The Measure of Success…starts with the smallest decisions and tasks

Recently at www.radiocreativeland.com, media professionals were asked to share success stories about our clients in Radio. I proceeded to share a story about a client that needed more than just getting the order and producing the copy provided was an artifact from their previous experience with radio. This client had a problem that we ended up getting to the root of. We came up with a very simple campaign that helped do two things the client clearly wanted:  1) Educate the public to get their name engrained in the listeners’ head, and 2) Make the phone ring for them. We did both.

However, looking back to just last week, we had another success story that had really nothing to do with the script or schedule.  Music Makers had run with us for years, but not recently.  They had just found some coop dollars to help them pay for a campaign for their 20th anniversary in business. Allen Kirsh, the owner, is an Austin legend when it comes to the local music scene and all the musicians know and love this guy AND his shop.  Music Makers has survived as the largest retail music giants over the years have come and gone.  Music Makers continues to be the local musicians’ favorite place to buy gear. They really know their business and clients, I feel, because Allen still has a passion about what he does.

Here’s where the success comes in for us at Emmis Austin Radio. 

You see, for this local campaign, Allen really wanted to use the original jingle he had for the store when he opened up the shop 20 years ago, kind of a retrospective of “hey look how far we’ve come” type of spot.  The last time we used that jingle, was probably, and I kid you not, back in 1995.  Allen currently only had a cassette copy of the jingle and even though this would have been a “remember when” spot, a cassette copy just wouldn’t do for broadcast.

It just so happens, starting in 1994 when I hopped over to the Sound Design (production) department at (then) LBJ Broadcasting, one of my first tasks was to get the department organized, which included archiving all of our masters, spots on reel, promos, and commentaries with Austin Veteran Cactus Pryor etc...  That’s when we started DAT mastering all of our audio and cataloging them in a database program. It wasn’t until 1999/2000 we converted to saving everything as an .mp3 file on a server that everyone in the building could access.

To date, we had archived over 420 DAT tapes with 36,000+ cuts, in addition to the new way we master to Audiobank, now approaching 62,400 shared mp3 files. That’s over 98,400 elements in our library of mastered work.

Now, when Allan made the call and said, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if we could find those original jingles someplace…” I immediately called him back with the good news: DAT 125 cuts 04-11 - we have them, and they’re better than broadcast quality! Our copy was made from his original master back in 1995.

It was truly a combined win. The client found the coop dollars, the AE came to us directly with the last minute order, we gave the client a choice of voices, snagged the jingle and re-mastered it, cut the spot, and got it on the log for next day run. People came in the client’s door saying they heard the spot and remembered that jingle and Allen made sales because of it. The station truly ran like a well oiled machine for Allen.

I bring this story up, because the actions we all take today, impact what happens in the future. Way in the future. In this case, the actions of something so simple, even mundane to some at the time and viewed as a chore, ended up helping us not just LAND a nice schedule, but made the client one happy camper. That is super-serving the client. It’s something that can’t be quantified. However, in this case, a heart-string emotional tug of a simple sound from the past made all the difference to a number of people that both heard it and were moved enough to come in and spend money. With a final payoff of the owner of the business now having a broadcast quality copy of his jingles he so loved when he opened his doors some 20 years ago.

What station group do you think Allen at Music Makers is going to think of first, the next time he’s ready to use radio to get his message out?

Success is measured in so many ways; but none as powerful as the smallest detail you think might not matter today, but could have huge impact years from now. We are all entrusted with making the right decisions for each of our stations. Remember that when you are about to cut the budget, lay a person off or not master a jingle package because the client has his original copy.  Whatever you have planned today, do the right thing. You never know when you might make someone’s day, or land a schedule 15 years in the future.

Jim “Jimbo” Kipping is Creative Services Director for the 6 station cluster for Emmis Broadcasting in Austin Texas, and is also heard on current national campaigns for Netflix, Sunny D, Amtrak California, Kreg Tool Co, and hundreds of other regional and local spots in Austin and around country from his studio in the Texas Hill Country.  He can be reached at jkipping@emmisaustin.com  or at www. jimkipping.com

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