Radio Advertising: I Sell Air

Unless you're going through a mid-life crisis, it's really not as bad as Billy Crystal suggests:



Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd.
Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

Want To Learn About Advertising On The Radio?

If you're interested in advertising or marketing your (insert your whatever here), then the opportunity of a lifetime is here for you! Okay, it's not an opportunity of a lifetime. You'll have better opportunities in life, like having kids or making kids or getting married or hitting your first Major League home run or watching your kid hit his first Major League home run while you sit next to that person you married so many years ago. So, yes, perspective is important. With that in mind, the opportunity of your professional lifetime looms very near.

"Why, David?" you say, intent on getting an exciting answer.

Here's why, I tell you, here's why. We're (WDHA-FM and WMTR-AM) gonna be hosting a presentation three different days in October, the 19th, 20th and 21st in Parsippany. In this multi-media presentation, we're going to discuss advertising - what works, what doesn't work, and how you can do better.

"What's in it for me?" you ask again, clearly not seeing that you'll learn something and be a better person, possibly changing world history, because of this.

I'll answer your question, but only because you asked. All right, first, you're going to see me. That's worthy of a good night's sleep anytime. Second, you'll be exposed to new ideas. Third, there will be an opportunity to purchase advertising at drastically reduced rates. Drastically. Fourth, you'll be entered to win $10,000 in advertising on DHA or MTR. And fifth, you'll get a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

That's 5 things that are "in it" for you. Isn't that a lot? It's like we're throwing a party for you. Just you. Because we care.

So, interested? If so, call me. We can talk more, exchange emails, start a relationship that lasts for years. Hey, if I'm lucky, maybe you'll invite me to Junior's first big league game.

SONG OF THE WEEK

I was never a huge Alice In Chains fan, but I was always a big fan of "No Excuses." It makes sense today because there are no excuses why you don't come on out in October and learn all about how you can improve your business. Sound swell? Awesome. I'm staring at the phone right now.



Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd.
Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

Do Like Mad Men Do

AMC's Mad Men just debuted its third season a week ago. It follows the life and career of an early-1960s ad exec named Don Draper (Jon Hamm) as he juggles the advertising world, a failing marriage, and one very secret...uh, secret.

Here's the thing: I have never seen the show. Not a single episode. Yet somehow, I was just able to list for you the show's name, it's network, its lead character (and his real life name, spelled correctly), and what the show was about. I even know what the secret is/was.

How do I know all this?

Simple. AMC has done an amazing job advertising and publicizing the show. They've spent money advertising, but they've also engaged the media to cover the show as if it was as big as the Super Bowl. They've mixed an advertising campaign at the masses, created a great website, put together a cool contest, invested time and thought into social networking, and sent Hamm and cast out for the short, poppy Entertainment Tonight interviews (like the old AM radio single from an album) as well as the longer-form, more extensive discussions on NPR. They've used all of this to create word of mouth (you and I talking to each other as well as a slew of show blogs) that has helped make Mad Men the most successful show ever on the network.

"So, uh, Dave, like what does this mean to me?" you say as you scratch your lower abdomen.

"It means plenty," I say with an accent derived from unknown origins. "Want me to be specific?"

"Did you say 'Pacific'?"

"No."

"Oh."

I'll continue, assuming it's okay with you. Here's the lesson we can all learn from AMC's Mad Men. Do it all. All, in this case, doesn't mean it has to cost you money. It does cost time, but if it's your business, you can find the time. Let's say you have a retail business, like a bike shop. You get into the store each day, sell to customers, fix bikes, deal with vendors, do a couple of errands at lunch, close out the register and lock up. Busy day. Did you consider taking 10 minutes from your day and thinking? Seriously. Walk away from the counter, let Tony or Tennille man the fort. Walk away from the busted Schwinns and take a 10-minute walk around the block or the parking lot. Then think. Ask yourself what you're doing. How do people know about me? About my shop? How do they find out? What are those other people doing in other businesses that I can apply to mine? What's my competition doing? What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? What can I be doing better?

