Wednesday Morning Meeting for September 30, 2009: How to sell a higher CPP to agencies Bobby Knight

The coffee’s fresh, the donuts are warm, and your BlackBerry still has a full charge. Looks like the perfect time to join the conversation in today’s Wednesday Morning Meeting. I pitched the idea of writing this weekly column for FTC upon the recent realization that many radio sales/NTR departments are having some difficulty adapting to the ever-changing needs of clients and their agencies; hopefully this weekly column can provide some clarity and even help spark an idea or two. So let’s dive in:

It’s no secret that agencies are all about delivering the most efficient buy to their clients. Most media buyers will spend hours, days, or weeks negotiating cost-per-point goals with ad reps; many sales managers gripe about it. So, why not change the conversation?

Making the case

As a media buyer, I’d much prefer to buy at a reasonably higher CPP if I know that my client’s spots will reach the listener. If you are selling stopsets that contain upwards of seven or eight units (almost ten minutes without content), a lower CPP carries far less weight when your spot is number seven in the queue—with fewer ears to hear them. When reviewing buys, I’ll typically pay a premium to have our clients’ spots air first or second, and a premium to stations that air less clutter—less start and stop and more content. Is it the most efficient way to go? It depends. Short term, no; long term, it’s a small investment that typically yields a stronger ROI for the client (and more business for the station).

You may have noticed that many media buyers tend to be young professionals or recent college grads. They’ve been schooled in the science of Arbitron, know the difference between a CPP, GRP, and R&F. What they lack is an understanding of the art of common sense; that comes with experience and proper mentoring. Your sellers should be making the case (read: schooling the buyer) that paying a small premium for less clutter will yield stronger results. At the end of the day, when a client can attribute a surge in business to a successful campaign and media buy, there is always less focus on CPP.

Remember, radio is the in-car media. That means button pushing must be an assumed risk when any stopset begins. That’s why seasoned media buyers will look to include your station on a buy if you offer shorter stopsets, or programming that is listener-focused and not dominated by excessive sponsorships and NTR promotions (with a list of five sponsors being read too quickly) lumped in at breaks. But don’t just take my word for it: take a quick peak at PPM data from any market that you’d like; it doesn’t take much for a listener to sample your competitor.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Please e-mail your thoughts and questions to me: bknight@harrison-edwardspr.com

Next week: What the industry can learn from Twitter: The dawn of the microscript ad.

Bob Knight is Vice President, Advertising and Digital Media with Harrison Edwards PR & Marketing in New York and oversees the company’s advertising and HEdigital divisions, which include podcasting, webcasting, blogging; and print, electronic, and broadcast advertising and media buying. Prior to joining Harrison Edwards in 2005, Bob worked for some of the nation’s largest broadcasting companies, successfully developing programming in some of the most competitive markets including Chicago and San Francisco; his stations and shows were consistently top-rated. In addition to Bob’s work as program director and on-air personality at AMFM, Inc., Clear Channel Communications, Citadel Broadcasting, Entercom, and NextMedia Group, he served as a consultant to Internet radio stations during the dot com boom. Bob’s national and regional radio commercials have won a Gold Clarion Award (AWC) and Gold “Big W” Awards (Ad Club) for commercials he produced. In 2008, Bob was named a “Rising Star Forty Under Forty” by the Business Council of Westchester and is a graduate of Leadership Westchester (Class of 2009).

DEALING WITH A DIFFICULT STAFF Chuck Geiger

I had a suggestion for an article on this subject from several PD’s that have walked into hornet’s nests. How many radio stations have we been a part of, where the staff problems got the better of management? The focus was on the employee’s problems and not the sound of the radio station?

From http//:management.about.com highlights the following:

Difficult employees are that way simply because it is a behavior that has worked for them in the past. They may not know any other behavior or they may choose this behavior when they think it will be most effective. You will be successful in dealing with difficult employees only to the extent that you can make these undesirable behaviors no longer effective for them. In many ways, it's like dealing with children. If every times a child screams, its parents give it candy, what will the child do when it wants candy? It will scream, of course. The same is true for the employee who "blows up" whenever anyone disagrees with him. When he does that people stop disagreeing with him and he thinks he has won.

