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Mary Quass
April 21, 2020
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On April 14th All Access covered this story:
NRG Media President/CEO Mary Quass Addresses Life During COVID-19
NRG MEDIA Chairman/CEO MARY QUASS writes, "Back in early MARCH, during a weekly market manager call, we discussed the plan to protect our people as we started to face the unprecedented impact COVID-19 would have on our communities, our business and our company. Our course of action was never in question – NRG MEDIA would stand by its team. We would take care of our people for they are our BRAND - we have their backs!AA: Tell me more about that conversation!
MQ: I’ve been in the business a long while and one thing I have learned that collectively the people are the brand. Nothing has changed in that area. I love change and love to create chaos but at the end of the day what makes it work is that that relationship with our brand from the relationship with the DJ to the smiling face at the front desk. I am the least important person here – I don’t make that kind of impact
As a listener we have a personal and emotional relationship with our friends on the radio, we want to spend time with our friends…and because we like this relationship we seek out opportunities to listen on distribution platforms that match our current lives. It’s not just over the air. People make appointment listening because it’s important and relevant to their life, and will make the effort to find their station on a radio, via Alexa or downloading an app – our connection to the audience is very powerful.
Nothing against Google search or SEO – but radio matters. Radio is doing great things. When I speak to groups and am asked about the outlook for radio.. I always ask: ‘Tell me if you have a favorite radio station, and if you have raise your hand?’ … and everyone always raises their hand AND THEY SMILE. Why? Because they have an emotional and personal relationship with the station.
I like being in markets where we matter and make a difference … we are an integral part of the community! I know it is important to the Community that we live and work in our markets and want to see the community grow and thrive … everyone want to be proud of the community they live in … and radio continually works to achieve those goals
AA: Where does radio fit in during the current COVID-19 pandemic?
MQ: In times of stress and uncertainty, we go to things that are familiar and you know what to expect– like comfort food. Radio and my radio is a trusted brand we all turn to the local news, information and brands, because we want to know what happens next door and down the street. For that reason our Brands put our resources into what they want to know … it’s so much more than just a radio station … it is our connection to a friend.
Then, if we curate an audience that is meaningful and relevant we can provide our advertisers with a way to access their customers thru our brands … it’s not about selling air-time but giving access to our group through our advertisers … I can talk about access to that group all day long.
Normalcy is very important and how we can get through this and take care of our people in the process is vital. Yes, we have been impacted by COVID-19, and it is expensive, and it is not for the faint of heart.
In the meltdown of 2008 we learned a lot – and our guys designed their own teams and how they would get by depending on local market conditions. Some cut expenses and some trimmed back salaries … and we did fine. And I have faith in these same folks today…we will find a way … it was never a question if we’d get through it then or now.
AA: Your stance on keeping your staff employed through the pandemic received a lot of positive response, especially in light of what other companies have been doing with furloughs and layoffs. How and why has NRG been able to take a stronger position in support of its staff? What's been the effect of the pandemic on local advertising in your markets so far?
MQ: Honestly, it hasn’t been pretty in terms of business cancellations for local, regional or national. Our hope is that we will not have a long time to manage thru the cuts. Right now we are off 15-20% and who knows about tomorrow…we can weather this.
Summer is a big time for our formats with events and this year, none of those events are going to happen. So we are looking at new categories of business that may not have been effected as drastically….or have to do business differently and want to work with them to make it thru this new way of doing business. Time to put on the creative cap and pivot … like we always have done!
Through April, our stations have been offering, commercials for No Charge to clients, posting videos from business. , highlighting new ways to access the restaurants…or no touch service for cars…and the list goes on…it’s the time to help, not sell adds…the right thing to do/
AA: When do you expect to see sales revive to any significant extent? How long do you think local radio can hold on under these circumstances?
MQ: I think we have all are optimistic it will be a couple of months, maybe a quarter…
When will we all come out of this? May? June? We will rebuild in our businesses again over the next 30 to 60 days but it will be slower … We will have to look at each month and make check-in calls with clients about how they are doing and what is their plan for re-opening….
