Will Les say something that’ll help YOU build your Radio business? Most doubt it. Expect just a rah-rah speech to rally the troops and goose broadcast stock valuations.

Will Les share specific details about how CBS will monetize digital? Nah. He’ll just talk in broad, feel good terms. Mr. Moonves will likely drop a few buzzwords : social media, streaming, cross platform….yada yada yada. He’ll also share that Pandora is NOT radio…and satellite radio is crap.

Take a look at this presentation I did for the Radio Advertising Bureau and the NAB, back in 2009.  Ya think much has changed since then?

Radio and Web Revenue, NAB Show 2009

Related posts:

1. ex CBS WYSP Radio DJ’s Stream Online In 2007, WYSP Radio in Philadelphia, a CBS station, sent the mid-day team of Matt and Huggy.. packin’. Instead of hitting the beach, this radio duo took their show to...
2. NAB Radio and Web-sales It was an interesting NAB Radio Conference, (National Association of Broadcasters) here in Philadelphia.   I was invited to do a session on Web sales. It was called: How can Radio learn...

Funded by Fisher Communications, DataSphere clearly saw local media still struggling with turning a web profit. (even after all these years)

Combine that with viewers and advertisers losing interest in typical local news sites, and ever lower cpm’s….. general managers everywhere are scrambling to keep corporate off their a** and to quickly accomplish the following:

• Have a half-decent website at the lowest possible cost
• Populate it with news, content & info, at the lowest possible cost
• Hit their new, mandatory web budget at the lowest possible cost
• Get it all done while not screwing up the primary business

DataSphere to the rescue. Here’s the deal: We’ll turn on a whole bunch of ez-to-operate neighborhood blogs for ya, then have our call centers auto-dial the local businesses in your town, close lot’s of deals, rinse, repeat. How’s that sound? Oh, we almost forgot. We’ll take a ridiculously high percentage of the deal and we’ll have a primary contact with the client too. But hey, just sit there and promote it. No need to lift a finger. Cool?

DataSphere Technologies, Inc. (http://www.DataSphere.com) is a Software as a Service (SaaS) Web technology and hyper-local ad sales company focused on generating online profits for media companies. DataSphere offers a range of turnkey solutions to rapidly improve site monetization and experience with minimal investment of time and money

I like that last line; “minimal investment of time and money”

As a local media manager, you’ll love how this easily puts web revenue on the books. But in reality, you did a deal with the devil. You just handed over the most valuable part of your business (realtionship with local advertiser) to an outside technology company/middle man.

Just for kicks, ask the Newspaper publisher in town how that deal with Yahoo has been working out for them.

Related posts:

1. Meredith TV Hyper Local Fail. DataSphere Wins Again. Meredith TV admits they can’t sell local web. The broadcaster recently handed off one of the most critical pieces of their business to the crew of  20-somethings at DataSphere; the...
2. Gannett TV & DataSphere Gannett in Tampa just launched 40 hyper-local websites, supported by WTSP-TV News 10. In theory, that’s a good thing….since hyper-local is hot. But in reality, this move is quite questionable...
3. Gannett Web Fumble, Punts to DataSphere Gannett Broadcasting is putting some of their local  web sales on auto pilot. The media titan announced they’ll join Raycom, LocalTV LLC and other digitally frustrated media properties in outsourcing some web...

Related posts:

1. NAB Radio Show, Web Revenue Chokepoints NAB and RAB Radio Show 2010. Digital still being given lip service by Broadcasters? Maybe, since Radio barely pulls 2% of online revenue share. Cool websites are not enough &...
2. Can Radio Beat New Web Competitors? Can Radio compete against Patch, Reach Local, Pandora, Groupon? Are your reps & managers familiar with these online companies? On August 10 @ 3p et, we team up with Marketron...
3. Web Revenue Mistakes of Broadcast & Print TV gets 10% of local online ad spends. Radio gets less than 2%. Newspaper shares are in decline. Compare these lowly numbers to online-only companies like Patch, Reach Local, and...

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Related posts:

1. The Digital Threats to Radio Terrestrial Radio has survived a variety of digital threats over the years. Can it keep the winning streak alive? Abacast and Radio-Info present a free webinar on January 26. Competing...
2. Leading Radio Into Digital Future? Radio broadcasters are hoping to see light at the end of this recession tunnel. If you listen closely, you can hear a growing contingency of broadcasters starting to lose confidence about...
3. Digital Diagnostic for Radio Websites Can Radio beat Newspaper in the online news space? Here’s part 1 of last week’s webinar we did for a group of Radio executives. Merlin Media and Genesis Communications are...

