Quite a bit of activity at Katz Media Group, with the recent restructuring and now its Katz Radio Group (KRG), announced that Southern California Broadcasters Association (SCBA) President Mary Beth Garber will be joining on as Executive Vice President for Radio Analysis and Insights. She will be charged with collecting and generating research and other materials will help and inform major advertisers and agencies to media, sales forces and market analysts – on the continuing power and value of radio, as well as implement partnerships that both provide accurate research and measurement metrics across a variety of platforms and enhance the industry’s ability to communicate those results.
Garber, who will report to KRG President Mark Gray, spent the past 13 years at SCBA helping to create the first $1 billion radio market in the nation by promoting the strength of radio and the critical role it plays for both advertisers and consumers.
RBR-TVBR asked Garber if she’ll be present at NAB in Vegas and a bit of info on how she’ll be meeting with media agencies: “I won’t be at the NAB. I believe Katz is doing a digital panel, but nothing else that would be appropriate for me to be there. As for getting to the agencies, in addition to the ones I have already been working with, I will have access to the vast resources of Bob McCurdy’s Katz Media Solutions and the relationships he and his team have developed, as well as access to KRG’s sellers, the largest sales team in the country. We’re developing strategies together and I trust you’ll see the fruit of that before very long.”
Besides winning numerous industry awards, Mary Beth worked closely with Arbitron to co-author several studies espousing the benefits of radio and spearheaded a coalition of California city associations to properly position radio among political consultants.
Over the coming weeks, the Executive Board of the SCBA will meet to discuss the search process to replace Garber and future options for the organization.
“The ability of radio to reach and influence listeners of all ages has never been clearer, and yet somehow the facts of radio’s power seem to get lost in an increasingly crowded media landscape,” said Garber. “I feel so strongly about establishing the truth about radio that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell the real story of radio on a national canvas by working with Mark and his team at Katz.”
