ASIA

Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonWhen I had been selling about a year, my general manager came into my cubicle one day and said, “It’s time to get you on some boards.” At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. What he was talking about was expanding my footprint in the community. He believed that what you give to your community comes back to you. It’s not always what you know, it’s WHOM you know.A few years later I joined Kiwanis. Whether you prefer Rotary, Lions Club or some other service organization, these groups are often made up of the movers and shakers in a community. They are good people to know.
My professors at the University of Tulsa in my Mass Communications classes taught me that radio stations are “the guardians of the airwaves.” Our licenses from the FCC state that we should serve our local communities. We certainly did that in 2020! We have the perfect vehicles to give back to our neighbors.

As someone who has made my living selling radio campaigns and now teaching others how to sell radio campaigns, I understand the value in being well-known. The last Bryson Broadcasting International newsletter talked about expanding your personal brand.

The gentleman in the picture (left) is George Strella. George has been a member of Kiwanis for 70 years. He has been the song leader as long as I’ve known him. Recently, his Kiwanis group made him an honorary member as health issues have hampered his ability to attend meetings as he has reached his 90’ies. How many of us today have that sort of commitment to community service groups? How many of us volunteer in any capacity in our towns?

As we bring young people into our business, I hope we may encourage them to participate in their communities. Join organizations that have meaning for them. Time will prove that giving to their communities will pay large dividends in their careers.

Congratulations, George, and thanks for providing a shining example of devotion to community service. […]

Singapore’s SPH Media station Money FM 89.3 and Temasek Polytechnic are launching a new Money Manager financial literacy series on March 28 covering a wide array of topics like debit vs credit cards, retirement planning and buying a first home.
Made for youths by youths, this first-of-its-kind collaboration for Money FM 89.3 features 19 podcast episodes produced by Temasek Polytechnic students.
Each 2-minute episode features an interview with a professional from a particular field to provide relevant information and advice to help youths and young working adults gain a better understanding of topics such as budgeting, inflation, insurance and investment.
The first two podcast episodes will debut on March 28 and subsequently programmed throughout the various timebelts during the week. Listeners can look forward to two new episodes every Monday.
Money FM 89.3 Programme Director, Loretta Lopez, said: “We understand that navigating your finances can be daunting early on and education plays a critical role in arming young students and adults with the tools they need to make informed decisions. The students have put a significant amount of effort into the production of this series and in addressing issues which they feel are relevant to their peers and young working adults.”
Tan Siew Kim, Director of Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Business said: “Temasek Polytechnic firmly believes in providing our students with a well-rounded educational experience that maximises both academic learning as well as personal enrichment and growth. Knowing that the students’ works have contributed to building a financially more inclusive and resilient community is indeed heartening.”  […]

Content from BPRIn 1974 a young Kodak engineer named Steven Sasson was assigned a seemingly low-stakes task: to see if there was any practical use for a recent invention capable of turning light into data. He built a device that could capture images and digitally display them on a screen, and eagerly presented it to his bosses.But Steven made a tactical blunder: He billed the new technology as “filmless photography”. That positioning clashed with the very raison d’être of his audience – executives whose careers depended on the sale and processing of film. The response from his board of directors was stunned silence.Why did he make such a deeply flawed pitch? Steven, in his own words, said he was carried away by his enthusiasm for his invention. He later said: “It never occurred to me that I was at odds with the fundamental mission of the company for the last 100 years……to sell film and process it.”In other words, the board wasn’t buying what he was selling.Anyone involved in sales knows that it’s easier to close the deal when the buyer has already identified a need for the product you are trying to sell.The same applies to programming a radio station.There’s no use being the station that is best known for playing country music in a market that has little or no appetite for that genre.Find out what the audience wants in terms of programming elements and music eras & genres BEFORE your next strategy and planning meeting. The things they REALLY want or love.Don’t rely on gut feel/comments from colleagues/friends.Rely on the listeners’ opinions.Once you know what they want, design the format to THEIR specifications…… not something that resembles what they want or your interpretation of what they want.Strategy is just one part of successful programming.The other is EXECUTION of that strategy.Once you have created the product, TELL the listeners about it.Be creative yet simple in your messages to ensure maximum cut through.SELL it to them……. because you know they WANT it!By David Kidd, BPR […]

