PG 1

800.275.2840

THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO

MORE NEWS»

insideradio.com

NEWS@INSIDERADIO.COM | 800.275.2840

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

Live Endorsement Data Proves Value of Trust. Live read endorsement ads from on-air personalities were 40% more effective at generating leads than produced spots in a radio campaign for Blue Cross, according to a case study from Cumulus Media. The live endorsements ads also performed 10% better than pre-recorded personality endorsements ads. The case study offers further validation of the power of endorsements ads, which typically command a higher premium from advertisers than produced spots. The goal of the radio campaign for Blue Cross Blue Shield was to reach millennials and elicit a direct response. Ad agency Meers Advertising in Kansas City created a program using a couple of things millennials are known to have an affinity for—texting and popular radio hosts. The ads delivered a call to action asking listeners to send a text message for more information. Those who did received a reply text containing a link to an online form, which once filled out, would inform them how much money they would qualify for under the Affordable Care Act to help them purchase health insurance. The live reads averaged 250 leads per week, thus 10% better than pre-recoded endorsements and 40% better than produced spots. “The affinity the DJs have with the listener is what really drives response,” Meers Advertising CEO Sam Meers said. The case study reinforces an early 2014 Clear Channel-commissioned survey by the University of Southern California, which found more than half of survey participants said they trust brands, products and services that a personality talks up. More than 60% said they are likely to talk about what they’ve heard, potentially extending the reach of a live endorsement to social media.

McD’s Looks To Eat Competitors For Dinner. Egg McMuffins for dinner or a late-night snack? McDonalds is about to deliver on those round-the-clock cravings. The fast-food giant plans to roll out all-day breakfast menus nationwide Oct. 6—and radio listeners are sure to hear all about it. McDonald’s is already one of the heaviest advertisers on local radio, and broadcasters should expect an uptick in spots. Since March, McDonald’s has been testing all-day breakfast in select areas, including California markets and Nashville, TN. (McDonald’s franchises currently stop serving breakfast at 10:30am.) Since McDonald’s locations in the test market of San Diego began offering all-day breakfast, radio listeners there have been bombarded with messaging. In August, McDonald’s ran spots on 26 different stations in the market, ranking as either the No. 1 or No. 2 heaviest advertiser on most of those stations, according to Media Monitors. On rhythmic CHR XHTZ (90.3) alone, McDonalds aired 312 spots during the month. Throughout San Diego, there were 3,713 ads for McDonald’s in June, followed by 5,342 spots in July and 4,614 spots in August. Across the food industry, quick-serve restaurants and food manufacturers are looking for creative ways to stretch their business’ hours. For the first half of the year, McDonalds was the No. 4 advertiser on radio, according to Media Monitors, airing a total of 675,690 spots on stations nationwide. It is the heaviest advertiser among quick service restaurants, with Wendy’s the No. 9 overall advertiser with 447,377 spots and Subway ranking twelfth (373,325) with about half the volume of McDonald’s. The move to all-day breakfast comes as McDonald’s overall business is lagging. The company is experiencing declines in sales and revenue, and has been shuttering locations nationwide.

HD Radio Seeks Tipping Point With New Deal. Like many a new technology that’s reliant on the budgets and public acceptance, HD Radio has long been criticized for

On The Inside with...

PIERRE BOUVARD

NEWS INSIDE >>

insideradio.com

PG 2 NEWS@INSIDERADIO.COM | 800.275.2840

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015NEWS

taking too long to reach a tipping point among consumers. More than a decade after launching, it is now found in 35% of new cars—about half that of satellite radio which debuted in late-2001. But the DTS deal may change that. The slow ramp-up has been a concern for Barrington Research Associates analyst Jim Goss. During Wednesday’s call with analysts to discuss the acquisition of iBiquity Digital by DTS, Goss brought up what he called “a lot of resistance on the part of some of the automakers” and asked if there was any limit on how many cars HD Radio might be put into. DTS president and CEO Jon Kirchner said initial resistance when building ecosystems isn’t unusual. As consumer benefits become established and competitors install the technology, ecosystems typically expand. “It may have taken a longer time to get here but as we sit here today we believe the prospects are very positive looking out five to 10 years,” Kirchner said. Bob Struble, president and CEO of iBiquity, said he wouldn’t characterize it as resistance but more of building to critical mass. The trend of automakers installing center-stack infotainment systems with screens that display rich visuals plays to one of HD Radio’s strengths, he added. “Those trends are very much in our favor and I think we have overcome a lot of that resistance,” Struble said. “We certainly see no shortage of runway in front of us and that number—pick it—is going to be 85%, 90% or 95% ultimately.”

