Let’s go way back to August 30th, 1936. The New York Yankees have a doubleheader that day against the Chicago White Sox. Lou Gehrig goes 1-for-4 in the first game and is now hitting .379 on the season. Then, starting with game two against Chicago that day, Gehrig fails to get a hit in twenty straight at-bats spanning six consecutive games, suffering the longest hitting slump of his career.
Less than two months later, on October 6th, the Yankees beat the New York Giants in game six to clinch the World Series. Nine days later, Lou Gehrig was named the American League MVP after finishing the season hitting .354 with 49 home runs, despite his worst batting slump ever.
I recently had a couple of reps, who are in horrible slumps, come to me and ask for advice. The first thing I told them to do was go to the dictionary and look up the definition of a slump, which is “a period of substantial failure or decline,” and I pointed out to them that the first two words in that definition mean we know it won’t last forever, it’s simply a period of time.
Next, I told them both that the amount of time it’ll take to get out of the slump will greatly depend on the way they handled themselves moving forward. Finally, I pointed out the words of Hank Aaron, who famously said about slumps, “My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.”
In our world of sports media sales, swings are presentations. And as mentioned several times before in this space, there’s not a sales problem of any kind that can’t be fixed by making more face-to-face presentations to qualified decision makers.
There is no magic formula, there is no new way and there certainly is no low dollar package that will get you out of a slump. What will get you out of it sooner rather than later, is getting out and meeting with more people and making more creative presentations to business owners that are solutions for their challenges.
Since having the discussion with the two reps about sixty days ago, the results have been very predictable. One has looked for excuses, gone back to the same people over and over again, spent more time in the office than out of it and hardly any time on the phone. This rep’s fortunes haven’t changed and the slump continues.
The other has kept a positive attitude, went through her list and crossed off people who had been in pending too long. She continued to get out, have lots of meetings and made more and more presentations. Earlier this week, this rep walked in my office and exclaimed, “I think it’s finally turning around!” as I was handed her third order of the week and a new pending/pipeline report with several, solid, new business opportunities listed. So, I asked, “What do you think has been the difference?” The reply, “It was what you said it was, I just needed to keep talking to more and more people and finally some yes’s started to come.”
I’d like to take all the credit for the turnaround and tout my incredible skills as her manager, however, this isn’t rocket science. Reps have a tendency to get in their own heads and look for the magic answer to the problem, but it just doesn’t exist.
The more face-to-face meetings you have with qualified decision makers, the more sales you make. Period. That’s how you get out of a slump.
Now, I don’t know whether or not this rep will end up being named our Most Valuable at the end of the year like Lou Gehrig. But, I do know that if she didn’t follow Hammerin’ Hank’s advice and “keep swinging,” she’d have no shot at all.
In this time of madness, I present to you a “Sweet 16 List of Reasons We Might Not Get the Sale”
1 – You
I wouldn’t know anything about this, but I’m told there are people out there that some people just don’t like. They don’t mesh well with others. Sometimes, in the end, it all comes down to someone buying you and, unfortunately, a lack of a personal connection can cost a sale.
2 – Not Selling The Value of the Product(s)
Did you take the time to really present the value of what you’re selling? I’ve seen sellers who will throw in “added value” in such a way that completely disregards the actual value of what the client is buying. Doing this may not just have one sale get away but could become the beginning of a trend if you, yourself, don’t believe in the value.
3 – Lack of Persistence
Last year, the Center for Sales Strategy wrote: “Research shows that the majority of appointments are set after five or six contacts but that the majority of salespeople give up after two.” If you aren’t getting to clients simply because you’re giving up too easily, you’ll end up with a career full of sales you didn’t get.
4 – Coming Off as Desperate
We’ve all been there, where you’re trying to get something (anything) sold and you skip just about every step of the sales process. Next, you start throwing value on top of value while lowering the price just to get a deal done and done quickly. See above, “The Value of the Product!”
5 – Not Listening
A lot of sellers never acquire the proper listening skills to really be at the top of the game. Ask great questions, shut up and listen. If you listen carefully enough, you’ll hear your presentation, the client’s ad copy and much more.
6 – Presenting What You Want to Sell
It goes hand in hand with not listening. Many sellers have a tendency to hear what they want to hear and somehow tie the client in to the idea they’ve really been wanting to sell. It’s much like a client telling you they don’t like a station even if it’s a huge hit with their target audience, it’s not about us, it’s what’s best for the client and their business.
7 – Not Identifying the Key Marketing Challenge
If these were being ranked in order, this would be in the conversation for a top 3 seed. We cannot present a solution to a problem without knowing what the real problem is. Most of the time we present a good idea, that is a clear solution to the most pressing marketing challenge of a client, we will win the business.
8 – Not Knowing Anything About The Budget
If the right questions weren’t asked to at least come up with a budget range you should be in, your pitch has a significantly higher risk. Come in way too high and risk the client believing they can’t afford to work with you, or worse, you come in too low and leave money on the table.
9 – Not Bringing an Example
In the sales process, when we go to present, we have the advantage of having thought for a while about what we’re presenting. We have to be careful and remember that when a client is hearing about it, it’s for the first time, and the idea you’re pitching may not come out as well “on paper.” Anything you can demonstrate with audio or a visual can make a huge difference in winning business. Put the client’s name in lights!
10 – Not Taking Yes for an Answer
Sometimes the client wants to buy but doesn’t want the exact thing we proposed. While it is ok to push back and ask more questions, at some point you have to accept that they’ve said they wanted to buy but may need some adjustments to be made. Don’t ever lose thousands of dollars over hundreds of dollars.
11 – Not Discovering the Main Target
The client has to help us dig in to who the real target audience is. The more we know about who it is they’re trying to reach the better chance we have of identifying the correct solution. If the client doesn’t believe what you present will work for their key targets, they won’t see the value in the proposal, and it may come back to us not having asked the right questions during the CNA.
12 – Overpromising and Underdelivering
Most of the time we think of this as something that happens after the sale is made. Some sellers, however, will start to overpromise in the brainstorming phase and get a client’s hopes up before even knowing if something can be done, then risk the chance of having to disappoint the client when the presentation doesn’t include the idea they liked so much. Never a good look for a first impression.
13 – Neglect
This was the topic in this space two weeks ago. Don’t work as hard as we have to work to get a client and then make an “unforced error” and not take care of that client. Remember, we are in the business of renewals and referrals and a happy, well taken care of client is the pathway to both.
14 – Not Negotiating in Good Faith
Either negotiate or don’t negotiate, but don’t land somewhere in the middle. Negotiation is a key skill in media sales and if you haven’t spent time learning about it, you need to. The person on the other side of the table, if it’s an agency, has generally been well trained in negotiation, you should be, too.
15 – Not Being Consultative
People want to buy from someone they believe they can trust and who they think has the knowledge to know the best course of action. If you come off as a “know-it-all” or push too hard to get to the close and the client feels uncomfortable, your great idea may not matter. If the business owner sees you as their new in-house marketing consultant because you appeared prepared, confident and knowledgeable, you may have a new whale on your hands.
16 – Not Calling on Businesses
The undisputed, undefeated, defending champion and #1 seed. The reason we don’t get many of the sales we miss out on is because we simply didn’t call them in the first place. Business goes where it’s invited and that goes for both our clients and for us.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, for a sports fan that is. Its Spring Training baseball with the season not too far off. It’s the Masters golf tournament in April, but before that of course it’s March Madness. A busy time for college basketball teams, coaches fans and yes, even broadcasters.
