WARNING: Click to another page now if you’re someone who still thinks that the Radio industry can return to the heady days of WKRP in Cincinatti.
Ready for some consultant to take shots at your Internet effort? Many in Radio don’t like hearing this kind of stuff. Otherwise, step up to the plate as I serve a little tough love about the industry’s overall online strategy.
We can all blame Mel Karmazin until the cows come home. Many think he kept Radio in the Internet dark ages when he was running Infinity/CBS. Radio was raking in the spot dollars back then and Wall Street loved it. It looked like a smart move at the time. Yet the ugly truth is, most Radio managers drank too much of the Karmazin kool-ade. They spent little time if any, keeping an eye on how the Web was growing, and how it could affect local media. Since Mr. Karmazin was turning a blind eye to web, they figured, they should too.
Now that the Web can no longer be ignored, Radio is scrambling. “We’re not worried” says management. “We are the local brand, nobody is better at packaging audio content than us, and our streaming numbers are way up”. These statements used to hold water. Yet in a world of unlimited online choice, this will unfortunately ring hollow with listeners as well as increasingly, Web savvy media buyers.
False sense of pride. Radio is proud of it’s streaming and we see all too many press releases boasting about the increase of streaming numbers. What we don’t see is press releases on how is Radio generating revenue with streaming. This may be that it’s not being sold properly. The total reach (Web and terrestrial) has yet to be embraced by advertisers. According to Borrell and Associates data, while Radio is starting to grow it’s online revenue, it’s actually losing online share. We all look forward to seeing a press release about these items sometime soon.
What got us here, won’t get us there. Translation: the people and processes that worked over the years, were fine for the times. Yet, many of these same people and processes will be ill-equipped for the next 5 years of tumultuous change. Radio may want to make sure that they are hiring more than just managers. They need to start hiring entrepreneurs, web-savvy big thinkers, and multi-media experts as well.
Purge of the feet draggers. Know somebody in your organization that finds reasons NOT to embrace the Web and other digital tools? Does your PD think online hurts the terrestrial ratings? Does your LSM say things like; “why should I sell a $500 Web program, when I can sell a $5,000 spot program? These naysayers need to conveniently wake up, or be shown the door. They will kill your effort from within. Job descriptions and compensation packages should be immediately tweaked to make Web a basic, mandatory function of all positions within your company.
It’s not easy being a Radio GM. While your trying to reverse declining spot revenue, you have to downsize and build out your Web business at the same time. And what exactly is a Web business? Selling banners? Streaming the signal? It’s really all of that and more. Throwing this responsibility on your overworked PD or LSM is not the answer.
Radio has to get serious. First, it must admit that they need more outside help. There are just too few people inside of the Radio industry that have a handle on the fast changing digital landscape. Relying on the Internet sales managers, or the GM’s to develop a strong Web plan will not be enough. Radio must bring in experts to help sort this stuff out, and build a solid game plan. Newspaper and TV have already made the commitment. Now it’s time for Radio to step up.
To gage your station’s Web effort……ask yourself questions like these:
- Are you relying on corporate to show you the way? Are you sure they know the way ?
- Are your websites; advertiser, search engine & user friendly? Does your site look like a giant train wreck full of marketing and programming content? Does your site make users want to come back on a regular basis?
- Does each seller have a mandatory Web budget and penalties for not hitting it? Is your Web commission structure similar to the new biz commission? Are you sure the reps are not just moving spot dollars to the Web line?
- Can your sales staff comfortably sell Web and overcome common objections? What do advertisers really think about your site? What kind of training are you providing to your staff? Do your managers have strong grasp of Web? If not, how will they effectively manage the effort?
- Do you know what TV, Newspaper and other sites are doing to take dollars from you? Do your reps know their clients online strategy? How many of your clients are spending on Google or the local Newspaper site?
- Is it OK for your on-air staff to have their own websites, or have their own MySpace or YouTube channels? Do you include Web in talent contracts? Maybe you should.