Ask yourself stuff like that every time you take your ten-minute walk. Don't feel guilty. This isn't a break. You're still working. But instead of the hands-on, tangible work you're used to, you're doing an intangible. You're thinking. You're looking at Mad Men and wondering what AMC is doing right. And you're thinking, I don't have a $5 million advertising budget, but I know Twitter is free and Facebook is free and it wouldn't cost me anything, besides embarrassment, if I stood on the sidewalk this Saturday in a tight Lance Armstrong outfit, bullhorn in my hand, telling the world that they should come into my store and see the greatest feat of all-time inside my shop, my little but awesome bike shop. And when they come in, have your staff dance to "Thriller" in bare feet. See? Great feet. A great song. A great idea. And it didn't cost you a cent. Just 10-minutes of thinking, kind of like what the Mad Men used to do.

SPEAKING OF FEET

Last month, I wrote a sort of melancholy post about missing my dad. It had nothing to do with advertising. I just needed an outlet about how I felt. Not too long afterward, I received an email from Marissa Eckrote. She commented how she understood how I felt; how she lost her father, Bruce, in December, two and a half months before mine died. And she asked that I pass something along to you. She and her family have organized the 2010 Born To Run 5K Run/Walk that will be taking place on August 21st in Wayne, NJ. Go HERE to see the info and sign up. The race is in scenic Packanack Lake; a course I personally ran on an extremely hot and humid Saturday in July. Proceeds go to a Wayne resident suffering from leukemia, a high school scholarship in Bruce Eckrote's name, and to esophageal cancer research.

ROCKING THE PARK

I'd say I'd see you at the race, but WDHA is also sponsoring Rock The Park that afternoon at the PNC Arts Center. Creed is the headline act. If you're interested in participating, some key sponsorships are still available. Call me and we can haggle. It'll be a blast.

SONG OF THE DAY

This week's Song Of The Day is one I've heard a couple of times of the past few weeks on WMTR. It's "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band. Remember this song? Is it irony if you don't? I'll give you one piece of memory I just dragged out of my membrain: It was 1986. I was going to be the greatest rock n roll drummer/singer/songwriter you ever heard of. I took a voice lesson in Chatham with my voice teacher, Diane. And I sang this song in my lesson. It's not Vivaldi, it's not Steve Perry, it's not Sam Cooke, but for whatever reason, I wanted, on that day, to sing like Glenn Shorrock (the LRB's lead singer, which neither one of us knew until just now when I checked on Wikipedia - say, does your business have a Wikipedia site? Think about it.)


Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

The Awesome WDHA February Ski Pass Giveaway!!!!

Want to become THE sponsor for an easy promotion on WDHA that would get you lots of 10-second promos over the next couple of weeks. It's still cold outside and this is built around winter and skiing. You can get almost 200 on-air promos over the next 2 weeks as well as becoming part of the WDHA website. It breaks out like this:

• 10 ten-second promos per day over 14 days; 140 total promos


• 54 ten-second promos next weekend, Friday-Sunday


• 194 total ten-second promos

Your banner and weblink on WDHA FM.com for the next 4 weeks

The value is $7,650 but the total investment is only $3,500.

Does it get better than this? I think not!

Otherwise, we can do a WDHA appearance at your place of business for only $500. That's five-hundred bucks for a van, the coolness of WDHA, and us telling North Jersey that we're a gonna be at your place from noon to 1:05 that day and they should get down there and meet you.

As a reminder, WDHA reaches 350,000 North Jersey listeners each week. The core listening audience is 25-54.

If you're interested, let me know right away. You can call me on my cell at 917-204-1929 or shoot me an email.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

With Radio, A Good Defense Is A Good Offense

I did not write what you are about to read. I saw it on Greater Media's Intranet site and said to myself, "David, there's something in your teeth." As I pulled the fishbone out, I realized I should share what I just read with the masses. Since you are just a small, yet important, member of "the masses," I appreciate your appreciation of my sharing. The rest is pretty explanatory, maybe at times exploratory, but you reading is completely voluntary. So, without wasting any more of your precious time, here is what I'd like to share with you, explaining why radio still makes sense in this crazy world, even with so much more media at our disposal. Henceforth, my copy and paste effort for you at no charge.

In defense of radio and its effectiveness

The medium gets a bum rap from media and others

By Mary Beth Garber
Jan 19, 2010

In late December, Media Life ran an article headlined "Outlook for radio in 2010: More struggle" that painted a dour picture for the medium in the coming year, focusing largely on the lingering effects of the ad recession on revenues and other challenges, such as competition from the internet (link). The story generated an angry letter from Mary Beth Garber, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association, a trade group representing radio stations. Garber challenged the article, arguing that it unfairly cast the medium in a negative light. In response, Media Life invited Garber to pen a guest column to set the record straight.


