Jinny Laderer

Success in radio can come in many forms. One, of course, is ratings success. Another is ad revenue success. But integral to their success is the optimization of efficient production workflow, a challenge that has dogged radio stations, large and small, for decades. Jinny Laderer took the matter in her own hands and with the help of her husband, created the vCreative system to facilitate optimum workflow -- from ad buy and content creation to production, final approval, and on-air, online and onsite execution. Here's how she has done it - and continues to do it.

Please describe what you were doing before forming vCreative and what led to this venture.

I've always been around radio. My father owned a radio station. My first marriage was to a radio station manager. I began working full-time in radio in 2001 as a copywriter; that led into production and creative services. I quickly discovered that I was constantly trying to get organized, keeping all the moving parts -- sales, traffic, producers, jocks, promotions -- going. A lot of approvals need to happen, and a lot of different workflow scenarios happened with every campaign. You try not to let anything fall through the cracks, but it's difficult even in a small building. We only had 15 employees in our small-market cluster and we still had problems.

So, I was always trying to find a better way to manage workflow. In 2005, I married John Laderer, who was a software programmer for the government. He sat in my office one day, saw the problems I was having and said it was ridiculous, that he would write a web-based program so I could finish my work and get home on time. I didn't think he could do it, as it was a very complex process. We started out very simply with the easiest scenarios, and every time a new scenario arose, he'd adapt the software to handle it. Over the first two years we flushed out a lot of scenarios. Then a couple of my production friends wanted to try it at their stations. Their GMs gave us permission to test it out. They loved it, and asked us how much it would cost to use. We had no clue, so we put together a marketing plan in 2007 and launched our production workflow software (vPPO) full-force.

Did you have to continue to tweak your program even after launching?

Absolutely. And we continue to add new features monthly. We are committed to constantly adapt to our clients' needs. At the beginning, we never intended to sell this program. Once we did, every single time we brought on another cluster of radio stations, new scenarios would crop up. Every station group has employees whose job responsibilities are different than those in other groups. A production director may do on-air shifts. Another may also do sales. All these different types of job descriptions can affect workflow. We have to be able to work with every single radio cluster and their particular workflow. You can't have a "one size fits all" program and satisfy everyone. Plus, their work is always changing; digital has made the internal workflow even more complex and challenging. We are working with many groups on standardizing their digital workflow. One of our core commitments is to continuously update and change to keep up with all the technology changes.

Does the different corporate cultures also impact the workflow?

There's a huge difference between a non-ranked small-market station in Punxsutawney, PA and one in New York or Los Angeles, even in terms of using agencies for national business versus in-house ads. Most people in small-market stations do multiple jobs, where the secretary also does traffic and even voices ads. That's not as prevalent in a New York City station.

When you tweak your program for one group, do you apply that tweak to everyone else?

Yes, it is available to all, but features are mostly optional. We have three major core values. First, our software has to be dependable, reliable and fast. People don't want to wait three or four seconds for a page to load. The second is to always be proactive and not reactive in servicing our clients. We reach out our clients through training and support and always try to go above and beyond what they could get anywhere else. Number three is to constantly evolve the technology to adapt to our clients needs - and to make it scalable. New York and Los Angeles stations need certain things that small stations don't. So we have to make it easy to turn on and off specific features very quickly. Requests from our clients help us develop new features. We have to keep evolving technologies because if we don't continue to evolve, we'll soon be offering outdated technology.

How has radio's embrace and use of digital platforms change the way you service the stations?

We've grown alongside them. Back in 2008, when the digital ad business began to take off, we were working with station groups as they figured it out. The digital business is constantly evolving; they'd come to us and ask about solutions to better handle the creation and execution of all of their digital assets. We then talk about how they want to use their assets, from getting the campaign buy and creating content to its production, the final approval, and executing it on-air, online and onsite. We handle the entire internal process.

Are you expanding your client base beyond terrestrial radio to online radio and other media platforms?

Yes. We already have TV stations and networks; online radio stations are using it, as are syndicated shows. We are currently developing a total rewrite of our software that will be media agnostic. It is completely customizable so it will work with radio and TV stations, networks, syndicated programs, agencies, newspapers, you name it. It will work for anyone who has to execute any kind of ad buy or content.

Podcasting, too?

We've had a lot of talks with several podcasters. Although we're still relatively early in the process, we're able to assist them and can handle any of their work done via e-mail. A lot of creative that gets processed through e-mail ... gets lost. That's when people reach out to us. We continue to have a lot of conversations on how our tools are needed for the podcasting industry. Podcasters typically only do live reads right in their podcasts, but creative still has to happen before that live read; the written copy that needs approval and last-minute copy changes. Podcasters are still trying to figure out if their own workflow systems are satisfactory, or if they should turn to us.

Any new products coming out?

In late 2015, we launched vPromotions, our new workflow software that handles promotions and events, including the creation and placement of all the liners, coordinating contests, and the winners and prizes. We added this software solution because many of our production software users asked us for it. It is fully customizable and very intuitive as it was built with the input of promotions directors. It's been a very successful launch so far, as in just a year-and-a-half, we have over 700 stations using vPromotions.

You mentioned earlier that you're doing a "total rewrite" of your offerings. How is that progressing and how do you plan on creating a smooth transition from the current one to the new one?

We plan to be in Alpha late Q2. We started by taking a look at all the new technologies coming out and talking to our clients, who want something very customizable and scalable. Digital is changing the way we do business, and as I noted before, since stations sell so many different types of ads -- audio, digital, video etc. -- it's difficult to have a one-size-fits-all workflow. Our new platform will have all the same functionality but with even more ease of use.

Transitions to new platforms can be tricky, as most people typically don't like change. We are ramping up staff and will focus on best roll-out practices and superior training. The early adopters will be those using both vPPO and vPromotions and those groups that also have TV stations. Once we get there, we'll be working with them closely to make sure, from their standpoint, that the new software blows them away. I will have it no other way.

And what of your future goals - can you look five years ahead and consider new areas of business, or are you too involved in the current day-to-day with your current rewrite?

We definitely have goals; we know the media industry will greatly benefit from more intuitive internal workflow systems that reduce redundancy and improve efficiency. Our future goal is our new platform and to continue to integrate via API's with other systems like traffic and automation. However, our #1 goal is always servicing our clients. We'll work closely with them to ensure that our new products grow with their needs -- especially their revenue-connected needs. As long as we do that, we'll continue to thrive in this space. I love and care deeply about the people working in this industry. As we grow and go along, adding new staff and products, it's all based on what our clients need. As long as we keep our clients #1, we will continue to grow. At least that's my philosophy about growth.