Is there a radio underwriting sales service for non-comms? Our station only has two full-time employees who are busy with most day-to-day operations and teaching...and many students that are not really polished enough to find national companies for underwriting. The idea of asking a local public radio station to help is OK, but we don't really feel we want to give up time on-air yet.
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Underwriting Sales Service?
- Thread starter butlerguy03
- Start date
I look forward to seeing the answers you get to this post.
I don't think national companies will turn out to be a significant part of your plan.
I don't think national companies will turn out to be a significant part of your plan.
There's been a few attempts at a national underwriting sales service, and I vaguely remember hearing about one not all that long ago on the CBI listserv.
But AFAIK, there's never been one that was terribly successful, either for itself or for the station in question. Well, maybe if it was a scam, but obviously you don't want to work with a scammer! The problem is that most college/high-school radio stations are just too darn independent; nobody wants to give up the control of programming that a national underwriting service would demand.
I wouldn't necessarily say that's a bad thing, but it is somewhat limiting at times like these.
Depending on how big your station's audience is, you might be able to hire an underwriting sales person (ahem, "account executive") on a purely commission basis but that carries its own problems. Namely that you'll have insanely high turnover no matter what you do. Either the person won't be very good at it and they'll miss quota, or just quit because they're not making any money....or they'll be good enough at it that they'll quickly move on to bigger and better markets where they can make a lot more money.
But AFAIK, there's never been one that was terribly successful, either for itself or for the station in question. Well, maybe if it was a scam, but obviously you don't want to work with a scammer! The problem is that most college/high-school radio stations are just too darn independent; nobody wants to give up the control of programming that a national underwriting service would demand.
I wouldn't necessarily say that's a bad thing, but it is somewhat limiting at times like these.
Depending on how big your station's audience is, you might be able to hire an underwriting sales person (ahem, "account executive") on a purely commission basis but that carries its own problems. Namely that you'll have insanely high turnover no matter what you do. Either the person won't be very good at it and they'll miss quota, or just quit because they're not making any money....or they'll be good enough at it that they'll quickly move on to bigger and better markets where they can make a lot more money.
butlerguy03 said:
Why go after the national companies? If you are a small local station at a local high school or college, hit the small businesses in your community. You would be giving them an opportunity to promote their business on your station, which would be a lot cheaper than paying for it on a big commercial station. It also makes those businesses look good that they are giving back to the local schools.
If you are looking for a sales service talk to someone at USC's station. Clear Channel runs their underwriting department. I would even talk to a local media buyer in the area. They might be interested in doing something with you as long as there is something in it for them. We are actually talking to a few in Philadelphia right now about that.
Hiring a commission only underwriting sales person is bad news. Anyone who is good is making good money. You need to pay a 'survival' wage otherwise you'll be changing sales people as often as you change your underwear!
Look to your community. Latch on to a local group to sell for you. Real life examples: Cheerleaders in one town were invited to the nationals in Florida. The station sent the cheerleaders out to sell and donated 50% to the fund to pay for their trip. High school sports was 'sold' by the Sports Booster Club with a 'commission' donated to the Booster Club.
Look to your community. Latch on to a local group to sell for you. Real life examples: Cheerleaders in one town were invited to the nationals in Florida. The station sent the cheerleaders out to sell and donated 50% to the fund to pay for their trip. High school sports was 'sold' by the Sports Booster Club with a 'commission' donated to the Booster Club.
Biggest problem for public radio "national rep" firms is the lack of consistency among stations.
In commercial radio, reps can count on being able to sell 60s & 30s based (more or less) on daypart cpp and advertisers/agencies can count on running the identical spot in all markets at once.
In public/non-comm radio, reps can count on having each station determine whether their UW credits will be :08, :10, :15, :20... rarely :30... and almost never :60. And they can count on each station poring over every word of a script and holding endless conversations over whether a word is inherently "promotional"... and whether a particular word or turn of phrase implies a "call to action."
Not impossible, but damn near.
In commercial radio, reps can count on being able to sell 60s & 30s based (more or less) on daypart cpp and advertisers/agencies can count on running the identical spot in all markets at once.
In public/non-comm radio, reps can count on having each station determine whether their UW credits will be :08, :10, :15, :20... rarely :30... and almost never :60. And they can count on each station poring over every word of a script and holding endless conversations over whether a word is inherently "promotional"... and whether a particular word or turn of phrase implies a "call to action."
Not impossible, but damn near.
A local tire shop supports our station, particularly the weekend bluegrass programming. He tells me that people stop all the time thanking him for supporting "Knights Radio, WRSG. Even though our station's license is held by the Tyler County (WV) Board of Education, I've always told them I want to be as self-sufficient as possible. They DO NOT pay for a full-time radio teacher, unlike our counterparts in Wheeling, West Virginia. Our local area has been as supportive as the economy allows. In fact, since we live in a 'depressed' area, our supporters are probably disproportionately generous.
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