DASH Conference Gets Underway In Detroit

Today And Tomorrow

The DASH CONFERENCE has begun at the Westin DETROIT Metropolitan Airport Hotel. The two-day conference offers attendees the opportunity to sit down with broadcasters, car companies, automotive suppliers, streaming radio providers, advertising agencies, aftermarket suppliers and car dealers to think about how today’s rapidly evolving automotive platforms impact business.

JACOBS MEDIA Pres. FRED JACOBS and RADIO INK Chairman/CEO ERIC RHOADS once again teamed up for DASH 3.0. JACOBS kicked things off by welcomed everyone to "SAN DIEGO" as the weather was unseasonably warm. Moving forward, he likened the relationship of radio and cars like peanut butter and jelly. He gave a shout-out to brother PAUL for his help in putting the agenda together.

ERIC RHOADS recalled the partnership of RADIO INK and JACOBS MEDIA and how it all began three years ago. This is the continuing story about the influence of radio being the soundtrack of our lives and radio has remained strong, losing only about 2% of its listenership.

RHOADS theme welcomed GREATER MEDIA Chairman/CEO PETER SMYTH in a discussion of "Radio’s Long-Term Relationship With The Car." SMYTH recalled the big radio folks who became icons in town, such as DICK PURTAN and MOJO as well as the music of MOTOWN as well as KID ROCK and BOB SEGER.

"Radio is a fine business as long as it develops local personalities and works with the community," he said. "Radio was built on innovation and creativity. We have to ask tough questions. Without imagination there is no power, and without power there is now imagination. And I challenge you to continue to be a local and content-driven company."

The Art Of Play-By-Play

Next up was "The Art of Play-By-Play On The Radio," moderated by GREATER MEDIA VP/Program Development BUZZ KNIGHT. AMERICA’s leading sports play-by-play announcers shared stories about how they are able to bring games alive for listeners. Panelists included KEN KAL, play-by-play, DETROIT RED WINGS; JIM BRANDSTATTER, voice of MICHIGAN WOLVERINES and play-by-play, DETROIT LIONS; MARK CHAMPION, play-by-play, DETROIT PISTONS; and DAN MILLER, play-by-play; DETROIT LIONS & Sports Dir., WJBK, FOX 2.

BRANDSTATTER talked of his early days of doing high school radio sports and how it lead to where he is today. CHAMPION got bitten by the radio bug back in the '60s and recalled practicing talking to himself doing play-by-play in his room.

MILLER said, "When you have an opportunity to talk on the mic, don't pass it up. Someone else will say yes. I am so privileged to do what I do. There are only 32 people who do what I do in calling local football games and we all just want to have fun."

KEN KAL spoke of doing homework and interfacing with the league the player and management, noting, "All of that prepwork is hard but once I get on the stir it's what I love to do."

BRANDSTATTER spoke of the importance of authentic communication. "Never short-shrift the listeners or yourselves."

BUZZ asked them about next generation play-by-play. BRANDSTATTER talked about riding in the cars and describing traffic and cars as prep to describe what's going on around you. "Be yourself at all times," Miller stressed. "Don't become someone different when the on-air light comes on. It's what separates you from everyone else."

The Battle For The Dashboard

"Breaking Down the Technology Divide: The Drive and the Dash" was moderated by JACOBS MEDIA/JACAPPS Pres. PAUL JACOBS, which featured PANDORA VP/Automotive Business Development GEOFF SNYDER, and GENERAL MOTORS CO. Leader, Global Connected Consumer Field Sales & Operations KEVIN SQUIBB.

"We've learned that the majority of listeners never change their presets," SNYDER said. "And we know that the orientation to the dashboards are vital to the experience for users." He then played a video from Pandora showing how easy it was for users to connect to PANDORA to their new CHEVROLET. "PAUL said it's obvious how strong PANDORA's efforts are to integrate their platform in the car."

SNYDER spoke of the concerted multiple years' effort of PANDORA to educate new car owners on how to use this a new technology. He also noted that GM was far ahead other carmakers so far in this arena.

SQUIBB noted how GM welcomed PANDORA's efforts to be part of the process to bring consumers into the fold of the new dashboards with these high end entertainment systems. "We bring Pandora into these training initiatives so that if consumers are interested in PANDORA we want to facilitate this so that it has a positive impact with consumers which affects our scores with JD Powers on our cars.

