The Future Of Radio

[WJEPPD]

Many of you out there POO POO the idea of buying an AM Radio station. Some of your points are valid while a vast majority are either ill advised or just flat wrong. Being short sighted and ill advised I am seeing is a major factor by those who aspire to be in radio but do not have either the where with all or attention span to be a station owner.

Why an AM Daytimer? Well here ya go, I hope this helps in Bullet Point form...

1. Inexpensive and redily available.

2. Versatility as AM daytimers can easily become 24 Hour operations by adding an FM Translator relatively cheap and lowering the night signal to under 250 watts. Since most people that listen to AM listen on the internet anyways your loss of listenership at night is minimal.

3. Internet radio is becoming a regular feature in new cars. BMW already has it, Ford is next and the others will follow.

4. Ads are easier to sell to a client if you have a terrestrial signal no matter what wattage etc than internet. BUT, since most advertisers are generally mooches then the addition in their eyes of the internet exposure and web presence seems like a nice ad enhancement. Little do they know, but most of the people hearing their ads are not coming from the AM or FM signals but from the web and stream.

5. A station that covers AM/FM and internet in one shot is a money maker no matter how you slice it. There are ad rates for everyone. Regular spots, Banner Ads, and so on make this the next level in Radio. Plus, if you are playing your cards right there is always syndication via traditional means or in a deal like we made with a Sat Radiocaster, which just further drives revenues.

Bottom Line ? This little podunk station in the sticks will have stronger financials than alot of major market players when it boils down to that eternal question of... What is your Profit Margin???


Thoughts???

 

[Poledo]

Been posting about your new jewel WJEP for over 2 months. Is it on the air? What cities/counties are your listeners calling in from? Have you sold any advertising?

What is the future of radio? Kids have the ipods and clones. My Sirius stock is worth about $0.75/share. I'm old and I only listen to afternoon drive talk shows now, all other listening comes from old fashion CDs. There's just nothing to listen too! I bought an HD radio so I could get the folk and classic country HD-2 channels, but I didn't know that they would drop out for about 5 seconds every minute, so HD radio turned out to be worthless! Maybe high speed internet through cell phone (or similar) networks will save radio (in cars), but it will also destroy the local talent. At work I listen to KEXP, WSOU, WREK, Indie 103.1 and Xponential radio, if I could listen to those stations in my car, I'd never listen to anything local again.

As a business owner I have been buying advertising for the purpose of keeping my company name out there for a decade, before that my dad did things a little different. I've done most all forms: newspapers, billboards, radio, cable tv spots, local infomercials, going from 1/8 page to full page yellow pages adds (the biggest ripoff/mistake I've ever made in advertising!), sponsoring little league sports teams, buying pages in church bulletins, buying pages in high school yearbooks, different types of vehicle lettering, direct mail, giving out swag with the company logo, heck I used to even fly those banners behind airplanes along the beaches. None of these have shown enough of a boost in business to cover the cost of the advertising.
So now the economy is slowing down. Last year I responded by cutting my advertising budget to less than 1% of company profits. I'm doing a simple inline listing in the yellow pages, still sponsoring pages in a couple high school year books and paying for a limited number of commercial spots on the highest rated local news/talk AM radio station and the NPR station. I'm also advertising on two other stations, but I guess you'd call it barter because the owners owe me money and running commercials is the only way for me to get paid.

Everyone that attempts to sell me advertising has some sort of internet tie in that they tell me I'm crazy if I don't buy. I'm not willing to spend one red cent to advertise on the internet. I pay godaddy for my domain names and google just picks me up and puts me near the top of the list like magic, for free. Everyone wants me to pay them a fortune to get at the top of the list on a google search, but hey... I'm already there. I wonder why no one wants to give me a free trial of their revolutionary internet advertising?
Now that I've cut thousands out of my advertising budget, I'm doing more work than ever before. Go figure.

Just get the stock market and real estate prices back up so I can sell out and move to south west Georgia and start a new business. Dar's money in dem dare fields! I could easily pay the bills just by driving my own tractor, and I could run a business from a cell phone at the same time.

I always rant late at night.

 

[JohnAllan]

I'm not sure what business Poledo is in, but I own a couple of businesses as well. I also work in radio. I've found that what Poledo said is 100% correct! I've advertised in almost all of the same mediums (except the billboards and tow behind planes things) and the result was the same. It never covered costs. I've found that word of mouth and doing a good job is the best advertising. Ofcourse, you have to survive long enough for word to get out.

"since most advertisers are generally mooches" is a harsh statement. We are not mooches. You haven't proven that your product works! I tried two stations, one FM and one AM (with vastly different markets and formats) and the AM station got the better results. Admittedly, the AM had more of the target market. We got one phone call from the FM advertising after 1 MONTH of advertising.

