Have you ever heard of Danny Ivanov? Of course you haven’t. Neither had I until I practically ran into him on my sidewalk. It was a recent Saturday afternoon, blazing hot outside, and as I returned home after errands, I saw a random guy put something under the mat.
I figured it was another flyer for pizza or dry cleaning. Not this time. It was a promotional piece for Danny Ivanov, running for City Council. And as I looked closer, I realized it wasn’t some volunteer or intern doing the dirty work. It was Danny himself carpet-bombing our block with flyers. Now I’m impressed.
So I got his attention and we talked for a minute or two. After all, I need to know whether he plans to make the neighborhood coyotes start paying property taxes, and how he’ll prevent California from sinking into the Pacific. But I won’t bore you with any of that.
DANNY IS OUTWORKING RADIO
When we were finished chatting, my brain went straight to strategy and how this may relate to our RockTernative world. My first thought was: Danny, a local attorney by day and political candidate by night, was doing more on a Saturday afternoon to promote himself than most radio stations.
Huge college football games were on, the beach was packed, two-for-one beers everywhere. But there he was — well dressed, a backpack full of flyers, sweating on an 85-degree day — getting the word out on his own.
That’s an underdog’s mentality. That’s a winner’s mentality. Does this mean stations should be going door-to-door on weekends? No, it doesn’t. But the larger point is what’s missing in many places. Hustle.
ROCK USED TO CAMPAIGN
I would never have heard of Danny Ivanov if he hadn’t walked my block and made sure I did. So don’t expect people who don’t already know your radio station to simply stumble across it. RockTernative used to understand this. Even the artists hustled.
Bands stapled flyers to telephone poles, handed out demos outside clubs, wallpapered bathrooms with stickers, and shook every hand at shows. Radio did its version, too: street teams, vans, bumper stickers, concerts, events, showing up wherever people would be… sometimes just driving around so they’d be in the mix.
Stations didn’t wait to be discovered or hope their citywide signal would be enough — they knew they had to go looking for an audience.
RETENTION ISN’T RECRUITMENT
The competitive landscape back then was far less crowded, and standing out was easier. But now — in a more competitive world — stations are more invisible than ever. They’ll promote themselves on their own air, social pages and apps. But isn’t that just existing? Reaching people already listening and following? Converting the converted? I’d call that retention.
Danny was recruiting. He was out building an audience and gaining attention. That’s where everything starts: before votes, ratings, downloads, followers or even presets. Brands must get on the radar first.
Before anyone rolls their eyes, Valpak is relatively cheap and about as close as 2026 gets to going door-to-door like Danny did. One of the dominant stations in Los Angeles, one you wouldn’t expect, has been inside Valpak for two years running.
And even if the marketing budget is in the red, Radio doesn’t need to start door-knocking this weekend. But at the very least, leave the building. Be amongst the people. On the streets, in the clubs, at the sports bars for games, lakes, malls, concerts and events, even parks where the weekend means a gathering.
Radio is big business, mass media, always needing to compete for attention. So why is it acceptable for so many stations to be invisible? Some clusters don’t even have adequate street teams anymore.
Danny Ivanov is just a regular guy with no transmitter or street team, running for a city office, yet he managed to make some noise in my neighborhood, on his own.
I don’t know whether he deserves my vote. If he deals with the coyotes, I’ll be handing out flyers for him next weekend. But he left the building, went out to build an audience, and got attention.
If this rant were a political campaign, the slogan would be simple: if you’re not out in it, you likely won’t win it.
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