August 14, 2020
As touring remains on a lengthy sabbatical, what do you miss most with the absence of tours both personally and relative to your station’s missed ops for big promotions?
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Rick Vaughn, KENZ: I miss the automatic localization of the artists and the opportunity for major promotions, and the visibility. That’s the most important thing, being seen having a good time at cool events by people who like your radio station. We miss that lack of interaction with the audience.
Jagger, WKSS: We miss partnering with our label friends in giving our audience some really great experiences with big acts in concerts and up and comers in our Dunkin’ Music Lounge. Personally, I love going back and saying hi to everyone, that’s always fun, and I miss the overall atmosphere of being at a concert and the entertainment side of it. Jeff Hurley, iHeartMedia: Concerts are the core of what we do as an industry. Our lives are literally defined by the music we surround ourselves with every day. For radio people, that’s even more pronounced. We’re missing that intimate connection with artists that concerts provide. Heather Deluca, WSJO: It was going to be the best Summer of SoJO 104.9 EVER, until it wasn’t. So many of our artists were due to come through, from Harry Styles to Maroon 5 to Camila Cabello. So, not only was I bummed out because, promotionally, we had given away and were about to give away some epic concert experiences, but those promotions would have sounded great on the air. Sue O’Neil, WKSE: Perfect time to focus on my brand and not being a booking agent. |
Valentine, WBHT: The branding opportunities and the engagement factors that go along with that and our audience. It really supports our position as a Pop station brand. Personally, I miss the chance to see artists live and watching them do what they do in a live setting. The true artists stand out when you see them live allowing for that full artist experience where you discover that this artist is the real deal.
Matt Johnson, KSLZ: Ratings opportunities with contesting when done right. Josh Wolff, WAEB: Although we can’t send listeners to concerts, we can still connect them with artists via social platforms, and we’re finding other creative ways of meeting listener expectations of winning prizes. Brian Check, WISX: It’s the special experiences that we give our listeners. It’s not just about giving away tickets, it’s the added value we were able to provide through our label and concert-promoter partners like the backstage meet and greets and on-stage excitement. Radio has the ability to give listeners something that no other medium can provide, and we’ve been stripped of our ability to give people these once in a lifetime live experiences. Kobe, WZNE: Creating memorable audience experiences with our listeners’ favorite artists. Personally, I miss going to live events and socializing and feeding off the energy of other people…that whole atmosphere. Dom Theodore, Radio Animal Media Strategies: The forced-listening contest opportunities that come from ticket giveaways.
Chris Michaels, FM100: I definitely miss creating artist experiences for listeners. Whether it’s a meet and greet before the show, or creating tune-in appointments for promo giveaways leading up to the show. It’s so weird not having a busy summer schedule full of concerts! Max Volume, KOZZ: The social “whirl.” Wandering around the venue and talking to listeners. |
Toby Knapp, WASH: I love live music, the feeling of being a part of a moment with your favorite artist, surrounded by fans who think and feel just like you… and the absence of this hasn’t been great for my soul… and YouTube concert videos are a quick “fix” but are just not the same. As far as station promotions, I think our partnership with the promoters was/is a win win for both, we connected fans with a great experience, they gave us something really valuable to gift to people. I’m hopeful we get back to “good” soon. I am really bummed for my friends and colleagues who continue to be out of work at our local venues… it just sucks all the way around. Randi West, WRMF: The excitement on winners faces when the meet their favorite artists.
Rod Phillips, iHeartMedia: Definitely missing the energy of attending live shows, and guilting my friends into buying refreshments if I got them into the show. For now, I don’t think we’re feeling the absence of big promotions. We have a ton of cash contesting in our favor and with all the virtual options and drive-in concerts, we’re holding steady on opportunities to connect our listeners to the artists. That could wane as folks continue to miss the live experience, but holding out hope, it’s just around the corner. Mike “OD” O’Donnell, WKRZ: The ability to give our listeners unique experiences that you can’t buy. The special things like access to the artist to meet them, and a close to the stage ticket for them to be on top of the live performance. Not only is it special for the listeners, but it also enhances our audience engagement factor with our personalities who they get to meet and hang out with backstage. |
Jimmy Steal, WTMX: The absence of live concerts has been a challenging missing piece of our industry. Through virtual shows and virtual experiences, our industry has done the best job possible in trying to create a substitute experience. How successful we’ve all been is open to interpretation, but I like the fact that we’re trying. It’s allowed some artists who really do understand the medium to be more intimate with their fans and their partners and I’ve been very appreciative of that, as opposed to those who view it as just a merchandise portal. I just hope we don’t have to rely on this type of experience for too much longer. While it will always be a part of our entertainment package, I think (like everyone else) we all prefer it be a second tier and not replacing what we all know as the first tier which is live performances.
Jonathan Shuford, WRVW: Personally, I miss being in a room with people who are there for one common purpose. Professionally, it’s kind of the lifeblood of what we do, it’s the excitement factor. Everyone’s doing a really good job of handling necessities, but it’s a lot harder to get our listeners excited about Amazon gift cards than it is about a meet and greet with Harry Styles.
Jammer, WEZB: Those meet & greet artists experiences and front row tickets… it’s The Wow that’s missing!
Bartel, WKTU: Not being able to go to these great events and see live performances from these amazing artists. And, not being able to give our listeners these same experiences and us not being able to interact with the listeners at these events.
Java Joel, WAKS: Never thought I’d see the day when “Cleveland’s #1 hit music station” didn’t do concert ticket giveaways! So many big shows were scheduled to come thru town. Including our “2nd Kiss The Summer Hello show” which got scrapped.
Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia: We’ve had to re-write the playbook for all of iHeart’s tent pole events this year and make all of them virtual events. The promotions are still there but we’ve had to get creative about many on-site and on-air pieces that we’ve executed in the past.Next Week’s Question Of The Week:
As a manager, what qualities do you look for in the team and staff members that you work with?
e-Mail your responses to: jodorisio@deanemediasolutions.com or bburke@deanemediasolutions.com