Unfortunately the Media Life article was but one of a number of pieces that have appeared about radio based on misguided assumptions and personal opinions passed off as facts.

Admittedly, I’m one of radio’s biggest supporters with very strong opinions about the medium. That’s why the content of this article is supported with real numbers published by the research companies that media professionals, reporters and analysts rely on every day.

Contrary to media industry myth, radio listening has been positively affected by new technology.

Today’s radio sounds better than ever due to digital and HD technology.

But just as important as sound are the new delivery systems that have reenergized radio’s reach. Unlike most other traditional media, radio was able to take its broadcast content and its advertising model intact to the internet.

Today every computer, virtually every MP3 and iPod, and any cell phone capable of downloading apps is streaming radio’s over-the-air content.

Which helps explain why approximately nine out of 10 people of all age groups listen to radio each week, far more than any other medium except broadcast television (RADAR 103, December 2009).

And why the average person spends between about two and a half to three hours or more each day with broadcast radio (Nielsen, RADAR, Arbitron, Scarborough and The Media Audit).

In fact, people spend more time with broadcast radio than they spend with any other form of audio (Council for Research Excellence’s "Video Consumer Mapping – How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio," October 29, 2009).

Virtually all of that radio listening is done live, in real time. It's the only mass medium that can make that claim.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the technologies and devices that are being used by critics to attack radio’s relevancy in today’s media world.

The internet: The next time you think about moving your ad dollars out of radio and into the internet, check Nielsen or ComScore for their weekly internet ratings.

You’ll discover that in any given week, about 60 percent more people will listen to radio than will log onto the internet.

While at the same time, simply adding radio to an internet-only ad campaign can lift your unaided brand recall by 450 percent (www.Radioadlab.com).

Internet-only radio: A new analysis of Pandora (an internet-only radio site) by www.bridgeratings.com notes Pandora's 1.03 hours of listening is lower than that of local simulcast streams, which range from 1.7 hours to 3.6 hours. They also say Pandora suffers, just like iPods, from listener fatigue, sending users back to local radio (online or over the air). Over half the people who listen to any internet radio say they have listened to local radio content streaming.

MP3 players: Apple just recently add FM radio receivers to the Nano and Touch iPods because demand for radio listening is increasing. A Paragon study showed people ages 14-24 increased their radio listening 11 percent and decreased their MP3 listening 13 percent. Even more enlightening, Edison says about 60 percent of 18-64s don’t own MP3 players.

Satellite radio: Has had virtually no effect on radio usage. Satellite radio subscriptions peaked in 2008 at 18.8 million, then dropped in 2009 to 18.5 million. That’s only 7.7 percent of all adults in the country. A recent BridgeRatings study projected both subscriptions and interest will continue to fall in the coming years.

Radio listening is trending up, not down.

All media trends up and down over a period of time.

But to hear radio’s critics you’d think this dynamic medium was on a slide to oblivion.

The fact is nothing could be further from the truth.

Radio’s weekly reach, unlike that of print, has declined only modestly during the past several years from a high of 94.9 percent in Spring 2001 to 91 percent in Fall 2008.

But radio has, again unlike print, now reversed that downward trend and listening continues to rise.

RADAR 103 shows radio reaching 92.5 percent of people over the age of 12, more than 236 million people each week. A recent Bridge Ratings study even shows a resurgence of local radio (without online streaming or mobile listening added) by most listener segments. So imagine what they would be with these numbers added. (http://www.bridgeratings.com).

Young People Listen to Radio

All of which helps explain the fact that RADAR, Nielsen, Arbitron, Bridge Ratings and Scarborough say between 85 percent and 92 percent of teens and 18-34s use radio every week. Nielsen says 92 percent of 18-34s spend about three hours a day with radio.

Obviously there’s a big disconnect between reality and perception when it comes to radio.

Since the advent of television, radio has been the media industry’s favorite whipping boy.

And it’s not just somebody else’s fault. Sure all those reporters, planners and analysts are listening to their friends instead of trusting the numbers, and the truth is that part of that perception is radio’s own fault, because the radio industry has been slow and quiet in its own defense or to publicize its noteworthy achievements. It’s another fact that cannot be denied.