With so many NCAA Tournament games available on television these days, the networks are grabbing up announcers from near and far to cover these games. Many of these names are familiar to baseball fans, because their local, hometown voice could be doing radio or television broadcasts as part of CBS, TNT, TBS, TRU TV or Westwood One’s coverage of the tournament. This is in addition to getting ready for the baseball season.
Brian Anderson of the Milwaukee Brewers, Jason Benetti of the White Sox, Gary Cohen of the Mets and Tom McCarthy of the Phillies are just a few of these guys that have pulled or are pulling double duty.
For Benetti there really isn’t any reason in his mind to think he’s done a lot of heavy lifting by doing double time. “I don’t want to make it sound like I’m digging ditches or anything”, said Benetti now entering his fourth season with the Sox. “It’s not manual labor in any way shape or form. But the fun of it is making sure that you spend as much time on the game as much as possible if it were the only game you had. It is about having requirements for what goes into your prep on a game to game basis. For me it’s about self-restraint.”
Benetti also does a college football package for ESPN which keeps him away during the season at some points. But he realizes he’s not the Lone Ranger here, “Again, a lot of people do it and it’s great fun, but you have to make sure that what you’re doing is more than enough.”, added Benetti. “It’s always about self-reflection and making sure that every game gets the diligence it deserves because the audience and the people playing do not care what your schedule is and they shouldn’t.” He has a deep appreciation for the White Sox for allowing him to do these games.
Is there an advantage in the fact that these broadcasters know their baseball teams, giving them the opportunity to dive deeper into basketball? Not necessarily according to Benetti.
“It is easier, but it’s also harder, because if I show up and say the things I used to say about all these guys, then I haven’t really done anything. So, it’s about getting there and talking to guys and being around and making a presence. Every day I read clips about the Sox it’s just part of my routine on a day to day basis.” he said.
Benetti continued, “I kind of think of it as college football coaches think about periods in practice. If they go three days without special teams practice because it wasn’t on the schedule, they’re going to be worse at special teams. So, if I make sure I bake into my day the stuff that I need to bake into my day, I’m doing it the right way, whatever the right way is, that’s what I feel the right way is, but it’s got to be regimented in that regard like a college football coach does.”
As you get ready to watch or listen to the NCAA Tournament, these guys will be earning their frequent flyer rewards. They do it all in the name of bringing the game home to you, the audience.
Westwood One has announced a multi-year contract extension for Howard Deneroff, EVP/Executive Producer of Westwood One Sports. Deneroff is celebrating his 30th year with the company, having been the division’s executive producer since 2008. As part of the extension, Deneroff will continue directing, coordinating, and executing all of the on-air coverage and production elements for Westwood One’s live national radio play-by-play broadcasts and continue his role in talent and rights negotiations between Westwood One and its many prominent broadcast partners.
Deneroff’s storied career at Westwood includes contributing to 29 Super Bowl broadcasts, 17 Final Four broadcasts, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, 8 World Series, and 8 Olympic Games. Earlier in his career, he served as CBS Radio Sports’ Coordinating Producer for Spanish-language coverage of the NFL and Major League Baseball. He’s been a featured speaker at a number of universities, and for the past 13 years has also been a faculty member for the radio portion of “NFL Broadcast Boot Camp” and “NFL Journalism Boot Camp” week-long seminars, hosted by the NFL, to teach broadcasting skills to current and former players.
Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing, Cumulus Media and President, Westwood One, said, “Howie Deneroff’s encyclopedic knowledge and uncompromising commitment to creating the highest quality sports programming is recognized universally by coaches, athletes, our affiliates, our audience, and advertisers. We are privileged and proud that Howie will remain at the helm of our exceptional sports broadcast coverage and league partnerships.”
Bruce Gilbert, SVP, Sports, Cumulus Media and Westwood One, added “There are a million reasons why so many in the industry refer to Howie as ‘the best in the business,’ because it’s true. Howie’s professionalism, work ethic, and passion for the audio presentation of the world’s biggest sporting events are second to none.”
Said Deneroff, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue working at a job I love and have loved since day one. There is nothing that replicates the excitement and drama of live sporting events, and to be able to produce broadcasts for so many great games and historical events for Westwood One over the years has been a pleasure and an absolute honor.”
This week, Barrett Sports Media is featuring a four part mini-series of articles providing helpful tips, lessons, and observations for the sports media industry. Leading up to Thursday we will present a new article each day inspired of course by the NCAA Tournament.
On Monday, Demetri Ravanos kicked things off with his look at 16 Station Bracket Ideas. If you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it. Your promotion next March could be sitting inside of it.
But for today, I thought that since I spend most of my time listening and studying brands on-air, online, and on social, that it’d be fun to write about 16 items that anyone can implement to impact their station in a positive manner. It’s easy to analyze what’s weak, but most of what we do is good. If it wasn’t, stations wouldn’t trust their programmers, personalities or producers to use the airwaves, and the audience wouldn’t respond.
The little details and extra effort can make a world of difference in this business so keep these in mind as you continue working on being the best you can be.
1: 4 Layered Conversation – When hosts and producers outline their show each day, they know have a pretty good idea beforehand what the lead story is going to be. The challenge is taking that lead story and finding multiple ways to talk about it for lengthy periods of time. Even more important, the host must maintain discipline and not introduce every angle and question to the story during a segment, otherwise they’ll become less passionate and interested in the subject as the show rolls on.
The goal should be to identify 4 different questions to build conversations off of and make sure they’re strong enough to last 10-15 minutes. Keep in mind that there’s a big difference between a note and a topic. A note is something you explore for a minute or two, a topic is what you invest a large chunk of time into.
If for example the story was the public reaction to LeBron James distancing himself from the Lakers huddle over the weekend, you’d be working to create lengthy discussions around his long-term fit in Los Angeles, what others in sports/media are saying about it (Clyde Frazier’s comments would come up here), what the franchise needs to do this offseason to avoid a repeat, how Luke Walton, Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka factor into the blame game, how you’d view this situation if you were in LeBron’s shoes, how the perception of the Lakers being an elite franchise has changed, etc..
I used the number 4 with the thought of a 4-hour show in mind, but if you do a 2-3 hour show, feel free to modify it. Either way, the key is making sure you don’t combine all of those topics into one conversation. If you do, it’s going to be hard to sound fresh, excited, and interested in the forthcoming hours. Space them out and you’ll find yourself mentally engaged in the topic much longer than you thought you’d be.
2: Writing Improves On-Air Performance – This notion that sports radio hosts who rely on writing are weaker than those that don’t is foolish. I’ve heard many say “It’s about being organic, I need to feel the show, I don’t like having anything written down”, and when I hear that it sounds like an excuse for being less prepared.
Now listen, maybe you have amazing recall. Maybe your producer does such an amazing job laying things out that you feel comfortable that way. I’m not saying those things don’t matter or that allowing room for things to develop organically isn’t important because they are. But, don’t tell me there’s no value in having some of your best thoughts placed on paper and available to you to go to at some point during the show.
Do you think Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarrantino tell their actors to just show up and say some stuff in front of a camera and they’ll figure out the rest? Don’t professional athletes workout, practice, watch tape, and talk to peers, coaches and executives about ways to get better or take advantage of opportunities versus an upcoming opponent?
