otherwise, when the wolf really shows up, I'm not likely to hear you.
 
nolaradiobuff said:
Mr. Castay:

I appreciate many of your points. However, I think they should be addressed with Blue Bayou upper management or ownership rather than a public forum.

No one would, or should, dispute the fact that African-Americans frequent Blue Bayou.

African-Americans are free to, and do, listen to Pop and Country radio, and, I'm sure, they watch tv as well. So, they're going to hear/see the Blue Bayou message regardless of who the marketing director thinks she's reaching.

Whether they trade or not with you is between you and them. Maybe they're not targetting the African-American audience in Morgan City/Patterson. Maybe they're not targetting Morgan City at all. Whatever the fact, the "marketing director" is an idiot if she made those statements to you. Her employer should be made aware of them.

However, not targetting the African-American audience is not "blatant racial discrimination". Nor is not running ads in a truly blatantly racial publication like Louisiana Weekly. I would not hold them up as your standard bearer for racial equality.

Any business is free to advertise or not advertise with whomever they wish and, while the marketing director's comments were unfortunate, ignorant and stupid, I could be wrong but, I don't think this is the place for that discussion.

The last point is, it shouldn't matter to anyone what you do with the trade at your station. It's your inventory. It's your business.

Again, just my opinions, but if I owned Blue Bayou, I'd want to hear it from you. Also, don't call and email her: call her boss.
Click to expand...

I had points I was going to make on this, but this gentleman has made most of mine for me.

The only other thing I will raise is: you are in a small town some distance from Baton Rouge. Your station's fringe signal barely (according to a predicted coverage map) reaches the southern suburbs of Baton Rouge. Your station is basically out of market to the advertiser.

In a day and age in which many theme parks are trimming expenses, giving "comp" tickets for trade to every radio station within, say, 100 miles of the city the park is in is declining. I'm seeing this in the parks in Ohio we do business with. If you're a station in a small town 50 to 100 miles away from the park, you could be deemed too small for the advertising to be considered "effective" to the advertiser.

Having said this, though...I do consider the statement from the park representative to be troubling. Even if it is not the actual opinion of the advertiser, it was a dumb thing to say. That, however, does not mean the advertiser was intending to be discriminatory.

Might I suggest, you attempt to approach this from a different perspective? You claim to be offering these tickets to be given away to disadvantaged youngsters. That is a noble cause, and a great radio promotion. Why don't you re-approach the advertiser with a package that specifies charitable organizations through which you intend to give the tickets to disadvantaged children? Or, how you are determining which children qualify as "disadvantaged"? It would seem to me that it would be a lot harder for a business to say no if they know specifically for whom and for where the tickets are going, especially with the good motive intended here...as opposed to "trade me 100 tickets at double value, and some of those tickets will go to disadvantaged youngsters." That leaves open the possibility (even if it doesn't happen in your case) that some tickets go to clients and friends, etc. Areas which are a lot more "gray" to some businesses these days during times when amusement park attendance and revenue has declined, as gasoline prices, and other prices, continue their steady upward climb.
 
As a citizen of the state of Louisiana and a Business major it does not shock me to see something like this. A lot of the advertising here is specific to race. This is not the first nor the last time you will here of something like this. I blame the people who continue to patronize a business that is blatantly racist. This is one reason my generation continues to cut its LA ties and move to places where there are more opportunities.
 
Troy - this was a year ago and there's been no mention of it happening this year. Why are you dragging up a post from a year ago and why is this your first post on this board? How did you even find this thread? What's your agenda?

Crawl back under your rock. You're not helping to make things better.
 
Most disturbing, I'd swear that I've read this exact same message several times over the past several years and it's always the same read.
 
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