But the time of letting others define our future is over.

Enough is more than enough.

Radio is one of the two most powerful advertising vehicles on earth. Still. And for a long time to come.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

Going For It

One of my compatriots here at Greater Media, Chris Ales, played a video for me today on YouTube that completely blew me away. It's is a great example of a guy who has a business and wants people to know about it (who doesn't). But here's the thing: You can tell the guy knows exactly who he is. He knows his image within the business and he knows the image his business is going to project because of the advertising he does. You must watch the following video. It is required. You will either laugh the buttocks off of your body (doesn't have to be your buttocks) or you will be completely offended to the core of your soul. Either way, you will remember this ad. Now watch:

My immediate thoughts were these: 1) I have to see that again. 2) Is this real? 3) I have to tell people about this.

So I told people about it. I played the video for Stu Iselin, another Account Executive who works here and who's seen it all. But he hadn't seen this. I told a few others about it and emailed the link to some people.

What does this mean? It means that the guy had a catchy name for his business: Jesus Christ Bail Bonds. C'mon, you gotta admit that's pretty doggone memorable. The delivery, which reminded me of the movie Deliverance, which, if you've seen it, you suddenly understand, stood out... The Hip-Hop look of the man in yellow (with no disrespect to Curious George)... The name of the owner, Bishop Barry, and his orating like a preacher... The repetition of "Bail Out!" bringing us back to the core of the business, bail bonds... Plus the very idea that this guy is advertising bail bonds, which reminds some of us of The Bad News Bears. This spot (in "the biz," we like to call commercials "spots," give it a try when you get a free second) shows this guy, Bishop Barry, wanted to go for it. He wanted people to remember his commercials, and we do.

Your Homework: Are you willing to go for it? Why not swing for the fences? There's a fine line between memorable and foolish. If you can tow it, you just might hit a grand slam (all cliches sponsored by Major League Baseball).

SCREAM OUT

If you have nothing to do New Year's Eve, go to the Somerset Crown Plaza and see Michael Nitro. He's a Jersey guy and his band shall be playing some kick-ass tunes. It's a whole package, with live band, cocktail hour, and full New Year's Eve celebration. Oh yeah, he's advertising on WDHA. And that's why I'm telling you about him right now. You wanna rock on New Year's Eve? Then check out Michael Nitro.

SONG OF THE WEEK

It's Christmas. I like this song, "Gabriel's Message," performed by Sting. It was on the original A Very Special Christmas CD which came out on A&M Records in 1987. There have been about 50 Very Special Christmas releases since then, but this album was the best. And this song is one of the best. Enjoy. And happy holidays from me to yuz (I say "Yuz" 'cause we in Jersey. Yo).

Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

Falling Behind And Ripping Us Off

Did you know I used to work in the "record" business? Uh huh. I did. I started working in it in the old days when they thought the cassette single might work (they called them "cassingles"). Then they stopped selling singles altogether, instead moving toward CD singles, which were really 4-5 song EPs that sold for $6.99, a higher price than any old cassingle would sell for even on its best day. Yeah, I worked in it when it was good (or "when we was fab" as George Harrison sang). Aww heck, let's play his song and I'll be right back.

I liked George. He was a good Beatle. Did you see the guests in there? Yeah, Ringo. But who else? Did you see Sir Elton John? Yes! That was him. Oh, the 80s...

Anyway, I didn't work for a record company in the '80s. It was during the '90s and the '00s. I got out just in time, 2006, just before the mass layoffs became commonplace all year round as opposed to something that only happened at Christmas time.

"Why the layoffs, David?" you ask me, wiping your hot cocoa's whipped cream off of your upper lip.

I shall tell you. Gather near me. Sit Indian style - uh, I mean Native American style. Keep quiet now as I tell you the story...

Once upon a time, there was an industry that was called Record. And Record made lots of money selling the same stuff to the same people over and over again, first on LP, then on cassette, then on CD. They loved selling the same songs over and over again too, packaged on the first album, then the Greatest Hits So Far, then the Best Of, then The Ultimate Collection... Oh, Record was smart. He was rich, too.

But something happened.