Great talent are curious and always thinking. They take notes during games. They highlight things in articles. They leave themselves voice mails or texts to recall specific points or ideas. Don’t mistake the value of writing for weakness. There’s a fine line between chaos and organization. Those who create organized chaos though usually enjoy the best of both worlds.
3:Regulars with Different Backgrounds – So many shows feature weekly conversations with people involved in the sports world. Most are arranged by program directors, some with the involvement of talent, some without. In many cases, regular contributors are secured based on budgets, audience and staff familiarity with the individual, and the worst of them all, what’s easiest to arrange. Rarely taken into account is whether the show/station is featuring a mix of people from different walks of life, and attracting new audience.
First and foremost, if you’re paying someone to appear regularly and they show no meaningful lift to your station’s ratings or revenue performance, why would you have them back? Your host may like them personally or your PD may like that it’s affordable but you get what you paid for.
What should be taken further into consideration is how you’re reaching different parts of your audience. Younger, Older, White, Black, Hispanic, Man, Woman, etc.. One show that does this very well is The Dan Le Batard Show.
Do you have people on your airwaves who represent different backgrounds and provide a different point of view? Are you booking the same 5-6 white writers and reporters who have been around the business for 30-40 years just because it’s easy and familiar? Sports radio may be 80-85% male, and most of that listening comes from White or ‘Other’ men. But rather than looking at the lack of activity from Women and Black/Hispanic listeners, consider this an opportunity to bring more of those folks to the table.
4:Making Endorsements Entertaining – If the majority of your audience is going to tune out when you play commercials, you might as well do your best to make the client happy. By doing that in entertaining fashion, you may even steal :60 seconds of the audience’s time. I saw that in San Francisco in 2014-2015 with the way Greg Papa and John Lund invested themselves in a campaign for Pasta Pomodoro. Their spots became a hit with the audience, many using the text line and social media to voice their approval and use funny lines from the spots to engage in conversation.
Think about this for a minute, why don’t you change the channel when a movie trailer comes on your television screen? It’s a commercial right? But we watch it because it’s interesting, entertaining, and provides a call to action (we want to go see it).
On radio it’s the personalities job to speak for products they feel a connection to and give the audience a reason to check them out. If you’re going to grab the sheet of copy with its 6-10 bullet points :10 seconds before its time to deliver the spot and sleep walk thru the read, it’s going to have less impact. You’ll also likely lose that account at some point.
If you can record them, chances are they’ll be better. If LIVE is a must, then think about how you’re going to make someone care about the next 60 seconds of airtime when it’s not the content they seek. Your personal connection to the product, and the way you use humor and/or relatable issues to make the audience lean forward are critically important.
I saw Barstool launch a campaign two years ago for Burger King using the hashtag No New Year (#NoNewYear). The video spot was simple and silly and they provided a call to action which got the audience involved. Big Cat and PFT had fun with it, and it was more likely to please Burger King’s agency buyer than the standard testimonial from a radio talent telling the audience to sample their new sandwich. With social influencers putting more time, effort and creativity into making advertisers feel valued, radio hosts have to be equally up to the task to keep business strong.
5:Creating a Distinctive Sound – When you turn on WFAN it sounds unique. If you listen to ESPN Radio or FOX Sports Radio they have their own sound. Watch a few TV channels tonight and you’ll quickly see how network channels, news/talk outlets, and outlets like TBS, TNT, AMC, and FX differ from one another. Your show can do the same.
One way to do it is by installing music beds that fit the style of show and are different from the rest of your brand. I’ll never understand why stations rotate 100 beds for all 4 of their shows. If your host is an aggressive personality and you’ve got a Justin Timberlake tune or older and slower classic rock bed playing before they speak, does that match the tone of what they deliver thru the speakers? I don’t think it does.
The other way to strengthen the originality of the show is thru liners. Allow room for your creativity to shine thru and highlight what makes your talent or show style stand out. Rather than spending 5 seconds with something bland that just tells the audience the name of the station and host, take the extra 5 seconds to add some flavor to it. And don’t tell me that’s going to be what costs you a listening occasion. That’s a farce.
For example, I worked with a host years ago who was notorious for stirring things up. My former marketing director wrote a few liners and one that stood out was when he jokingly told the audience the station’s insurance premium’s had doubled due to employing him. It instantly created an image of this host being a rule breaker, and someone who took no prisoners on the air. It was consistent with his approach, and when you heard him start talking over heavier/angrier beds from bands like Korn, Rage Against The Machine, and Sevendust it fit the persona of the personality, and gave the show its own unique style. In a world full of noise, that matters.
6:Storytelling Thru Production Returns – Playing a piece of sound over music to lead into a segment is fine. Taking a few clips and connecting them to a song with a specific title that creatively leads your host into their next conversation is even better.
One thing I’ve consistently done during my career is take new music and create :15-:20 seconds of an instrumental bed, follow it with the hook or chorus, and leave trailing instrumental music afterwards for a host to talk over. Regardless of what stories pop up, I have something already on standby. Strong imaging directors like Jeff Schmidt and Justin Dove do this with their promos, but producers could easily impact their shows by doing this too.
When you watch a football game or show feature, TV producers do this with regularity. The feature or highlights package plays over a familiar musical bed and often connects to the story they’re trying to tell. Most of the time it makes the storytelling more powerful.
To give you an example of what I’m talking about, here are two pieces I’ve created in the past. The first is for a lead up to the Panthers-Eagles Thursday Night game in 2017, and the second is one of the returns we used on 95.7 The Game in SF after learning of Al Davis passing away.
Radio is all about sound, so why we wouldn’t do this more I’m not sure. It makes a show sound better. The only challenge is finding the time to do it. I’ve always felt that those who care enough to make their production matter will find the time. Others will take the easier way out. Figure out which music best fits your show, think of how to use the hook to connect to the story you’re discussing, and it’ll give your program a nice touch.
7:Turning The Mundane Into Must Listen – Every now and then you’re going to be given something you consider less than spectacular. A team may ask you to promote something that you don’t care about. The GM makes a call to help out sales which doesn’t please the PD or personality. Or you roll the dice yourself on something you think mght be good and it turns out to be bad.
First, remember that it’s one segment. If you think your show’s success or failure is going to depend on that one 10-minute piece of content, you may want to go back and re-examine everything else happening over the course of the week.
That said, look at how Dan Le Batard took a spot with Zoo Keeper Ron Magil and made it cool. He did the same thing years ago getting Florida Panthers play by play man Randy Moller to interject one liners into his goal calls. That’s an example of taking something that most shows would say ‘I’m not doing that it’s bad content’ and making it good.
Rock morning shows are usually very good at this because they take the simple and turn it into entertaining content. Case in point, I once worked on a FM music morning show where the hosts had one time sent out the stunt guy on a slow rainy day to stand on the side of the road near a giant puddle. They then asked the audience to drive by him and splash him while he was calling in. My first thought was ‘this is what we’re doing?’ but it resulted in hysterical on-air moments. They created something out of nothing.
But maybe you don’t operate like Le Batard or think the way a Rock morning show does. My suggestion then, bring the guest you’ve been saddled with into whatever your day’s top conversation is. As an example, if you’re talking to an NFL coach on the day LeBron James is being criticized for distancing himself from the Lakers huddle, that can be related to NFL issues that arise between coaches and players. Find a conversation that’s meaningful to your audience and get them on that conversation instead of spending your majority of time on something you know has limited value.
