DASH Conference Day 2 -- Radio's Place In The Center Stack

On In Motown

The second day of the DASH CONFERENCE, sponsored by JACOBS MEDIA, RADIO INK and SCG again had a very full room of radio execs, car companies, tier-one equipment manufacturers and leading technology experts at the WESTIN HOTEL in DETROIT (10/16).

TODAY's sessions got underway with the voice of DETROIT radio legend KEN CALVERT again welcoming everyone, leading into an introduction of DASH principals RADIO INK Publisher ERIC RHOADES, SCG Pres. VALERIE SHUMAN and JACOBS MEDIA Pres. FRED JACOBS, featuring a video recap of YESTERDAY's sessions.

Then the keynote "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" followed, featuring GROUPM Chief Innovation Officer CARY TILDS,  got under way. TILDS shared tons of new information about the future. "How we get messaging in media messaging on the next billion or 10 billion screens will not be the same as the first billion screens.  The rise of non-standard formats, smartphones meet telematics, gamification of everything are the game changers.

"74% of all adults use social media and 52% of social media is on mobile and the format of the advertising will represent 40% or more of the dollars spent, some $17 billion by 2017.  We must become masters of harnessing native advertising.

"Gamification of everything is huge with 45 million people watching people play video games.  But people watch other people play sports games ... it's a new channel for advertising.  Gamification of mobile is not new but localization is the area of growth.

"One in every five drivers use their phones to connect to the Internet while in the car, and that will grow.  In-store purchases are down but impulse purchasing is up, and in-store apps have improved this area by 17%.  Advertising with beacons alerting you to dining or shopping experiences will grow."

The Future Of Mobility

NEXTENERGY Dir./Transportation Initiatives TIM JOHNSON led a discussion on The Future Of Mobility, featuring KEN LABERTEAUX of TOYOTA, ZAGSTER  CEO TIM ERICSON and DAN CURTIN of ZIPCAR.

DAN heads ZIPCAR in DETROIT, a car sharing company that is an alternative to owning a car.   "The cars are parked all over the area and are matched the density of membership and our slogan is 'cars when you want them.'  We have 870,000 members and growing filling the need of urban drivers in major cities.

TIM ERICSON of ZAGSTER created this company to make bikes available on-demand to hundreds of thousands of bikers.  "We recently launched a program with GM here in DETROIT.  Our program is saving enough time on the GENERAL MOTORS campus for a full-time employee to oversee the ZAGSTER outlet.

KEN LABERTEAUX spoke about his role at TOYOTA in terms of how cars affect people outside of the car in terms of land use, shared driving and automated driving.  "The growth of car ownership is fastest in the suburbs among Gen Y consumers, while it's slowing in Urban centers.  What's in question is what happens when Gen Y become parents and how it affects growth.

"Automated driving is still a long way off and should be good enough one day to be summoned by your smartphone and allow you to get in and drive."

Creating Powerful Radio ... For The Car

GELLER MEDIA INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST CONSULTANTS Pres. and noted author VALERIE GELLER explains her "Creating Powerful Radio" concept into "Creating Powerful Radio ... For The Car." GELLER said, "Radio is no longer just audio  everywhere.  Tell the truth -- make it matter and don't be boring. Radio has everything to do with connecting people and helping people move through their day.

"Radio is now interactive and it's what audience wants.  My life is about helping radio continue to be engaging.  If you don't make connection with your audience to be entertained, inspired and connected to life then you are not truly connecting.

"Part of our job is public service and keeping people safe and connected.  People are tribal and we are the drumbeat that connects the tribe.  You need to ask 'how do you make people care'."

GELLER outlined four main principals on engaging with your audience: Focus (Health, Heart, Money and Transformative Topics), Engage (what's in it for the listener) Opinion/Position (what makes it interesting) and Storytelling (What happened?  Where? Why? Who? How?).

And she stressed the value of Aircheck sessions: "Avoid being boring, talking for too long, make sure what you are doing is fun, and that it is entertaining. Make it a unique journey.Product, Performance, Permanence are the cornerstones."

The Game Changers? Apple & Google & ...

WDMK/DETROIT's JOHN MASON introduced WWJ's JEFF GILBERT, host of CAR CHRONICLES.  And he welcomed panelists HENRY PAYNE of the DETROIT NEWS and JOHN WORDOCK from the WALL STREET JOURNAL.

WORDOCK said, "We need to get better about weather as it's really emergency information. APPLE and GOOGLE are the two coolest kids on the planet and radio has to get cool again.  We need to step up our content in order to compete."

