For today’s installment of Countdown To CRS 2025, I spoke with KSON San Diego Program Director and Regional VP/Audacy West Coast Scott Roddy. Roddy recently placed 13th on Barrett Media’s Top 20 Country Program Directors.
For Roddy, the chance to learn and share new ideas ranks high on his CRS list.
“I love to learn. I think that having a sense of wonder about the industry, about the music, about our peers, I think that’s truly what makes great leaders to be open to hearing new ideas, and it’s one of those places that I go that I’m actually quiet because I’m so obnoxious and over the top, but at CRS I love to listen and learn.”
“I remember going, gosh, 25 years ago and sitting in a Coleman study about clock and clock placement and taking furious notes on that. That stayed with me forever, and hearing that everything that goes on the air is a marketing decision, which was songs, the imaging, the way that you set up your clocks.”
Roddy mentioned learning fundamentals early in his career.
“I was learning all of the foundations of radio so many years ago at CRS that you can take into any format, but today, more than at any other time, I believe in the power of local radio, specifically the Country format that can activate its audience better than any other format.”
Roddy also added a pitch for local radio.
“We should concentrate on being ratings proof and showing the value of what our local talent, our local brands, and our local leadership can bring to a market, and we do that in conjunction with the pure plays and the streaming services. I see it as a compliment to each other.”
This year he will host a panel at the seminar.
“It’s ‘30 Sales Ideas In 30 Minutes.’ It’ll be a rapid-fire list of how to ratings proof, things that will activate your audience, entitlements, sponsorships, events, and promotions. A lot of this is one-on-one, but there may be a couple of things here people will say I can do that. I can do that so much better than the way they’re describing it. That’s what this is all about to me.”
“That’s still the heart of CRS, and that’s the heart of what we can share with each other to lift each other up, to be successful, to go beyond the rating point, to show what we can do to truly serve both of our clients, our listeners, and our advertisers. And Jeff, there’s nothing more boring than going to a panel, that’s a list. So I invited the biggest names in voiceover across not just the format or the Country, but the world.”
I suggested that seeing a Program Director conducting a panel on sales ideas might be surprising for some.
“I think we have to remember today, and I may get some flack for this, but we’re as much salespeople today as we are brand managers. We have to; this is my mantra: be ratings-proof. Can we show our advertisers that we can activate an audience? One of the things that you’re going to see there is called ‘Take an Elfie Selfie’ with Ernie the Elf. I did this in a small market a long time ago.”
“We sold it to 10 sponsors. So, the station made $10,000. One winner got a $10,000 shopping spree, $1,000 at each one of these client locations. The way it works is that we had a little Elf made, and we put it on shelves all across these local retailers. And you had to snap an Elfie selfie and upload it to win. We got great, great traction on our website.”
“There was one client, a very small client who for a year only spent $800 in the small market. I think they bought weather mentions or something a quarter a year, and that was it. That turned into a key account where they were buying $1,000 a month in this market, which was a lot of money. And that’s where you see it grow like that because we show them, look how well we can activate our audience.”
What are a couple of highlights for Roddy over the years?
“A long time ago, the greatest thing that I always took away from CRS was the research notes, which I think are really, really smart. Be it Coleman, Edison, or NuVoodoo, I always take away from those panels.”
“I think that I’m a real nuts and bolts; I’m a radio nerd. And so anytime that I can hear something that’s been super successful for somebody else, I want to do that. I want to see if I can do it that well.”
And from a music standpoint?
“I remember going one year to see Big and Rich and they were at the arena. There’s that little rehearsal space in the hall in the back. I’m watching it, and I’m seeing John Rich sweating in his fur coat, and he’s yelling at me from the stage, and I’m doing my fat white guy dance to ‘Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy.’”
“I leave him when I walk out, a rep that I don’t know grabs me, and he hands me a lanyard and says, ‘Hey, come on, get on the bus and come see Keith Urban.’ And I was like, no, Keith was just very public about taking care of his health. I know that he’s out in California for the next month.”
“They said, no, Keith came back because CRS was so important, and he wanted to perform for radio. And they took us in this little shuttle bus to this bar, which was so cool. It was industrial.”
“And I stood five feet from Keith Urban at his full band. Keith was barefoot, standing on a rug on a riser, and he must’ve rocked out for 90 minutes. It was an amazing experience. It was something I’ll never forget.”
Does Roddy have any advice for a CRS first-timer?
“Number one, hydrate. Number two, really try to plan to go to as many sessions where you can learn as possible. The diversity breakfast is wonderful.”
“The ‘Women In Leadership.’ Marci Braun is going to be there. Plan out your learning as much as you can. I don’t make reservations to go to any of the label stuff only because I know I’m going to be pulled in 17 different directions as everybody will be.”
“So, I kind of do that ad hoc and go to the shows that I want to see because I want to make sure that I can plan to learn as much as I can because the investment that we make is significant. But it’s worth it. Get as much as you can out of the morning as you do the partying and feeling good.”
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