One of the best lines I ever heard from a former VP/Programming of mine regarding difficult morning shows: “I will deal with the radio station after 10a, you are on your own”. Sounds tough and some what juvenile, but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Morning show’s need the ego-massage from programming and management. If they don’t receive it, they go looking for it from clients, listeners and other staff members.

Develop a plan You know the value of planning. This situation is no different. You need to plan the timing of the confrontation. You need to select a quiet, private place where you won't be interrupted. You need to decide whether you need to have others, like an HR representative, present in the meeting. Plan the confrontation and then make it happen. When you have prepared, it is time to act. You do not need to act impulsively, but you must act quickly. The longer an inappropriate behavior is allowed to continue, the harder it will be to change it or stop it.

Confront the problem Don't put it off. It may not be pleasant, but it's an important part of your job. It will not "fix itself". It can only get worse. You have planned this confrontation. Now you need to execute.

Deal with the behavior, not the person Your goal is to develop a solution, not to "win". Focus on the inappropriate behavior; don't attack the person. Use "I" statements like "I need everybody on the team here on time so we can meet our goals" rather than "you" statements like "you are always late". Don't assume the inappropriate behavior is caused by negative intent. It may be from fear, confusion, lack of motivation, personal problems, etc. Give the other person a chance to develop a solution to the problem. They are more likely to "own" the solution if they are at least partially responsible for developing it.

Try to draw out the reasons behind the behavior As you talk with the difficult employee, actively listen to what they say. Stay calm and stay positive, but remain impartial and non-judgmental. Ask leading questions that can't be answered in one or two words. Don't interrupt. When you do respond to the difficult employee, remain calm. Summarize back to them what they just said, "so what I understand you are saying is", so they know you are actually listening to them. If you can find out from the difficult employee what the real source of the inappropriate behavior is, you have a much better chance of finding a solution.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR FAMILY WORKING IN THE BROADCAST BUSINESS Loyd Ford

If you care about your future in the broadcast business and the future of your family, I urge you to read this entire article. We feel there are important things included in this article that could enhance or change the way you look at your employment and money.

If you are like me, you began working in the broadcast business because you were passionate about radio, records or both. While I was originally attracted to radio because I was passionate about both, I added to my list of things I was passionate about when I started programming and realized that my ability to use strategy to impact outcome in terms of ratings and revenue could be rewarding.

If you are like me, you didn’t really think much about income, debt and wealth until a certain age when you began to see that life has a scorecard for your family. That scorecard is not about money, but having money and having balance when it comes to personal finance is key to having options for you, your spouse and your children at important times in their lives.

As we move through this economy and this time, we are going to urge you to shake up the way you look at your paycheck, your checking account and your goals.

YOUR MONEY DIFFERENCE

Everyone in the radio business with very few exceptions is concerned about continued employment. That’s the way fear operates. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, you cannot really afford to lose your job and be out of work for an extended period of time. If you have a little savings, you still are not likely to be able to afford to be out of work for an extended period of time.

What is the solution?

I ask you to think about the end result of your personal finance goals. What if you had a significant savings built up and you had a personal finance program with goals that actually worked and allowed you to build savings regularly at first and then wealth? Would that make a difference when things got tough in your cluster?

Would you be as worried as you might be right now?

You bet it could make a big difference. In just a moment we are going to encourage you to build your own plan that will help you generate a sizable savings that can help you sustain yourself in this crazy business we all love so much without changing much about your lifestyle in the process.

THE FAT CAT PARTY

I remember when consolidation began, many of my friends in radio would talk about how lucky I was to be with the acquiring company. I thought they were confused because I knew these fat cats (broadcast company CEOs) were all sitting around a poker table in a game of high stakes poker. We (employees, stations, clusters) were only cards in the game. Cards never win in a poker game. Technically, they are in the game. However, they cannot win or lose.

The same is true in today’s environment. Debt pressures and economic pressures are forcing a variety of difficulties on the companies that own these broadcast properties and you need to be aware of that impact on you and develop a plan that helps you navigate successfully the continuing turbulent times in this business.

Rule # 1. If you are not a fat cat, you need to have a different plan.

Today broadcasting looks different than it did in 1993. Big is not-so-in and little is more fun (reasonable). While we can debate local radio Vs big corporate radio, this article really focuses on your finances. Today it looks as if broadcast companies are under intense pressure and will be forced in many situations to carefully sell off clusters or individual stations in order to successfully reduce debt, deal with the economic issues facing all media and organize themselves in a more appropriate fashion for today’s razor sharp competitive media world.