There’s always a subject out there to explore deeper, and when you know you’re up against it with someone that doesn’t feel right to the show, it’s better to try to bring them into what you’re doing rather than rely on what they’re doing. After all, that’s what had you not wanting to do the spot in the first place.
8:Well Timed Drops – Opinions and information may be what we spend most of our energy thinking about, but when a producer or board operator can think along with the host, and introduce audio drops that add to the conversation or result in hilarious moments, it’s worth its weight in gold. OMF on WEEI in Boston and The Michael Kay Show on 98.7 FM ESPN NY are two programs who do this exceptionally well.
My one rule to those behind the scenes is to be careful of not being too clever. Nobody needs to hear your entire library over the span of 3-4 hours. You also need to use good judgment when discussing specific stories. Case in point, you probably don’t want to play The Waterboy’s “That’s What It Feels Like To Open Up a Can of Whoop Ass” while your host is talking about Tyreek Hill being accused of hurting his son. That’s likely to get you suspended or fired.
If you can find things that are unique to your show and that you know connect with your host, and introduce them at the right times, the entertainment value can ascend to higher levels. That becomes a win with the audience.
9:Directing The Audience’s Reactions – This one is simple but important. A host must spend time researching stories, watching games, crafting a game plan, giving their opinions, and asking their audience how they feel about the issues they’re introducing. Equally as necessary is being committed to directing them. Don’t follow the callers, lead the callers.
An example of this would be talking about the Odell Beckham trade, and then turning to the phones and fielding a call that wants to discuss the NY Knicks. Are you a host in control of a show or are you a telephone operator who’s just there to answer as many questions as possible? You can wait to take that call. You can also choose to notify the listener that topic will be happening later, but you’re on something else right now so their time isn’t wasted. They’ll appreciate it.
The bottom line, you create the content, and guide the conversation. If all you’re going to do is look at the light on the phone and go wherever the audience takes you, be prepared for them to listen for much shorter periods of time to your presentation.
10:The Guest Element of Surprise – Booking guests is a regular part of sports radio. People love to hear people talk to other people, especially when it involves issues about other people.
But sometimes these conversations become routine and uneventful. Hosts and producers don’t often drop the guest after their 3 big items have been answered, they extend them for an extra 5 minutes because it kills time, and they think their 7th best question is important.
Rather than spending extra time on stuff that has less value, have you considered doing something to surprise your guest? That might be playing a piece of sound for them and getting them to react. For example, one time at 101 ESPN Bryan Burwell and Bob Stelton played Mark Schlereth’s analysis on the St. Louis Rams for GM Billy Devaney. Little did we know Devaney would unload on Schlereth and it would become the focus of the next few hours of the show.
Other times it may involve asking a guest about someone, and then having that other person on the line ready to react. That’s exactly what I did at the BSM Summit having 3 PD’s analyze one of Doug Gottlieb’s segments and then surprise them on stage.
Sometimes it becomes a cool moment for all involved. For example, if you’re talking to Joe Torre about managing the Yankees it’s probably going to be a fun conversation. But if Joe Girardi phoned in during that chat and you now have both men taking part in an interesting conversation, it surprises the audience, makes the moment cooler, and becomes something you’re probably discussing throughout the rest of the show.
Pulling it off requires work, but if you’re committed to creating cool moments, they’re out there to be made. You just need to think and take chances. That’s part of what makes radio fun in the first place.
11:Asking The Right Questions – For years ESPN invested in a guy named John Sawatsky who was brilliant when it came to interviewing. Producers and talent were trained on the principles of interviewing, and although you may not agree on everything John suggested, most of it was on point. To this day his interview class was the best piece of instruction I’ve ever sat thru.
What John tried to get across was the importance of asking questions that delivered the best responses. When hosts ask short focused questions that start with Who, What, Where, Why, When or How, they often generate better answers from guests.
It sounds simple but if you go back and listen to your last interview and the responses that you receive from people, you might be surprised by what you hear. Many personalities start questions with Do, Does, Can, Is, If, Will and when the replies are weak they blame it on the guest rather than taking into account their line of questioning.
Just like athletes take time to review their performance and find the areas of weakness, you have to do the same as a host. If interviewing is one of them, consider using short open ended questions and see what transpires during your next few conversations.
12:Multi-Purposed Social Content Promotion – A typical 3-4 hour show produces 12-16 segments per day. Those may each be pieces of content worth highlighting or there may be shorter snippets inside each segment that are more valuable to share with the audience. But what I don’t often see is a strategy to highlight content in various ways across social channels. That’s part of why I’m heading to San Diego this week to attend Social Media Marketing World 2019.
One thing I loved hearing at the BSM Summit in Chicago last year was how the Chicago Bulls approach social content. Their head of digital content Dan Moriarty explained how the Bulls expect content to be either Human, Iconic, Timely, Thumb Stopping, Inclusive or Differentiating, no piece of content should be published unless it checks at least three of those boxes. He also explained that the franchise looks to take one piece of content and find 10-12 ways to promote it across multiple platforms in different ways.
Does your station even create 3 ways to promote the best thing you did on the air yesterday? People have asked me before why I promote the BSM Podcast with so many different images, links, and video clips, and it’s for this very reason – you’re trying to stand out in a very crowded field.
Whether it’s a great monologue, an interview, a funny impression, or something just interesting that might generate a reaction from your audience, think about how you’re promoting that content socially. Between using different images with texts, audio links, written articles, and video highlights, there are plenty of ways to use your social channels to make your audience more aware and interested in your content.
13:Video is a Friend to Audio – One great advantage shows have now is the ability to utilize video to make their show more of a destination. If Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is where your audience starts their day, you have a chance to be in front of them before they reach their car. That’s a good thing.
But standing out from a few thousand people isn’t easy, which is why video can make a big difference. Two shows that I’ve enjoyed over time who I think do this well thru social media are The Morning Men on Mad Dog Sports Radio and The Mac Attack on WFNZ in Charlotte. There are many others I’m sure but these guys do a nice job of taking topical events and utilizing humor to make the audience want to hear more.
When you’re at home browsing thru your Twitter timeline and a video pops up of Mac being tripped by T-Bone in the studio just as Zion Williamson experienced on the court last week, it makes you stop, watch, and laugh. That then gives the audience a reason to want to spend more time with the show either on their phone via the app at home via their smart speaker, or thru the radio once they get into their car.
It starts with thinking about your audience and how they connect to your show. Reach them thru social channels by providing a visual peak behind the curtain and it’ll lead to more sampling of your audio content.
14:Quick Paced Updates – If you’ve read this site for a while you know I’m not a big fan of sports updates. However, if you’re going to do them, you might as well make the most of them. One way you do that is by keeping the pace moving. The audience doesn’t need a deep dive into the content, just the quick notes version of it.
As the anchor you may hate not having the ability to further explain the story, but that’s why the host is in the room. It’s their job to do that. Think of yourself as the audio version of House of Highlights. If it’s not brief and entertaining, the listeners will skim past it.
If you’re doing a :60 second update, don’t focus on 2-3 stories and include a :15 second soundbyte. That makes an update feel slow. I’ve always preferred 5-6 stories in the span and audio clips between :05-:07 or less. Some even pull it off with :03 clips. Give the audience the meat of the story, and remove the meaningless drivel surrounding it.
If it’s quick, fun, entertaining, and interesting, you’ll have done your job to steal :60 seconds of the listener’s time.
15:Research Your Audience – If your station has the ability to retain Edison Research, Jacobs Media, Amplifi Media, Coleman Insights or Harker Research, excellent. All do tremendous work to help brands learn more about their listeners.