Competitive Info: Magazines Tumble, Debate Ads Rumble. Magazine newsstand sales continued their steady decline in the first half of 2015, according to new figures from MagNet, reported by MediaPost. Total volume of magazines distributed to wholesalers dropped 2.6% to 784 million units comparted to the first half of 2014. But the number of issues sold had a steeper decline, tumbling 18.5% to 207.5 million. Dollar value of magazine sales decreased 13.9% to $1.11 billion. One caveat noted by MagNet is the new numbers may not be an apples-to-apples comparison due to the closing of magazine distributor Source Interlink and the lack of figures from Barnes & Noble. Still, no turnaround is in sight for magazine newsstand sales. MagNet says preliminary data for July and August point to sales falling further in the second half. Meanwhile, the chord that Donald Trump has struck among voters is reverberating for CNN ad sales. The cable news network is asking for 40 times its normal rate for a 30-second spot during the next Republican debate. CNN is charging up to $200,000 for a :30 during the top-tier debate, compared to the $5,000 it typically charges for a primetime spot. Ad Age says that puts the debate ad rates on par with those charged by broadcast primetime series. Even the debate among lower ranking candidates will fetch $50,000-$60,000 per spot, according to Ad Age. The audience delivered by the first Republican presidential debate has primed the pump for CNN. The August 6 debate drew 24 million viewers to Fox News, making it the most-watched nonsports event in cable TV history.

NFL’s Season’s Greetings Bring Radio Joy. The NFL’s regular season officially gets underway Thursday but for radio, Tuesday looks more like the season opener. That’s when ESPN Radio and Fox Sports launch new syndicated shows and unsuspended New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is expected to give Entercom sports WEEI, Boston (93.7) his first one-on-one interview since winning Super Bowl XLIX. Brady will join WEEI’s John Dennis, Gerry Callahan and Kirk Minihane Tuesday morning for the first in a series of weekly football season appearances. After Brady tries to shift the media glare from Deflategate to airing out the Pats’ expectations, ESPN Radio’s syndicated “The Dan Le Batard Show” will be settling into its new 10am-1pm time slot. ESPN says The Miami-based Le Batard’s combo of “provocative opinion and conversation,” guests, humor and reaction to the day’s news will remain intact from its previous 4pm-7pm shift. The show will be heard on ESPN Radio, espnradio.com, the ESPN app and SiriusXM radio channel 80 and simulcast on digital and satellite TV channel ESPNU. Le Batard and co-host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner replace Colin Cowherd, who at noon on Tuesday will host his first solo Fox show since leaving ESPN Radio in late July. Taking advantage of the access to star power afforded by his new West Coast base, Cowherd has lined up pro football Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Howie Long, actor Rob Lowe and late-night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to help him make a splash on the new show. “The Herd” will air simultaneously on FS1 and the Fox Sports Radio Network, weekdays from noon-3pm Eastern. The program also has its own iHeartRadio station. Cowherd is adding a new member to his show—Kristine Leahy, the current cohost on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.” Leahy’s sports resume includes radio and TV work in Boston and for CBS and Turner Sports in L.A.

insideradio.com

PG 3 NEWS@INSIDERADIO.COM | 800.275.2840

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015NEWS

Radio’s In the House On Heisman Campaign. Nissan’s popular “Heisman House” ad campaign returns for another go-round during the upcoming 2015 college football season, and this time, radio gets to join the frat party. The playful TV spots, launched Thursday, feature 14 Heisman Trophy winners as make-believe roommates, where they are “let loose to showcase their talents, both as the top football players of their eras and as winning performers and media personalities today,” according to Nissan and its TV partner ESPN. The campaign is backed by social media, print ads, an interactive website—and radio spots, an understandable move given that automotive remains radio’s No. 1 advertising category. This year’s campaign introduces newcomers Marcus Mariota, Steve Spurrier and Jim Plunkett, alongside returning House members Sam Bradford, Tony Dorsett, Eddie George, Robert Griffin III, Johnny Manziel, George Rogers, Troy Smith, Roger Staubach, Vinny Testaverde, Herschel Walker and Charles Woodson. Joe Theismann, “SportsCenter” anchor Neil Everett and ESPN correspondent Sarina Morales will also appear.

