Another Radio Show has come and gone. And this years was one of the better ones in recent memory.
Why? Chicago played a major role. As we have opined in this blog in the past, The Radio Show works fine in markets like Charlotte and Austin. But Chicago is a bigger stage, a major market, and an advertising mecca. While the Hyatt had some issues with restaurants and service (its employees were visibly on strike during the first day or so), the layout was very conducive to meeting and seeing people. My bet is that a lot of work got done at this year’s show.
Attendance was way up – a 24% increase from last year – and you could feel it in the halls, in the exhibit area, and even around the area within a mile or two of the Hyatt.
Our Lori Lewis did an outstanding job moderating “R U A Social Misfit,” featuring KISW’s B.J. Shea, WMMR’s Bill Weston, and WNCY (Green Bay) morning host Charli McKenzie. It was a rapid fire, entertaining, and substantive conversation about the role of social media at today’s radio stations.
And I was honored to be a panelist for “Innovating Radio’s Future,” moderated by Jeff Haley, and featuring Clear Channel’s Jeff Littlejohn, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, and Paragon’s Mike Henry.
There were some big events, too. RAIN featured Tim Westergren, Jeff Haley delivered a strong message during his presentation, and then Bob Pittman followed with a strong speech to a packed house.
The Pittman speech was very rah rah. But if you listened closely, there were some big messages being delivered:
- Radio is not a tower and a transmitter – it’s a brand.
- Radio is not a playlist or a music collection. It has always been curated and there are human beings to bond with the audience.
- Pandora is a nifty feature. It’s not a business.
- Why digital? You have to be where your customers are.
- Facebook is a very good thing for radio.
- Digital allows radio to build new businesses. And radio has an edge over services like Groupon.
- Radio is not about spots. We rent our brand relationship with the audience to advertisers.
- Radio is not getting its fair share of ad revenue. We need to tell our story.
- Newspapers, magazines, and the Yellow Pages are dying. Radio needs to go out and get these dollars.
And his strong delivery was accompanied by data slides, which I’m sure the NAB and RAB will post and make available to their members.
So what was missing? Amidst all the good news for radio was the lack of “showbiz” at this convention. And if I could have waved the wand and changed just one thing, it would have been to prominently include more performers at The Radio Show and in the convention hotel.
Why shouldn’t radio’s biggest and brightest stars be broadcasting live and appearing in a personality row format at The Radio Show? We all know the power of radio’s personalities. And as Westergren pitched Pandora on the one hand, and Pittman talked about why radio is better on the other, the personality aspect is the centerpiece of that difference.
We’ve all seen this in action. It’s one thing when a rep visits an agency. It’s another when the hot morning team accompanies her. That’s when the entire agency staff leaves their cubicles and offices to meet and greet a radio star. Stations that feature strong personalities with a great story are what makes radio compelling and powerful.
This was evident during the recent Hurricane Irene and 9/11 coverage. And day after day on the radio, it’s Ryan Seacrest and John Tesh. Sean Hannity and Lex & Terry. Dennis Miller and Nikki Sixx – top talent doing what they do so well.
And let’s not forget the local personalities that have compelling stories. Last month, we featured WCSX DJ, Steve Kostan, who was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. What other Detroit station can make that claim? Or Internet station for that matter? That’s radio’s difference.
Walking around the Hyatt and seeing hundreds of executives, CEOs, and vendors on display were reminders that the industry is recovering and regaining its equilibrium.
But putting the industry’s most energetic, dynamic, and cool personalities, shows, and teams on display is what makes radio the exciting medium that Pittman talked about. He called radio “America’s Companion.”
But listeners aren’t loyal to music collections. And they aren’t loyal to bowtie stopsets. They become attached to personality.
It’s time for radio to put the “show” back in the “business.”
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the 2012 Radio Show and how the choice of locale is important.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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I’ve long been amazed at how so many in radio forget that radio IS the most intimate form of show business. With TV/movies, you get the visual and aural. In radio, we have to color the canvas with our words along…how we create the art is with our lone instrument, through our tone, inflection, intensity, projection- in other words, our soul. Too many radio stations sound as if they’re operating off a pacemaker while select, great radio stations broadcast with heart.
Always great perspectives, gang! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks, J.J. Whether it was the first time you saw a DJ broadcasting live from a diner or car dealership as a kid to Imus on MSNBC, great radio is fascinating to watch. And our stars are radio’s “secret sauce.” We need to have them on display whenever there’s a big industry gathering, especially one that attracts advertisers. As Pittman opined, we have to do a better job telling our story. Appreciate you chiming in.