But if you don’t have those resources available, that doesn’t mean you should stop trying to learn more about your listeners. Whether it’s creating in-house focus groups, newsletter surveys, social page groups to encourage station feedback, social chats with the PD or face to face conversations at station remotes, all provide you with input that can help you improve your brand.
Programming and executing a show does require having instincts and trusting your gut but you also benefit by using data and feedback. Otherwise your decision making is solely based on what you think is right. Not what you know is right.
16:Do Your Homework – Getting a host to read and be informed isn’t difficult. Most understand that’s essential to doing the job. Others take it a step further and watch or attend games. You’d assume that’d be necessary to do this line of work, but not everyone spends 6 days a week watching sports. That said, those who do, often sound more convincing, and informed. They also tend to receive better access.
Sports is a never ending job. You watch, you read, you attend, you discuss in person, you debate on social media, it seriously never ends. If you want to be successful in any line of work you’ve got to do the things necessary to have success. This is a full time commitment. There are no shortcuts. It’s a long day and night, but it’s a fun day and night. I can think of much worse things to do than having to stay informed about the world of sports.
The fundamentals to doing a sports radio show are known by most who program or occupy the airwaves. The execution though isn’t always reflected in what comes thru the speakers. Since returning to my normal routine following the BSM Summit, I’ve had my ear on a number of shows and stations across the county. Some were local, some national, some highly rated, some not.
What I discovered was an inconsistency to executing the basics. I sampled 13 different shows over the past 2 weeks, and caught many missing the mark on the simplest of details which are necessary for having on-air success.
If you’re waiting for me to praise your brand and trash your competitor, don’t get your hopes up. I’m not going to specifically call anyone out. The intent of this column is to emphasize the importance of blocking and tackling on sports radio and point out why it matters to what you do.
If you’re new to the industry or if some of these things aren’t as clear, let me explain what I’m referring to. Radio show fundamentals include many factors. Among them are diving into the content at the start of a segment, resetting a guest or show/topic, identifying yourself and the brand, teasing the next segment and paying off what you said you’d discuss, and informing the audience of who’s speaking on soundbytes you’re airing.
Sometimes these issues occur because hosts and producers become too dependent on their show sheets. They’re so focused on what’s next or how the current topic or guest is fitting the schedule that they don’t listen close enough to what’s actually happening in the moment. They also fail to remind each other of the simple things that need to be executed throughout a show.
For example, think back to a guest you had on your show who you knew sucked in the first :45-:60 seconds yet you kept them on for 5 more minutes. Why did you do it? Likely because your producer invested time to book him/her or because you thought as the host that if you invested more time in the conversation it would ultimately get better. You also saw that they were scheduled from :30 to :42 so you figured “I’ve got to stretch this and get as close to the end of the segment as possible.”
But it didn’t go well did it? Rather than taking into account the audience’s time, and trusting your gut and ears to move on from poor content, you let the schedule, an individual’s effort, and your own ego stop you from maximizing the minutes you had to work with.
Now you might say “it’s only 5 minutes, big deal.” Well, 5 minutes of listening is what you need to gain to secure a quarter hour of ratings credit. Most listeners don’t give you 3-hours of their time. In fact, if you can grab 2-3 quarter hours a day on your station between 6a-7p ET that’s often a success.
Think about that for a second. A station’s normal broadcast day (weekday prime M-F 6a-7p) is 13 hours in length or 780 minutes. We’re considering 30-45 minutes of listening per day a successful one. The audience could choose not to listen for 735-750 minutes of the broadcast day and we’d still consider that a victory.
There’s also the reality that your audience doesn’t listen every day. I know if you’re a host or producer you’re convinced that 50,000 people arrive each day and hang on your every word, but that’s not how it works. You’re going to have a lot of listeners who check out your show only 2-3x per week and for short periods of time. If during one of those occasions, they listen 4 minutes or less, it’s as if they never stopped by.
When they do tune in, it’s your responsibility to make it easy to play along. You may think it doesn’t matter but something as simple as saying your name, the guests name, the caller’s name, who the person speaking in an audio clip is, the station and/or the name of the show plants seeds in the audience’s mind. Never should your audience exit your station and wonder who or what they were listening to.
This is especially critical if you’re a part time talent. There’s absolutely no reason you should be hosting a weekend show or filling in during the weekday and having an audience go 15 minutes without knowing who you are. What good is exceptional content if nobody can remember who created it?
You may think your tracks were covered when the station ran a liner promoting your name at the start of the segment 20 minutes ago, but what about the people who stopped by 5 minutes into the segment and left 10 minutes later? If they haven’t heard you say your name or the name of the show that would mean it’s been 15 minutes since the liner played and that’s too long to go without announcing your name and the brand/show.
Another one I’ve heard a lot lately that drives listeners crazy is guests going for extended periods of time without being identified. There’s no set rule for when to ID a guest but my preference was every 3rd question if the answers are short or every 2nd question if a guest rambles for minutes at a time. If it’s easier to just say “every 4 minutes, every 5 minutes, every 2nd or 3rd question” that’s fine. Everyone has a different plan of attack. The bottom line, don’t leave the audience wondering for 10-15 minutes who you’re talking to.
A couple of other examples that I want to focus on are not identifying audio clips, teasing segments and providing payoffs, diving into content, and forgetting to reset prior conversations.
Starting with teasing, I want you to answer one simple question: What gives you a better chance of keeping your audience listening to the next segment, telling them you’ve got bills to pay and you’ll come back after commercials or leaving them curious by promoting something interesting? I find that people usually respond better when they have something to look forward to.
This doesn’t mean you have to frame everything in a way that makes it seem like you’ve located the cure for cancer. If you’re doing a 16 segment 4-hour show, I don’t think you’ll be believable if you tell the audience every time you go to break that you have something that’s going to change their life. It doesn’t need to be oversold.
For example if you said “LeBron James’ future in Los Angeles is in question and in 4 minutes we’ll reveal a clue that makes it clear his time in the city of Angels is coming to an end” it might get your audience to come back, but you’re also going to look silly if that situation doesn’t happen. You may have a good clue, but unless you’re Magic Johnson, Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, and LeBron James, and you’ve made a collective decision about what the next step of the relationship is going to be, you don’t know exactly what will happen.
Instead keep it simple: “We’ve discovered a clue that may lend insight into the future of the Lakers relationship with LeBron James….we’ll share it with you next.”
Just as important, if you told the audience that’s going to be discussed next, make sure it is. Nothing pisses people off more then when they look forward to something, and the host develops amnesia during the commercial break and decides to spend the next 10 minutes talking about everything but what they said they would. The bottom line, give the audience something to look forward to and deliver on your promises.
The other part of this that I hear a lot of hosts make mistakes with, tell me what you’re doing NEXT. Tease one simple thing, that’s it. If a listener is engaged with your show and you’re heading to a break, you might get them to the next segment if you make it sound worthwhile. If you think they’re setting calendar appointments of when to tune in later in the show, be prepared to be disappointed.
When you tell the audience everything you have planned for the next 4 hours while heading to break or hit them with the 5 topics you’re hot on today it’s just noise. There’s no call to action. So too is the common throwaway of “we’ve got some Lakers, some Patriots, the Odell trade, we’ll do a little bit of Westbrook + Bryce Harper’s in the news.”
