Radio Sales Café

Happy Friday, everyone!

This week’s poll question was inspired by RSC member Joel Swanson with Dakota Broadcasting in Aberdeen, SD.  In his May newsletter, Joel shared REASONS TO LOVE RADIO:

San Francisco Chronicle media columnist Ben Fong-Torres recently came up with a long list of reasons why he loves Radio that were reprinted in the April 10th Issue of THE LUND LETTER:

• RADIO is a lot of things, but first, it provides longevity. Radio has been around for over 100 years. There’s nothing quite as intimate and immediate as radio.
• RADIO is fascinating. It’s where people go to learn “stuff”, news, entertainment, weather, the “big event” of the day, AND it’s where you go to hear your favorite music and talk shows.
• RADIO is a dependable utility. Turn it on…and there it is. No password. No pay wall. Radio is there whenever you need or want it.
• RADIO is instant music when you want it. No iPod to loan, no playlist to create, no pauses to buffer content, and if your mood changes, you can push a button and change the station.
• RADIO is a business that delivers an audience. Radio is commercial, taking followers to the world of commerce.
• RADIO is history and history in the making. In a weather or news emergency Radio even works without power, has instant information, and usually works when the cell towers are down or overloaded.
• RADIO is companionship. This is probably the most valuable aspect of radio. Radio is the car companion during heavy traffic, the source for a high school championship game, a co-worker to help you through the day, the place to learn which coat you’ll need that day.
• RADIO is a trendsetter. Even the youngest demos look to Radio to explore new music and Radio’s information services fill needs like no other medium or device.

Then Joel posed the question that we’d like to ask for this week’s poll question: 

Despite the changes and challenges (the “New Normal”), what do YOU love about RADIO?

Looking forward to reading your replies!

I've been in radio for over 40 years, both "on-air" and in sales.  On-air, I enjoy helping people have a better day because they tuned in to my daily radio show.  In sales, I enjoy helping my customer's business be more successful because that makes their lives better.  "Helping people" is what I do.

It could be an off the cuff joke that made a listeners bad morning better, a weather bulletin that saved a life or a chiropractor's schedule that the single mom with a bad back finally heard and got her first good night's sleep in 4 years.  

I LOVE this question!  I have been in radio for over 27 years.....I wouldn't do anything else.  I LOVE Radio and my job!  Why?  Because radio helps people EVERY DAY.  We are first informers in storms and disasters, we raise money for local charities, we draw crowds to non profit events, we help local businesses with their success......WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  What I love about small market radio is that every person in the radio station can make a difference in people's lives....we all wear many hats, we are AWESOME, and we help each and every day.  Thanks for asking this question.  You made my Friday....always helps to remember why we do what we do and what a blessing our industry is in our lives and the lives of thousands of people every day!

if you are on air arnt you still sitting in a cube looking at a screen with a headset?  great responce

I enjoy bathing in the sound, driving down the road blaring a song from when I was ten foot tall and bullet proof.  After over 20 years in the industry, I still get a kick out of hearing an ad I wrote on the airwaves.  I have a passion in seeing a small business owner have their business build and know the advertising we did together is a part of that.  Results are a huge part of my love for this business.  Our radio group uses the slogan "Serving our community with information, entertainment and results".  For me the information and the entertainment are where the results come from.  The radio ads are informative and entertaining, even a fearful emotion evoked from a radio ad is entertainment. 

Radio (itself) is analog 'COOL' in a digital age.  The ability to reach more customers, more often than TV or print is the most unique advantage. The ability to integrate all other media into our websites is beginning to pay dividends...in spades!  We have become a multi-media marketing firm as well as a very strong, locally owned and operated network of community-oriented radio stations.  The ability to clearly differentiate ourselves from our competitors is a very powerful selling tool.

Radio can be immediate. Weather changes so we provide info and hold the collective hands of the community. If an ad is wrong radio can fix it pronto, unlike competitors. Radio often works with small business owners who no one else is offering to help...until we get them on the air.

RADIO was interactive long before the word "interactive" existed.  From the beginning, we had contests and invited listeners to call in.

Radio has the ability to reach past the ears, past the mind and touch the heart of people to rally them to action and deliver results that you can measure to the penny.  

Whether the call to action is raising money for the local hospital or getting people to respond to an advertiser's offer, when done right, new media, print or tv has a difficult time matching radio's ability to create that want, to stimulate that desire pre-need, so the listener is moved to action.

It bought me some spiffy houses, sent me on cruises, paid my medical bills, allowed me to create other businesses and jobs, its putting my kids through college and its just plain fun!

On and it is the cockroach of media....  when the world end it will be cockroaches, Radio and Keith Richards that are left.