A LESSON FOR YOU

The huge debt these broadcast companies have built should be a lesson to all of us. Debt is a real destroyer of wealth potential. The best news is that you don’t have to accept that you will have debt forever. There are important keys to fighting back.

NEW BROADCAST EMPLOYEE WARNING

You shouldn’t consider the things happening to broadcast companies as necessarily good for you either. Until they sort out the debt and economic issues impacting their bottom line goals, employees are on a potential bubble. However, you can survive and even thrive in the current business cycle and broadcast economy if you are careful and have a plan of your own to do the three key things that will give you more security for you and your family.

1. Work to reduce interest rates on any outstanding credit cards and reduce and then eliminate all credit card debt (and eventually all debt). Debt is the #1 impairment of wealth with the middle class today.

2. Launch a regular and automatic savings program that is not optional for your family. If you have not been saving a percentage of each of your paychecks you are playing the poor man’s game. (If you want to see more about a way to establish a regular and automatic savings program without killing your lifestyle, read our blogs at www.stickyasset.com/blog and look for the “1% Plan in the historic blog entries).

3. Work to secure the proper emergency fund for 2009. We recommend that you see this amount as 15 to 18 months of expenses in FDIC-insured money market and certificates of deposit. Yes, we know this is more than the standard 3 to 6 months that people have been recommending since the 1970s, but we don’t live in the 1970s either. This is 2009. If you lose your job, you may not be able to get another job for 12 months and may not EVER be able to replace your current income. This is why saving is not an option. You won’t be able to plop down 15 to 18 months of expenses in a savings account right away, but you can build this over time. We can show you how to do this. (see www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com to learn tricks on how you can build this fund over time). No one likes to see layoffs and downsizing, but you will feel 90% better knowing you have a plan and that you are building this fund.

TWO CRITICAL RETHINKING ELEMENTS FOR PEOPLE IN THE RADIO BUSINESS

We urge you to see the two critical elements that are important in retooling your thinking for the future and for your family.

1. Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. If you can find an excuse to pull money from your checking account and push it to savings, DO IT. This is an extension of the idea “Pay Yourself First.” Only we like to say: “Pay Yourself First AND Pay Yourself Often.”

2. It’s not really about what you earn. It is about what percentage of your earnings go first to savings and eventually to asset production that counts.

CONGRATULATIONS

Today can be a big day in the history of your family. Maybe you are already doing these things to calm the financial waters of your life. Chances are good that your grandparents retooled the way they saw jobs, personal finance and saving during or after The Great Depression. Now, it’s our turn. Maybe you would like to be saving more money but don’t see how that it possible with your bills.

Read our blogs. They will showcase how you can put pressure on your own bills (companies that send bills to your home) and pressure on credit card companies while you pay off debt and reduce spending and push money to savings by percentage.

Eventually, your goal should be to reach a point where you are saving 15 – 20% of your income. If you do this over a period of time, you will be able to make different decisions about where you work, who you work for, what you have to put up with and what you don’t.

Your family deserves those options. This is our area of focus.

I hate to see some really great people struggling at the employee level in this business. In the end, it is your family that matters the most. We work in an industry that many of us love. Still, it is an important time to review where you are, look at how you can change the dynamics of your debt and savings and move to a more secure place financially. That will earn your family a spot in their own big game for getting ahead. That’s worth doing.

We started writing the personal finance blogs because of my children. I love them and want them to have opportunity to live a better life than I have so far in mine. I have made all the personal finance mistakes a person can make. Our personal blogs and personal finance habits are not about saying we have it all figured out. I have learned hard lessons (as I am sure you have, too). Our work in the area of personal finance is about helping ourselves and helping others. I watch others in this business struggle at the hands of some things that are out of our control and I am working to be helpful to those interested in gaining some sanity and maybe some personal finance traction for their family.

Are you interested in building your own plan for financial security? Would you like to get easy access to the knowledge we have really dug for to share with our own children? It’s easy to say yes. You can join our personal finance group on Facebook called “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves™.” Just search for the group on Facebook and click on “become a fan.” This will give you instant access to our two free personal finance blogs and an opportunity to connect with people interested in building savings and eventually getting out of the rat race.