Now does this mean that advertising on Radio is not the answer? I guess it depends on the business. For me, it doesn't work. I don't get results. Now if I had a car business, or something retail, maybe it would.

 

[kenglish]

Another reason to buy a small Daytime-only AM "little podunk station in the sticks", is that you can move your transmitter hundreds or even thousands of miles away, and put it in a totally different market (like, maybe a major city). That's becoming about the only way to get a new AM (especially one without a nighttime authorization) on the air anywhere.

 

[amfmxm]

I'm not sure what business Poledo is in, but I own a couple of businesses as well. I also work in radio. I've found that what Poledo said is 100% correct! I've advertised in almost all of the same mediums (except the billboards and tow behind planes things) and the result was the same. It never covered costs. I've found that word of mouth and doing a good job is the best advertising. Ofcourse, you have to survive long enough for word to get out.

"since most advertisers are generally mooches" is a harsh statement. We are not mooches. You haven't proven that your product works! I tried two stations, one FM and one AM (with vastly different markets and formats) and the AM station got the better results. Admittedly, the AM had more of the target market. We got one phone call from the FM advertising after 1 MONTH of advertising.

Now does this mean that advertising on Radio is not the answer? I guess it depends on the business. For me, it doesn't work. I don't get results. Now if I had a car business, or something retail, maybe it would.

Most advertisers don't use radio correctly. Marketing guru Roy Williams (www.wizardofads.com) recommends that you negotiate a package with your station(s) of choice using an "early week" plan--Sunday, Monday & Tuesday--running 21 (60-second) spots a week, every week, 52 weeks a year. For most radio stations the demand for time on those three days is minimal, so you can ordinarily achieve an extremely low unit rate (say, 25 percent of the station's average rate). But since radio is a daily habit for most listeners, your reach on Monday & Tuesday is equal to that of a Thursday or Friday (Sunday is admittedly different, but Sunday will bring in some occasional listeners and helps achieve the frequency--repetition--you need to get the message through the listener's skull). And repetition is the key. Over the course of 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months the listener learns about the advertiser... eventually accepting that business as a "household name"... and will think of that business when he/she is in the market for whatever it is the advertiser is selling.

Williams calls the approach "The Tortoise & The Hare." Try it. It works.

 

[Poledo]

I'm not sure what business Poledo is in, but I own a couple of businesses as well. I also work in radio. I've found that what Poledo said is 100% correct! I've advertised in almost all of the same mediums (except the billboards and tow behind planes things) and the result was the same. It never covered costs. I've found that word of mouth and doing a good job is the best advertising. Of course, you have to survive long enough for word to get out.

Me:
I stay vague about who I am and what I do because I tend to "put my foot in my mouth" and post things that would cause problems with people who know me. I suppose I can safely say I'm in a construction related business.
The way I screwed up was by majoring in Advertising at UGA for two years. Then my dad passed away and I returned home to Pensacola to run his moderately successful business. The advertising classes had me thinking that I could boost business, but I guess I didn't learn enough... or the teachers were full of it. The one thing I did get out of it was that I wasn't going to make $50k a year (in 1993 money) working in advertising.

Advertising experiences (as the man buying the adds, not selling them):
-NPR-Got results, people told me they were calling because I "sponsored" the NPR station and it resulted in large accounts. This made me money.
-Top rated local news/talk got me no noticeable results, but I keep advertising. I probably don't run enough spots to blame the station.
-Barter adds on the only local urban radio station got results, but it seemed like I had milked that audience for all it had to offer in less than 3 months. I still run spots so the station can pay off their debt to me, but I'm not getting any more business from their target audience.
-Billboards. The one next door to my office got me a few of my neighbors as customers, the others produced no results.
-The airplane banners on the beach made my current customers call to tell me it was cool.
-The Yellowpages have messed up every add I've ever placed. 4 different local phone books and none of them can get it right. As long as people can find my phone number in the yellow pages they will call, the adds don't help me no matter how big they are. VERY EXPENSIVE!
-Cable TV (I don't work the entire Mobile DMA, so OTA TV advertising would be a waste) no results. 30 minute local infomercials got results, I might have broken even on them.
-Newspaper: The big Pensacola News Journal got me no results. I have been running adds consistently for 10 years in every edition of the small town weekly papers around here promoting myself as the "local guy". I don't know if this pays for itself, but it keeps my name out there.
-Internet: I refuse to spend a dime on it. It hasn't matured. I have no product to sell and ship online.

The best thing I have going for me is word of mouth based my dad's reputation. He was the best in the business. I can fake it, but I don't know half as much as he did... luckily my customers don't know that. My dad's customers send me most of my new customers.