PAYNE offered, "In 20 years the SUV has displaced the station wagon, and the center console has displaced the radio, with a beautiful entertainment system that consumers want.  Folks are used to touch screens and American cars are touch screens, while the European systems are still mechanical.  GOOGLE PLAY will first appear in the HUNDAYI SONATA later this year.

"My kids immediately synch their phones for their music and connectivity as soon as they get into the car.  It's really a focal point of the driving or traveling experience.  Exciting times ahead."

GILBERT said, "Most of the systems going forward will have APPLE and GOOGLE's apps along with iHEART and the RADIO.COM apps embedded in the system. The biggest concern is that all of these are safe to use when operating a car.   And some cars are now capable of connecting up to seven devices -- the car is a rolling hot spot."

SOLEVIT #2

VALERIE SHUMAN wrapped up the morning before lunch with SOLEVIT #2 -- "How can radio and automotive work together to best serve advertisers" with a look toward what will happen in 2020.

The discussion focused on safety of the apps in the center stack, how to get the word out about new content, andpresets for "best of content" from stations, as well as setting experience ratings from novice to advanced in using and programming these new connected car entertainment systems.

The discussion also centered around an app that you could share with your friends, which would not only let them know about your favorite songs, but your favorite station would notify through the app or via text when that song was going to play next.

Collaboration: Dealers, Radio, And The Connected Car

CBS RADIO DETROIT SVP/GM DEBBIE KENYON introduced "The Importance Of Radio Creative To Drive Consumers Into Dealerships" with LEE ALAN REICHELD, Premier National Creative Voice Artist For Car Dealers.

LEE suggested that "over $1 million to several million is waiting for you.  Every delivery system is losing hundreds of thousands in local revenue. You send your local sales people into local businesses with all of the tools and metrics just to sell advertising.  

"The largest potential source is the local auto dealer. Last year local auto dealers spent $7.6 billion in local advertising. 14.5% was radio's piece of that pie.  You take no from someone who can't say yes, walking away at best with a one or two-week schedule, while the dealerships spend their money elsewhere.

"So I've decided to keep speaking to groups like you and to work with radio companies to share the secrets of getting 26, 39 or 52 weeks or better contracts instead of just two weeks."

Following that JACOBS MEDIA & jacAPPS Pres. PAUL JACOBS moderated panelists DAVE PAULUS of MAXMEDIA, BRUCE GOLDSEN from JACKSON RADIO WORKS, CHRIS WISE from WISE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, BOB SHUMAN of SHUMAN CHRYSLER-JEEP, and MIKE HILLSTROM of SELECT MARKETING GROUP.

"The premise is that radio can sell cars, but we need car dealerships to sell radio," JACOBS said. "How can dealerships be part of the training of new car buyers on using these new systems?"  He ran a video showing how it's done.

SHUMAN uses print, some radio, and even GOOGLE and direct mail at times. "And print has still made sense as we have so many retirees in the market, but it's coming to an end. So now we're inundated with digital solutions."

"We use some print and TV, we build our reputation with digital, outdoor and PANDORA, too," WISE added. "Ideas are the currency of a successful campaign."

"We are the only Top-20 market in the country that CHEVROLET has dominance and the majority of our dollars are digital to drive people to our site," HILLSTROM noted. "We promote radio as an influence channel and we buy heavily into it.  We do cross-platform buys with ERIC & KATHY, one of the market's best on WTMX/CHICAGO."

PAULUS recalled that it wasn't a question of spending it was how much that they would spend -- until the recession hit.  "Today with car dealers, it's more collaborative than ever.  We do find it difficult to get to you guys even when we have great ideas."

SHUMAN explained that "Inventory and people are the two areas we must have; advertising can be expendable or a controlled expenditure as we are all very close to being broke at any one time.  It costs a lot of money to run a dealership."

JACOBS showed this very informative video showing how one car dealership orients new owers to their new infotainment systems, followed by a comical audio version of how consumer opportunities are suggested to the user.

In response to JACOBS MEDIA's LORI LEWIS' idea of a 30-day program, promoted by radio, for new car owners to better learn about these new systems, WISE agreed, "Perhaps we should partner with radio in an after-care or follow-up program that's driven by radio, as orienting new owners to the center stack is the last thing we do following a long and exhaustive sales process."

The Future Of Traffic Information

Introduced by BEASLEY VP/Programming JUSTIN CHASE, EDISON RESEARCH co-Founder/Pres. LARRY ROSIN brought along another excellent presentation on "The Future Of Traffic Information."

"This staple of information and revenue for radio companies is clearly vitally important to companies like iHEARTMEDIA and CUMULUS.," he said. "And to local stations it's a huge revenue source to run this information as it's a major tune-in especially for News/Talk stations.

