1. What station do you represent?
a. News Radio WORD – 106.3FM / 1330AM / 950AM
2. What Market are you in and what is the rank of this market?
a. Greenville #59
3. What is your current position with your station?
a. Account Manager / On-Air Talent
4. What brought you to radio?
a. I became addicted to talk radio as a teenager to the point that my friends hated to ride in the car with me when we went out. I couldn’t get enough. Fast forward to college; I needed to graduate and I couldn’t do math so I had to pick a major that didn’t require any – hello broadcast journalism! One intern-ship and a few years later, I’m here in sales full time and I actually tricked them into giving me my own weekend football show!
5. How long have you been with your station?
a. A little over 3 years now
6. Are you the only person at the station that sells the ½ hour blocks?
a. No, but I handle about 95% of block placement.
7. Are there other stations in your group that offer ½ hour blocks? If so which ones and if not why?
a. No. We’ve 4 music stations in our cluster and none offer block programming. Likely because it deviates too much from normal format. (music)
8. Has your station ever sold out of block time?
a. Yes, it typically remains sold out and availabilities are becoming fewer and further in between.
9. Have you found that more direct response companies are looking to buy more time right now?
a. Yes. Harsh economic times have led some radio clusters to be more open to different NTR streams. This new-found flexibility has given Direct Response companies a lot more business. Beyond this, however, Direct Response marketing delivers results. It’s an innovative form of marketing that seems to be growing rapidly across the country. It certainly wouldn’t be blowing up this big if it wasn’t working for advertisers.
10. We hear all the time that ad revenue for all the major radio groups is falling. In what categories are you losing the most ad revenue?
a. Automotive, National, and Retail
11. Have you seen the long form and other direct response advertisers pulling back due to the recession?
a. On the contrary; we’ve seen more. These days, people are getting exposed to more forms of advertisements in their daily lives than ever. Advertisers need to get innovative, and think outside-the-box. Long form media is a great form of reaching people and showcasing products that require a little bit of audience-education.
12. In your experience what has long form media brought to your station. Has it been positive or negative?
a. Positive.
13. How do your listeners respond to this type of programming?
a. Our listeners, like many News Talk formats, are very loyal. We monitor our block programming to make sure that they are appropriate for the station.
14. If stations don’t currently sell ½ hours to clients like 2 Lights Media would you recommend that they add this form of programming to their stations?
a. I would recommend that any program director not running ½ hour blocks at least consider the benefits of working with Angela and 2 Lights Media.
15. What makes your station stand out in your market?
a. We are the heritage News Talk station in this market, have no real competitors, and offer loud and stimulating political opinions in a politically charged atmosphere. Controversy. It’s what we’re all about.
16. Do you find it easy to work with long form DR companies or are they more difficult?
a. Most long form DR companies that do business with me are very easy to work with.
17. Do you think your listeners would prefer to have a different show each week?
a. I believe very strongly that long-form and DR marketing works much better if show content is updated on a weekly, if not daily basis.
18. How does your station calculate rates for half hour blocks?
a. We have a set rate for each available time slot that is occasionally adjusted slightly due to demand.
19. Do you subscribe to Arbitron or something similar to track your listenership numbers?
a. Yes, we subscribe to Arbitron and Scarborough research.
20. Have you had a positive experience working with 2 Lights Media (be honest)
a. Angela is seriously one of my favorite clients to work with. She understands radio, how it works, and possesses a genuine spirit. I’d highly recommend doing business with her to any sales representative or long-form advertiser.