The evil Napster came in one day and took away all of Record's people. The people realized they could get all of their music for free on something called the Worldwide Web. They didn't need pre-packaged albums and they didn't need pre-packaged singles. They could get one song at a time for free. The people rejoiced. Hurray!

Record was mad. So he sued the people for stealing. That's right. Record sued his customers for leaving him. When that happens in a marriage, like when a wife sues for divorce, it's a pretty good bet the husband ain't ever coming back. That's what happened with the people. They didn't come back.

Meanwhile, in a far off land, a boy named Radio played music all day long. The people of his land loved Radio. They thought he was really keen. Radio paid the songwriters who wrote the songs he played. And all was good. In fact, Record even liked Radio because the songs Radio played sold in Record's stores. Birds chirped. The sun shined. There was peace in the world.

But when Record got mad at the people, he lost his mind. He went cukoo and decided to take it out on Radio. "Hey," Record said, flecks of dandruff hanging off his dirty beard, "you're playing my songs. I want you to pay me too!" You see, when Record made money, he liked Radio playing the recordings he owned. But when he lost his money, he decided he didn't like Radio anymore.

Poor Radio. He just wanted to be loved. He didn't do anything different from what he'd been doing for the past 60 years.

But Record's face got all red with anger. He called up his friend, Congress, and told him to pass a law forcing Radio to give him money. Congress said okay.

But Radio said, "Hold on there, fella. Don't be thinking I'm a gonna pay you money just because you suddenly don't know how to make money on your own."

Record went to Washington DC and told all of his Congress friends that he'd give them money for their campaigns so they could be re-elected and rule the world if only they'd make a law forcing Radio to pay them money.
Radio went to the people, the nice ones who always liked Radio, and said, "Yo, 'sup? Could y'all help us out? Please? Could ya call your Congress person fella and say, 'Yo, man, I think Record is wack! Don't give him what he wants 'cause if you do, I'm gonna tell all my people not to vote for you."

The only problem was, Radio told this to the people using somewhat boring radio commercials. Most of the people didn't get it. Or they just didn't care, probably because they didn't get it.

So Radio had a better idea. Let's use video. "Here," Radio said to the people, "could you please watch this?" And the people did.

The morals of the story are these:
Moral #1: If you're in a business that's doing really well, keep looking forward, because you need to be ready with a Plan B if Plan A starts to go south.
Moral #2: If you make a lousy commercial, people won't care. So do something else, i.e. making a better commercial. Like this:

Do you get it now, kiddies? Did you like the story? Do you understand it better now? I hope you care a wee bit too. Because I care about you. 'Nuff said.

SCREAM OUT

A special scream out this week goes to Maggie Moore's Irish Pub in Lincoln Park, NJ, right on Route 202. I ate their food last week. It was quite good. I crave their meat pie. They are also this week's very special Dining Deal restaurant on WDHA and WMTR (I'll teach you more about Dining Deals in the future). Want to know more about my new buddy Neville Gibson and Maggie Moore's? Then check this out:

Go there. Eat. Be merry and jolly and fat. It's the holidays. It's what we do.

SONG OF THE WEEK

If you're listening to WMTR (1250 on your NJ AM dial), you're hearing some Christmas music every 3rd or 4th song. This year, on WDHA (105.5 on your NJ FM dial), we're going to play 30 hours of non-stop, commercial-free Christmas music from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 11:59 PM on Christmas evening. With that in mind, I bet you just might hear this by George Harrison's old group, The Beatles.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

30 Years Gone

Think back to 1979. Fire was about to be discovered. The wheel was still 2 years from evolving from its then-current triangular shape into something close to an oval. The only way to let somebody know "what I'm doing" was to tell them or write a letter and mail it from a U.S. Post Office. The primitive music being played was classified as "disco," destroying the ears and lives and cocaine noses of America's youth movement.

But, out of the ashes of this pre-historic time, there arose a radio station. It was a radio station so unique and so powerful that the people fell to their knees and wept. This radio station was, and still is, called WDHA.

30 years later WDHA-FM is 30 years old. While you may say, "Dave, you're being redundant within the same sentence," my reply is, hey, if you guys are okay with Sammy Hagar singing "Only time will tell if we can stand the test of time," you can accept my topic sentence of paragraph #3.