Why not just tell them “we’ve got a whole lot of sports to talk about” while you’re at it. That’s a classic case of “I have nothing planned for the next segment, but here’s a bunch of stuff.” As I’ve told hosts in the past who’ve worked for me, I put stuff in a suitcase. I need to know why I should spend my next 5 minutes listening to you. To use some baseball advice, throw your best pitch and hit your spot. Don’t get cute trying to show off all of your pitches at once.
Next, let’s talk about diving into content. Simply put, when the music bed plays and you utter your first sentence, are you wasting words or making them count? Nobody cares about your studio view of the city or who beat you to the soda machine during the commercial break. If you sound unfocused and waste people’s time with minutia, they’ll get tired of it and change the dial.
A host who does a great job of diving right into content is Colin Cowherd. When his segments start, he’s usually right into the the topic off of his first word. You may love or hate his personality and style or the topic he’s chosen but when it comes to not wasting time getting into a discussion he’s exceptional at it. Case in point, here’s a sample from yesterday’s show. You’ll hear the music playing under him as he wastes no time getting right into conversation.
A good exercise to help yourself as a host or producer is to take a drive in your car and just listen to 15-20 minutes of radio. 93.7 The Fan PD Jim Graci said at the BSM Summit that he has his talent listen back to an hour of their show each day. When the 5 minute commercial break hits it’ll feel like an eternity, especially if a station is running :15 and :30 second spots. If they do, you might hear anywhere from 6-15 different advertising messages.
You’ll find that the commercial breaks for many brands often include station promos, sports updates, service elements (traffic, news, weather, stock), station liners to send you back into the show, a music bed that starts the segment and plays for :05-:10 seconds, and in some instances, :10-:20 seconds of a soundbyte airing over the bed to send the host into the topic. That means your listener can be separated from your last sentence for 8-9 minutes.
The average commute time in the United States is 25.4 minutes. In most major market cities during drive times, that length may be double. Add it up and it means that the commuter is with you for 2-4 segments during their drive. If you have an 8-9 minute stoppage every 15-20 minutes, and fail to focus your content, dive in, and give the audience nothing to look forward to, you may turn out alright, but your odds of earning additional listening are going to be greatly enhance by teasing, paying things off, and diving in.
Moving to soundbytes, you can attach the best :10-:15 seconds of audio to a produced return or play it over a music bed, and then dive into your content, but is it too much to ask to tell the audience who was speaking on the clip when you begin building your stance off of it? Do you think your entire audience knows the voice of every single football, baseball, and basketball player and coach?
If you’re pitching to a cut inside of the segment, that too requires identification. Doing something vague like “The Raiders have opened up the checkbook but not everyone is convinced they’re spending their money wisely” and not referencing who shared the opinion that differs from yours is foolish. You’re making the audience work harder than they need to.
Make it easy for people to play along. Giving the name of the person speaking adds credibility to the discussion, and it’ll likely make your audience want to join the conversation. They may even tweet at the person who made the comment, offering their own opinions on what they said, or let them know that you disagreed with their point of view which opens the door to a rebuttal and additional content.
The last item I want to draw attention to is not resetting prior on-air conversations. What you’re talking about now is what matters most to your audience. Too often hosts forget that. When you say things like “We discussed this at length on Tuesday so we’re not going to beat a dead horse” or “People took issue with our position yesterday on LeBron James and I don’t get it” and don’t follow up by explaining what those points were and where you stand, you’re leaving them out in the cold.
As great as it would be, the audience is not going to dive into your podcast archives and re-listen to everything you said just so they can follow along easier. Furthermore, if you’re going to discuss something that’s clearly triggered an emotion in you, take the time to expand on it. Otherwise what was the point in bringing it up in the first place?
Remember that you have listeners who like your show, but aren’t addicted to it. They may form a deeper connection with you in the future, but if their schedule only allows for them to hear you 2-3 days per week for 15 minutes at a time, don’t give them reasons to tune out from the current occasion or future ones by not making it easy to consume the content.
In sports, so much of success depends on preparation. A player like Tim Duncan was known for his ability to block shots, grab rebounds, score points, and make his teammates better, but he earned the nickname “The Big Fundamental” because of his knowledge, ability, and commitment to improving his footwork, taking high percentage shots, establishing good rebounding position, passing the ball to the open man, and executing consistently. All of those things helped him earn the respect and admiration from fans, teammates, and competitors, and a number of NBA titles.
For sports radio professionals, it’s no different. You’ve got to have talent or you wouldn’t be on the air. But others are on the airwaves and capable of entertaining audiences too.
You have a short window of time to lure people in before they find other options. There are over 700,000 podcasts available, 20-75 local radio stations (depending on your market) supplying content, social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, plus apps, videos, satellite radio, and friends or family texting or calling. Each wants the listener’s attention and is competing against you to earn it.
To succeed you’ve got to be able to entertain, inform, and provide unique opinions and angles that make the audience think and feel. Guests, soundbytes, and callers are the props which enhance your presentation, and the last step for hosts is to navigate the show smoothly by executing effective blocking and tackling principles.
Look at it like this, if your topics, opinions, and personalities are the equivalent of a main course meal, then it’s the fundamentals that are your sides and appetizers. Depending on who’s at the table or in this case listening in the car, on the phone, or thru a smart speaker, those extras can be the difference between the audience feeling full or still hungry.
Sometimes when life throws you a curveball, you just have to sit back, wait and knock it out of the park. White Sox broadcaster and former Major Leaguer Darrin Jackson is living proof.
Now entering his 11th year alongside Ed Farmer in the White Sox radio booth, Jackson finds himself in a place he never thought would be a destination. Others who followed his career thought it would be a perfect fit.
While Jackson was playing professionally in San Diego in 1992, the beat writers for the Padres would often ask him what he’d want to do after baseball. They asked about managing or coaching, and one asked about the possibility of becoming a baseball broadcaster. That left Darrin wondering if the writers knew something that he didn’t. Was he being released? Sent to the minors? Jackson was at a loss for words, which of course isn’t good for an announcer, “Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just talking to you right now.”
The writers didn’t have any inside knowledge because Jackson, or DJ as he’s affectionately known, continued his major league career which all in all spanned 12 years. Jackson even spent two seasons in Japan. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1981, making his major league debut with the team in 1985. He really didn’t get much playing time on the North Side and actually asked the team to deal him, which they did in 1989 to the Padres.
He saw a few cities in the course of his time in the ‘bigs’. From
San Diego he was dealt to Toronto in 1993. From Toronto it was on to the Mets
and eventually the White Sox in 1994.
He then would leave the states and sign with the Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League in 1995 staying there through the ’96 season, returning to the majors in 1997 with the Twins, then to the Brewers in ’98 before returning to Chicago with the Sox in 1999, which turned out to be his final season.
Jackson knew it was destiny returning to the South Side, because as he asked himself, “What would be a place for me to finish my career that would be great? That I’d want to work for that organization, when I got done playing and of all the places I had played instantly I thought about Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox. As an organization there was no other place I’d rather be.”
After the season ended, he was not planning to retire, but an
offer came his way and he took it.
“As it went being here (Chicago) in 1999, when I came back in my final year of playing, it was just right place, right time, because I was thinking about another year of playing actually, but an opportunity opened up in the broadcast booth and I was offered the opportunity to come up and do that” Jackson said. “I said you know you’re 36 years old, how much more are you going to play? I’m in good shape that’s not the issue, it’s just I’m really not playing anymore at all. I was just sitting around watching baseball, so why not go up there in the booth and watch baseball and talk about it.”, recalls Jackson.
