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Being Focused For The Promised Land
November 4, 2014
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When I arrived at CBS New York, under the direction of Dom Theodore, there were a couple of things out of place that I communicated immediately. I am a believer that three things working together can get you to the Promised Land. Those are 1) Music, 2) Marketing and Promotions and 3) your on-air team. If even one of those three is out of place, it's not too unlike having a hair out of place during your High School graduation or wedding photos; you'll have to live with the consequences of that for as long as you walk down memory lane.
When the Dom era was long past and Michael Martin had taken the ship over, like a pirate on the open seas, earring included; the one thing he kept reiterating was that the music is not the issue here.
And as the air staff began changing, shift-by-shift, we awaited results that never came in, a consistent increase in ratings. It didn't happen with those changes. In fact, much the opposite. As the 6+ numbers darted below a three in the twos, you started to reflect on how powerful that number 3 rating in morning drive was for Nick Cannon, and how Chunky hitting number 1 in the evenings was truly a sign that things could have worked together for good, for results that would have landed the station in a place where being a strong number two in a market like New York would have been enough; much like AMP in Los Angeles vs. 102.7 KIIS FM.
You Can Pick Your Nose And Your Friends, But How About The Hits?
92.3 NOW musically was sound in its music approach, in fact, so much so, that the few true shots that we took musically manifested themselves in MONSTER hit songs from Pitbull (I Know You Want Me), Iyaz (Replay) and The Wanted (I'm Glad You Came), not to mention leading the way on the right songs like Adele (Someone Like You) among others that we jumped on, while maintaining a base of proven hits at any moment.
Dom hired a talented staff from Nick Cannon to Chunky to Lisa Paige to Tic Tak, but there was something that never happened among this staff. That is: work together as a team to get that ball through the hoop.
What made former Chicago Bulls' star Michael Jordan so incredible was that he was talented enough to do it all by himself, to dribble up court and zig and zag past defenders and put it in, but instead he did something extremely unselfish. He passed the ball. Now, it helped that Scottie Pippen among others were his teammates, but Michael trusted the skills of the rest of the team, and in turn, they trusted each other. That's what a team does.
Faulty Structures, Like A Bad Back, Usually Start At The Base
Unfortunately in NYC, during the initial era of CBS' attempt at Top 40, this never fully occurred.
I was not a fan of the structure at CBS, where promotions falls under the head of the market manager versus under the PD, where the three-headed monster of Music, Marketing and the On Air Staff could be threaded together with consistency.
The error in structure showed up in obvious places. Nick Cannon was attempting a World Record to hug the most people possible in a one-hour period of time. When I got off the subway and walked onsite to Citi Field, home of the NY Mets, where Nick Cannon was attempting this feat, I noticed a glaring error immediately.
Maybe We Should Have Done It With The Yankees
We were doing this promotion in tandem with the New York Mets organization. We had T-Shirts made with Nick Cannon and the NY Mets logo on them, something that had to be approved by Major League Baseball.
The New York Mets gave us carte blanche. We were allowed to put signage anywhere we could, as long as there wasn't already a sponsor posted in that area.
So, as I got off the subway and noticed that not one station banner was posted coming out of the station, disappointment set in to a level unfathomable. As the former marketing director of the Power Pig in Tampa, where the rule was to get your logo anywhere, no matter if it was allowed or not; I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Sometimes The Lack Of Signage Is A Sign Of Things To Come
No signage heading into Citi Field, then looking around the ballpark at the fences that lined the stadium and the parking lots, the parts seen by millions who pass this park daily, whether attending a game or not; again, not one banner.
38,000 attended the game that night. I can't imagine how many others passed by or dropped people off, and what the total amount of impressions were that we missed that evening, but I do remember knowing that this was further proof that the Promised Land at CBS New York was just not to be.
When Dom left, the station found itself dropping below the threes, and when Michael Martin encouraged Gillette to part ways with me as the music director, the numbers dipped further than you could imagine, below the twos, into the ones, which is about where they were when CBS started thinking, perhaps a Top 40 would be the answer on that old K-Rock frequency at 92.3.
Nothing As Strong As A Triple Braided Cord
Here's what I can say with confidence. When the music is right, and your jocks are all on the same page, trusting the leadership, not attempting to steer the ship to their desires, but to the good of the team; much like Jordan passing to Steve Kerr who was a master with the 3-point shot, even though he could have done it all himself, and when the marketing and promotions are innovative, executed with vision, a plan of action and passion that won't allow for the biggest or smallest detail to be missed, then, you will reach the Promised Land.
I've been here before, and I've been here since, and there's room for so many others to set up camp here. Follow the passion and we'll see you soon.
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