Sadly, some small businesses will teeter and some may fail and our efforts were not enough…but many of the business will adjust to the “new “normal and will present new opportunities. I see light at end of tunnel by end of third quarter – some sectors will not recover this year. We used to live on doing business a certain way…like remotes and now looking at virtual remotes. We must be flexible now….I feel better now than two weeks ago, and we will help people to get through this.
AA: How do you think the pandemic is going to change radio once the threat is over? Will listening return? Will reduced commutes continue and affect radio's reach? Will localism be affected by reduced local business? What will radio look like on the other side?
MQ: This pandemic provides us with new opportunities – and while we want to stay with many reasons why we love radio….we now need to embrace the new opportunities to access our brands and build a new normal that keeps us relevant. Frankly I am not sure how long it would have taken to make this jump if we hadn’t had the shove of the pandemic. There are new questions…Will everyone work from home? No. I see some returning to an office environment as we are social beings and will do more from home than ever – however, the need for social interaction is hard to overcome!
I think telemedicine will stick and bring help to those without easy access – and I believe we will learn to be more questioning about things that we see hear and read than ever before. Our businesses will have to adjust and we will work with local business’ who are now worried about competing with Amazon and Walmart as much as the guy down the street.
Auto dealers are a big sector for us. If you are looking for a new car and you will a buy car online and have it delivered to your door what will that do to the local dealers…is it now about service? We don’t know but we want to be there to help …
AA: Some of the larger radio operators have been aggressive in trying to reposition themselves as audio or digital media companies rather than just radio. How do you see NRG's stance on digital playing out in the company's strategy moving forward? Will NRG be a radio company with a digital component, a digital company with a radio heritage, a content creator agnostic as to platform, or something else?
MQ: We call ourselves ‘great local radio’ for a reason We want to be a part of the lives of our listeners, the advertisers, the community, and our teams. We are radio, and we are just like your friend! Will Radio be here in 25 years? Who knows … but I will bet on the connection that radio gives … regardless of what it is called.
We are already taking our brand and offering access across our different platforms. We want access to that audience through multiple distribution points. It’s another way to offer the programming, streams, apps and emails that spark results and reaction and interaction with our brands.
We ask the question: What do you need in your life? It’s all about access to advertisers … and one size doesn’t fit all. Great brands are relative to the fans we have in the community we serve and satisfy the needs of our listeners and marketers at the same time.
AA: Do you see expansion in NRG's future? Is NRG a buyer or standing pat?
MQ: Right now, we have no markets targeted to expand to. We are in business to be in the radio biz and if we see an opportunity to grow, we will grow. How we transition and keep what we do relevant going forward is by letting the team in the markets work to create the secret sauce and let them know they are the lifeblood our company. We are fortunate that our finances are strong currently and we can make thoughtful decisions on additions that make sense.
AA: What do you see as radio's greatest asset? What's the most important competitive advantage the medium has over the competition?
MQ: That’s easy – “What’s your favorite station and the smile.” The personal and emotional connection is the biggest advantage. It’s what got us to the dance today and we have to continue to nurture this and protect it. Attention is what everyone wants, and we’ve been doing that a long time ... attention by choice not by happenstance – and relevancy is the key. As time goes forward radio will look and sound different but it’s because of personal and emotional relationships with our audience that radio will be here. And at NRG Media…it is our people.
AA: What regulatory changes would you like to see at the FCC?
MQ: There are quite a number of regulatory things we have to abide by that others don’t. I would love to see them raising the caps as a free market is always good. Short term the restrictions we operate under that keep us from a level playing field, number of stations and things like bandwidth are concerns. I want to prevent radio against being marginalized by telecoms and their evolving businesses.
Why do we still have to honor the lowest unit rate on political? We have an uneven playing field and politics in general is in for a big change. That could also benefit radio.
My overall belief in our radio business and team are rock solid and we will recover and thrive.
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