At the recently concluded ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2022, one of the sessions discussed Evolving Business Strategies for Broadcast and Media. It was moderated by Zhong Shi, Anchor, China Global Television Networks (CGTN) and included presentations by Joan Warner, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Radio Australia, and Simon Keens, Sales and Business Development Manager, Ampegon.Warner’s presentation was titled Radio 2022 and Beyond: Meeting the Commercial Imperative.She began by discussing the current radio broadcasting scene in Austalia: “Most listening in Australia is still done using AM / FM and DAB+ broadcasts, but there is growth in listening online through mobile apps, smart speakers, in-car apps and aggregators. Streaming and podcast numbers are also up. However, we need to invest in broadcast as well as non-broadcast digital to keep our competitive advantage while developing capabilities across any other platform possible.”According to research, people like to hear entertainment and news about local areas delivered in local voices, which gives radio a strong advantage over digital platforms.“Live and local is one of radio’s superpowers. It connects local communities and provides a trusted, authentic and local safe haven for listeners and advertisers. It’s imperative that we continually communicate the power of broadcast radio and DAB+, not only to advertisers but to government and legislators,” she said.“Along with high quality sound DAB is cheaper and greener than AM and FM, but just as reliable and robust. DAB + provides a significant choice in content and builds incremental audiences and revenue growth for broadcasters. There are now over 350 DAB+ and AM/FM stations on the radio app – robust growth over ten years.”Giving an example of how DAB+ offers agility and flexibility a big positive for commercial broadcasters, she cited award winning Little Fox Digital Radio, which was created in four days only for children during the COVID pandemic. It remained on air for ten months and was listened to by thousands of Australian families.Speaking about how radio can continue to thrive in the connected car, she said that with car manufacturers looking to invest in developing their connected services in the car dashboard and possibly cut costs elsewhere, it’s likely that broadcast radio will come under pressure. There’s a real possibility that radio in the connected car may not be easily discoverable. She discussed a research commissioned by WorldDAB in partnership with Radioplayer and sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, Xperi and CRA. It will provide the radio industry with a robust and independent report addressing this strategic challenge. The survey asked global consumers how much they value radio in the car. Almost all in-car listeners say a broadcast radio tuner should be standard equipment in every car. Radio operators can’t be passive passengers during the journey towards the future of the car.Summing up, she said: “It’s imperative that we continue to invest in AM/FM radio and DAB+, in 2022 and beyond, while developing new digital capabilities. DAB+ and internet working together provides the foundation for a total radio experience. DAB+ builds audiences and generates revenue for broadcasters. Advertisers require detailed measurement and robust research which are a crucial investment now and moving forward.”Keens made a presentation titled DRM Energy Efficiency: Cutting the Cost of Broadcasting.He started by introducing the basic advantage of DRM: “DRM works in all frequency bands, able to have the same standard and same principles of operation across each form of broadcasting.”AM has a central frequency with a carrier wave which contains no information whatsoever but takes almost 66 percent of the electrical energy. This is what DRM tries to address. Also, AM in Analog mode has a grainy interference on the signal and while you can cover a large are, you need hundreds of KWs of power to do that. But with DRM, you can cover the same amount of area with just 40 KWs of power because you are getting rid of the carrier wave.“With analog, there is only one sound service, but with DRM you get one to three digital stereo services plus a multimedia stream. Looking at FM bands, you need less bandwidth and you can cover the same area with 10 percent of the power,” he said.Besides the Capital Expenses (CAPEX) in setting up an analogoue transmitter, the Operational Expenses are almost five times the CAPEX over its lifetime.DRM has also introduced and Energy Efficiency Calculator – a tool that allows one to calculate how much energy can be saved by switching transmitters from analogue to digital DRM operation. […]