In 2007, WYSP Radio in Philadelphia, a CBS station, sent the mid-day team of Matt and Huggy.. packin’.

Instead of hitting the beach, this radio duo took their show to the web. The loyal fan base downloaded their podcast, and packed nightclubs with their live streaming events.

Click above to watch the short, 5 minute video we produced to show how this worked, and how successful it was.

Watch for other “out of work” DJ’s to adopt these online tactics.

Today, Huggy is on the air at WTKK, Boston Talks Radio. 

Related posts:

1. Ex CBS Radio Jocks Stream Show Online The talk format is exploding online. Some of this growth is due the ‘downsizing’ of on air talent. Matt and Huggy were shown the door after 11 years on the...
2. Radio Ink Forecast, Online Revenue Strategy Radio Ink‘s Forecast is the annual radio-industry financial conference that gathers station group owners, CEOs, CFOs, managers, and Wall Streeters to discuss current industry conditions and reveal their predictions for...
3. NAB Radio Show 2011. Web as Nuisance. Radio & TV execs throw alot of  money, manpower & worthless research at digital. Radio still only gets a 2% share of local web revenue and TV claws for about 10%....

Hard to believe, but some owners still operate their digital assets like it’s 1999: build content, get traffic, sell ads around traffic by leveraging advertiser relationships. This contributes to why Radio only gets 2% of local web dollars. Compare this to Patch, Reach Local & Google that collectively get over 50% (and growing) of web budgets.

All is not lost. Even though competitors are multiplying like rabbits, Radio can still get back in game and significantly grow its web and overall revenue share.

Step #1: Radio should study the moves of  DESERET MEDIA in Salt Lake City. CEO; Clark Gilbert, has dramatically restructured his portfolio of Broadcast (KSL) , Print and Web units into a digital first powerhouse that dominates reach & revenue.

Step #2:  Address and remedy the most common, interactive choke points. The following list identifies what our team refers to as the ’800 lb. gorillas in the room’.

1. Top management & owners need specialized web training. How can you manage what you don’t fully understand? Dependence on expensive research and intellectual consultant/vendor babble only burns through cash and puts your stations deeper in the hole. Radio doesn’t need more data & analysis, it needs action in the field and updated management & compensation structure. Ex: If you delegate sales strategy to a content & tech focused VP of Interactive, you’ll just get well-trafficked sites with a ton of unsold inventory. Conclusion: Relying on VP Interactive or the Internet/marketing manager is a recipe for disaster without knowledgeable oversight from the very top. CEO’s: Get a closed door, WEB BUSINESS MODEL training session asap.

2. Director of Interactive qualified? Staff properly motivated? Too few Interactive VP’s or web managers are qualified to implement a realistic revenue strategy. While building slick sites and driving eyeballs have value, these skills do not always equal revenue & profit. Suggestion: hire a corporate VP of Interactive Revenue that reports directly to the CEO. Bonus all applicable staff based on web profit, not web traffic. Install mandatory web budgets and non-financial objectives that includes both financial incentives and penalties…for reps and management.

3. Dangerous thinking: ‘selling web cannibalizes Radio sales’. Are these words are still being uttered by some? Yes, but not in public. If those in charge would prefer to focus on their core Radio product, that’s fine. If these managers believe that “web revenue is small, so let’s not put too much time into it”….that’s fine too. But at the end of the day, if you’re not going run your web assets like a profit-first business…then why even have a digital initiative in the first place? It’s a fact. Advertisers are moving more ad dollars to online. They’ll buy digital marketing from their Radio rep, or someone else. While web revenue is still relatively small, it is the fastest growing revenue stream. At the very least, Radio should focus on growing its overall revenue share, by smartly leveraging its digital assets.

4. Limited web training of sales reps. How can they sell new products without seasoned direction & regular training? Is your staff taught by qualified web-sales trainers, or by a Radio ‘web-geek’? Is your staff forced to endure theory & classroom lecture, or are they getting real world training by being taught in the field? Radio needs to look outside of the industry for fresh and seasoned perspective on Web sales. Be wary of training from those who do not have recent local/direct, web sales experience.

