Cumulus Media's Mike McVay: "Radio Needs To Be Better In Regard To What Comes Out Of The Speakers"

Going back to the early days of Marconi, radio has consistently faced disruption. What's our secret sauce?

Mike: Radio's business model is fluid and can continually evolve. Combining radio with digital content delivery ensures that as the world evolves, we'll be wherever the listener is.

As you marshal your resources, how do you support the core business while making strategic investments on emerging platforms?

Mike: We're still in this room called radio, which has great furniture, bought and paid for by on-air spots. However, we need to be moving some of the furniture to a room that's still pretty barren, but has a better view. While we maximize current revenue streams, there's an opportunity to incrementally generate new digital revenue.

As you visit your markets and rally the troops, do you point them towards any specific resources to help reinforce your message?

Mike: It's easy to sometimes have an inferiority complex in radio, which is why you need factual information and insights that show radio's amazing strength. For me, that's Pierre Bouvard, our Chief Insights Officer and his weekly blog, Everyone's Listening. It should be a weekly read for both people in radio and our advertisers.

The volume and variety of case studies that are generated is certainly impressive, but for someone who thinks they can't find the time, what's your approach?

Mike: Reading this blog is an investment in yourself and your career as much as anything, so find the time and we'll all be better off. For me, it publishes once a week and reading it is part of my Monday night ritual.

I've heard you say that radio is often our own worst enemy. With the current audio renaissance going on, how do we maximize the momentum?

Mike: If we are to increase the PUR (Persons Using Radio), we need three things to happen. First, Nielsen should make it easier to use the PPM to capture listening on today's technology where so many people listen on their phone or computer. The second is that we need to improve the listening experience. We should be doing more research, lifting the level of our on-air talent, air fewer commercials and units, and improve the quality of the commercials we air. Radio needs to be better in regard to what comes out of the speakers. Third, when the product is right ... market it. We need to be creative in getting our messages out in a fashion that overcomes the noise of the world.

That's a lot of improvements. If we focus specifically on spot loads, any examples of success to point to?

Mike: Entercom in Seattle unveiled the “Two Minute Promise” on KNDD with never more than two minutes of commercials in a row, which has been well received. Plus, fewer spots equals a cleaner environment and higher rates. Most importantly, KNDD's commercial audiences are 30% higher than other stations. So the advertisers and the listeners win.

There is also a great case study from Turner Broadcasting's cable network TruTV. The sales team pushed to cut the commercial load in half. The results?

Higher ratings. Better advertising recall. Better brand lift for the ads. But what was eye popping was the sales lift. Nielsen found the advertising ROI was off the chart. Versus other TV networks, TruTV has a much higher ROI. Not two times, three times ... but north of 10 times! So their ads rates are way up, ad inventory down and their ad revenues are flat to up.

For our part, we're experimenting with some mass-appeal formats with significantly fewer spot loads.

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