SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

KBA's annual membership conference was held in Covington earlier this week. Pictured above and below are a few images available at the time of this newsletter. The entire album of photos will be made available in coming weeks.

On Sunday, attendees enjoyed a fun day at the Reds final home game of the season followed by the Impact Broadcast awards and a relaxing riverboat dinner cruise on the Ohio River.

Monday featured lots of winning! Monetary and prize winning during our game shows and new ideas for winning in sales, content, talent, engineering and journalism. We wrapped up the conference with the prestigious Excellence and Legacy awards event, honoring fellow broadcasters for their hard work, careers and achievements.

Thank you to all who attended and invested in yourself. We look forward to seeing you at KBA 2024 in Lexington.

The KBA Impact Broadcast and Excellence in Broadcasting awards were both presented during this weeks annual conference at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington.

Congratulations to the winners, finalists and everyone who submitted entries. Your hard work and commitment to exceptional journalism is evident across the state.

2023 KBA Impact Award Winners

2023 KBA Excellence Award Winners

BROADCASTER'S LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR EARLY SEASON POLITICAL ADS

With the 2024 election looming, broadcasters are already receiving requests for political advertising time, from PACs and other issue groups, and from both established candidates and newcomers eager to make an early splash to enhance their public standing. Some of these potential buyers advance unique policy positions and, sometimes, unusual ad buying strategies. How are broadcasters to deal with these early political ad buyers? Read more HERE.

Starting a new month with an empty sales ledger is a tough spot for anyone in broadcast sales. It feels like a constant uphill battle, like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain, only to see it roll back down again.

But what separates the top-billers in every market, regardless of their size? The answer lies in having a monthly roster of 32 active accounts on the air. And here's their secret: LONG-TERM CONTRACTS. Yes, it's the annual contracts that hold the key to success. Just picture starting a fresh month at 75-85% of your sales goal!

Now is the ideal moment to approach local decision-makers with a pitch for long-term commitments if you want to secure a spot in their 2024 budgets. In this enlightening session, Paul Weyland will walk you through laying the groundwork for a long-term proposal on your station. You will gain insights into how to secure appointments with decision-makers and more importantly, how to deliver a presentation that will leave your client interested in the prospect of long-term business.

Paul Weyland works with local radio and television stations across the country. He’s constantly dealing with local direct clients. You’ll come away from the session fresh with great ideas you can go out and pitch immediately. And because this is a Paul Weyland session, you can expect to be thoroughly entertained as you learn and professionally grow. During the Q&A portion of the session, Paul will also guide any product or service category you are currently working on, including those clients you are still trying to win over for holiday schedules.

Beth Mann, President and CEO of the Edge Media Group, addresses a group of broadcasters, programmers, and promoters at the first ever Small Market Symposium. The event is the creation of Bill Booth, Operations Manager for WKDZ/WHVO/WPKY/WEKT, and is the first ever conference that focuses on the needs, concerns and resources for small market radio stations. Sessions focused on engineering, low cost promotions, local done well, creative copy, programmers/promoters panel and a look at the future of small market radio. Attendees traveled from Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and Mississippi and represented over 30 stations.

We want to promote YOU! Send us your staff additions, promotions and special events. Email Chris at chris@kba.org

FREE MONEY!

Imagine how different your prospecting calls would be this week if you knew that you had $5,000 in your pocket that you were going to give to one of your prospects to spend on advertising.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  Who wouldn’t want to see you if you had money to give them?

Stop imagining….

Co-op advertising is the free money you are looking for.  Each year, over 7 BILLION dollars are available in co-op advertising funds for local retailers; sadly, about 3 BILLION goes unspent every year.  You read that right: 3 Billion just evaporates because we didn’t get it.

If you’re interested in finding this money, head over to RAB.com and use the Sales Tools drop-down, then prospecting, then co-op.  You will see the co-op directory home page.  This is the perfect time of year to search for plans that pay 100% - that’s free money, but they expire by the end of the year.  So here is how you search:

Use the advanced Co-op search bar. We’ve circled it for you.  Put in today’s date through the end of the year, and the “participation rate” is 100%.  That means the money is there, and the advertiser can use it without paying anything.

We searched this morning and found 350 co-op plans that expire at the end of the year.  350 prospects for you to call on with free money in your pocket.

CAUTION:  Co-op is not a sales strategy; it’s a funding mechanism.  What we mean by that is that you should follow the seven steps of selling.  This means a comprehensive Customer Needs Analysis and creating your strategy to help them achieve their objectives.  But the cool part is that you already have a way for them to pay for the strategy.  Co-op funding!

Putting these plans in place takes time, so now is the time to get started.   If you’re unfamiliar with co-op, a video explains the basics and how to search the directory right on the home page.  On the Co-op landing page, we also posted a webinar on-demand - Cashing In On Co-op. 

We spend a lot of space on these tips, discussing how you can be a source of business intelligence and a resource to your clients—money talks.  There is 100% money available in the co-op directory, and you can be the resourceful person who shares that information with the client.  It helps them with their marketing and helps you with your budget.  Truly a win-win

There’s gold in that directory!  Take a minute now and look for yourself.  We are always looking for success stories, so if you have success using this approach, please email me here and share your story.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can also connect with him by email JSchmidt@rab.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Your active KBA membership entitles you to complimentary access to RAB's online certifications.

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

KBA Board of Directors Meeting

*All times shown are Eastern

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JOIN TODAY

LEGAL HOTLINES

MEMBER LOGIN

PEP PROGRAM

SCHOLARSHIPS

STAFF

WEBSITE