5. Management structure conflicts. Conflict #1: Web managers typically report to a Broadcast manager. The  Broadcast manager has a compensation package that substantially encourages spot or total sales. This may be one of the most critical choke-points of growing online revenue. Where do you think Broadcast managers will place most of their efforts? Conflict #2: Programming departments are primary operators of most websites, including where and how content & advertising is placed. If we would never allow the PD to determine the on-air spot load, why do we allow them to determine online ad units and placements on the website? Just like your Radio station, the website must be ultimately run by those with ‘web profit & revenue first’ goals.

6. Poor attention to fast changing, online environment. Radio execs typically follow other Radio execs for determining digital plans. Some harshly suggest it’s the blind leading the blind. If Radio barely gets 2% of local online revenue, it might be best to also look outside the industry for best practices in web sales. New competitors like Patch, Reach local and Groupon are ramping up their local staffs, and are going after the budgets in your own backyard. Is your team familiar with these new players and their sales plan? How do you keep up? Do you have a plan to thwart these new competitors? One way to win is to provide Web 101 workshops to local advertisers. By taking an educational approach with clients, they’re more likely to rely on you for all of their marketing needs, and not some outsider.

7. Setting web budgets too low. This little sleight of hand allows sales staff to quickly hit web goals. Once hit, they push web sales down to lower priority. In this situation, money is left on the table and gives corporate management the false impression of successful, local web selling. Making matters worse, this (by default) allows remaining local web budgets to be redirected to online-only companies. The only thing worse? The foolish trick of reps converting spot costs to web, thereby teaching clients that web should always be viewed as a value-add. And please, don’t flaunt web revenue increases based on percentages, when you’re coming off a very low comparable. Better: grow top line, non-Radio business via web and increase overall advertiser count. Make sure every rep knows client’s digital strategy, and grow that share. WARNING: CEO’s & investors will blow a gasket when they find out some hid behind lame % increases and hit wimpy numbers, while your local advertiser base keeps spending more with digital competitors.

8. In-effective inventory & yield management. Nothing says poor web-sales management than seeing a lame Google AD Sense or network ad on your home page. Geez, you can’t sell your most valuable, most powerful ad unit to a local sponsor? That’s like placing per inquiry or PSA’s in your 7:20 stop set on a Monday morning. If more than 20% of your available web inventory is sold to 3^rd party ad networks…your local sales strategy needs to undergo a crisis intervention…now.

9. Confusing media kits, sales packages & pricing. Local business owners prefer simple offers, delivered using retailer-friendly vocabulary. They’re not sure of the value of 1 or even 10 million page-views. Most can’t even spell the word: CPM. Excel spreadsheets with ad units, cpm’s and other confusing data only frustrates the advertiser. It also freaks out the sales rep who’s trying to clearly explain the features & benefits of a cross-platform marketing program. Remember: Small business doesn’t care about your cool site chock full of marketing & programming BS. Instead, they want to see OTHER local advertisers looking and performing great using your site. They want case studies with definitive ROI. Do this, and they’ll line up to buy your cross platform and web-only packages all day long.

10. Over-reliance on vendors & research for sales strategy. This goofy analogy says it all: just because I sold you a beautiful kitchen & gave you the best cookbooks, doesn’t mean that you’re now on the way to becoming a master chef !

Related posts:

1. NAB Radio Show 2011. Web as Nuisance. Radio & TV execs throw alot of  money, manpower & worthless research at digital. Radio still only gets a 2% share of local web revenue and TV claws for about 10%....
2. NAB Radio and Web-sales It was an interesting NAB Radio Conference, (National Association of Broadcasters) here in Philadelphia.   I was invited to do a session on Web sales. It was called: How can Radio learn...
3. RAB to Inflict CBS Chief Moonves on Attendees The 2012 RAB Radio Show announced that CBS chief; Les Moonves, will keynote the upcoming event. YAWN. Will Les say something that’ll help YOU build your Radio business? Most doubt...

