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Negotiating in the world of radio.

4:10 PM |


Interview with Barbeth Pinkney

Me: How involved are you with negotiations in your everyday job?

Barbeth: I negotiate just about every day. I am a Senior Account Executive for two radio stations in Phoenix, Arizona.

Me: How long have you been in radio sales?

Barbeth: About 25 years.

Me: Who do you negotiate with and what are you typically negotiating about?

Barbeth: I negotiate with owners of small to medium sized businesses. Most of the time we negotiate about how much their they will pay the radio station for the advertising they do with us. The business owners, of course, want the loswet rate possible, or free, but it is my job to get them to understand the value of their advertising and accept a higher rate. 

Me: What do you say to them to get to them to understand the value?

Barbeth: I tailor the benefits of our station to meet the needs of their specific business. Once they see that their advertisements with us can bring more customers into the business they feel more comfortable with spending money with me. 

Me: Do you ever have to use objective criteria as well as specifics about their business to convince them to buy?

Barbeth: Yes, all the time. I use past successes that I have had with other clients to prove to them that radio works. There is also software that I use such as Arbitron, Media Monitors, and Xray that allow me to pull reports that show how much money is currently being spent in radio by business owners. This allows my client to realize that it must work since other people are spending so much money in this area. 

Me: With negotiations, conversations can sometimes get a little intense, how do you deal with negativity from the client?

Barbeth: When you are asking someone to spend money things can definitely escalate pretty quickly. I try my hardest to remain calm because at the end of the day I want this person to spend money with me. I re-assure the client that I appreciate his passion and his time but that there are certain rates that I must stick to. I let them know how successful radio advertising is and try to add other things into the deal to convince him to buy. Adding in free stuff usually always works and calms them down.

Me: How do you use your leverage and power to benefit you in your negotiations?

Barbeth: The thing to always realize about sales is that as a seller you have what your client needs and wants. As long as you always realize this than you will always win. My leverage is my knowledge about radio and knowing that it can increase their business. My power in the negotiation starts with the very first conversation. If I say that I am going to do something I always do it, and if I tell him I won’t give my client a discount unless they purchase more than I stick to my word. In the radio industry it is all about showing the value of your station, and not diminishing that value but just giving everything away for free. If you make it a habit of making exceptions they will expect that every time and not spend as much money with you as they could. 

Me: Thank you Barbeth for taking time to chat with me!

Barbeth: You are very welcome!

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Posted by Shontielle Denise

Beyonce heats up the shelves with Heat!

9:57 AM |


I don’t think I have shared this with you guys yet, but I absolutely adore Beyonce! I know you are thinking “of course you do, who doesn’t?” But, I have been a loyal fan since her “No, No, No” days with Destiny’s Child. This week in class we have been discussion Artist and Product Management and the link between the two. Last year Beyonce came out with her first fragrance called “Heat” (and by the way I am already on bottle number 3). According to the NY Daily News, this product had $3 million dollars in sales during its first month on the shelves. On the very first day of its launch Beyonce visited a Macy’s to promote Heat and promoted the sell of 72,000 bottles.

Beyonce is definitely a super-celebrity, so this already gives her the upper-hand in being able to produce a high volume of sales, but I also think the success of her marketing and advertising strategies helped in this as well. Heat is only sold at Macy’s. This provides exclusivity for Macy’s and gives them the opportunity to brand themselves with this opportunity, as well as provide additional marketing and advertising avenues for the new fragrance. This marketing strategy also shows loyalty through Beyonce’s brand name. It shows that she is not out just to make millions upon millions of dollars, but to also build partnerships and trust through both her buyers and her fans.

Many celebrities have launched perfumes in the past, but no one has seen fragrance numbers like Beyonce’s Heat has. According to figures from research firm NPD group, in 2008, the average celebrity fragrance generated only $2.5 million in the first year. As I stated earlier, Heat generated over $3 million in just the first month!

I will be adding to this number in the next week because as I look over at my vanity table my Heat bottle is almost empty. I will soon be out to purchase bottle number three! If you haven’t had the opportunity to smell it go out to Macy’s and take a whiff. It’s mixture of floral and vanilla is to die for.

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Posted by Shontielle Denise

They Say the Radio Industry Sucks Now....I Don't Think So!!!