The value of a rural daytimer:
-Portable internet radio will just help kill small town stations.
-If your FM translator is strong enough to reach the audience listening to the county high school football game, you might get something out of it.
-AM daytimers were moving all over the place 5 years ago, if the FCC lets you do this, then move that sucker to a top 50 market and maybe it'll be worth a dollar.
-The only ways I can see to exploit a rural AM daytimer are: religion, spanish, filling some major format hole that probably isn't there, or a jukebox for an owner who doesn't need to make a profit.

Poledo
-The Journalism School dropout that might buy an AM daytimer in southwest Georgia one day when I don't need to make a profit. My format of choice, Americana/Classic Country with Southern Gospel on Sundays (and I'm an atheist that likes Punk Rock, figure that one out)

 

[fussbudget]

AM is dead. I don't care what box you put it in, and how pretty the wrapping paper is, AM is finished. Big city AM blowtorch's can hang on for a while, although some
of them are starting to gravitate programming to FM (See D.C., Indy and Canada as examples). AM daytimers? I listened to those 40 years ago, when all we had on
FM was "elevator music". Today, they are largely lost in the static, even on a "good" radio. Yes the internet is a game changer but with 11.000 radio stations world wide,
what will bring the listeners to your little daytimer? Compelling programming? Maybe, but you've got to make $$$ to produce compelling programming. Where I live the
local daytimer broadcasts wall to wall preachers. Its been that way for 2 decades. The signal is gosh awful, the audio is distorted and there is a constant buzz in the
carrier. This same station has an internet presence. Never once have I checked their internet stream and seen more than a handful of listeners.
I love AM. AM put food on my table for nearly a quarter of a century but all good things must come to an end. AM is done, stick a fork in it.

 

[redneckriviera]

I'm not sure what business Poledo is in, but I own a couple of businesses as well. I also work in radio. I've found that what Poledo said is 100% correct! I've advertised in almost all of the same mediums (except the billboards and tow behind planes things) and the result was the same. It never covered costs. I've found that word of mouth and doing a good job is the best advertising. Of course, you have to survive long enough for word to get out.

Me:
I stay vague about who I am and what I do because I tend to "put my foot in my mouth" and post things that would cause problems with people who know me. I suppose I can safely say I'm in a construction related business.
The way I screwed up was by majoring in Advertising at UGA for two years. Then my dad passed away and I returned home to Pensacola to run his moderately successful business. The advertising classes had me thinking that I could boost business, but I guess I didn't learn enough... or the teachers were full of it. The one thing I did get out of it was that I wasn't going to make $50k a year (in 1993 money) working in advertising.

Advertising experiences (as the man buying the adds, not selling them):
-NPR-Got results, people told me they were calling because I "sponsored" the NPR station and it resulted in large accounts. This made me money.
-Top rated local news/talk got me no noticeable results, but I keep advertising. I probably don't run enough spots to blame the station.
-Barter adds on the only local urban radio station got results, but it seemed like I had milked that audience for all it had to offer in less than 3 months. I still run spots so the station can pay off their debt to me, but I'm not getting any more business from their target audience.
-Billboards. The one next door to my office got me a few of my neighbors as customers, the others produced no results.
-The airplane banners on the beach made my current customers call to tell me it was cool.
-The Yellowpages have messed up every add I've ever placed. 4 different local phone books and none of them can get it right. As long as people can find my phone number in the yellow pages they will call, the adds don't help me no matter how big they are. VERY EXPENSIVE!
-Cable TV (I don't work the entire Mobile DMA, so OTA TV advertising would be a waste) no results. 30 minute local infomercials got results, I might have broken even on them.
-Newspaper: The big Pensacola News Journal got me no results. I have been running adds consistently for 10 years in every edition of the small town weekly papers around here promoting myself as the "local guy". I don't know if this pays for itself, but it keeps my name out there.
-Internet: I refuse to spend a dime on it. It hasn't matured. I have no product to sell and ship online.

The best thing I have going for me is word of mouth based my dad's reputation. He was the best in the business. I can fake it, but I don't know half as much as he did... luckily my customers don't know that. My dad's customers send me most of my new customers.

The value of a rural daytimer:
-Portable internet radio will just help kill small town stations.
-If your FM translator is strong enough to reach the audience listening to the county high school football game, you might get something out of it.
-AM daytimers were moving all over the place 5 years ago, if the FCC lets you do this, then move that sucker to a top 50 market and maybe it'll be worth a dollar.
-The only ways I can see to exploit a rural AM daytimer are: religion, spanish, filling some major format hole that probably isn't there, or a jukebox for an owner who doesn't need to make a profit.