Sustainable Revenue Platform for Online News 8.30.2010

Related posts:

1. Hyper Local Business Models for News Media What’s the best business model for a newspaper, broadcast or hyper local news site? What if the answer was as simple as running your website like a real business, with a...
2. Hyper Local Business Models 2010 Investors and fund managers are growing impatient. They wrote you a check based on the unrealistic pitch you threw at them: "I will build you a really cool, high traffic...
3. 7 Habits of Profitable, Hyper Local News Still no sustainable business model for online news? That's crazy talk! Quite often, we read reports of online editorial success and greater activity in the hyper-local space. Far too many...

Traditional Media Struggles w/ Web Revenue 9.10

Related posts:

1. Should Traditional Media Give Up On Web? Maybe it’s time to just shut down your website? This jaw dropping question was posed recently to a group of frustrated, local media execs. These seasoned managers were frustrated by...
2. Web Revenue Mistakes of Broadcast & Print TV gets 10% of local online ad spends. Radio gets less than 2%. Newspaper shares are in decline. Compare these lowly numbers to online-only companies like Patch, Reach Local, and...
3. Can Radio Build Hyper Local Web Business? Ever taken a really good look at some Radio station websites? Aside from the layout and content, (some harshly call them a train-wreck) have you ever wondered how Radio can build a...

These seasoned managers were frustrated by their inability to build a profitable web business, even after years of pouring money, manpower, and technology into the effort. The investment bank that owned the company started to dig deeper into the issue as their patience was wearing thin with the Internet manager’s common refrain of: we need more traffic!

Why would someone even consider suggesting that they just pack it in and surrender? The answer probably lies somewhere between local media’s suicidal death grip on how things used to be, and their sheer blindness to the fast growing army of digital competitors invading their home turf.

If those in charge would prefer to focus on their core product, that’s fine. If they believe their own BS that “web revenue is small, so let’s ignore it”….that’s fine too. But at the end of the day, if you’re not going run your web assets like a profit-first business…then why even have a digital initiative in the first place? Just shut it off and focus on the traditional platform.

For local TV, Radio and Newspaper, the tradition of  ‘build it and they will come’ no longer works in the online world. Thanks to new and ferociously aggressive competitors like Patch, Reach local and Groupon, these online-only players are now offering local advertisers a choice of marketing channels, at a lower price and a higher level of accountability.

Life was sweet when all we had to do was create content and the audience would swarm like flies. By virtue of our pseudo monopoly, we were assured that advertisers would pay the price if they wanted to reach the local audience. They really had very little choice in the matter. We took advantage of that. Today, national sites like Gawker Media crush most newspaper traffic & revenue numbers, and hyper-local upstarts like Brooklyn Bugle go after the mom and pop ad budgets with gusto.

If local media continues to down play or underestimate these new threats, they may eventually find it financially advantageous to pull the plug on what was once considered their bright, new future.

The following slides demonstrate a few of the issues holding back traditional media, from executing a successful digital game plan, and effectively competing against these new online competitors.

Traditional Media Struggles w/ Web Revenue 9.10

Traditional Media Struggles w/ Web Revenue 9.10

Related posts:

1. Why Traditional Media Chokes on Web TV, Radio and Newspaper will need to address these issues, if they want to succeed in the new digital economy. Traditional Media Struggles w/ Web Revenue 9.10...
2. Web Revenue Mistakes of Broadcast & Print TV gets 10% of local online ad spends. Radio gets less than 2%. Newspaper shares are in decline. Compare these lowly numbers to online-only companies like Patch, Reach Local, and...
3. Custom Web Training for Media Managers You can’t manage what you don’t understand. Words of wisdom from an investment banker who describes a digital shortcoming of many TV, Radio & Newspaper executives. You can train the...

All is not lost. Even though the local competition continues to grow stronger, Broadcasters and Newspaper can still get back in the game, and significantly grow their web & overall revenue share.

The solution is simple and indisputable: address and remedy the common web sales errors committed by most local media properties. The list below captures and identifies what we refer to as: the 800 lb. gorilla in the room.

1. Top management & owners need specialized web training. How can you manage what you don’t fully understand? Expensive research and consultants are not enough. Delegating sales strategy to a content & tech focused VP of Interactive or Internet manager is risky without knowledgeable oversight.