It is important to point out that we are not offering get rich quick strategies. This is real persistent work focused on the real and steady production of savings and eventual wealth. They are strategies that are known to produce results. We are also not seeking to be paid to develop a plan for you. There are enough fees in the personal finance business. The only thing we ever sell is “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” (an e-book written originally for our children). We make that optional, but most of what we do is offered for free through the blogs, e-saver and the Facebook personal finance group. All of our blogs, e-saver and our personal finance Facebook group (Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves™) are free.

I’m not in your family. At the same time, I recognize that we are all connected.

Most everyone at our level in the broadcast business are middle class people trying to get through what I call “the hard middle.” We all have kids. We all have bills. We are all trying to survive and get ahead.

Hopefully, you find this information to be helpful to you. If you do, we are excited to be able to be a small part of your thinking when it comes to building savings and thinking about ways to build wealth.

Rich people don’t just get richer because they have money. They think differently than most middle class Americans. How would you like to investigate “thinking like a rich person”?

There’s no better time to start than right now.

Loyd Ford

www.stickyasset.com/blog

www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com

www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth

www.middleclassmoney.com

On Facebook: Personal finance group: “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves™

CRACK OPEN THE SAFE LIST Week of 9/27

FTC TRACKING FROM MEDIABASE AND THE 35 ROCKIN' BEST COUNTRY STATIONS IN AMERICA THEY JELLO THE MELLOW
Artist	Title	Label		Cat
TOBY KEITH	American Ride	Show Dog		POWER
JUSTIN MOORE	Small Town USA	Valory		POWER
JASON ALDEAN	Big Green Tractor	BBR		POWER
CHRIS YOUNG	Gettin' You Home (The Black..)	RCA		POWER
KEITH URBAN	Only You Can Love Me This Way	Capitol Nashville		POWER
BRAD PAISLEY	Welcome To The Future	Arista		POWER
GEORGE STRAIT	Living For The Night	MCA Nashville		POWER
ZAC BROWN BAND	Toes	Atlantic/HomeGrown/BigPic		MEDIUM
ERIC CHURCH	Love Your Love The Most	Capitol Nashville		MEDIUM
DARRYL WORLEY	Sounds Like Life To Me	Stroudavarious		MEDIUM
BLAKE SHELTON	I'll Just Hold On	Warner Bros.		MEDIUM
CARRIE UNDERWOOD	Cowboy Casanova	19/Arista		MEDIUM
KENNY CHESNEY	I'm Alive w/Dave Matthews	BNA		MEDIUM
LOVE AND THEFT	Runaway	Carolwood		MEDIUM
TAYLOR SWIFT	Fifteen	Big Machine		MEDIUM
LADY ANTEBELLUM	Need You Now	Capitol Nashville		MEDIUM
CRAIG MORGAN	Bonfire	BNA		MEDIUM
BROOKS & DUNN	Honky Tonk Stomp	Arista		LIGHT
LUKE BRYAN	Do I	Capitol Nashville		LIGHT
DAVID NAIL	Red Light	MCA		LIGHT
DIERKS BENTLEY	I Wanna Make You Close Your...	Capitol Nashville		LIGHT
REBA	Consider Me Gone	Starstruck/Valory		LIGHT
TRACE ADKINS	All I Ask For Anymore	Capitol Nashville		LIGHT
MARTINA MCBRIDE	I Just Call You Mine	RCA		LIGHT
JOE NICHOLS	Believers	Universal South		LIGHT
MONTGOMERY GENTRY	Long Line Of Losers	Columbia Nashville		LIGHT
JASON MICHAEL CARROLL	Hurry Home	Arista		LIGHT
JAKE OWEN	Eight Second Ride	RCA		LIGHT
DARIUS RUCKER	History In The Making	Capitol Nashville		NEW
TIM MCGRAW	Southern Voice	Curb		NEW
MIRANDA LAMBERT	White Liar	Columbia Nashville		NEW

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND Tony Magoo

Has the remote gone the way of the cart deck? If not, maybe it ought to. As a talent, how many times have you looked at the remote calendar, and made an audible sign of displeasure…the same noise you made when your ex told you she was keeping your reel-to-reel deck… when you saw your name next to the dealership for Saturday at 10 AM? “Not another crappy car dealer appearance!”