I grew up with this radio station, first catching on with it in the summer of 1980 when they consecutively played every song in the Beatles catalog from A-Z that July or August (they played "She's Leaving Home" off of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and I rode my bike downtown to Scotti's Record Shop in Madison to steal - I mean, buy that album the same day). When you grow up with a radio station, it's like family. It's like WDHA and I shaved together and drove our first car together and went on dates together and partied together. We probably both said "Dude" far too many times for our own good. To be working for it this many years later is like if you went on a date with a girl (or guy) back in high school and ended up getting married to that person 25 years later. Am I right? I think I'm right. (Note: If you want to know who's in the pictures, scroll to the bottom.)

So, with that rant in mind, WDHA - "The Rock of New Jersey," had a big celebration this week at the Welmont Theater in Montclair, Nueva Jersey (pronounced New Yersey). There was a band that played. Some call them Lynyrd Skynyrd. So you had The Rock of New Jersey celebrating its 30th anniversary with a band that's been around for more than 30 years.

"What's this mean to me?" you almost stutter before realizing I'd possibly make fun of you for it.

It means that WDHA, a radio station that's been in the Rock format for 30 years, is consistent (See how many times I've told you we're 30 years old? Yeah, I can't get anything by you, can I?). Listenership is at an all-time high: More than 380,000 men and women and kids and hamsters listen to this radio station every week. Our consistent format is parallel to how you should advertise: a strong message communicated consistently. That's the key to advertising. And it's the key to WDHA's 30 years of success.

Here's a great anecdote. As a kid listening to 105.5, I used to hear ads all the time for Kenvil Power Mower. Kenvil. It's a real town on Route 46. Sounds like it's one or two towns over from Mayberry, where Andy Griffith and Opie lived with Ain't Bea. Anyway, the point to this is Kenvil Power Mower was so consistent with their simple message for so long, I still remember them. If you axed my brother, he'd say the same thing. He remembers. Go ahead. Ask him. I double-dog dare you.

So maybe you should steal from the 1980s Kenvil Power Mower playbook, get on the air and stay there. You'll be glad you did.

SCREAM OUTS

A brand spankin' new feature to this awesome blog is the Scream Out section (rockers don't give "shout outs"). We welcomed a few new advertisers to the fold this week, including Morris Catholic High School in Denville (which rhymes with Kenvil), Fairchilds Market in Roseland (doesn't rhyme with Kenvil or Denville), Advantage Contracting from Wayne and Advanced Cardiology Practice, also from Wayne. Listen for their spots (that's industry parlance for commercials) and patronize them to the fullest extent of the law (meaning don't stalk). We all thank you for it.

SONG OF THE WEEK

Since it was Lynyrd Skynyrd that played WDHA's 30th anniversary concert, let's play a little something from them. One of my favorite tracks is called "Tuesday's Gone." I hope you like it as much as I like you.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

Pictures:

#1, at the top, is the whole WDHA-FM staff at the Welmont Theater. There's a cake in the middle of the picture that looks small to you but was very large to us. If there's any left over, I'll give you some.

#2 is of me (on the right) with Nancy Remy of Shadow Traffic. I know her name like I know Kenvil Power Mower. She thought I was joking when I told her it was a thrill to meet her, put my arm around her and also get this picture taken. But I joke not.

#3 is of me (on the right) with Stu Iselin, another Account Exec here at WDHA & WMTR who doesn't live in Iselin, and Valerie Freda, another Account Exec who doesn't live in Iselin. We all think it's a swell town, however.

#4 is of me (on the left) with Matt DeVoti, our station's general. I mean General Sales Manager. He used to be a DJ for years on WNEW-FM, when it was a cool rock station and not the girlie "Fresh" station it is today. He's at DHA 'cause he rocks. (He also likes WMTR-AM "Classic Oldies" very much.)

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

The Massively Big & Crazy Stupid Phat Big One-Day Sale

That's right. If you are a fan of the medium some of us call "radio" and if you believe it's good to advertise there (JC Penny, Home Depot, Geico and my mother all agree that it is), then guess what? I will tell you. WDHA-FM ("The Rock of New Jersey") and WMTR-AM ("Classic Oldies") will be running a massively big & crazy stupid phat big One-Day Sale on Tuesday, November 17th.

"Why should I care?" you sing, echoing "5:15" by The Who and swinging a faux microphone about the room.

