US-based Greater Media Chairman/CEO Peter Smyth in his first “Corner Office” column of the year offers some interesting advice on how radio needs to embrace both new technologies and the new ways to sell that have come with them.
He deals with the trend toward in-car connectivity, an issue at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show and writes, “In-car connectivity is here and radio needs to be in a position to capitalize on this trend, extending our interactivity to the dashboard to go along with our broadcast coverage. We need to spend time with our listeners and determine what they wish to communicate to us and how they want to participate with us, and we need to build capability to make in-car radio not only great HD quality but both interactive and safe as well.”
He is a firm believer that as markets evolve, radio needs to “adapt, not just react.’.
“We need to sell solutions, not spots. I have said many times, the days of selling :60s and :30s is well behind us. The transactional salesperson will find their income eroding with each passing month. From what I am seeing, as advertisers reestablish their marketing budgets, they are allocating more dollars for promotions than for advertising, and for programs that produce results rather than simple spot advertising.”
Smyth also covers new content on-air and online, and ways to use resources more effectively.
Read the column here.
