It’s been a while since I had a chance to sit in front of a computer screen and spend a few hours putting my thoughts on a page, but that’s a necessary sacrifice when tackling important issues with clients. In some ways I feel like a lion trapped inside of a cage because there have been so many things that I’ve seen and heard over the past few months, all which I could’ve easily written columns on.
But since I can’t expect you to spend five hours of your day consuming my thoughts on every industry issue to capture my attention over the past few months, I’m going to dive into an issue that my colleague Matt Fishman explored in his most recent column.
National Radio Day passed last week and if you follow industry friends on social media, chances are you saw a lot of people touting their career stops and sharing their pride and enthusiasm for the business they work in. For as big as radio is, it still has a small community feel, especially in the sports talk format. It’s something many of us are proud to be a part of and happy to share with anyone who will listen.
In Matt’s column, he asked a great question. “Who is out there promoting radio’s strength and reach?” He mentioned how so much of the industry news today for brands is centered around podcasts and digital media yet AM/FM radio is still a huge part of our present and future business.
I’ll answer the question by giving our team a little bit of credit because for nearly 4 years BSM has tried to elevate the perception of the sports radio format. Sometimes it’s a thankless job. We don’t break the bank off of web traffic and have to track down a lot of news either individually or thru other media outlets. Occasionally we’ll receive a press release, text, direct message or phone call, but we grind to produce the content you read on this site. I wish it was easier, but unfortunately not enough brands make a big deal out of their people, news, events and progress.
Some of that’s because programming people are focused on today’s content and less on overselling the public about station business. Another reason is the newspapers and trades don’t often present a rosy picture of the industry. We constantly read headlines about radio companies selling off, revenues being down, stock prices declining or employees being laid off. Rather than working to change these perceptions by pointing out the many positives our brands produce, most just deal with the negativity and move forward.
On the flip side, if shareholders and advertisers are fed a steady diet of negative news about the radio business, what do you think they’re going to do? They’re going to pay more attention to it and eventually start to buy into it. For that reason, I get why more attention is placed on the industry’s shiny new toys (podcasts, apps, smart speakers, social media, etc.) even if I agree with Matt that enough isn’t done to celebrate radio’s importance and value.
But this is not a new issue. Radio folks have long battled negative perceptions. We’re out there fighting for dollars and ears, and every bit of information we have should be used to defend our position, highlight our brands, people, and progress, and remind clients and fans why radio matters. Instead, we enter the witness protection program when negative news hits, and allow others to control the story.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, you’re going to have peaks and valleys when you operate a brand. Not every month or quarter is going to be up. Not every one of your decisions is going to work out. But there are positive stories inside of the negative ones. You just have to look closer and stay out in front with your message. You also need patience and a long-term strategy because consistency breeds listener and advertiser loyalty.
When I programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis, I kept the staff informed every single month of our progress. I utilized social media too because I wanted our fans and clients to feel like they were part of the climb. Did we over hype a few things? Yes. Did we beat the competition every quarter? No. Was that the only way to measure success? No. But whether we were 1st or 10th or making a massive move or lesser addition, I knew it was vital to highlight our wins, acknowledge our challenges, and give people a reason to continue believing in and fighting for us.
I know far too many in the radio business who subscribe to the Ricky Bobby way of thinking ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last.’ That’s a silly way to look at a brand or industry’s value. It’s why people buy into the notion that radio is on death row, ad rates aren’t worth what we ask for them, brands that don’t beat the format competitor have failed despite generating strong numbers, and marketing our brands and people isn’t worth the investment.
Yet in the next sentence, the same people poking holes in our business are requesting information on how to be included in our podcasts and social media. Who cares if we can’t show significant impact in the digital space from a ratings or revenue perspective, the word on the street is ‘digital is hot’ so it must be true. The reason for that belief, consistent messaging.
Imagine if every social media platform or technology company measured success by whether or not they beat Facebook or Apple. Or every fast food burger joint based their business future on how they stacked up against McDonalds. Heck, if I compared BSM at this point to the gold standard set by Jacobs Media over the past few decades, most would ask me why I’m in this line of work.
If the only thing that counted was whether or not you finished first in your industry, we’d have less options available. You can survive without winning, but not without progress. I spent time in 7 radio stations this summer and learned that many share a positive view of BSM. Why do they think that? Because I continue investing the company and letting anyone who will listen know about our progress. Once again, consistent messaging matters.
When you’re running a business, you’re not just in charge of hiring and managing people, selling ads, and analyzing ratings. You are a creator, a salesperson, a researcher, a strategist, and a publicist. Everything about the brand’s messaging on-air, online, on social, and on the streets should be consistent with your vision. Anyone involved with the brand should know its strengths, value and purpose.
It may sound cliche, but people like to feel like they’re part of something. If you give them a reason to support you, they will. They understand their will be highs and lows, but they’ll stay loyal if you’re honest and including them on the journey. But when you accept the perception that others have created, and only speak up when it serves your interests, it becomes easier to tune you out. And radio only wins when people tune in.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