There have been only two dealership remotes that I’ve ever done where they “got it.” The first was at a Mazda dealership in Greenville, South Carolina…John Finger Motors. The other was at Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda; a motorcycle, 4 by 4 and watercraft dealership in Dallas, Texas. They both made an event out of the remote by adding stunt riders, food vendors, and toys. Anything that could add a little zing to the event. Both of the guys that owned the dealerships are Alpha males, both are racers, and they both have big-boy toys. They put everything they owned on the lot, and combined with everything else that was going on, it looked like a circus. From the street, you couldn’t drive by without looking to see what was going on. That’s easy to promote. Tell everyone about the party. I’ve been in radio for over 30 years, and I can only recall these two places that got it right? Yep.

How many times have you been there with a couple of boxes of pizza, two trays of Hooters wings, some stickers and a couple of Darryl Worley CD’s begging for anyone besides the local prize pigs, who eat you out of house and home, to show. Worst two hours of your life isn’t it? As soon as you get there, the sales guys on the lot try and grab all of the half-dozen t-shirts that you could scrounge up. You’ve got them pissed because you tell them they’re for their customers, and now you’re on their list for the rest of the remote. Especially when you tell them that fast-talkin’, nice-smellin’, meth-snortin’ Johnny Ray can’t do all the breaks with you.

I know it’s about the money when you sell a package, but come on, after shoving these things at our listeners every weekend…sometimes 3 at-a-time…for 10 years, how can you really expect anyone to show up “So that you can spin the prize-wheel for Ted Nugent tickets!” (Sorry Teddy). There’s nothing “special” about them anymore. One joker that I worked with was selling $400 remote packages, and was talking about doing cheaper ones during the week! Even the PD has relegated them to the back end of the stopset, and remember…the board-op has strict instructions to cut you off if you’re still talking 8 seconds after the bed has run out. Bwah!

I haven’t even mentioned that location broadcasting for HD stations is a waste of time if there are actually folks there watching you. The delay has them all shaking their heads. They didn’t get it. I hated it. I was embarrassed by it when I was in Dallas, and even more so in Memphis. Our owner didn’t want to spend the money on a marty, or a hotbox, and when we stopped staffing the weekends everyone had to record all the breaks. Sad.

Here’s another thing. Some day, the folks that don’t understand at your place might have the revelation that the way the station vehicle and everything about how your event looks, goes a long way towards how your listeners view your station. On my last stop on the trail in Memphis, the station vehicle, an HHR, was my ride. I was lucky, because here was one thing that I could control. The car was always washed, the gas was topped off at Sam’s club every weekend, I maintained all the audio equipment, and I knew what station promotional items I had in stock…including a clean table cloth.

Just a thought…something you may want to consider, even if you’re a small market guy or gal. You don’t have to look that way. Have a promotional photo taken of you that includes your name, station name and your airshift on it that you can hand out at events. I’ve used a caricature that I had made when I was in Nashville over a decade ago that I use for an autograph card. You might not think that you’re a big deal, but your listeners might. You don’t know what it does for kids to have something like that to take home with them.

I’m sure you’ve seen this too. Guy shows up wearing a clean staff shirt, but it looks like it came out of the bottom of an Army duffle bag. Buy an iron! Shine your shoes! Have your own headphones and for Chrissakes wear a watch! I once worked with a 7 to midnight guy that came to his own remote without headphones and a watch. I explained to him that these were the tools of his trade. I pointed out that this was very much like a carpenter showing up for work without a hammer and a saw. I swear this is true…when I mentioned the watch he told me, “I’m not into time man.” What a tie-dyed answer! I still love the guy. One more thing because I’m running pretty long here, and I don’t want the board-op to pot me down, but please show some civility. To me, that means being respectful of the people that are there to see you. The self-portrait you present to the world comes into vivid focus in the way you treat people.

Man, I know I have the worst mouth in the world. I was in the army and spent too many seasons in this business, but I still try and watch my language. Being civil also means getting out from behind the table and pressing the flesh with the folks. I was after a gig in Birmingham, Alabama a few years ago, and while scouting the events page of the station, I noticed that the morning guy was doing a handshake tour of the city. The one thing I noticed in every photo of every town they went was that the guy never got out from behind the table. I saw it in every photo on their events page. I actually pointed that out to the PD when I was applying for the guy’s job. It was his barrier between himself and the great unwashed.