"This all allows the customer to bring their digital life into the vehicle so that they can create this environment to listen to AM/FM if that's what they want to do in an easy manner,: SQUIBB added. "APPLE Car Play will be on 16 GM models and will help consumers make a choice to buy GM cars. You bring your media with you into the car via your iPhone  and operate it all from the steering wheel."

SNYDER said "the easier the integration is for Pandora, then there is more opportunity for use for the platform."

PAUL asked what should radio do to get in the game. Squibb said, "Show the dealers what's in it for them and how radio can be a great partner to the car dealers."

Keynote On Podcasting

The Keynote Interview was with PODCASTONE CEO NORM PATTIZ and radio/TV host/podcaster/actor/author/comic ADAM CAROLLA, conducted by JACOBS MEDIA Pres. FRED JACOBS, with an introduction by HUBBARD RADIO Chair/CEO GINNY MORRIS. The latter spoke of her company's investment into podcasting and how it was part of the future.

When JACOBS asked PATTIZ, "What drew you to podcasting," PATTIZ said "I started COURTSIDE ENTERTAINMENT and was introduced to KIT GRAY and he reminded me of me when I began WESTWOOD ONE. When I saw this podcasting platform it reminded me of those early days of WESTWOOD ONE. And that it represented a great opportunity as I have always been a content guy."

JACOBS asked CAROLLA how he made the transition to podcasting, he answered, "When we started in FEBRUARY '09, it was only way to stay connected following years in terrestrial radio. So I basically moved my voice and content to podcasting out of my house until ANDY DICK ate all of my lunch meat and then we moved it to my warehouse and it worked.

PATTIZ noted, "It's perfect for the car and we just signed ADAM CAROLLA to a new five-year deal. I like to listen to spoken word. You are automatically connected as it starts, and you can put it on pause if you don't finish, then pick it up where you left off."

"The car is the only place and time  where you are no as likely to be interrupted as you are she at home watching TV or movies," CAROLLA said. "Even at your desk your attention is divided."

"And that level of attention is perfect for advertisers," PATTIZ added. "We don't run more than four commercials in an hour and it really connects."

"The difference between doing a show at an event versus doing a show at a theater filled with your fans who are there to see and hear you is a huge difference over being at a county fair doing an appearance. And advertisers want us to put our flavor and feelings to their message."

PATTIZ said, "We are also finding that major brand advertisers now want their produced commercials played saw they have spent money to have them created and produced. We can offer over 400 million impressions per month with limited inventory to advertisers."

JACOBS asked "Does all of the competition validate podcasting. PATTIZ said, "Yes, it does but I also still believe in radio. It just needs to be more cognizant of the other platforms."

CAROLLA replied to a question about the early days of his podcasting efforts. "Part of this was faith and just made horse sense. Back then there was no advertising and bandwidth was expensive spending $8,000 a month. Eventually we felt Madison Ave would catch on. TONY HAWK did a 900 on a skateboard and someone had to do it and now everyone is doing it. Now we did it and NORM made it okay."

"The trick is filtering the download information into things that appeal to advertisers," PATTIZ said. "We went to EDISON RESEARCH for their help and run four studies a year, and we use wide orbit and they count the number of times the commercials are served. So about 70% of our content is trackable and we extrapolate the rest with a 4% plus or minus. And the advertisers trust it."

Fasten Your Seat Belts: Here Come Apple and Android

ELLIS & ASSOCIATES founder JOHN ELLIS is an ex-FORD executive and current automotive consultant who is also on the board of ENTERCOM, so he has an in-depth understanding of radio, providing insight into the impact of these two major players on radio’s ability to be featured in the car.

Commented ELLIS: "Some of the biggest companies in the world are interested in data from your car, which they pull through OBD and propriety OEM pins. The challenge is to grab and analyze this data.

"PRIVACYFIXED.COM will scan your data to make sure it's safe, creating a visual of your last three months, which can determine what brands you buy, what you surf and the value of key words through GOOGLE. All of this should make you paranoid about who is looking at the data in your car through the devices which will connect in your car.  

"There are now 25 or more entertainment-connected solutions for your cars from the biggest brands in automakers and OEMs. GOOGLE and APPLE are offering a consolidated solution to these brands. Starting the car will start the APPLE or GOOGLE/ANDROID system. The impact will be huge in terms of hardware, display, OS, phones, connectivity, media, navigation and longevity.  

