GaryAllyn's RadiOpinion

             

              Gary Allyn's RadiOpinion

                      WHICH CAME FIRST? THE PRODUCT OR THE SALES?

I saw this provocative article the other day in another fine Radio website:

RADIO MUST REINVENT ITSELF An article in Radio Ink tells it like it is. Saga Communications CEO Ed Christian warns: 'If we accept the reality that we are crawling, we need to adapt what we do'. Christian maintains that 'radio needs to rebuild its image in order to remain healthy in a slow-growth world'. Ed goes on: radio needs to focus more on its product and take care of the people who produce that product. 'We can't clone a plant. Our business is about our people. We need to get our product right. You can treat people with respect and make money. You can do both, even in a 2 percent world'. Listen up bankers! Consolidating radio stations into factories full of line workers, firing top talent and programmers and voice-tracking from another state kills its product and its respectability.

It has always bothered me that Radio can not figure it out that you need a product 

before you can sell it. It seems obvious. But most owners, CEO's etc., always give 

short shrift to the on-air product. In their zealousness to achieve the desires of their 

corporate bottom line, they usually eliminate the one thing they need-people. 

 I've always believed it takes people to reach the ears of of people(the audience). 

LIVE, on-the-air people. I knew from the very first day I was on the air back in 1955, 

that revenue, from commercials, was necessary.

I was taught that commercials were sacrosanct. We all know that's what Radio

is REALLY about, but the listener doesn't...or doesn't care. As a programmer, it

became an ultimate compliment to my programming when my station was "sold

out". Two stations I was affiliated with were "sold out" 24 hours a day! It CAN be 

done. Somewhere along the way, starting in the 70's, Radio, and programmers,

decided that big ratings were ahead if they just had "commercial free hours" or

"commercial free Monday's" etc. Little did they suspect they were leading to

their own demise. Once you inject the idea into the listener's heads that fewer 

commercials is a good thing....they want more. Eventually, you have to play some

advertising on the air, and now after all the "commercial free" hours, you now

point up the fact you HAVE commercials, and invite listener tune out. You have

now defeated the purpose that Radio needs....MORE TUNE IN!  Not tune outs!!

Besides, I've worked at too many stations that have had 18-20 commercials per

hour and have been overwhelming #1.  If station's entertain and inform with real

live people on the air, the commercials have a way of blending in as just another

element of the broadcast hour or day. Also lost, is local commercial production.

Local copywriters are almost extinct. Commercial production is a lost "art".

Local commercials can be entertaining and not tune out prone. Just ask the

"Master"-Chuck Blore. He's been doing it nearly all of his life-WELL!

Too many in management think if they just hire some super salesmen, they can sell 

anything on the air. Product be-damned! It doesn't work that way very often. 

Hoover had to make a very great vacuum cleaner before it could be sold to 

the public. Why have Japanese car makers over taken GM automobiles? 

They produced a better product through competition.

The masses-the people-do comparison shopping. It's the same with Radio. The

listener shops, compares, and settles on a favorite. A better product makes for

better ratings. Better ratings make a better "Bottom Line". Yes, Product matters!

A vital part of "reinventing" itself, Radio must start with rehiring talented people!

Yes, it IS product first, Sales after!  At least that's my RadiOpinion, what's yours?