Because, I write. Because. But besides that lame response, we're practically giving the radio station away. You wanna buy some air? How does 50% off sound to you? If you were buying a $20,000 car, getting it for $10,000 would be pretty nice. If you were buying an ad in the Star Ledger or Bergen Record for $10,000 on a nice sunny Sunday, when everyone is outside and not reading the paper, wouldn't it be better to spend those ten thousand smackers and get twenty thousand smackers' worth that will run all over during the week, when it rains or is cold and people are putting on their radio to listen to the sweet sounds of the Beatles or Shinedown?

Yeah, that was a long sentence.

Bottom line be dis: Take advantage. Don't be a silly. You want to blow up your business in a good way (meaning not the kind of way insurance will reimburse you for)? Then hit me up and say, "Yo, Dave, you know I want that 50% off this Tuesday. And hey, can I get it Wednesday too?"

No. Tuesday only.

"What if I don't want to run any ads until January 'cause I'm all spent up for the Oh Nine campaign?"

They can start in January and go through May. Think happy spring! And as you think it, know you only need to think about spring with 50% of your brain. The other 50% can be used for thinking about other things, like Oprah guests or Jell-O shots or Nancy Pelosi action figures.

SONG OF THE WEEK

If you just read what I wrote, then "Because" by The Beatles makes a heckuva lotta sense. You agree?

So, you in? Cool. Me too.


Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

Say What?

"See, there goes another one." My lovely wife was looking out our window the other night at a car driving up our hill. It had a spotlight aimed at the side of the road. I missed it, choosing to focus on the television set, which kept reinforcing to me that the Mets weren't playing baseball that evening. "Look!" My peripheral vision caught it this time. Another car, this one driving down the hill, spotlight aimed at the other side of the road. "They must be looking for something," she said.

I wanted to say something witty that would impress upon her that I was still worth the 16 years of marriage she had invested in me. I shrugged.

Another car sped by. "They won't find it driving that fast," I said. We live on a quiet street. It felt like rush hour on 80 West in Parsippany.

And then the phone rang. "Uh oh," she said. The girl (she's really a woman) must be physic. Why else would she utter the phrase that has signified dread since we were tots on a playground looking at the big kids and their natural desire to bother & harm tots? I picked up the phone, banishing images of angry juvenile death-row-wannabes from my brain.

"This is the Wayne Police Department." (Note: I live in Wayne. There. Now you know. Our story continues...) "A 74-year old man with Alzheimer's, wearing a gray jacket, is missing. He was last seen at the bottom of the Greater Media Radio Guy's street. If you can assist in the search or have seen the man's whereabouts, please call whatever our number is." The message started up again and I listened again since I'd already forgotten most of the important stuff. When I hung up, I knew there was a reason for my wife's "Uh oh."

Somebody was missing.

As I saw another car zoom by my house, I thought how they'd never find the man driving so fast up a dark street (we don't have streetlights in most of Wayne; we use the moon one week of every month). I'd already walked the dog, but she's always up for another opportunity to lick foreign substances (use your imagination), so I threw her leash on and we went searching for a lost human.

It was at this point that I began to think about the message on the phone and how it related to radio advertising. Really, I did. Here's why: First, I had to hear the message twice for it to start to sink in. Even after two times, I still didn't remember everything that our pre-recorded policeman said. With radio, the goal is to have listeners hear your message three (3) [III] {tres} times; it takes that many listens for an interested party to tune in and absorb what it is you have to say. I'd been interested. I just hadn't heard the message enough times to remember it all.

Second, the message had a strong intro: "A 74-year old man with Alzheimer's, wearing a gray jacket, is missing." That hooked me right away. But after that, the message kind of lost me. What was the man's name? How did they expect us to take action? If I found him, should I have befriended him or should I have assumed he could easily kill me (it's not that hard)? I realized that I was kind of walking in the dark, both figuratively and literally. The message was incomplete and, therefore, not satisfying.

In looking around as the dog sniffed and licked and I walked, I realized the message didn't matter much to my neighbors. Either nobody was home or nobody cared to look for the missing man. It was just one dog with an undisciplined tongue, me, and cars driving too fast to see anything. The large family pet and I looked into car windows in case the guy crawled into a Subaru looking for some warmth. Nothing. We looked in our back yard, under trees in big yards nearby, and through some woods across the street. Nothing. At the top of the hill, I could see through the trees to the other side of my little lake community. There were firetrucks out, lights ablaze. I had a feeling there were teams of guys patrolling the water and lakefronts. I felt bad for the family of the missing man as I removed the dog's lips from something shaped like a small carcass and headed for home.