The first session of the ongoing ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2022 was on the latest industry developments and standards update.It was moderated by Hamid Dehghan Nayeri, ABU Technical Committee Chairman and Director, International Technical Affairs & ABU Technical Liaison Officer, IRIB-Iran.It included presentations by Lindsay Cornell, Principal Systems Architect, BBC Digital, Chair, WorldDAB Technical Committee and Ruxandra Obreja, Chairman, DRM Consortium.Cornell’s presentation was titled DAB+ Global Update and Developments. He spoke about DAB+ establishing itself as the core future platform for radio in Europe, which is also influencing regulation in the EU. European Electronics Communications Code (EEEC) has made it compulsory for all new cars in the EU to have digital terrestrial radio and it has become a standard feature in majority of new cars. Outside EU also there is a lot of interest and activity with DAB well established in Australia, and trials going on in South East Asia, North Africa and Middle East.He also discussed the role of WorldDAB Asia Pacific Technical Group, which is dedicated to assisting the broadcast industry in APAC region implement DAB+. Its primary focus is to help people learn from others’ experiences on DAB+ adoption process, planning, design and network construction.Highlighting the energy efficiency aspect of DAB over analog broadcasting, he said it’s 33 percent more efficient than FM. For broadcasters, it preserves the core strengths of traditional radio. It’s free to air, there are no gatekeepers, no one is controlling access to information and it’s reliable in times of emergency.This year, its Hybrid radio Service and Programme Information specification has been updated to enhance the user experience. In cars it offers enhanced Voice Control Assistance with alternative names for radio stations and programme names along with Phoneme support and more metadata.Ruxandra’s presentation, DRM-Smart Radio Enhances Lives, began by showing how DRM serves all coverage needs across bands and territories.“Radio is local, national, global, simple technology and mobiles and smart speakers have not killed radio, they have enhanced and also spurned radio to do better,” she said.She quoted many leaders from Asia Pacific region who see radio as very relevant and crucial.DRM offers both conventional audio and data services. It can deliver free-to-air information and education to everybody without the need for internet, making it ideal for distance education.She presented the DRM Radio School user experience which offers live sessions with a teacher as scheduled audio programmes. One can go to the radio screen, choose the audio school, language, subject and chapter and also ask questions which would be answered the next day.DRM Consortium is currently partnering with a school in West Africa on a pilot showcasing DRM School in action. […]

The DRM Consortium will hold its virtual General Assembly on March 30 with the participation of members and guests from Indonesia, Pakistan, UK, Germany, Romania, Australia, India, Canada, Brazil, Romania, South Africa and USA.The first session, which is open to members only, will review the progress made by DRM in the past year and then confirm the election of the new officers of the Consortium and their role in the Steering Board and other bodies of the Consortium for the next two years (2022-2024).The following open session, open to all members and guests, will be an opportunity to take stock of the DRM rollout in the world, of new developments and practical applications of the standard. It will also showcase new prototypes announced by receiver and chipset manufacturers including Cambridge Consultants/CML, Gospell, RF2Digital, Inntot, NXP, Fraunhofer IIS and Starwaves. They are now supporting the full DRM standard (AM and FM) and all the DRM features set giving extra benefits, like EWF (Emergency Warning Functionality), distance learning, extra content in various languages.The agenda also includes a presentation on the facts and data gathered during the India DRM FM trial and the recent initiatives of the strong DRM India automotive group. The keynote speech will touch on the revival of radio and shortwave in the current general climate.The online meeting will give members and guests a chance to share news and ideas and to contribute to the strategic directions of the Consortium. It will continue to strengthen the links with the automotive and receiver industry and will enhance the general communication, be it virtual or face to face, in new, transparent and innovative ways.According to DRM Chairman, Ruxandra Obreja: “The Consortium is strong and looking with confidence to the future. Even in these difficult months, Digital Radio DRM has proven to be flexible, green, smart, as DRM digital broadcasts can be easily deployed for large coverage or be inserted even in what looks like a full FM band spectrum. We are practically demonstrating that DRM can offer audio and data, vital information, distance learning, and disaster warnings at low energy costs. DRM is part of the digital landscape making it possible for everyone, no matter where they are and, whether they are connected to modern technology or not, to stay informed, educated and safe.” […]