Jeff Smulyan: Emperor Has No Clothes!
Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan
Remember the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale about swindlers that convinced a King that they could weave clothes so wonderful that they were invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid?
The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms. “Heaven preserve us. I cannot see anything at all!,” but he did not say so. “Oh dear,” he thought, “can I be so stupid? Nobody must know it! No, no, I cannot say that I was unable to see the cloth.”
This fairytale is being played out right now in radio, but today’s swindlers are new-media pundits. They dismissively harangue broadcasters declaring that you just don’t get it!
These swindlers are holding up invisible promises of a digital future full of untold riches if radio just embraces new-media.
Radio has responded just like the King’s ministers. Can I be so stupid? I cannot say that I am unable to see the digital future these new-media pundits see!
So we have unfocused misdirected digital initiatives funded with dollars diverted from programming and marketing budgets. Radio stations firing air staff and creating robo-stations so more money can be channeled into digital departments.
Finally someone has the guts to declare that the Emperor has no clothes.
The BIA/Kelsey Digital Strategies for Broadcasters conference began with speaker after speaker (few of which actually have skin in the radio game) blasting radio for moving so slowly towards digital nirvana.
Then Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, an actual broadcaster, finally said what every broadcaster knows but is afraid to say: He cautioned broadcasters about pursuing technologies that are "very cool", but not likely to be profitable.
There is a real cost to streaming. That's why none of my brethren have made any real money from it. As listening to online streaming grows, broadcasters have to foot the growing bandwidth bill.
True leadership in radio today requires a measured response to digital while still staying focused on broadcast’s strengths. Radio cannot prepare for the future by plundering its present.
Invest in the product. Make it as good as it can be.
Then invest in marketing to bring more people to the product.
Be live. Be local. And don’t short change the 95% of people that still like listening to local stations on a radio.
-- Glenda Shrader Bos & Richard Harker of Harker Research
RBR-TVBR observation: If you are going to talk the talk and walk the walk you best have 'Skin in the Game.'
In other words go build an internet presence and not just a marketing site. RBR-TVBR were once all print, 'Old Media', after 9-years of pain to pivot into 'New Media' we are seeing the working value of the internet and the tremendous reach and loyalty of the consumer world wide. Now the focus is to monetize the content, which this too will take a little time.
But you first have to build the platform before you accept the rewards.
Going to ho-hum conferences few of which actually have skin in the radio game is not and will not be your salvation.
Radio and Television have their local brand foundations established and it will be up to each individual to take advantage of the 'New Media' models and build what RBR-TVBR brands the internet as the 'New Asset Value' for broadcasters.
We can say this as we at RBR-TVBR are broadcasters and made the pivot into the 'New Media' world slowly and consistently it is paying off.
RBR-TVBR is always here to help you.
Jim Carnegie, Publisher & Broadcaster
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RBR-TVBR was not easy to build and it never stops but the reach is great...
Listen to the people and get their advice that have SKIN in the GAME.
That is following the same "broadcast" model in the digital realm that's been successful for years.
Personally, I don't visit local (Yuba-Sutter, Sacramento and Chico market) broadcast websites because they're out of sight and out of mind. Same thing with our local newspaper.
On the other hand, RBR, its competitor TV NewsCheck, Washington Post, Sacramento Bee and New York Times DO come into my mailbox and alert me to things I may want to know more about... and I click on the link.
On the whole, broadcasters need to advertise more! Let people know what you're doing.
Make them aware of reasons to tune in... and do so on media other than the station itself so you reach people who may not know about what you offer... or remind users to tune in for something they may overlook.
Use more billboards! Keep that brand out in front of people. Use Broadcast TV to reach your target demos.
Use some cable spot insertions to reach ones that other media don't reach.
And be consistent in your cross-media imaging and message.
Otherwise, you're out of sight and out of mind.
I read all these reports daily about how big all these social networks are and that's the place to be if we want to grow our business...actually we are growing a competitor's business...so let's wake up and SHUT-UP about Twitter, Facebook, etc. Let them buy advertising, maybe in the newspapers.
ALSO - when will someone stand up and check into why it's impossible to buy a radio in a store? Even Walmart only has a couple to choose from and mostly they are old style boomboxes. As for car radios, the last 3 new cars I've owned all had XM or Sirus radios and all have bad reception of broadcast radio. Others I know also say the same thing, so could it be that maybe XM/Sirus has built in interference so that people will think that XM/Sirus quality is so much better. I know industry people read this stuff, how about doing a comparison on your car radios, compare to a pre-sat radio and see how much better broadcast signals are cleaner and travel farther on an old radio.
Broadcasters stop taking the shaft, let's start kicking back and show that we really are what the public wants.
RBR-TVBR's model is built on the needs of our broadcast and web based customers looking and demanding consistent content for their businesses. Plus adding flavor on key programming.
Me, I think like a PD and give a uniqueness to our company and brands. The Staff are pros and they have room to breath and think with ideas. Nothing is ever turned way ...
To accomplish this you have got to have SKIN in the GAME. And if you have to time to think this reply then you do not have it in the game.
1. It does take focus and sustained effort. Internet initiatives are dead. The time for Internet initiatives was 10 years ago. Now is the time for Internet business.
2. I didn't realize that most of the cuts in programming and marketing came at the expense of increasing digital budgets. I thought it was because radio sales were off some 40% over the past few years.
3. I agree with Jeff, too many broadcasters buy into the WOW factor rather than doing a real analysis on the profitability of various digital technologies. For instance, we DO NOT stream our stations. It doesn't pencil for us. We know our market and we know what our advertisers and audience want. We focus on providing that.
4. There can be no doubt that our audience is increasingly having their needs met on the Internet. Whether they go there for news and information, or entertainment, it is clear that they are going.
5. Because we see ourselves in the audience business, we believe that we must be where our audience is and we must leverage our strengths to maintain a relationship with our audience and to maintain the emotional affinity we have spent so many years building with them.
6. If we can run a successful Internet business, others can too. Our Internet business is and has been profitable for several years. It generates 30% EBITDA, and generates 10% of our cluster's revenue and profit (sometimes more). We are in a small, unrated market, but generate more than 2,500,000 page views and 520,000+ visits per month to our main site. 75% of our visitors are from our market, and 20% are from nearby markets who are interested in our market. At the same time, our radio cume is up or unchanged.
7. We provide our audience with what they want. For instance, they want and expect breaking news from us where they are, online, in their email box, on their phone, in their car, at home, at work, etc.
Forget "digital nirvana". I believe that as an audience company, we should remain as technology agnostic as possible, leveraging current assets, including technology, staff, content, creativity to continue to stay in front of my audience. Obviously, we have a massive investment in our radio infrastructure and business, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be serious about success in "new-media". I also believe that because of our (we local radio businesses) local focus, professional staff, creativity, and the relationships we have built over the years, we ought to be able to out compete anyone that comes into our market, in the brick and mortar world and on the Internet.
When we reject outright some of the things said about the need for us to adopt "new-media", and call the pundits hucksters and swindlers, I just hope we, as an industry, aren't whistling past the graveyard.
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