Kentucky Sports Host May Switch To Running. As host of a daily sports talk show heard on 24 stations across Kentucky, Matthew Jones is a well-known figure throughout the Bluegrass State. But “Blue State” is more what Jones is thinking of these days, as he considers a run for Congress. The founder and host of Kentucky Sports Radio, Jones still lives in Middlesboro where he grew up, and where his love of Kentucky basketball first took root. His loyal audience and Jones’ own allegiance to his hometown had politicos eyeing him as a prospect for office, and now Jones has confirmed that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has asked him to consider running in next year’s election for the House seat for the 6th Congressional District. Jones hasn’t made up his mind yet, but he has brought up the topic with his radio audience—an unofficial but profoundly powerful lobby for him to pay mind to. He has also met with committee officials in Washington. Jones wouldn’t be the first radio host to make this career move. Just as elected officials have found a second act on radio, so too have hosts with strong local followings made the natural segue to politics. “The folks from Washington reached out to me and asked me to think about it and that’s what I’m doing,” Jones told the Middlesboro Daily News. “I haven’t even come close to a decision yet, but I am considering it. Weighing, you know—is it the right time for me to do this or perhaps something I want to do later in life, and right now I don’t know.” While his stock in radio is sports, not political talk, Jones is a graduate of Duke Law School. And this year he hosted a live Republican primary debate on his show and was invited in May to emcee a local political picnic event.

Steinfeld ‘Verge’ Rise Is Pitch Perfect. Breaking artist Hailee Steinfeld has every reason to sing her hit “Love Myself.” The Republic Records singer’s launch single has made her the highest-ranking debut female solo artist on the Mediabase Top 40 chart since 2001. The song bowed at No. 28, and now in its third week, it’s No. 19—with airplay on 174 stations nationwide. A lion’s share of credit is being attributed to the Oscar-nominated actress-singer being embraced as an iHeartMedia “On The Verge” artist. In addition to sweeping airplay, the six-week program provides massive digital and social support across the company’s network of radio stations, websites and apps. Previous Verge acts include Iggy Azalea, Tove Lo, Natalie La Rose, Rita Ora and Prince Royce. Tom Poleman, iHeartMedia president of National Programming Platforms, said in a release, “When Hailee first came to our offices earlier this summer and played us ‘Love Myself,’ we knew it would be an instant hit, one that would become an anthem for late-summer and back-to-school. Once our programmers heard the song, we were really excited to introduce her to listeners and named her an On The Verge artist.” Republic Records executive VP Charlie Walk added that the iHeartMedia program “was critical to the set-up, launch and introduction of Hailee into the pop music marketplace. Its immediate impact made history and brought a new star with a smash to the masses.” According to Mediabase stats, “Love Myself” is airing on 65 iHeartMedia top 40 stations, with additional support from the majority of major radio players, including CBS Radio, Cumulus, Entercom, Alpha and Townsquare. Steinfeld was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at age 14 for her role in the Coen brothers “True Grit.” Her musical savvy was recognized as a co-lead in the smash flick “Pitch Perfect 2.”

— Get more news, people moves and insider extras @ www.insideradio.com. —

insideradio.com

PG 4 NEWS@INSIDERADIO.COM | 800.275.2840

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015On the Insidewith...

Check out other recent Insider Interviews >> Rod Phillips | Anthony Bay | Lary Wilson | Kristin Kolodge | Bill Hendrich | J. Pat Miller | GE Capital’s Ray Shu | Ramsey’s Chris Brown | E. W. Scripps Company And many more @ www.insideradio.com/features/insider_interviews

On The Inside With…Pierre Bouvard

As a veteran with 30-plus years in the radio & media industry, Pierre Bouvard joined Cumulus Media & Westwood One in March as its first-ever chief marketing officer. Bouvard’s career includes sales, marketing, research, strategic and operating roles. He’s best known in radio for his long stint at Arbitron, where he led its PPM launch. Six months into his new position, the marketing guru talked about radio’s current state of affairs and ways to shift the message from perception to rosy reality.

IR: Six months into the new gig, how are you helping the company better tell radio’s story to advertisers and agencies?We are constantly producing one-sheets and decks for our sales team, giving them the tools to present radio’s positive message succinctly to prospects and clients. We’re in a good first stage of sharing this information and looking at more tools that will allow better social sharing. Every local salesperson has a pretty darn good LinkedIn network, along with Facebook and Twitter, to reach their local community. Sharing a cool insight, a powerful sales story or a piece about the power of radio is social amplification, and can instantly impact thousands or hundreds of thousands of people.

