Getting the most from your regional radio station

2. Getting the most from your regional radio station AOIFE Conference - 9thNovember 2012

3. 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

4. How much do I really know about my radio stations? • 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

5. Assuming I know who my customers are... • 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?

6. 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?

7. Have we a national angle to our event? • 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

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

9. Media strategy continued... • 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?

10. Are we proactive or reactive? • 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)?

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

12. Bad news sells! • 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 NEVERNEVER say “No comment”!!!

13. Everyone on radio is a performer...including you! Techniques for improving your performance on radio

14. The Performance... • 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?

15. Be prepared... • 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

16. Radio Advertising Are we getting a positive return?

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

18. Why pay for radio advertising? • 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?

19. Does the radio station value your spend? • 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

20. REMEMBER...IT’S YOUR VOICE... • 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

21. VIDEO DIDN’T KILL THE RADIO STAR