Want Progress, Look to the Stars

Why is it that for years, we haven't been able to collectively and effectively take radio’s success story out to Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Motor City or Main Street? Yes, we've spoken passionately about radio's huge platform from industry conventions, trade interviews and press releases. I used to think it was our industry's leading CEOs who would be best suited to do these unified road shows and presentations. But I've come to the realization we’ve been looking in the wrong place.

Let's stop and think for a minute. Who would America’s big-industry advertising executives and their teams be motivated to welcome to their offices or go meet at a big time event? The answer goes to our biggest talking point for many years. It’s our STARS! Ryan Seacrest, Steve Harvey, Bobby Bones, Sean Hannity, Colin Cowherd and Delilah. The people they know, trust and have a daily relationship with.

Our stars are the best spokespeople for radio! For three weeks a year, let's pay our stars to get out of the studio and on the road speaking passionately in a common voice and theme about radio’s many positive attributes and successes. Teams of two or three visiting New York, Los Angeles, the Detroit car makers, Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, Silicon Valley, etc.

How our massive reach is unparalleled. How our one-to-one relationships with listeners allow us a unique, trusted friendship to help engage and move products and services for our advertising partners. Our stars are the best people to make this oh-wow presentation to help move the needle on radio’s perception challenge with advertisers and deepen the understanding of who we truly are. They are the ones who can increase our share of the revenue pie with the big influential American brand leaders and their teams of assistants who control and allocate media planning, budgets and our future. Our stars are the ones people will talk about meeting, the ones marketers already know and trust and the ones who will leave a lasting impression. This will work on the local level too with our collective hometown stars across ownership clusters.

So let's go. Let's organize this radio road show now, staring our stars so that once we get safely through this pandemic, we'll be able to help move our industry forward. Yes, it's our unique opportunity to seize. Let’s make progress happen.