Poledo
-The Journalism School dropout that might buy an AM daytimer in southwest Georgia one day when I don't need to make a profit. My format of choice, Americana/Classic Country with Southern Gospel on Sundays (and I'm an atheist that likes Punk Rock, figure that one out)

Poledo--

Let me intrude for a minute. Your business would seem ideal for the Roy Williams "Tortoise & Hare" plan described above. I'd highly recommend approaching WMEZ with the idea. Tell 'em you're low-maintenance, pay your bills within 30 days and will commit to a year and see if they won't do it for under a grand a month. WUWF is a great buy--no problem there. I'd give some second thoughts to that "top rated local news-talker," though--their audience is extremely old. MEZ gets you into businesses--and that's who you're shooting at. Their sister station, WXBM, wouldn't be a bad complement--maybe they'd be willing to split it down the middle. One more idea. You might generate better response with compelling content--that is, exceptional copy. There's a guy in Pcola named Mark Tully--he's with some ad agency up around Ensley, I think--who is one of the best radio copywriters on earth. Really. Might be worth chasing him down and spending a few extra bucks. You should be prepared, though, to hear something you don't expect. That's what makes it work. (I worked in Pensacola media long ago. We all envy you being able to live in such a great town--even if you're a Bulldog)!

 

[trusty]

...(and I'm an atheist that likes Punk Rock, figure that one out)

If that's the case, no matter how much advertising you do, your business doesn't have a prayer. ;D

 

[JohnAllan]

Poledo
-The Journalism School dropout that might buy an AM daytimer in southwest Georgia one day when I don't need to make a profit. My format of choice, Americana/Classic Country with Southern Gospel on Sundays (and I'm an atheist that likes Punk Rock, figure that one out)
[/quote]

I actually ran an AM with the Americana format and MADE MONEY! It went from worst to first (even beating our FM Oldies). Then the owners sold it and all went away.

 

[Poledo]

...(and I'm an atheist that likes Punk Rock, figure that one out)

If that's the case, no matter how much advertising you do, your business doesn't have a prayer. ;D

I had to read that 3 times before I realized it was funny.

The point I was trying to make, which I may have made, is that every rural AM daytimer should be doing religious programming on Sunday, if not everyday. That's what they're good for. You can't do high school football on a daytimer, so sports is a worthless format.

 

[Poledo]

Let me intrude for a minute. Your business would seem ideal for the Roy Williams "Tortoise & Hare" plan described above. I'd highly recommend approaching WMEZ with the idea. Tell 'em you're low-maintenance, pay your bills within 30 days and will commit to a year and see if they won't do it for under a grand a month. WUWF is a great buy--no problem there. I'd give some second thoughts to that "top rated local news-talker," though--their audience is extremely old. MEZ gets you into businesses--and that's who you're shooting at. Their sister station, WXBM, wouldn't be a bad complement--maybe they'd be willing to split it down the middle. One more idea. You might generate better response with compelling content--that is, exceptional copy. There's a guy in Pcola named Mark Tully--he's with some ad agency up around Ensley, I think--who is one of the best radio copywriters on earth. Really. Might be worth chasing him down and spending a few extra bucks. You should be prepared, though, to hear something you don't expect. That's what makes it work. (I worked in Pensacola media long ago. We all envy you being able to live in such a great town--even if you're a Bulldog)!

I'd actually love to advertise long term on XBM and MEZ, even though I never listen to the stations, but I just can't justify paying for a signal that covers so much of south west Alabama and parts of Mississippi. My office is only 10 miles from the Alabama state line and I am licensed to work in Alabama, but due to some weird way of interpreting laws there I can't get affordable errors and omissions insurance to work in the state. 75% of my customers are concentrated in the southern half of Escambia county down to Navarre with the rest covering north west Florida over to Crestview and down to Panama City. This is why I see WUWF as a very good investment with there tower half way between my customers in Pensacola and the big money work in Destin. I've been on WUWF for over 10 years.
Since I advertise on WCOA, I have spoken with Cumulus Pensacola about advertising on Q-100, or I guess they spoke to me, and they were charging more than I would spend for that Mobile coverage. That was many years ago and they weren't all that moved when I cut out my service area from their coverage map and asked them to charge me for those counties only. I've always just assumed all the Pensacola 100kw FMs would do the same, so I've never been willing to listen to Clear Channel or Pamal, even though they call for me several times a year. WALA-TV calls me at least once a month and they've never gotten more than 2 minutes of my time.

As for copy, I've never been consistent with that. WUWF has a reader that takes care of it, I don't participate much. I've got a manager that did the limited WCOA stuff, but I've never really liked it and didn't think I could do any better myself (with my native Pensacola Yankee-Redneck accent). Papa Don did some decent sounding stuff for me a while back, but if it still exists I assume he owns it. I think I could put together a good radio add and I know at least 5 people that do voice work, I've just never done it.

I've never even considered contracting with an agency to come up with strategies. Right now I'm just overly content. If I get more work I have to manage more people, and that's stressful. Then on the other hand, I have no idea how my competition would respond if they thought I was trying to compete with them.