10 Questions with ... Brian Demay

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• 2016 -Present WRRM-FM, Cincinnati (PD/On-Air)
• 2013-2016 WWLI-FM, Providence (PD/On-Air)
• 2011-2013 WJBR-FM, Wilmington DE (PD/On-Air )
• 2006-2011 WTSS-FM, Buffalo (PD/On-Air)
• 2002-2006: WBQB/WFVA, Fredericksburg VA (OM)
• 2001-2002: CLEAR CHANNEL, Charlottesville (Cluster OM)
• 1996-2001: WUMX-FM, Charlottesville, VA (PD/On-Air)
• 1990-1996: WCLR/WZLR/WPTW, Dayton OH (OM/AM Drive)

I started radio at 16, and worked in Michigan radio all through high school and college.

1. What brought you to Cincinnati?

After taking WWLI (Lite Rock 105) to #1 in Providence, Emily Boldon (Cumulus VP of AC) asked if I wanted to do the same thing here in Cincinnati. I actually said "No way!" I was tired of moving around. But when I talked to my wife and family, they said to consider an offer, since so many friends and family still live in the Midwest. After the interview, I got an offer I couldn't refuse and things have been going great so far.

2. What Got You Interested In Radio?

Believe it or not, I stuttered as a child. During speech therapy, I spoke into a mic and listened to my voice in headphones and thought it was the coolest thing. That slight delay in me speaking and hearing my voice helped me to slow down and overcome my stutter. Ever since then, I have gravitated toward microphones and headphones.

3. How do you stay in tune with your audience?

Besides Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and E-mail, we do a great job of utilizing research to make sure the music, content, and personalities are right. The tools that Cumulus makes available to programmers is truly second-to-none.

4. What makes the Cincinnati market unique? How does this compare to other markets where you have worked?

I love working in a city with an identity. Cincinnati has its own signature foods (Skyline Chili, Graeter's ice cream, Goetta), great professional sports, a rich history of riverboats and German heritage and pretty impressive architecture. There's a vibrant arts community, fantastic restaurants, and the cost of living is a fraction of what it is on the East Coast! I am home.

5. How are you using social media to market your radio station?

Social Media is such a big part of what we do now - it enhances everything you're doing on-air and on your website, it puts you one-on-one with your listeners more than ever before, and the stations that do social well WIN! For AC, Facebook is an ideal vehicle not just to communicate with our listeners, but to market to them as well. I think we're only scratching the surface of what is possible with targeted Facebook marketing campaigns.

6. How are you using new technologies in your personal life to listen to music, and what observations have you made about how today's listeners use technology

I used to DJ weddings and I had to carry crates and crates of tapes and CDs with all the equipment required to put on a good show. Then I downloaded thousands of songs to MP3 and moved them around with me from computer to computer. Today, I can get almost any song I need on Spotify. Instant access to music is the most amazing technological shift I have seen in my lifetime.

7. Who do you consider your radio mentors?

Mike McVay taught me so much when we worked together in Virginia. It has been tremendous to work with him again as part of the new Cumulus. And when it comes to music scheduling, coaching, and passion for this business, there's nobody better than Emily Boldon.

8. What advice would you give people new to the business?

Learn as much as you can about everything you can! DO promotions. DO production. DO web design and LEARN Photoshop. Work on your writing skills. Be a station mascot at least once in your life! The more you can do, the better your chances of actually doing it somewhere! Don't ever limit yourself.

9. What is the one truth that has held constant in your career?

All the stations I took to #1 had three things in common:

• Live and local talent
• Creative promotions
• Marketing budget

Being a part of the community is imperative if you want to be successful! But if your competitor is live and local too, then marketing yourself is another important piece of that puzzle.

10. What's the best piece of advice anyone's ever given you? The worst?

I had an outstanding copywriting professor in college, and what he said still applies today:

• Start writing. Get some words down on the page.
• Cross out the first half of what you wrote, and start there. In other words, get to the point!

Worst advice? That would be: "just shut up and read the liners."

What do you do in your spare time?

Wine is my thing! I write a wine blog and I host a monthly wine tasting. My wife and I review a wine almost every night for our site www.TheWinePairing.com.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I really thought I would be a songwriter, to be honest. I realized there were many others far better at it than me, however. So I considered teaching, but radio has been a constant in my life since I was 16 and it's been a pretty amazing career.