He started on White Sox television with the recently retired Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, then transitioned into the radio booth with Farmer beginning with the 2009 season.
As a former player Jackson spoke about how he handles a broadcast,
especially when it comes to being critical of those now playing the game he did
for so long. DJ likes to have fun but in the end the goal is a simple one.
“Tell the truth, of course you want to be honest, our fans aren’t stupid, they know what they’re hearing out of my mouth whether its factual or fiction. I try to do it in a way where it’s never offensive. I remember as a player when broadcasters would say something and then put their own personal spin on it and I never ever liked when somebody would go ‘I don’t even know why is this guy here, what’s he even…’ look that’s not being a professional, if you’re playing bad say this guy is playing terribly, he’s not doing his job he can play better.” Jackson continued, “Will I get on a guy that’s not hustling or making mental mistakes? Absolutely, and I have no problem walking right up to him after a game and if they want to say something, I’m right here, we can talk about it and I’ll tell you my side.”
The no nonsense approach is what helped make Jackson a major leaguer for so many years and it’s what’s making him so good at his current job on White Sox radio. But DJ is not without a sense of humor, especially when I reminded him of the old saying in the broadcasting business: it’s a lot easier up here [in the booth] than it is down there [on the field], but as a former player and not a trained broadcaster Jackson laughed that off.
“Hilarious! That’s definitely not true. I’ve got a whole bunch of names I can write down right now, of guys that would tell you, I’ve tried that and I failed, so it’s not that easy.”
Alfred Williams, who played on the defensive line for the Denver Broncos before becoming one of the most popular sports radio personalities in Denver for 104.3 The Fan has left the station effective today. Williams had been a fixture in afternoons, co-hosting “The Drive” with Darren “D-Mac” McKee.
Details about Williams’ future, and 104.3 The Fan’s afternoon drive plans are unclear. ‘The Drive’ was voted one of the Top 20 Major Market afternoon shows by radio executives each of the past 3 years.
Since the news became public, a few personalities from The Fan have taken to Twitter expressing their admiration for their former colleague. Local listeners have done the same.
As details become available we’ll update this story.
I had something entirely different in mind to write about when I woke up this morning. However, late this afternoon, at 4:12pm to be exact, I received an email from a media buyer which made me change my mind about what to write.
“Hello, Dave” it started out. “I am with XXX agency and I am writing on behalf of XXX company, as I would like to get some quick rate information from you for XXX station,” it continued, innocently enough. “This buy could start as early as March and could go as long as through December. We often run 2 weeks per month but could buy up to four. Our primary demo is Adults 25-54 and our secondary demo is Men 25-54. We run 30’s and 15’s and use all day parts except overnights.”
Appreciate the vague information, what else can I do for you?
“Could you please send me rates and ratings for our primary and secondary demos for XXX station as well as any others in your cluster? I will also need you to send me station maps. Please be sure to see the attached information which explains our required added value. I am not yet sure of budget or CPP goals, but they are in the process of determining, so if I can get this information back this afternoon, I would appreciate it.”
Immediately, my mind cut to Wayne Campbell in Wayne’s World, “Exsqueeze me? Baking powder?”
You sent me an email at 4:12pm and expect it back “this afternoon?” Forget the fact that you want me to do all of this without some of the most important information I would need to really put it together, but this is going to take some time to gather with all the various ways you are asking to see it. And then, my favorite, the required added value!
Just once, I’d like to try the “required added value play” with the electric company. “Yes, I’d like to use and pay for electricity, but so you know, I’ll require some added value with that.”
So, what did I do? I did what most all of you would’ve done if in the same situation. I stayed at my desk until 6:30pm putting the numbers together to get them over as soon as I could. But, truthfully, I hate myself for doing it. Mostly because I know darn-well they didn’t need those numbers “this afternoon.” This is a textbook move by a media buyer, but just in case this is the one time out of a thousand that they really are going to make a quick buy, I figured I better not take the chance.
We deal with things like this a lot. Things other companies or industries don’t ever have to deal with. Recently I overheard a client complaining about having to fill out paperwork in order to establish credit and not be cash-in-advance. I wondered what other businesses he was dealing with where he didn’t want to fill out paperwork, but did want to “pay later.” Does he walk in to the bank and say he’d like to take out a loan, but really prefers they just trust him, rather than deal with all of that paperwork?
I had an auto dealer client once who liked to play the “if you don’t trust me to honor my commitment, maybe we shouldn’t do business together” card to avoid signing any agreements. He expected to pay on credit and expected to not have to sign a commitment whenever he bought from us.
Oh, the irony of a person in the auto business not wanting to sign anything.
In a lot of these cases, we’ve become our own worst enemy by always replying quickly to the rate requests, or by going-to-bat for a company to get credit when we really don’t know anything about their business or financial situation (no matter how it may appear) or let the auto dealer think our business should run any differently than theirs.
Not caving in to things, as a general rule, will always put us in a better position to negotiate and to get full value for what we are selling. Even if we do have to put in a little something extra for the “required added value.”
Nine months. That’s how much time was invested in putting together the 2019 BSM Summit. It seems crazy that a two day event could require so much time and energy, but it did. In the end though, it was well worth it.
I’m a perfectionist by nature, so there’s plenty I’ll look back on and say ‘we should’ve done this, we didn’t we do that’ but if I never did another thing in the sports radio industry, I can look back fondly knowing I brought the industry together. I saw over 150 media professionals from 30+ companies grace the halls of the Grammy Museum last week in Los Angeles, sharing insights and ideas on stage, interacting in the halls, toasting one another at the cocktail reception, and coming together for a common cause – to gain information, increase relationships, and work towards lifting the sports radio format to higher levels.
I didn’t think that was possible when I decided to roll the dice and turn this small private event into a bigger industry show. Sports radio folks aren’t often found at radio conferences. They have a tendency to become attached to their offices and studios. Fortunately though this event drew a favorable response.
Don Martin said it best at the end of the summit, ‘kinship matters, and it’s important that we work together to raise the level of this format.” That’s so true. We spend so much time worrying about crushing each other that we forget that there are a lot more stations not delivering sports talk radio content and taking money and ratings out of our format. In the television world sports is king, but in radio, we’ve got a lot more work to do to improve the overall perception.
We’re operating at a time where economic projections for radio are flat to down over the next few years. I made this point during my Under The Radar session that programmers need to think more like business executives, instead of ratings chasers. Yes the content and coaching matters, but a true brand leader invests themselves in the success of the entire organization. That means sales, events, marketing, and examining all aspects of an organization, and what it isn’t taking advantage of that could potentially be a new avenue towards additional revenue.
Reflecting back on the two days, it was a blast sharing the stage with so many great people. We captured a ton of video, audio, and photos. I’ll be sorting thru all of it in the days and weeks ahead, and making some of it available on the BSM website, BSM Podcast, and thru my social media channels, so stay tuned.
As far as the sessions were concerned, it was cool putting Bruce Gilbert and Mike Thomas together. The two brothers are well accomplished, and had never been on a panel. That blew my mind. It reminded me that it’s vital to create fun sessions, understand who’s attending your event, and introduce fresh voices and faces.
Personally, I was very proud to introduce awards in the name of Jeff Smulyan and Tony Bruno, and offer the industry’s respects to both men. What each of them has accomplished in this business was well worth recognizing. Having Eric Shanks, Rick Cumings, Kraig Kitchin, and Clay Travis part of those awards ceremonies made it even more special.