IR: How are you working with your teams to foster this kind of evolution?One of my primary functions is to help the radio industry share our success stories. When a salesperson closes a $10,000 order or generates $60,000 in new business, this shows the ROI from the street. Each week in my internal note to sales, I take a success story where someone got a huge order, got new business or was able to renew a client…which is the message we then need to share outside of the office. When we come in with facts and data that are presented in an easy-to-understand manner, we can grow revenue. The reason I am so intensely focused on supplying the Cumulus and Westwood One sales team with this data is to help them sit up straighter, to arch their back. We should be feeling proud, because radio is an advertising force to be reckoned with.

IR: Despite the positive studies we’ve read about traditional radio’s reach, it does still feel like online streaming and online radio are the sexier sisters. Absolutely. We are big and we’re America’s No. 1 mobile mass reach media. We beat TV. We’re 17 times bigger than Spotify. These new surveys have had a major impact on radio. Look at this reality/perception stuff: We’re No. 1 in reach, we’re the king of all audio. And you look at share and time spent and it’s like, Wow, we’re selling an amazing medium. So as an industry, we have to find our sales stories and package them into easy, visual communication. Data, data, data. Sometimes it seems like the internal sale is harder than the external sale.

IR: That said, do you believe perceptions are shifting back toward radio?Advertisers and agencies read advertising trade and radio trade publications. They have done a good job of promoting this information, which is fact. That’s helping. Presenting to advertisers is helping. SlideShare offers the Nielsen perception/reality presentation, which anybody can look up and access—and it’s been viewed 5,000 times. What that says to me is that the press, the PR, the radio trades, the industry…we’re starting to create powerful content and people are looking at this stuff. And even better, you can show this truth in about 3 minutes. It’s a very 1-2-3 kind of thing.

IR: As technology continues to trip over itself with innovations, what are the most promising and valuable ways that radio can become more interactive with listeners?Advertisers insist on two-way mediums—and for our industry, NextRadio is the solution. There’s a pilot going on with Allstate, where if I have a NextRadio app on my smartphone, the Allstate ad comes on and my phone lights up with interactive functionality—find me an agent, find me the nearest location, send me more information. That’s not “Fantasy Island.” Here we have a major blue chip advertiser doing an interactive ad campaign with radio today. And now with support from AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, we have a groundswell of participation for NextRadio. That is super exciting and something the industry needs to rally around.

IR: What concerns you about the state of affairs in radio?Elizabeth Wilner, who is the powerful senior VP of Kantar Media Intelligence, was quoted saying, “You never read…about radio.” It’s been said that we are so good driving business for our advertisers—but [we] haven’t focused on selling our own business.

Sudden Impact— Bouvard talks about radio’s ability to drive online impact and ecommerce, exclusively at InsideRadio.com

insideradio.com

PG 5 NEWS@INSIDERADIO.COM | 800.275.2840

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015CLASSIFIEDS

INSIDE RADIO, Copyright 2015. www.insideradio.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or retransmitted in any form. This publication cannot be distributed beyond the physical address of the named subscriber. Address: P.O. Box 567925, Atlanta, GA 31156. Subscribe to INSIDE RADIO monthly subscription $39.95 recurring payment. For information, visit www.insideradio.com. To advertise, call 1-800-248-4242 x711. Email: ads@insideradio.com.

MORE OPPORTUNITIES @ INSIDERADIO.COM >>

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

SummitMedia Honolulu currently has an opening for a Vice President of Sales to oversee the sales department for all six SummitMedia Honolulu radio stations. This position is responsible for creating, driving, and achieving revenue goals of the cluster. Duties include but are not limited to developing, strategizing and executing a comprehensive sales plan designed to achieve revenue goals, training and developing a talented sales staff, monitoring sales activities on the stations, and making client calls with the sales staff.

Ideal candidate must have the following:• A minimum of four years of experience in radio or television sales with a demonstrated ability to develop and drive revenue. • Prior experience in preparation of marketing proposals.• Ability to manage individual sellers and train sellers on techniques in successful selling.• Experience with assisting sellers in finding and developing new local clients• Monitoring the daily activity of the sales personnel.• Developing systems to properly manage local accounts and station rates.• Experience with Non-traditional revenue and Digital sales is required. .• Maintain a “bank” of potential sales personnel for possible future employment. • Knowledge of Tapscan, and Scarborough Research is required.

If interested in applying for this position please forward a resume to: SummitMedia Birmingham Attn: Helen Mitchell 2700 Corporate Drive Suite 115 Birmingham, AL 35242 Or, email to: Helen.mitchell@summitmediacorp.com

It is the policy of SummitMedia LLC to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age, or sex in all personnel actions including recruitment, evaluation, selection, promotion, compensation, training, and termination. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or sex is prohibited. If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, you may notify the Federal Communications Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or other appropriate agency.