Remember that extra radio spot you gave to a client, just to show how much you appreciate their business? The client does. What about that extra on-site remote you gave them during their busiest time of the year, remember that? The client does. What about the time you told them to come on the air for a sponsor interview, even though it wasn’t in the contract? You guessed it, the client remembers that, too.
There are really loyal people in this world. Some of them are the business owners that advertise on your radio station. How do I know? The good deeds that were bestowed upon them over the years, are now being paid back by being loyal to my radio station during these challenging times.
Here’s an example.
John Whitson of Brown O’ Haver in Moore, OK has been a client to the radio station I work at for several years. He’s never once considered pulling his advertising off the station. He’s a loyal listener and avid sports fan, so he’s well aware that not having games makes this a much more difficult time for sports radio stations. So why does he continue to advertise?
“It’s because we value the partnership we have with SportsTalk 1400,” Whitson said. “To be candid, we also advertise with The Sports Animal (in nearby Oklahoma City) and value that relationship, too. Just because we’re all going through a tough time, we hope that the relationship is worth something, right? We demonstrate that by going through these tough times together. So that’s part of it.
“The second thing is, I still think people are tired of the news. They can only take so many graphs of curves being flattened and things of that nature. They still need some sort of release from the world. Normally that’s what sports talk provides. In this case, it’s more life talk. Its guys sitting around talking about stuff that doesn’t have to do with the coronavirus and that can actually be pleasant. I think people still seek that. It’s also not a politically charged medium, where there’s an agenda.”
If there’s been a common theme over the past week on BSM, it’s what Whitson just talked about – the importance of having strong relationships with your clients. It’s as critical as ever, and can mean even more than the solid ratings you post amidst the pandemic.
Jim Costello owns a Firehouse Subs based in Norman, OK and has seen his business reduced to curbside orders. Obviously, that’s quite an adjustment, but if there’s one thing restaurant owners appreciate during this time, it’s the opportunity to tell the community about the service they’re providing.
“What Firehouse Subs appreciates is that in this Covid-19 situation, SportsTalk 1400 proactively reached out to me,” Costello said. “My sales representative even offered assistance in three ways. It looks like the assistance has been helpful in producing positive results for our Norman business. We are very appreciative of the relationship we have with SportsTalk 1400!”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten the question of “so what the heck are you guys talking about since there’s no sports on?” I’d be willing to make a wager that every host reading this has too. But advertising on sports radio hasn’t lost its luster. Sure, there are no live games to talk about, but with as many talented hosts as there are across the country, the format is still the ultimate escape from all of the economic and Coronavirus fears that flood the headlines.
David Goodspeed of OEC Fiber says he knows the radio station needs him as a client, but that he also needs the radio station to survive.
“If we don’t take care of each other, the way that we are wired as Oklahomans, when we come out of this there may not be a sports talk radio,” Goodspeed said.
“If there’s not a sports talk radio station, then I’m sitting around here and saying, ‘well, nobody’s coming in to my business and nobody’s paying attention to what we’re doing.’ We’re not trying to abandon anybody or anything and I would hope that other people would not.
“There have been times where the station has done things for us that wasn’t in the contract. There were times that we did things for you that wasn’t in the contract. I think it’s a case of ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’. This is the point in time where we sit there and say, ‘let’s not worry about contracts and what we are paying.’ It was already in the budget. We should’ve already had that money. We shouldn’t be worried about this and that, because when we get past this, we still need the radio station there.”
But what if the doomsday scenario hits and the football season is seriously altered? Relationships can keep things afloat when all we’re missing is baseball and basketball, but few, if any, can survive without football. What then? Is there a point in time where advertisers will have to cut bait, even if it means throwing away a loyal relationship?
“I think realistically you’d have to have way too negative of an outlook to believe that,” Whitson said. “I think if there was going to be no football, we’re going to know that really quickly. But I think businesses are going to be in a lot worse position when they are deciding whether to use radio money or not if there’s no football. I just don’t think that’s the case. Most business owners have a positive outlook and expect things to turn around quickly. In our case, we’re still operating and need to get the word out.
“We are actively looking for a way to let people know we’re open. That’s why we’re going to continue advertising. Sports radio still provides the best option for us. I just think there’s a really big improbability that they would consider suspending college or the NFL. Local businesses on local sports radio is not the same economic driver as advertisers on ESPN and other network stations during football season. Those people are going to drive football to make sure it’s being played. I think well before it makes it down to the local businesses, the big ones are going to say, ‘look guys, we need you to play some football.’”
Again, the theme continues to be relationships, but what about them exactly do business appreciate?
“The short answer with The Sports Animal is they reliably demonstrate their reach within the community,” Whitson said. “Their numbers reflect a strong audience and that’s the reason why we want to stay there, because we want to still reach that audience especially during this time. With SportsTalk 1400, in particular, it’s a community relationship. We have a good relationship with the owner, Randy Laffoon. We have a good relationship with our sales rep and a good relationship with the talent.
“When you deal with a personal relationship, you realize how much a decision to not advertise could impact those people. It’s not just clearly a budgetary decision, it’s relationship based and even personal, and it says, ‘Hey, if we don’t advertise, what message does that send to the other advertisers? What does that do to the people that are working there?’ Maybe if we demonstrate a level of loyalty, when things get back to normal, that’ll be brought back to us. We hope so. We’re not doing it to be paid back, but we’re doing it to continue to build the relationship. SportsTalk 1400 has always treated us well. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to repay that same sense of loyalty.”
Sports radio has arguably the most genuine feel of any format. That’s why it has the ability to reach so many different kinds of people. Maybe that’s even why the relationship between station and client can be one that’s about helping each other out in time of need.
“Pre-pandemic, I always felt any business would fit in any kind of sports radio advertising, because pretty much anything anybody does touches someone that listens to sports radio,” said Goodspeed. “Doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, a kid, young adult, whatever. It always fits.
“There is loyalty. We were talking with our contractor this afternoon about the fact that March was a record month for us in the fiber world with the amount of installs we did and the amount of people that have signed up. That was the first month of our pandemic in the United States. So I told him, the only way we can do that, the only way we can survive this, is that it’s not so much we’re partners, but we’re friends. You need me, and I need you. I get it. So let’s figure this whole thing out.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