Anytime I can spend thirty to forty minutes talking shop with Jim Rome, Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, Marcellus Wiley, Eric Bischoff, Mitch Rosen, Dan Zampillo, and Don Martin it’s a great day. I also loved going outside of the content area and chatting about business with Steve Shanks, Jill Albert, Lisa Nichols-Jell, and David Gow.
As a spectator I loved watching my good friend Jim Cutler wow the crowd with his fantastic session on imaging. Jim sees more copy than anyone, and he has a tremendous passion for this format. When he offers his insights on how to stand out creatively thru the speakers, I’m a sponge for the information. Hopefully every PD in that room was paying attention.
It was also a lot of fun leading Doug Gottlieb down the hall to surprise Adam Klug, Jim Graci, and Eric Johnson after they critiqued part of his show on stage. All three programmers handled it great, and Doug was awesome as well. Here’s a guy who’s been hosting shows across the country for over a decade, and his first words to the panel were ‘you said I took too long to get into the content…..and you were absolutely right.’
The conversation Mike Salk conducted with Ramona Shelburne, Steve Wyche and Bruce Feldman on reporting, which included expectations when appearing on sports radio brands was also excellent. I thought Demetri Ravanos delivered a similar experience when he explored ways to stand out in digital and social media with Pat Muldowney, David Feldman, and Phil Mackey.
Having Brian Long share time on stage with Mason & Ireland allowed all in attendance to get a feel for why John and Steve have been such a consistent force in Los Angeles. I also liked how Jason Dixon moderated the Inside vs. Outside Thinking panel with Ryan Hatch, Chris Kinard, Justin Craig, and Scott Shapiro. That was a lot of programming power on one stage.
For those in search of information, Steven Goldstein, Warren Kurtzman, and Norm Pattiz hosted sessions on podcasting, smart speakers, research, and monetizing digital. We also ventured into eSports and sports betting with Joe Fortenbaugh moderating a chat with Brian Musburger, Chad Millman, and Kip Levin, and Arash Markazi talking with Ari Segal, Jared Jeffries, Daniel Cherry, and Sebastian Park.
The most powerful session though belonged to Emily Austen. I’m so happy for her that she was able to share her story with people, and continue the process of moving forward. We all make mistakes in life, and I’ve never been the type to close a door on someone who screwed up.
Emily and I met on radio row this year, and I was aware of her screwup on Barstool Sports. She didn’t try to make excuses for it, she was accountable. She sought to use her mistake as an example to help others, and leading up to the conference I knew she’d move the room. I watched some of the video clips she sent me, and they were uncomfortable. I wondered how people at the event would react to such hateful and disgusting remarks on the screen, and decided to air them without editing because real life situations aren’t always pretty. Regardless of where she goes in the future, I know there are people who left that room with a different perspective thanks to her willingness to be vulnerable.
One of my favorite personal moments was sitting on stage hosting the Women in Sports Media panel listening to Amanda Gifford share her wisdom with the audience. To think that fifteen years ago Amanda was my intern on ESPN Radio’s GameNight, and now here we were having an important discussion together on stage was a very cool moment. I thought Amanda, Lindsay McCormick, Debbie Spander, and Julie Stewart-Binks were fantastic, and provided a great reminder of why it’s vital for sports radio to continue adding female voices to the on-air presentation.
Just as important as providing a beneficial on-stage experience was, it was also necessary to have some fun. The private cocktail party at Tom’s Urban was well attended, and went so good that I actually reached into the wallet and added some expense to extend it an hour. It was going too well to shut it down after sixty minutes.
I want to thank Ryan Hatch for picking up on how we promoted the BSM Summit leading up to the show. We had a strategic vision for creating written content, and everyone on the BSM writing staff got into the act and did a tremendous job 4-6 weeks out to build up additional buzz. To all who lent their time sharing feedback with our writers, I greatly appreciate it.
There were a few takeaways that I couldn’t end this column without pointing out. I learned that Colin Cowherd REALLY likes Evan Cohen, Jim Cutler’s bullshit button brings out the kid in all of us, attendees feared front row seats more than losing a meter, the Dolly Parton exhibit in the Grammy Museum had more fans than I initially expected, Josh Innes, Tony Bruno, Joe Fortenbaugh, and Mark Zinno showed that no matter how talented and successful they are as on-air talent, they still care about learning new things to get better, and Bruce Gilbert won the conference with his memorable quote ‘podcasts are the new assholes, everybody’s got one’.
I’ve since begun seeking out feedback from those who attended to find out what we could’ve done better. I’ve learned over the past four years from attending industry shows that nothing is ever perfect, even if that’s the goal. My hope is that attendees were able to take something back to their brands to further grow their business, and that the experience was enjoyable enough to want to attend again in the future.
Where I do have to make adjustments is with my personal involvement creating the show. I put way too much on my plate this year. I created every session, the BSM Summit website, the on-site program, every powerpoint (except Cutler, Austen, Goldstein, and Kurtzman who brought their own) display, and I tracked down 99% of the speakers. I also sold every sponsorship. Trying to do all of that while continuing to listen and talk to clients, write, podcast, and pursue new opportunities is difficult.
Thankfully I had great on-site support from my team of Demetri, Tyler, Brandon, and Stephanie, and excellent video work from Brandon Burgess of The King of Dreams, but going forward, I’ve got to add a few extra hands to make things easier. That’s a good problem to have, it means we’re growing.
I also want to recognize Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock. I traveled to Los Angeles in October to do a site review of the Grammy Museum, and during my visit I stopped by the FOX lot to meet up with both of them. I hadn’t built one session or secured one speaker when I asked them each to participate in the conference. Without hesitation they both said yes. They gave us a much needed boost to attract other great people, and I greatly appreciate them doing so.
It was also a pleasure seeing an increase in market managers, and industry executives in the room. To those who made the trip, thank you for doing so. I’m well aware that programmers, agents, and talent will support the show, but this format needs everyone involved, not just those responsible for content. Moving forward, I’m determined to bring more GM’s and industry leaders into this conversation. I also think if you’re a talent looking to improve, and advance your career, you’re missing a huge opportunity not being here. There is no other event where you’re going to cross paths with more than 40-50 radio bosses.
I’ll wrap this up by adding that I love the sports radio format. I believe it deserves much more credit and investment than it currently receives. The personalities are household names locally and nationally. The brands they operate on are an integral part of listener’s lives, and the associations stations have with professional sports franchises provide another meaningful way for advertisers to benefit.
Some radio groups have a tendency to overlook this format’s ability to deliver significant results. Advertisers can be guilty of doing the same. Maybe that’s due to some brands still broadcasting on AM, measurement remaining challenged, the format being too narrow focused on Men 25-54, and radio not being considered as sexy as other platforms. But I’ve seen firsthand how this format produces strong returns for clients. So much of turning the corner involves pulling for each other, taking chances, and telling our story. We’ve got to continue doing that if we want to generate bigger ratings and dollars.
I’ve made it my life’s mission to advocate for this format, and help brands, and people create larger success. Whether I work with a station or not, I’ve tried to be a valuable resource to anyone I come in contact with. I’m a believer that if you do good work and have a good reputation, when the time is right, people will seek you out to help them. Hopefully down the line we’ll have a chance to do some business together, but even if we don’t, I hope to see you at the 2020 BSM Summit.
Now just one question remains, where should we hold it? Click here to cast your vote.