"While normally optimistic about radio, I'm bearish on the future of traffic on FM music stations, and eventually with even the information stations. Schools no longer use radio as the primary outlet for school closings. They use websites, reverse 911 technology, texts and more.  They are from an older age of radio, and today the direction is an age of personalization."

He played a traffic report from WCBS-A/NEW YORK that never once got close to his areas of interest, which are still well within the NEW YORK market. The video were interviews of radio users who explained their own use of traffic info; 84% of those in ROSIN's recent survey said they used traffic information.  TV got 35%, AM/FM 30% and smartphones/Internet 39% and 6% found that info via SIRIUSXM/GPS.

ROSIN spoke of the WAZE app, which is interactive and adjusts time and destination and allows the user more efficient traffic.  He referenced that WTOP/WASHINGTON relies on WAZE for traffic info, and he challenged the audience to investigate other more relevant manners to bring in more relevant traffic information.

ROSIN also gave a new datapoint reveal: Share of ear in the car.  67% AM/FM, 18% SIRIUS/XM, 11% owned music, 3% Internet radio/music and 1% other.  He predicted that it was inevitable that AM/FM's share would decline.

Open Mic

JACOBS MEDIA Pres. FRED JACOBS welcomed FORD MOTOR COMPANY Global Technologist/Head of the FORD Developer Program JOHN ELLIS for this open mic, Q&A session.

"Without software, a car is the most expensive paperweight in the world," ELLIS said. "FORD branded SYNC so that consumers had an easy and seamless way into their personal smartphone via the car. We believe that we should have as many of the top apps available to consumers as possible." And he noted that consumers would eventually have more choices on what apps were on their center stacks.

With a glimpse into the future based on the perception of a very young potential radio listener, ELLIS told the story of his kids in the car asking him to hit the back button on a song that they wanted to hear again ... he said, "Can't do it -- it's the radio, you hear what they want you to hear."  One of his son's paused and 30 seconds later, said, "That's stupid."  

He gave a reminder that soon all of the older generation technology, the 2G era devices, will soon no longer work.  And he spoke to the issue of software updates for the car, currently being done at the dealer, to soon happen wirelessly just like with a smartphone.

Future Of Radio

Moderator GREATER MEDIA INTERACTIVE SVP/GM TOM BENDER welcomed iBIQUITY's BOB STRUBLE and NEXTRADIO's PAUL BRENNER, who talked about their respective technologies for the Future Of Radio session. BENDER said, "40% of the cars on the road now have HDRADIO and that every four seconds a car with HD rolls off the line."

"We are focused on broadcast radio and the reality of the connected car is here and this connectivity represents opportunity," STRUBLE noted.  

"NEXTRADIO launched with SPRINT and what we are discussing with BOB is all built on that growing success," BRENNER added. "It's going to change our speed to market dramatically."

STRUBLE indicated that with 2,000 HD RADIO stations on the air, "This is a growing success. The goal is to have HDRADIO embedded in every car."

BRENNER spoke about NEXTRADIO being a software solution and that with so many platforms and car companies, "flexibility in development is the key. This is an app built by broadcasters for broadcasters."

Both indicated that touch and voice recognition are options to operate HDRADIO and NEXTRADIO as part of the connected car platform.

Today's Connected Car

With an intro by TRIBUNE/CHICAGO Pres. JIM deCASTRO, GENERAL MOTORS Sr. Mgr./Global Marketing/Global Connected Consumer RICH MARTINEK discussed GM's perspective on Today's Connected Car. in the final keynote,

MARTINEK spoke of learning a lot at DASH and "as marketers we're trying to understand this space too from the consumer and broadcaster perspective.  It takes us three to four years to make a new car, and we're no longer the leaders in this area of connectivity -- APPLE and GOOGLE are.

"We're putting lots of efforts into training consumers. Competing with not only the other car companies but with all of the smartphones. We believe a truly connected car has things like ONSTAR in it, with high-speed wi-fi in the car.  We're adding 4G LTE into all of our cars.And, because we are out to display what consumers want, we have to embrace APPLE PLAY and GOOGLE PLAY system."

Over and over in the sessions, the call for simplicity in these infotainment systems rang loud and clear.  MARTINEK addressed this concern. "To make these connected car systems simple we are going to build on the simplicity of the ONSTAR system.  Instant on, instant connectivity and more intuitive functionality.  And we will continue to add value to these systems as we make them updatable.  The fact that we know where the car is we can make the driving experience even more efficient.

"We're doing ethnographic research, listening and talking to our users to see how we can make the connected car experience safer. If you look at any of the JD POWERS reports, it's clear that as an industry, we can clearly do a better job on quality and service and innovation."

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