From some of the stories I’m hearing coming out of the NAB in Philly, it sounds like there are going to be many changes to our business. I think it’s time to retool the remote and rethink what we’re doing with our weekends. Bring back “special.”

The next reader to stop by my house and tell me that they read this on FTC, will get those Ted Nugent tickets!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU TWEET - FINGER CANDY FRIDAY Jessica Northey

I have a favorite question I ask clients: What’s your Socialality and how can I help you GET Social? Just like your Personality, your Socialality should reflect you or your brands unique attributes including behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental that give you character!

Even if you are starting from scratch or have already created Twitter, Facebook, Blogger or any Social Media Platform accounts, you should try to design a comprehensive system with synergy and content that provides an interactive experience for your audience and shows them what you are all about.

My Socialality is Sassy, Entertaining and Informative.

I work with clients to semi-automate their social media. I use RSS feeds from their blog or their favorite charitable organization or their favorite sports team. Having relevant articles, quotes and sayings is such an amazing way to relate to others.
It is still imperative that you be social and responsive to the Tweets, Facebook emails, posts, @replies, DM’s, ReTweeets, feedback etc.

It is also important to determine what you want to accomplish with your social media marketing efforts. In other words, what is your purpose? I have always said, ‘define your goals and you manage your own expectations.’ It worked for me when I was selling air and it works for me selling Social Media design solutions.

You need to decide how you will judge success? Amount of active members within a certain time frame, content, information you share, posts you make, leads you obtain, customer service, questions about you and for you, being seen as an authority when it comes to social
media, replies to your posts, direct messages you receive and answer, re-tweets or shared videos and images, branding, getting feedback from clients/listeners, hiring people, outsourcing jobs, directing traffic back to websites, emergency news and weather updates/alerts, company
intranet, letting consumers know about new products and services, event updates, provide live coverage even when you are not broadcasting, voting or building trust/relationships with listeners.

Most of our Finger Candy customized Social Media Plans are completed in less than a week. Prices vary with each project. For a quote you can contact me with your project details.

CUSTOMIZED SOCIAL MEDIA PLANS INCLUDE SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:

-Creation of Social Media Accounts including a personal design as needed
-Set up and link all Social Media Platforms together (you will only have to post in one place and will have the option to do this from your mobile handset)
-Set Automatic Following of Target People on Twitter
-Content Factory Automation including RSS feeds through API/Aggregate optimization
-Finding People with same interests to "get social" with

All I need to get started:
-A picture of you or your logo (photo should be something candid that portrays you in an engaging way.)
-An interesting bio that will capture attention in 140 characters (I can write this for you also)
-Your website address (or LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, or purchase domain and website from MediaJess.com)

Jessica is the Social Media Editor for Full Throttle Country-Country Radio's newest full-service and free interactive idea sharing and new media on-line service. She has over 19 years experience including Radio, Television, Internet and Print Sales as well as an On-Air Radio personality.  She is an Entrepreneur who owns MediaJess.com servicing all website needs including domain names, hosting, SSL Certificates etc. She specializes in big ideas and is known for the ability to create complete marketing campaigns and bridge marketing partnerships. Her company Finger Candy provides social and new media optimization planning for businesses, brands and individuals.
You can also read her blog, “Observations from the Peanut Gallery” at  http://www.imwithjessica.com

SAY WHO YOU ARE, BE WHO YOU SAY

In the world of product branding, a narrow focus equals a broader success. Ries and Trout talk about it in all of their books; you can’t be everything to all people. If your station represents a brand, it needs to creatively and systematically scream what you do.

When you hear a commercial for Mc Donald’s, the slogan is LOVIN IT’. The golden arches doesn’t use LOVIN IT” and FEELING GOOD ABOUT IT. Branding your product is the most important part of your job as a program director. If you don’t know how to do it, better ask. Country music isn’t going to attract people to the station alone; it will take a compendium of focused areas to build your listening community.

