- 07/31/2015
- Posted by: Mike O'Malley
- Category: Uncategorized
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These days it’s hard to find time in a schedule or money in a budget for attending industry conventions.
That’s unfortunate, because when great minds – passionate about radio – get together, good things happen.
If you’re in country radio and have been to CRS, you;ve experienced that first hand (register for CRS 2016 here )
Similarly, the Conclave 40 Learning Conference which took place in Minneapolis earlier this month was both a solid, non-format-specific learning/sharing experience as well as a chance to connect with others who share a passion for great radio (learn more about the Conclave here).
As programmers and consultants, we spend time a lot of time with listeners. But being a part of the Conclave’s Speed Mentoring Panel Friday morning turned the tables. For two hours it was about spending time with those in our industry seeking their next career step or looking for sounding boards for their ideas.
It was quite a wide funnel of people that I had the privilege of spending time with (in 7 minute increments) – from college students with designs on careers from station management to artist management (shout out to Seaton Hall who sent multiple students to Conclave) to major market talent – from those who had a detailed personal growth plan to those who didn’t have an immediate answer for, “What are you best at?” (but that’s a future blog).
The mentoring panel was just two hours of the two-day agenda. There were multiple high-quality sessions with great thinking and usable ideas.
In the spirit of, “we’re all smarter when we share what we’ve learned,” here are 40 bullet points from Conclave 40 (includes paraphrases and, when possible, attributions).
You can also search #conclave40 on Twitter for convention tweets.
If you attended and have other bullets to share, feel free to leave them as a comment below. Love to share them!
Opening Session: “Ask Me Almost Anything”
Ginny Morris, CEO/Hubbard; Mary Quass/CEO NRG Media; Dave Paulus VP/GM Max Media Norfolk; Pierre Bouvard, CMO/Cumulus Media; Brian Kelly/VP Programming Entercom discuss timely issues. Moderator Joel Denver
1 –
The industry cannot afford not to invest in talent. The pendulum swings…things are swinging back to appreciation of talent. (Morris)
2 – The time it takes listeners to come back to the station after they tune out is getting longer because there are more choices and nothing to bring them back.
3 – We have to have the courage to ask for more money for commercials. Figure out what cost is and have the courage to sell it. (Quass)
4 – No other medium in the world does so much to denigrate commercials (Bouvard)
4 – No other medium in the world does so much to denigrate commercials (Bouvard)
5 – Every station should implement NextRadio…it provides an enhanced experience for listeners and advertisers (Bouvard)
6 – IBM employees use social media to send out success stories and case studies.
7- Streaming is the coat of doing business. If that’s what the consumer demands we have to provide it. (Paulus)
Make Your App More Than Just The Station Stream, and Monetize It Too
Angie May-Cook (Emmis), J. T. Tarrants (WCSX Detroit), J. Pat Miller (Scripps, Milwaukee); Moderator: Paul Jacobs
8 – Your station is unique and your app should look unique as well. Great mobile apps start with great strategies
9 – Don’t build apps for listeners; build them for lifestyles.
10 – Mobile revenue is low because radio sells it like spots. Two different approaches: “Where Hip Hop Lives” app (free and subscription) and WCSX’s client-integrated Deer Hunter app.
11 – Don’t think of mobile as receiver but as the hub of listeners’ digital lives. As such mobile must supply content listeners truly value.
11 – Don’t think of mobile as receiver but as the hub of listeners’ digital lives. As such mobile must supply content listeners truly value.
Taking Your Show Online: Podcasting, Streaming and Beyond
Perry Simon (All Access), Sean Ross (Edison Research). Moderator: George Woods (Radio George)
12 – Reasons to podcast: because you want to do something that conventional Radio doesn’t do, you have something to say, to help get a job. Reasons not to podcast: It’s hot, someone told me to do it, make money.
13 – All social – but Facebook especially – drives a huge portion of podcast audience
14 – Monetization: brand advertising (not ‘spots’) will be the future – as well as subscription models including selling of archives, P.I.’s, merchandising, live or on–location events
15 – Think “60 minutes of music” instead of ‘replacing commercials.” For extra music consider songs you wouldn’t play on FM
16 – Streaming alternative: “File On Demand”