9:10 AM |


For the last couple of weeks in class we have been discussing product and artist management. Since I currently work in radio, I began to think of radio as a product in its own as well as how and why it has seen so many changes throughout the past twenty to thirty years. I came across a video on YouTube that hosts a handful of radio professionals giving their opinion on the current status of the radio industry, and responding to the title of the video, which is “Why The Radio and Music Industry Sucks Nowadays.” I have worked in radio for only 8 short months, but in this time I have become quite fond of my job and the work that I put in everyday. The stories that I have heard from veteran radio executives have had me wishing that I was around for what everyone seems to call the “good ‘ole days.” I have heard stories of account managers making well over six figures by hardly having to even work for the money. Granted, the fall of the radio industry is heavily dependent on the fall of the economy and the lack of funds that businesses now have to invest in advertising, but I’m sure I would have had a great time back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when everyone had the big bucks to spend.

Ok, back to the video. I found it very interesting that some of the main points that were brought up in the video directly parallel some of the things that I have heard people recently say about why the radio industry is not what it used to be. Three main points that I took from the video are as follows:
·      The guys that are running the radio companies are young guys that are not willing to take risks
o   In the past, there were cigar smoking older guys that would invest in ventures not because they put some formula into an excel spreadsheet that told them how risky or not risky that specific venture would be, but because it seemed like a good idea that had good potential to succeed.
·      Radio personalities do not have the opportunity to choose the music they want, all music played on-air is pre-programmed.
·      The people that make the big decisions are only business-minded, they have no attachment or vested interest in music

As you can see, besides our economy being in a not so great state right now, the radio and music industry has several other factors working against it. I know that I started working in radio because I have a love and desire for music. Hopefully, more people will start to work in this industry for the same reasons as me, and not just for a paycheck; only time will tell. The question I will continue to ask myself and my co-workers is ….WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE IT?!!??! I want to do two things while building my career path. 1) Make a LOT of money 2) Have Fun While Doing It!


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Posted by Shontielle Denise

I Heart iHeartRadio!!

5:38 PM |


I am absolutely in love with iHeartRadio! If you haven’t heard of it then you should definitely head over to iHeartRadio.com to learn more, or just continue reading and I will tell you all about it!

iHeartRadio was created by ClearChannel Communications in 2010. It gives listeners the opportunity to tune in to over 750 radio stations across the country. It has two different avenues of listening; online and on your mobile device. If you are at your computer you can easily log on to iheartradio.com and find your favorite radio stations or you also have the convenience of downloading to iHeartRadio application to your mobile phone for a very convenient way to listen to those stations while you are on the go.

The think I really like about iHeartRadio is that it gives you the opportunity to listen to radio stations from your hometown, places you used to live or have visited, or just explore new types of music and stations from places you have never been. It allows for an immense amount of culture to be learned right at the tips of your fingers.

iHeartRadio also hosts tons of contests for their listeners to get involved in. They want to make sure, as any other company, that their listeners stay engaged and continue using their apps and online features from a day-to-day basis. Since there are active listeners/consumers tuned in every hour of the day, there are also opportunities for business to come in and advertise their products. With any radio station, this is how the majority of their revenue is raised, through advertising.

So, if you would like a new music experience, try out iHeartRadio. It is amazing. Go to iHeartRadio.com and check to see if there is an application to download to the cell phone you have!

~*Love, Peace, & Radio*~

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Posted by Shontielle Denise

The Spirit of Giving!

8:21 PM |


I absolutely love it when I hear of stories about companies showing their philanthropy efforts through giving back to the local communities. I think it shows a huge amount of gratitude and humility through not only the employees executing on the task, but also the leaders of the company. Good or bad attributes of a company always flow from the readers. I follow ClearChannel on Twitter, and they recently posted a story from the “Local Spirit” sector of the company website. The article was titled “Clear Channel Radio Rochester Breaks Records for Toys for Tots.” The article talks about how every year the local ClearChannel radio stations in Rochester, Minnesota participate in the Toys for Tots toy drive for the Christmas season, but according to ClearChannel.com this year they broke a regional record and  “23,432 toys were raised and distributed to 12,002 kids in southeastern Minnesota.  300 toys were specifically donated to families suffering the loss of their homes in the fall floods of 2010 (2010).”

I know that companies do these types of things all the time, but a few things about this story stood out to me. One thing is that they donated their energy towards makings sure that kids all throughout the state of Minnesota had presents to open for Christmas. I adore kids, and volunteer my time twice a month in my church’s Children’s Ministry. When I initially went to college, my major was Biology-PreMed because I always wanted to grow up and become a pediatric cardiologist. Even though biology and chemistry both deterred me from that career, my love for kids and their future has not changed.

All in all, I think was ClearChannel is doing with their “Local Spirit” campaign is amazing! The business that I am going to start from the business plan I have been working on through my coursework at Full Sail is geared towards youth aged 12-18, but I am going to make sure that we integrate community service programs aimed towards the compassion for younger kids.

Check out the website for the whole story.

http://clearchannel.com/LocalSpirit/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=2881

~*Love, Peace, & Radio*~

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Posted by Shontielle Denise

What's Happening In Radio...