I know a head of programming for a company that told me: “I hate all that Cat Country jargon and growls”. Wow! – What if Ford said you know, that F-150 Truck is pretty stupid, let’s not market it as America’s Best Selling Mid-size pick-up. Representing a product is putting the handle and slogan in the listener’s ears, creatively and effectively. Create a glossary of terms, centered on the name of the station. For Wolves, PAW’S FOR THE CAUSE for charity events, for Cat’s, Broadcattin’ live for remotes and make sure they are fun and easy to image. Google the handle of the station and see what pop’s up. I bought a Cat Fancy magazine in Allentown to write imaging for Cat Country 96. I’m not a feline breeder, but I can write.

If you are programming a radio station called THE WOLF or THE BULL and you don’t use cinematic and theatric imaging to conjure up mental pictures of the station, go home. I have heard these stations presented like normal 10 in a-row Country stations with no impact around the brand. Don’t believe this is true: Ask Scott Lindy in Atlanta, when they started marketing and imaging around the character THE BULL – The station’s ratings went up.

WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOU GOING? Loyd Ford

In fall 2009, your strategy should be all about preparing to take more market revenue share from your direct format competitors and across-the-street clusters. Industry leaders who are marketing now are preparing to do just that. Those who are not marketing this fall are likely to take reported and electronic listening losses that will be far more expensive than their small budget cuts. They may take significant hits to their revenue share as well.

While there has been stress in the economy and some cutbacks in marketing spending, the leaders in various markets are often the ones who do what radio tells their own clients: now is the perfect time for marketing to increase your revenue share in 2010. If you are not marketing now, you should be aware that this activity is happening not only in radio, but in all brands. When you read Fortune, The Wall Street Journal and other business or advertising resources, it is apparent that smart companies of all sizes have shifted focus to more than the bottom line – they want to boost their market revenue share against the competition.

How do you plan to help your station, cluster and company take revenue share in 2010? That has to be your question and your mission in this economy. When I was lucky enough to program radio stations, I enjoyed doing it every single day. Of course, I worked to make sure the stations I was responsible for had great music, a winning morning show and solid marketing.

I also played a game with my stations called “Where’s the ball?” At any given time (and certainly at key times) the mindset of your market is focused on a certain thing or something that is important to them. Our job beyond making the music great, making sure the morning show sizzles and connects, and the marketing focused on the important participators is to “be the ball,” or help our listeners find what they want more easily. If we do this consistently, their love of our product will grow, and they will spend more time with our brand. This is simplistic when you focus on things like what listeners are going to do after work or on the weekend. It becomes more complicated when the answer does not just pop out at you. It can be easier when a September 11 happens but more challenging in everyday life.

In times when broadcast companies are focused more than ever on cutbacks and reductions, it is critical to make sure that you seek out any resource you have inside your building and in partnerships inside or outside the market. Employ all the tools available for your use that do not create major budget barriers for you. There are always additional resources around a radio station. Use creativity to find and use them now. This is part of the reason that we have a Facebook group called “Social Networking for Radio Stations.” It’s free for you to join, and it focuses on specific ideas you can use to communicate and connect more effectively with your audience. If you are on Facebook, search for “Social Networking for Radio Stations” and click on “become a fan” for instant access.

My direct marketing work with Americalist is designed to help stations build their value and boost ratings for more than a single book. While we can help clients grow temporary ratings, we work hard to give clients tools and information that can be critical for building more long-term success and protecting themselves against attacks from other brands. We work to help stations expand the occasions of listening and the length of time listening at each occasion. This increases value and creates hardships for our clients’ competitors. Responsible marketing is about focusing where you can build the most value and get the best return on investment. There is more than one way to do this, and that is where we add extra value over other direct marketing companies.

Times have changed. They always change. People who are serious about changing with the times know that now is about focusing on market share and revenue share growth against direct competitors. Marketing is a big part of that strategy. It’s not too late for your fall ’09.

While we can talk a lot about how businesses adjust and times change, the basic ideas that build and support great radio stations don’t change. The best music, morning show, companionship and marketing win -- time and time again. Now it is up to you to lead. Good luck.

Loyd Ford is an experienced programmer and marketing strategist. He has programmed for Capstar, Citadel, SFX and Entercom, to name a few, and has worked for Americalist Media Marketing, helping radio stations boost ratings for the last six years. Americalist Media Marketing has worked with radio to create higher ratings since 1987, providing telemarketing, direct mail, design, e-mail and database marketing to help stations and clusters grow value. Americalist is market exclusive.