When you hear the name Bonnie Bernstein, chances are you think of one of the broadcasting world’s great sports reporters. Whether it was her work on the sideline, filling in for Dan Patrick or writing, Bonnie made a name for herself with great interviews informed by serious research.
But that is just a chapter of Bonnie’s professional life. She is still interested in telling stories. Now though, she is doing it for herself and her clients with Walk Swiftly Productions. She is working with leagues and companies to figure out the best way to tell their stories and reach their audiences in the digital space.
She has created content for the XFL, ESPN and CMT. Her highest profile project is She Got Game: Inspiring Women Inspired by Sports, a collaboration with Audible. She was also recently added to the speaker lineup for the 2024 BSM Summit in New York City.
In our conversation, Bonnie told me what made her decide to pursue a different kind of storytelling, how her life on the sidelines helps her in pitch meetings, and so much more.
Demetri Ravanos: You are a reporter by trade – both at games and in newsrooms. How has the rise of online content changed how you can tell stories?
Bonnie Bernstein: When I started coming to the realization that the best way for me to bring some of my creative concepts to life would probably require me stepping out of the network/corporate America structure, that was right around the time that we were getting an inkling that digital content was the future. Remember back then, it wasn’t even called digital yet. We were still calling it “new media.” For some reason, an alarm went off in my head that said, “This is not just some sort of fad. Digital content is something that is going to continue to grow.” Given the volatility of the broadcast industry in general, I just really thought in order for me to develop some semblance of security in our business, I had to learn about it, and the way I ultimately decided to learn required me leaving network life and taking an opportunity with Silver Chalice, Jerry Reinsdorf’s Digital Media Company.
They had initially come to me about being the “face” of one of their digital networks called Campus Insiders, which I really appreciated. My mindset, however, was starting to shift toward figuring out how I could create a strong foundation to dive into entrepreneurship. I’d actually considered leaving the industry and going to business school to cultivate the skill set that, back then, just wasn’t part of what talent did or who we were at the time. It’s much different now.
When Silver Chalice came to me with this opportunity, I said, “Would you be open to creating a hybrid opportunity where, yes, we can leverage my experiences on air talent to front your college football show; to front your college basketball show, but can I also have an opportunity to delve into all of the verticals of the industry? That is something that I haven’t yet been exposed to, to help me build that necessary foundation to start my own company.”
That’s what ultimately led to my appointment as VP of Content and Brand Development for Campus Insiders. It’s important to understand the why behind that. TV is not digital – the way it’s created; the way it’s sold; the way it’s marketed; the importance of the social media piece and what was becoming really popular at the time, which is branded content. So my job with Campus Insiders gave me a lens into all of those different areas that helped me feel secure in starting my own company.
Walk Swiftly Productions isn’t a digital content-only production company. It’s whatever it is that the client calls for, but to your point, because we are seeing a huge surge in the amount of digital content. And what’s important is how the gap in the CPM between linear and digital is starting to close. That’s another indicator that digital content is here to stay.
When I am talking to potential clients about concepts I’m making out, first and foremost, I need to understand, “Where do you want to be?” When I’m having conversations with media buyers, “Do you want to be more in the linear space? Do you want to diversify that spend?” And that’s what I’m starting to hear a lot of, Demetri. I’m starting to hear a lot of, “We’re maxed out on our linear spend. We want to diversify. We want to be dipping our toe into digital and social.” There’s a lot of intrigue about the audio space, which gives me a lot of confidence that I’m in the right place.
DR: Let’s talk about audio specifically. Podcasting isn’t “the next big thing” anymore. For a whole generation of listeners, it is the only thing. I’ve had a theory for about 10 years now I would love to hear your take on.
Podcasting has opened up a whole new generation of potential listeners to the same content on broadcast. Sure, it is competition, but it has also taught people that spoken word content, and thus talk radio, doesn’t have to be just for mid-50s white guys anymore.
BB: Well, I think there’s a couple of different elements to it. Podcasting specifically is very appealing, not just to younger demographics, but older demographics just by virtue of the fact that people are busy and podcasts are on demand.
To me, it’s kind of mandatory that radio shows all need to have a podcast version because people don’t necessarily do appointment listening unless they are driving to work and that is how they are spending that time. It’s important to keep in mind that fewer people are driving to work now though, because we still live in a remote/hybrid workforce environment.