3:19 PM |


Being that I work for two radio stations, our broadcast group is naturally a member of the National Association of Broadcasters. While we use this as a way to educate our sales team on what is going on with our competitors, I recently started doing research on my own to stay up to date with what is going in the radio industry in general. As I was looking through nab.org, I ran across an "Innovation in Radio" section of their website. This area of focus gives broadcasters the ability stay connected with the advancements in the radio industry, as well as find "more innovative ways to deliver the high-quality content and services that local communities expect and deserve" (NAB.org, 2011). 

Within this "Innovation in Radio" section, they have an article on NAB's Technology Advocacy Program called FASTROAD that was launched in 2007. FASTROAD is there “to help accelerate deployment of new broadcast technologies” (NAB.org, 2011). I really like this initiative, because like many industries, the leaders and executives can sometimes be stuck in the technology of the 70’s and 80’s. FASTROAD will force people to become more educated about the new happenings of their career space because it deploys news and information more quickly and through many more mediums.

FASTROAD has helped to disperse information on the benefits of FM-capable cell phones, HD Radio, and iHeartRadio just to name a few. Though all broadcast groups don’t adopt new technologies as quickly as others I believe FASTROAD will be major reason in why competitive research within the radio industry should be an ongoing task. Leaders within this industry, and any industry at that, are always the ones that are the first to jump on the bandwagon of new and meaningful initiatives and technologies. Increasing your market share, I think, depends highly on this and will make or break how well you perform in comparison to your competition.

With where our country is in terms of our economic state is what determines how consumers will react to their spending. Adopting the newest technologies within the radio industry will allow advertisements to broadcast in the best possible way, which will in turn attract consumers to business that are advertising on any specific station, which will then increase the rate in which businesses stay on the air, and alternatively increasing revenues brought into radio stations. It is very interesting to see how things within the radio industry are so inter-related. But, at the end of the day, my view is that it is very important to make sure new technologies are embraced as quickly as possible.

References

National Association of Broadcasters. 2011. Innovation In Radio. Retrieved on January 15, 2011. http://www.nab.org/radio/innovation.asp.

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Posted by Shontielle Denise

Do What You LOVE!! **Gary Vaynerchuk**

2:27 PM |

Today I was browsing through TED.com and came across a YouTube video of Gary Vaynerchuk discussing a topic that I hold close to my heart: "Do What You Love!" Just four months ago I walked away from a company that had employed me for the past four years because I was no longer enjoying my work. I kept asking myself "what am I still doing here?"..."what do I enjoy doing?" After coming up with various answers for these questions over the span of about 3 months I decided that I really enjoyed being entertained and entertaining others. I then started researching career opportunities within the entertainment industry, and voila, here I am today working as an Account Executive for two radio stations in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gary Vaynerchuk is the owner of Wine Library TV. In his speech he talks about how he ended up where he is today and inspires the audience to do what they have a passion and love for. Don't waste your time on something that you are even 1% unhappy with. You can tell that his enthusiasm inspires the audience because of theire reaction to him, but even through watching his speech on my laptop computer, I feel like he is talking directly to me. There are several things that he mentioned during his speech that I jotted down for future reflection:

  • What do I want to do everyday for the rest of my life?? Monetize it...
  • HUSSLE!
  • Legacy > Currency
  • BUILD BRAND EQUITY!
Of course it is difficult not to think about how to make the above mentioned topics more effective within your own personal business plan while he is talking about them, so during his speech I started to think about my current job. "Am I happy?" "Is there 1% of me that doesn't like what I am doing?" "Am I building a legacy that my grandchildren would be proud of?" His excitement for his company also made me wonder if I would ever be able to be as satisfied with my career as he is with is. At the end of the day, I think my answer lies within the business plan that I am creating for my coursework. Though, at the time it may just seem like another assignment to complete for a grade, I really think that owning your own business is the master key to happiness. You are able to dictate what you want to do, when you want to do it.

Below you will find the video that I watched that gave me all of these revelations and questions to ponder.


Recently my boss emailed out a copy of a transcript that Steve Jobs wrote for a college graduation. In his commencement address he talked about the same thing..."you have got to do what you love" is one of the last things he said to that graduating class.

All in all, unless you have been blessed with a trust fund or have won the lottery, you will most likely to be forced to obtain some sort of career in order to make a living. Because most jobs consume about 75% of your day, it is important to enjoy what you are doing. I am still looking for that 100% enjoyment in my career but I am sure one day I will find it. The important thing is to not be afraid to switch gears when you realize that something else can bring you that extra 1% of happiness.

*~Love, Peace, & Radio~*

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Posted by Shontielle Denise
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