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Radio And Production
October 2009
October 2009 Highlights
Interview:
D.J. Williams Jetset Media Workshop London, Ontario
by Jerry Vigil
Imagine being exposed to radio as a kid, or in high school and
college, and instead of getting all excited about a career in
radio as a disc jockey or a production pro, you gravitate to the
sales department. Strange but true. That’s basically what D.J.
Williams did, but he came out on the other side far more than
just a super salesperson. After dabbling in concert promotion
for a few years, D.J. formed a company aimed at assisting radio
stations with their copy and production needs. Soon he was on
staff in Atlanta at Clear Channel’s Creative Services Group.
Today, he’s back in his home town of London, Ontario, where he
maintains his company, Jetset Media Workshop, and has just
authored his first book, SoundBAIT. This month’s RAP Interview
gets an interesting story of a person literally born into radio,
a Creative like us, who has carved a successful niche servicing
radio stations with his passion for making better commercials.
Production 212:
That’s Not Funny… That’s SICK!
by Dave Foxx
Every morning when I come into work, I make sure that I have
a fresh new joke to tell our receptionist here at the New York
plant. Anita is a very special lady who has an amazingly
infectious laugh that always ratchets my day up to a ‘superb’
rating when I hear it. Most of the jokes are a bit risqué, and I
would think twice before telling them to just anyone. Very few
would ever make their way into any of my production, which
brings us to the topic of this month’s column: humor.
Radio Hed:
Affiliates and Joint Ventures
by Jeffrey Hedquist
In addition to the value that can be added by the advertisers
themselves, what profitable synergy could be created among
non-associated advertisers? This approach could be called “value
added by association.” With a little thinking outside the box,
everyone wins. Ask yourself and your client, “What is
complimentary but doesn’t compete with your product or service?
“ Make a list of possible advertisers who might provide profit
by association, then talk to potential affiliates and set up
joint venture marketing where each participant helps promote the
other’s business.
Test Drive:
Mikey from Blue Microphones
by Steve Cunningham
This month’s product review involves yet another happy
accident. I subscribe to a number of voiceover mailing lists,
and last month one of them advertised a deal to list members on
a product that would turn an iPod into a self-contained
recording device. Now I admit I’m addicted to my iPod, and it’s
never far out of my reach. I even have an audio cable with a 1/8
inch stereo plug hanging down from behind the dashboard of my
1965 Ford, which I installed specifically so I could listen to
my iPod during my work commute in the old Ranchero. So when I
saw this I was definitely interested. However, I was equally
skeptical. Several years ago I purchased a Griffin device that
had a microphone and it, and purported to make the iPod capable
of voice recording. Unfortunately the recordings were all eight
bit and suitable only for creating audio grocery lists. That
device was a complete waste of money. But this little widget,
offered at a modest discount to list members, was made by Blue
Microphones and I simply couldn’t resist. The thought of being
able to go out with little more than my iPod and this little
widget, and record actualities, interviews, and sound effects,
was more temptation that I could withstand. Out came the credit
card, and off went an order to Baltic Latvian Universal
Electronics, or Blue. A few days later, Mikey arrived.
Q It Up:
The RAP Network Speaks - What is your
spec spot policy?
Q It Up: When it comes to
spec spots, what guidelines and policies do you have in place
for the salespeople? How much time do you require to produce a
spec spot? How many do you produce in an average week or month?
Are there any incentives in place as rewards when spec spots
result in sales? Please add any other comments you might have
about spec spots at your station(s).
If you have a question for the RAP Network, email it to
editor@rapmag.com!
...And Make
It Real Creative
by Trent Rentsch
While cleaning the apartment the other day, I re-discovered
an important Creative tool that I had not used in some time.
Being an older tool, it was hardware based, and as I traced my
hands across it, I remembered all the amazing Creative
discoveries I’d made with it over the years. In fact,
considering how useful it once was, I was surprised I had
discarded it at all. Did I still have the stuff to make it sing?
I took a deep breath, placed one end of it to my lips, and blew
a victorious, “TO-TO- TOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!”
Personal Computing:
The Computer World is A-Changin’
by Reid Goldsborough
The demise of the classic online service CompuServe on July 1
is more testimony about the inescapable movement of time and the
ever-shifting positions of the heavyweights in the computer
industry. In its day CompuServe ruled the online roost. Founded
in 1969 before the advent of the personal computer revolution,
it was the most popular online service in the 1980s and
continued being hugely important into the mid-1990s, providing
reams of information as well as ample opportunity to
communicate. CompuServe’s business model, however, relied on an
hourly rate system, and it was done in by services that charged
a flat monthly rate, primarily by America Online (AOL), which
wound up buying CompuServe in 1998.
Monday Morning Memo: Dealing with Rejection
by Roy H. Williams
Advertising salespeople are highly
paid because rejection hurts. They told me to rub Zig
Ziglar on it, but the sting and the ache stayed with me.
I was 20 years old. The smiley seminar speaker said,
“Look in the mirror each morning and repeat these
affirmations.” Sorry, I’ve already got a religion and it
makes me very uncomfortable with self-worship. I know
there’s a God and it isn’t me. My manager tried to teach
me how to overcome objections but that only made me feel
worse. People were rejecting me because they assumed I
was a professional liar and now I was becoming one.
Everywhere I went I heard, “I tried advertising and it
didn’t work.” “Yeah, I know,” whispered the little voice
inside me, “I see it not work every day.”
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