Recently I heard about a broadcast group in one quite average market who was doing something very interesting and very effective – very quietly.
You see, Radio is not nearly consolidated enough to do things on a system-wide basis. Thus there remains tremendous secrecy when it comes to “strategies that work.” Some of the best ideas, in many cases, are not publicized because a broadcaster doesn’t want his or her secrets out.
Too bad. Because here comes a Great Reveal….
In my forthcoming book (more on that later), Making Waves: Radio on the Verge, I provide a new definition for radio – one that has vast implications for the way you do business.
And here it is:
Radio is the web of local relationships between advertisers and consumers mediated by your company – no matter how or where you connect those relationships.
That means, as the book will describe, you’re not in the radio business anymore. You’re in the connection business. And the “loudspeaker” of your over-the-air signal is what you use to grease the movement in the relationships.
And that brings me to my tale.
The market cluster in question doesn’t have one website for each of its stations. In fact, they have 22 local websites.
Because when you’re in the business of relationships – the business of moving consumers to advertisers no matter where or how – then why should you be limited to websites with radio call-letters on them?
In fact, these 22 websites are largely local “vertical” sites – each addressing one topic of interest to one facet of the local community.
I haven’t seen the site roster (and I don’t even know the group or the market, so don’t bother asking) so I can’t tell you what they are, but could they be local music sites or local pet-lover sites or local moms sites or local sports sites?
Yes, they could be.
And they need not be branded with your radio station ID, because they are not about your radio station.
They just happen to be owned by you and run by you or your agents.
This is the kind of opportunity created when you own relationships in your local markets. You can move people wherever they want to go.
And if you’re smart, you’ll profit from those destinations.
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