Audience Development Group's Tim Moore: "There's revenue growth and innovation, especially in smaller and mid-size markets."

As you work across markets and formats, you get to talk with a lot of people. What’s the general vibe?

Tim: Truthfully, there’s a lot of waiting around for something good to happen. However, the corner office doesn’t always have all the answers. Often, the best answers are found in station hallways.

Certainly a good idea can come from anywhere, but management is paid to craft a vision and communicate it effectively with the team. What’s missing?

Tim: Too many radio executives are trying to navigate their day with too many corporate distractions and mandates across markets, leaving no time to identify opportunities to find and exploit unfair advantages that didn’t exist yesterday in competitive situations.

For busy people in search of inspiration, what do you suggest?

Tim: A good place to start is in smaller and mid-size markets and I’ll give you a specific example. Howard Gloede and his team at Mid-West Family in LaCrosse, WI is a case study. From executing the basics with elegance to instilling an overall strategy that drives revenue growth, it’s a well-oiled machine. We’re talking real revenue growth, not merely being satisfied with outperforming a down local market.

Real annual revenue growth with spot revenue as the focal point. That’s a strategy worth replicating elsewhere. What’s their secret?

Tim: They practice the pour-it-on-principle: just as they’re achieving a tactical victory, they have another element ready to strike. True competitors never stop competing.

To quickly take a step back, the pour-it-on-principle starts with confidence and self-belief. Good enough is never good enough. Elite organizations think that way. Finding the unfair advantage is a relentless pursuit.

I love the specific example. What other insights come to mind?

Tim: I’m also seeing people get a lot smarter as they leverage data, incorporating more of the science, which complements the art of broadcasting. You can never know too much about your market and your audience.

As we integrate the art and science, we need to remember we’re in the tonnage business. That’s what being the #1 reach medium means and our effective reach is exactly who advertisers want to engage - employed listeners.

Best of all, tonnage cures a lot of things. Tonnage combined with exceptional creative imaging is unbeatable. Smart money brings a gun to a knife fight. Radio's the weapon.

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