"APPLE is very interested in radio, in particular their BEATS 1 system. They will, over time, become the default source for content. Consumers make choices on content, not on platform. There will be little choice in what happens going forward.

"In addition, FACEBOOK, MICROSOFT and even ALIBABA are interested in this area. It's all about the ecosystem. Everyone will be affected, particularly radio, car manufacturers and insurance companies. GOOGLE is already talking about even doing automotive financing.

"Yes, you should be paranoid and radio needs to be doing something different. You should all be trying to cut deals with APPLE and GOOGLE."

Digital Marketing: Its Rapid Growth and How It’s Transforming the Way We Go to Market

FORD VP/U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service MARK LANEVE, who is in charge of all of FORD’s marketing, sales and service in the U.S., discussed how automotive marketing and advertising are changing in the digital age, and the implications for the radio industry. "The auto industry has been pushing out over 18 millions units each month so things are on the way back in this segment of the economy," he said. "As result we are spending more than ever. We think of three portfolios. F150 trucks are one and is the gold standard for us. And sports utility vehicles are huge for us as well. And thirdly is the car side of things, where we are facing more challenges than in any other segment.

"In terms of media we need one foot in today and one foot in tomorrow," LANEVE continued. "The basic ways we market hasn't changed a lot In almost 70 years. In TV we now have over 500 channels or brands we can advertise on. As well as new ways for radio with PANDORA, SPOTIFY and many more.

"Video helps us best at building brands and digital can be a it part of this mix. 100% into transactional advertising opportunities in digital. Print has been the sacrificial lamb to all of this.

"Customer data, integration and impact will be the new battleground to figure out new media mixes. Radio plays a big role in driving traffic for reinforcing brand awareness. It helps us tie in sponsorships with sports teams for example. And it's one of the few platforms where you can hit scale for your campaigns. Unless it's sports, TV is not helping us hit scale."

The “Be Fabulous” Awards

A celebration of the best concepts, production, sales pitches, commercials, and events that radio has created for local car dealers, the “Be Fabulous” awards were underwritten by the MAB (MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS) and have been created in honor of the late BILL BURTON, who was the industry’s leading advocate for decades. After PATRICK COMMUNICATIONS and MAB's KAROLE WHITE kicked off the ceremony, RADIO INK's DEBORAH PARENTI spoke about the impact of BILL BURTON on the radio industry and how much he loved and promoted radio.

The winners were:

Best Commercial & Audio Production
BARRY MICHAELS from WIND-F/OCALA, FL for VOLKSWAGEN OF OCALA

Best Digital Promotion
WLNK/CHARLOTTE, NC featuring MATT & RAMONA for GASTONIA CHRYSLER/PLYMOUTH

Best Overall Promotion
WYCD/DETROIT with the DOWNTOWN HOEDOWN tied in with DODGE RAM TRUCKS

Best Sales Approach
BEN-FM/PHILADLPHIA for MUTT MADNESS and Subaru

Best Overall Concept
KWSD/LOS ANGELES for SUBARU dealerships

On the DASH Agenda:

• Direct-to-Dashboard Commerce. Now that we’ve got a connected computer on board, the car is a mobile commerce platform. How will this work? What are the opportunities? How can radio engage?
• Data Into Dollars. We’ve got access to vehicle data, driving data, listener data, and traveler data. How do we make it actionable? What are the issues and limitations? What’s now possible with location-based cross-platform consumer interactions?
• Business Model Review. What if all car sales were direct-to-consumer? What if direct-to-consumer data became the advertising currency of choice instead of reach and ratings? We’ll take a look at some basic assumptions that are in the crosshairs today.
• Communicating with Consumers. The car is rapidly adding communications channels (FM radio, satellite, HD Radio, cellular, 4G, WiFi, etc.). Consumers also navigate a range of connectivity options outside the car. What are the implications for car companies and radio stations? How do we think across channels to build the best solutions? What’s coming next?
• Future Transportation. The way we get around today may be very different tomorrow, especially in dense urban areas. Connected and automated vehicles, vehicle sharing, alternative transit, and more are all growing in popularity in the major metropolitan areas. How will this impact the way we interact with consumers and how they access audio content?

Learn more here.

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