Getting the most from your regional radio station

AOIFE Conference - 9th November 2012

How many radio stations in my area?

Cavan - 2 Donegal - 5 Monaghan - 2 Clare - 3 Cork - 9 Kerry - 2 Limerick - 7 Tipperary - 3 Waterford - 3 Galway – 6 Leitrim - 2 Mayo - 4 Roscommon - 3

Sligo – 2 Carlow – 2 Dublin – 10+ Kildare - 2 Kilkenny - 2 Laois - 2 Longford - 2 Louth – 3 Meath - 2 Offaly - 2 Westmeath - 3 Wexford - 2 Wicklow - 2

What radio stations are in my area?

What radio stations are in my customers’ area?

In most counties...there are more people listening to my regional/local radio stations than the national stations combined

How much do I really know about my radio stations?

What message do I want to give to my customers?

When is the best time to reach most of my customers?

When is the deadline?

Will the interview be repeated online or in a podcast?

Assuming I know who my customers are...

Radio personnel often decide when you can talk on the radio...

Who are the journalists and presenters in my radio stations?

Have we attempted to develop a working relationship with journalist in my regional radio stations?

Most radio stations feed into Newstalk’s Regional Radio News Network

Some radio stations feed into UTV Radio – FM104, Limerick’s Live 95fm, Q102, LMFM, Cork’s 96fm, C103 & U105 (NI)

If it’s deemed newsworthy to a national audience your event could be included in their respective network bulletins & distributed to the news network

Have we a national angle to our event?

Are we holding a press launch?

What are the benefits of booking an Outside Broadcast (OB) during our event?

Are we using Twitter or Facebook to tell our fans & friends to tune into the radio station to hear your interview?

Have we planned a media strategy to incorporate our airtime needs?

Are we overlapping or clashing with our print media providers?

Have we free tickets to give away as prizes on radio?

What are our competitors are saying/doing?

Media strategy continued...

How will our festival be affected by other events, sometimes outside our control?

◦The Budget - VAT reduction, travel tax?

◦Unemployment – pricing at event, transport to/from event?

◦Sporting events – is your county playing a big match at the same time as your event?

◦ Industry reports - Failte Ireland tourism Barometers (quarterly); Festival season (June)?

Are we proactive or reactive?

There are numerous annual or seasonal events to which your event can be attached

Do we pre-empt them by issuing our own press release before or after?

Do we consider if our statement will have a positive or negative impact on you or your event?

Do we do to maximise our exposure outside our usual event dates?

The more NEGATIVE the event, the more likely it will become news...

Do we have a crisis management plan and does it include a designated official spokesperson to respond to queries relating to negative publicity?

Only speak on radio if you are confident to do so and in full possession of the facts

NEVER NEVER NEVER say “No comment”!!!

Bad news sells!

Everyone on radio is a performer...including you!

Techniques for improving your performance on radio

CLOSE YOUR EYES...the next time you are listening to the radio (not when driving) & you’ll realise how your listening sense will be heightened

NO ONE CAN SEE YOU (often including the interviewer)...therefore, you have to visualise who your audience is as they are trying to visualise you

LISTENERS ARE CUSTOMERS...like stage or TV, you need to put on a performance in order to retain the attention of the audience...your customers?

The Performance...

ALWAYS have notes about your event

KNOW what the interviewer will ask you & be prepared for any eventuality – (another guest, breaking story, facts, statistics, financial info)

GET TO THE POINT - listeners have short attention spans - so make an impact in the short time available

Do not waffle and avoid long sentences

Be prepared...

Radio AdvertisingAre we getting a positive return?

When are our customers listening?

What are the listenership figures for the various times of the day/week?

How much information do I need to give...is less more...15” versus 30”?

Apart from budget...what do we need to consider first?

The more newsworthy material your festival can generate the less you will need to spend on advertising!

You will get more impact from radio advertising than from print without paying as much

Are my sponsors advertising and if so, will they change their script to promote the event they are sponsoring?

Why pay for radio advertising?

Is your loyalty to the radio station considered when securing your booking?

You will always be told that you are getting bonus advertisements but are they relative to your needs?

The Rate Card is usually more expensive than the price you are quoted, but always check

Does the radio station value your spend?

In the Republic of Ireland there are:

◦27 local radio stations

◦2 multi-city radio stations

◦3 regional youth radio stations

◦2 National News Networks to regional stations

REMEMBER...IT’S YOUR VOICE...

VIDEO DIDN’T KILL THE RADIO STAR