The other thing about podcasting is that if you are an advertiser; if you are looking for more bang for your buck, the research is telling us that podcast advertising is extraordinarily effective, even more effective than advertising in linear, on radio shows and in another spaces. Why? Because people who are downloading podcasts are making a commitment to listening to that content. Part of that commitment comes from not just the content, the nature of the content itself, but because there is a trust in the host. And when you are creating that connectivity – that level of trust between a listener and a host – if a host is doing an organic and authentic brand read, they are more likely to trust that that host testimonial has a value which converts to sales in a really powerful way.
DR: With Walk Swiftly Productions, you’re doing a lot of collaborative content. Can you tell me about the process? How much is it about you and another company working together and building out whatever sort of creative product their name and their branding is going to be on versus how much of it is them coming in and saying, “This is what we want created. We think you are the person to do it”?
BB: The answer is yes. It really is, and any entrepreneur, particularly in this space, will tell you that malleability is key. You may have an idea in your head, but you have to be open to what the potential client wants.
That potential client could be a network. It can be a brand. So you want to come to the table with a concept in your head, a vision of what it looks like, how it could be executed, and what the distribution strategy is, but at the end of the day, the most valuable questions you can ask in those meetings are, “What are your pain points?” “What do you want to do?” “Who do you want to reach?” “How do you want to reach them?” and then, “How can I help you do that?”
If you’re selling them the right way, you’re almost reverse engineering what the opportunity looks like. The client will give you the answers to the test if you ask the right questions. I will always come to the table with a fully fleshed out idea. I will share that idea. I will share the pitch deck and constantly be reinforcing throughout that conversation asking, “What resonates with you? This is all malleable. It’s really based on what your goals are.” Then ultimately, we craft the opportunity. So it’s sharing the initial pitch deck, having the initial conversation, asking what’s important to them, and then coming back with a formal pitch.
DR: What has the learning curve been for you in terms of how or what you are creating for companies like this? For instance, that XFL series you did. I don’t know if you would call it long-form content, because obviously there were a number of stories involved, but overall, the series is the story of the season, right? So in that way, it is kind of a long-form thing. So what has sort of been some of the trial and error that you’ve gone through as you look for the right way to present each of these projects?
BB: I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to ask questions. When I go into pitch meetings, I would prepare the same way I would prepare for a game. I would read as many articles as I could; I would put together a whole pad full of notes; I would interview players and coaches and GM and owners, and that was my preparation. So by the time we kicked off an NFL game or we kicked off an NCAA basketball game, I pretty much knew everything I had to. And of course, there’s the element of reacting to what’s going on in real time, but I had all the storylines in my head and on my pad.
When I initially started pitching, I would do all that same research. I would have a whole pad full of notes or a digital file full of notes, and I would go into meetings thinking I know what the client wants.
What I’ve learned over time is only the client knows what the client wants. Being proactive and creative and being as much of a visionary as you can in these pitch meetings is equally important to listening. I think that has been the biggest lesson I’ve learned, and it’s proven to be very fruitful because once you have these conversations and understand what the client wants, then you can craft an opportunity and put yourself in a stronger position to get that deal across the finish line.
DR: I want to wrap up by talking about the intersection of your new professional life and your old professional life. I look across the landscape of sports podcasts and whether it is yourself, Michele Tafoya, what Charissa Thompson and Erin Andrews are doing together, Tom Luganbill, a lot of former sideline reporters have podcasts. I wonder if the appeal is about the opportunity to have a little more time to tell the story, or do you think there’s even any connective tissue at all?
BB: I’m not so sure it’s as much about connective tissue between former sideline reporters who’ve started to do podcasts as much as it is the audio space affords you more time to offer cohesive thoughts and have more meaningful conversations. The inherent nature of TV, unless you’re doing one of those TV shows that’s also a radio show, is that your time is limited. We are conditioned to speak in 15-second snippets, which on the one hand is really good because it teaches you; it forces you to learn how to be clear and concise in a way that immediately resonates with a viewer and a listener.
That’s always been the biggest difference between live broadcast and print or digital is in a print or digital scenario, you can be as complex with your sentence structure as you want. Anybody can go back and read it two, three, four times. In order for you to be an effective broadcaster, you only get one shot in a live environment.
At the end of the day, particularly when you’ve been in the industry as long as I’ve been – we’re on 30 years now – I love to be able to not only share about what’s going on topically in real time, but the more meaningful aspect of that is adding context and perspective that has come from spending 30 years in the industry. That’s what creates really rich, meaningful conversation that incites engagement. It’s just hard to do that in 15-second snippets. I wouldn’t change anything in my career, but it is one of the things that I love the most about the audio space.
To learn more about Point-To-Point Marketing’s Podcast and Broadcast Audience Development Marketing strategies, contact Tim Bronsil at tim@ptpmarketing.com or 513-702-5072.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