2. Dangerous thinking: ‘selling web cannibalizes traditional sales’. It’s crazy to think that these words are still being uttered. If those in charge would prefer to focus on their core product, that’s fine. If these managers believe that “web revenue is small, so let’s ignore it”….that’s fine too. But at the end of the day, if you’re not going run your web assets like a profit-first business…then why even have a digital initiative in the first place? Advertisers are moving more ad dollars to online. They can buy web from your reps, or someone else. While web revenue is still relatively small, it is the fastest growing revenue stream. At the very least, local media should focus on growing its overall revenue share, by smartly leveraging its digital assets.

3. Limited web training of sales reps. How can they sell new products without seasoned direction & regular training? Is your staff taught by qualified web-sales trainers, or by a ‘web-geek’? Is your staff forced to endure theory & classroom lecture, or are they getting real world training by being taught in the field? Local media needs to look outside of the industry for fresh and seasoned perspective on web sales. Be wary of training from those who do not have recent local/direct, web sales experience.

4. Management structure conflicts. Conflict #1: Web managers report to traditional managers whose compensation package favors spot or total sales. This may be one of the most critical choke-points of growing online revenue. Where do you think traditional managers will place most of their efforts? Conflict #2: Programming/editorial departments are primary operators of most websites, including where and how advertising is placed. If you would never allow the PD or editor determine your on-air spot load or ad volume, why do you allow them to determine online units and placements on the website? Just like your Radio station or Newspaper, the website must be ultimately run by those with ‘web profit & revenue first’ goals.

5. Poor attention to fast changing, online environment. Traditional media execs typically follow other traditional media execs for determining digital plans. Some harshly suggest it’s the blind leading the blind. with slipping shares of  local online revenue, it might be best to also look outside the industry for best practices in web sales. New competitors like Patch, Reach Local and Groupon are ramping up their local staffs, and are going after the budgets in your own backyard. Is your team familiar with these new players and their sales plan? How do you keep up? Do you have a plan to thwart these new competitors? One way to win is to provide Web 101 workshops to local advertisers. By taking an educational approach with clients, they’re more likely to rely on you for all of their marketing needs, and not some outsider.

6. Setting web budgets too low. This little sleight of hand allows your sales staff to quickly hit web goals. Once hit, they can push down web sales to a lower priority. In this situation, money is left on the table and gives corporate management the false impression of successful, local web selling. Making matters worse, this encourages the remaining local web budgets to be redirected to online-only companies. The only thing worse than this is the foolish trick of reps converting portions of the traditional buy to web, thereby teaching clients that web should always be viewed as a value-add.

7. In-effective inventory & yield management. Nothing says poor web-sales management than seeing a lame Google AD Sense or network ad on your home page. Geez, you can’t sell your most valuable, most powerful ad unit to a local sponsor? That’s like always placing per inquiry or PSA’s in your 7:20 stop set on a Monday morning. If more than 20% of your available web inventory is sold to 3^rd party ad networks…your local sales strategy needs to undergo a crisis intervention…now.

8. Confusing media kits, sales packages & pricing. Local business owners prefer simple offers, delivered using advertiser-friendly vocabulary. They’re usually not sure of the value of 1 or even 10 million page-views. Excel spreadsheets with ad units, cpm’s and other confusing data only frustrates the advertiser. It also freaks out the sales rep who’s trying to clearly explain the features & benefits of a cross-platform marketing program. Simplicity is always best.

9. Director of Interactive; tech & content background only? Too few Interactive VP’s and web managers are qualified to implement a realistic revenue strategy. While building slick sites and driving eyeballs are quite important, these skills do not equal revenue & profit. Suggestion: hire a corporate VP of Interactive Revenue that reports directly to the CEO. Bonus all applicable staff based on web profit, not web traffic.

10. Over-reliance on vendors & research for sales strategy. Just because I sold you a beautiful kitchen & gave you the best cookbooks, doesn’t mean that you’re now a master chef !

Related posts:

1. Morris Reunites Web & Print Staff For years, Internet research analysts have scared Newspaper and Broadcast companies  into thinking they had to create a separate staff for digital. While it sounds good on paper and some...
2. NAB Radio Show, Web Revenue Chokepoints NAB and RAB Radio Show 2010. Digital still being given lip service by Broadcasters? Maybe, since Radio barely pulls 2% of online revenue share. Cool websites are not enough &...
3. Why Traditional Media Chokes on Web TV, Radio and Newspaper will need to address these issues, if they want to succeed in the new digital economy. Traditional Media Struggles w/ Web Revenue 9.10...