I crawled into bed that evening wondering what had happened with the man. If I was a 74-year old guy, would I want to walk up a hill on a cold night? I figured no. The lake seemed like an odd choice too. He had to be somewhere. And that's where I found fault with the message in a third way: There was no closure. Think about a typical commercial for a Macy's One Day Sale. It has a beginning, middle and end: "Come to Macy's for our One Day Sale, Saturday between 8AM and 8PM." There. Done. We know everything in that one sentence. The rest of the commercial is what's exactly for sale and more reasons why we should go. And they probably tell us two more times that it's a Macy's One Day Sale this Saturday between 8AM and 8PM.

The message from the police wasn't constructed as well. Granted, they didn't have a multi-million dollar agency craft the words and use auditory psychology when they put it together. But they did miss something. I mean, a great message would have gotten more than 1 goofball and his poorly-dieting dog to get off the couch and help, right? Don't you think? Or is it true, I am truly the only Mets fan left in America? In either case, it's too bad I didn't see more people out there. Maybe we could have found the guy.

Postscript: I found out what happened from a fireman the following day. The man, who lived in Bloomingdale, simply walked home without telling anyone. He was safe. The family was relieved. And all was well in Doggywood. Oh, and the Yankees would go on to win the World Series.

See you in spring training.

SONG OF THE DAY

WMTR plays some of the greatest music every recorded. The song in my mind today is "Cuddle Up" by the Beach Boys, a group who you hear plenty of on "Classic Oldies" 1250 AM. Enjoy.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060

There's No "I" In Advertising

Um, actually, there are two of them. But that's not the point. The point is that when you advertise, you're not just selling yourself, you're selling your company, your message, your future... Hell, you're selling your destiny. Am I getting too heavy already? First paragraph and I'm talking about how together we can change your life? All right. I'll slow down.

I was talking to a potential customer of mine today. He runs a company that's part dry cleaner and part carpet cleaner. They service most of New Jersey and the Philly market (I'm a Mets fan, so guess which word in that sentence hurt me the most to write). They don't have a marketing budget. They survive through word of mouth and their website. Naturally, we talked about how radio could take that word of mouth and shoot it with some Jose Canseco-flavored steroids right into the butt of his company. (I didn't really use that analogy, but it's fitting, don't you think?) He was, and is, interested. The program we talked about had to work for him. Then he said something that bothered me: "I've been talking to a really well-respected marketing person. She told me to ask you if we could test for a week or two and see how it went."

Want to know my response?

Well, first I said that you don't "test" anything for a week or two when you're advertising, unless it's a Super Bowl ad that 50 million people (that's 100 million eyes, give or take a few pirates with patches) are going to see. On a local level, like in Northern New Jersey, you need to commit to a plan. To try this for "a week or two" and then that other thing for "a week or two" and then that third thing for "a week or two" isn't going to show you much of anything. Advertising is about frequency and consistency. It's that simple. Think McDonald's and Geico and Miller Beer. I can write this blog post and never write another. You think anybody's going to follow me? No. I need to keep at this, every week, every month, for years in order to get people to give this blog credibility. One post and out means I'm a guy who had a good idea but didn't know how to execute. Think you want to work with a guy like that? I don't.

There was something else I wanted to tell my new dry cleaner/carpet cleaner friend. This "well-respected" marketing person didn't really know what she was talking about. Did I have the guts? Actually, I did. But he interrupted with another question and we never got back to the subject of the well-respected person who, to me, doesn't know the most simple 2 facts about marketing and advertising:

Get Frequency
Be Consistent

It makes you wonder what the destinies are of the companies this person works for if she's giving out uninformed advice.

Now, for your song of the day: I'm a big Beatles fan. We play a lot of Beatles on WMTR (1250 AM here in Northern New Jersey). One of my favorite Beatles songs is "Hey Bulldog." I don't know why. It's just got a cool groove and John's sharp wit. So here, for your viewing/listening pleasure, is "Hey Bulldog."



Thanks for reading!
Dave

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060