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ENS on SalesENS on Sales is Wayne's weekly media sales tip. You can signup below to get your free copy in your email every week, and you are welcome to view our archives. To request more information please complete the following form:**All requests are submitted only to Angela and Wayne of ENS Media Inc.**
Could Radio Use a Little German Engineering?Could Radio Use a Little German Engineering?
Quick, which company do you think benefits from the image of ‘German engineering’ ?
a) BMW? b) Mercedes Benz? c) Volkswagen? e) Porsche? f) Audi? The answer is ‘g’…all of the above.
While other car companies bash it out to see who can offer the biggest ‘employee discount pricing’ and furniture retailers fight to see who can wait the longest to get paid with ‘don’t pay until you die’ events, German manufacturers benefit tremendously from promoting their category, German engineering. Are you still battling your ‘competitors’ in radio for diminishing market share, or are you ready to promote the radio category to the benefit of all radio broadcasters? A few weeks ago my friend, Eric Rhoades, publisher of Radio Ink, wrote an open letter to all radio broadcasters, which said, among other things; “I'm going to ask you to do something that may make you uncomfortable.
Sadly, only 2 percent of you will take my suggestion, and the other 98 percent will find fault with it. The good news is that the 2 percent will gain favor with advertisers. Is there a way to get advertisers to spend money in radio during these lean times? Maybe. The indirect nature of this strategy may make you uncomfortable, but I ask you to keep an open mind, because it is a huge opportunity for radio. THE PLAN:
1. Phone the market manager of every radio station in your town and invite them to a meeting ASAP. All radio stations in town will be given an opportunity to participate in a local advertiser event, which you will create together.
2. All stations must agree to participate equally, even though some may have more stations and some will want more credit. Stations must put aside all competition and not try to gain special advantage in this event.
3. Invite every business in town to a four-hour conference packed with sessions, experts, and advice on boosting business in lean times. Advertise it on the air. Mail out invitations. Hold the event at a local hotel ballroom with an impressive array of food and drink following the sessions. It will NOT be about radio advertising or individual stations. Do not send the signal that this is designed to get them to advertise. Radio in your town will get credit for putting this event on, and you will reap the rewards for your goodwill.
4. Open the event with something like this: "During times like these, we need to work together. All of the local radio stations organized this conference to see what we could do to help local businesses. You have our guarantee that today we will not try to sell you on radio. We will make no pitches, and our people have been instructed not to talk about radio unless you have a specific question. Today it’s about you, not about us. Please consider this our gift to you, because we know if your business suffers, our business suffers, and our local economy suffers. "
No-Pitch Guarantee: We guarantee that we will not pitch you to advertise on radio, and no one will approach you about radio advertising at this session. There is no obligation.
Why You Should Do This?
It's the right thing to do. If radio as an industry is known for helping local businesses without asking anything in return, we will improve our image in the eyes of retailers. No one gives anything for free. People who attend will expect to be pitched and will be amazed that you actually hold to your word. Radio will look like it is actually trying to do something for the community, because it is. With no obligation and no pitch, radio will be elevated in the eyes of all in attendance. Others will follow, but will be late. Radio needs to be first.
Why You Should Not Do This Alone?
Lift the tide for all of radio. Every station will benefit, and you'll have 10 times more retailers present than if you held a single-station event. If all the stations in town promote this on the air, businesses will come out of the woodwork. This is about growing radio. If radio gets credit for helping local retailers, the laws of reciprocity will kick in and they will help radio. Eric Rhoads, Publisher, RADIO INK
This is only part of Eric’s letter. I can forward it in its entirety upon request. I’ve always known Eric as an innovative and sincere promoter of our industry and I applaud his letter, his integrity and his foresight.
ENS Media Inc. has two distinct client seminars you can choose from if you decide to promote the radio category in your market. Both sessions guarantee; “All attendees will get a minimum of three good ideas to grow their business even if they never use radio.” Each session also begins with a candid disclosure, “Advertising cannot make a bad business a good business. If you are not getting repeat or referral business there is something inherently wrong with your business that advertising probably cannot cure.” While our client sessions do not sell radio specifically, one local ad agency executive who attended our session recently said, “That was the most cleverly-disguised radio pitch I have ever seen.” Are you ready to make radio the ‘German Engineering’ of the media world? Contact wayne@wensmedia.com. |
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