Sponsor (Apr-June 1964)

RADIO MEDIA The forgotten 51st market How to do business — profitably — if your radio outlet is in a medium or small community; the knowing advice of a bright young man who, at 34, heads his own rep firm FOR MANY TIMEBUYERS, markets not included in the top 50 might just as well be in Australia. Altogether, they comprise what is just the 5 1st market. So says Sam Brownstein, 34year-old general manager of the booming three-year-old radio rep firm. Prestige Representation Organization. "This attitude can be understood," Brownstein continues, "if one realizes that most buyers spend almost all their time and budgets buying the top 50. An intimate knowledge of anything smaller is simply a luxury they generally cannot afford." There's no dispute that stations in the giant 50 markets do dominate national/regional billing. The FCC report on 1962 radio billing corroborates that the top 50 got 68.6% of total national and regional spot dollars — leaving less than 32% of national and regional spot dollars to be divided among thousands of radio stations in other markets. "These figures point out an obvious relationship," Brownstein continues. "A station in the 51st market has more in common with a station in the 246th than it does with one in the 49th market!" It is to these "have-not" markets that he gives attention. In fact, his PRO firm sells only for stations in such markets and also limits the number o\ stations it will represent. Brownstein emphasizes vv i t h conviction that stations in medium and smaller markets can increase their billings hv attracting more national regional advertising dollars into their markets. "Jusl two or three or five reasonably sub 46 stantial new accounts a year can represent a tremendous increase in billing to a station in just a few years," he says, "especially if most of them keep renewing." Discussing radio, where the problem is magnified because of the number of stations, Brownstein says that only a modest sales promotion budget is required to meet the challenge. "The major cost will be in time — and that at the outset. Thereafter, as habits and systems are put into operation, time demands become minor." Also, he restricts his recommendations to station-level activity, not work to be done by the station rep. He suggests these ways to attract new business: BASIC QUALIFICATIONS The first of two basic qualifications that a station itself must meet is that it must have real importance and strong impact in its community and the area it serves. Ratings, he feels, are only one way to demonstrate impact — and not always the best way. "Ratings alone rarely tell the story that must be told to persuade an advertiser to add your market to his top 50." the representative insists. "Station management should operate on the premise that sooner or later the most experienced buyers and media executives at the major agencies are going to get a picture — accurate or warped — of the acceptance of the station by local advertisers and listeners." Mam will be as influenced bj that picture as thev will be bv ratings. The second basic, of course, is that the station have a national rep interested in the outlet and capable of doing its job. Brownstein notes, "Even a poc station with no representative m manage to get some national oil ing. It happens. But it is the e? ception. Competition being wh; it is, these exceptions tend to tj short-lived." WHAT NOT TO DO Before getting to constructiv steps for increasing billing, th, young rep firm head sugges clearing away some misconcep tions. Unfortunately, he notewhile these steps are of small c no value, they've been used s often that some people believ them important: 1 . Don't depend solely on ra ings to tell your story. This : playing right into the hands c the major-market stations, sine it's the technique upon whic they often rely. They cite ratine because ratings show them to ao vantage. 2. Don't try to cut your rate to lower your cost-per-thousanc Because most smaller stations can not compete in terms of total ai dience, they'd have to lower rate so drastically that they'd eliminat any possibility of making a profi; "The pity is that establishin 'bargain' rates isn't even neces sary," Brownstein explains. "Th approach must be first to demon strate that the market and the si.. tion have value to the advertiser Price is secondary, so long as is fair." 3. Don't m a k c overzealou claims. Often, exaggeration be conies a weapon against the user Being caught in a single mistTUtl can cast doubt on the credibility SPONSOR 1