The Many Hats Of Marketing And Promotions

Marketing and promotions, promotions and marketing. The two have been so closely linked through the years that they are difficult to separate.

But there is a difference.

While the word "promotions" paints pictures of remotes, contests and station events, "marketing" brings to mind billboards, TV spots and direct mail. Promotions generally means serving an already participating audience, while marketing is aimed at the larger community: potential audience and prospective advertisers.

Billboard Radio Monitor talked to industry pros about how marketing and promotions mix and match.

"Some stations have separate marketing and promotions people, but I've been fortunate to handle both," says Annie Sandor, promotions director at Clear Channel country WPOC Baltimore. "It's important that the same message be driven into the minds of our listeners. I think the jobs have always been there, but with consolidation and downsizing, it's just more apparent now.

"It's always been a promotions director's job to market their station," she continues, "but maybe it just hasn't been spelled out until now."

Sandor is very involved with external marketing for the station and works with WPOC PD Ken Boesen. "Our outdoor campaign, Big Country Stars, was Ken's idea," she says. "I worked with him to identify our five Big Country Stars, we worked with our graphics guy for layout, and then we chose the placement of the boards."

Sandor, who says roughly half of her workload is tied to marketing, is also involved in station imaging. "That's a big part of my job," she says. "I need to make sure that everything I'm doing matches Ken's vision for the station. If he's going in one direction with station imaging, I need to make sure promotions look, feel and breathe that image."

CC/Baltimore VP/market manager Jim Dolan is part of the team. "Dolan is really supportive of Ken and me," she says. "That helps to make things smooth and easy when planning the marketing."

Five hundred miles to the northeast, Portland (Maine) Radio Group's Chris Mac is in a unique position. He is OM/marketing director for the Saga-owned cluster. In addition, Mac calls himself "a guide and resource" for the promotion department (see story, page TK).

While the state of Maine does not allow billboards, Mac is involved in print, TV and direct mail marketing for the stations. "I am also involved in creating and placing radio ad campaigns for our news station, WGAN, to air on the music stations in our cluster," he says.

Mac works in a team environment. "Portland Radio Group president/GM Cary Pahigian consults, Saga executive VP Steve Goldstein consults, and each PD is involved in their station," he says. "We discuss needs, goals and creative. My job is to execute."

When even more brain power is needed, Mac says he can count on support staff, plus other PDs and promotion and marketing people at various Saga stations. He says that Scott Allen from sister stations adult top 40 KSTZ/oldies KIOA Des Moines, Iowa, was instrumental in helping with the creative for the TV campaign for adult top 40 WMGX.

Since Portland is rated twice per year, Mac says the busiest times for him are mid-February through April and mid-August to October, when marketing "can easily take up 50% or more of each day." And he has become more busy marketing each station in the cluster, which has grown from four to seven stations in the last few years.



A MATTER OF SCALE

Jefferson Pilot country KYGO/classic country KCKK Denver director of promotions Paul Heling says he is involved in all outside marketing, but "the degree of responsibility varies as to the scale of the project." He sees his workload as 80% promotions, 20% marketing.

"We have a group marketing director who works with each PD on major campaigns," Heling says. "My role there is support. For instance, with our current TV campaign promoting a cash giveaway, I dealt with side projects like getting clearance to shoot at various landmarks around Denver and scouting and lining up listeners to audition to be in the spots."

Heling says his marketing duties have increased through the years with the advent of Web sites, e-mail database marketing and loyalty programs, though it varies by station. "I've been in some situations where 100% of the marketing fell to the promotions director, some where the PD was held responsible for major campaigns and currently, where the marketing director was responsible," he says.



THE PUBLICITY HAT

Like many of her compatriots, Sandor, who joined WPOC from CC country sister WWYZ Hartford, Conn., last August, counts "publicist" among her job descriptions.

"I have media contacts on speed dial, and I'm always e-mailing," she says. "You have to constantly work the other media outlets to make sure that your station is top of mind [with them]. I'm a big believer that great partnerships with other media help solidify your image in the market.

"One of my closest friends in Hartford was my counterpart at the CBS-TV affiliate," Sandor continues. "We'd talk all the time about how to keep our stations aligned with the best shows and events."

While Sandor says she writes WPOC's press releases, e-mail allows her to be less formal. "I'm a who-what-where-when-and-why girl," she says. "Give them the details, not a story. It's their job to make the story compelling for their audience, and it's my job to make sure they have all the info they need."

When it comes to press release distribution, Sandor knows that not everyone should receive every release. "I have three lists," she says. "One for the good stuff, one for local and one for all. Most of the releases will go out to the all list. It's important to reinforce WPOC's position in the industry as well as our market.

"The local list gets the day-to-day items," she continues. "The good stuff is all the inside things that make WPOC such an awesome station, but not necessarily front-page news."

Lindsay Warren, business development coordinator for Greater Media AC WMGC Detroit, has a growing number of responsibilities, including writing and sending press releases.

"We strive to illustrate what WMGC does for our local community," Warren says. "We also try to highlight the technologies our stations and parent company are embracing, such as [high-definition] radio and online digital music stores."

Warren says accuracy is key to any release she sends out. "My biggest concern is making sure facts, grammar and spelling are absolutely perfect," she says.

"We try to feed the local media with hooks that may be interesting to them as much as we can," Heling says of his philosophy. "We also try to keep the trades up to date on what's happening at KYGO."

Even though the press releases come from his department, Heling says he is happy to stay in the background. "While the release comes from the promotions department, an air talent or PD may be listed as the contact," he says. "It doesn't pay to get publicity for the promotions director, but it does for the air talent."

Like Sandor, Heling cherry-picks his recipients. "We have an overall local and national list," he says. "We pick and choose from there who might be the best fit for that particular information."

While he does not write press releases?promotions director Lara Seaver handles that?Mac does see himself as a media contact, depending on the story. "If it is a station promotion, then [I am involved]," he says. "If it is a story regarding the local radio market, or industry news, it is best for the [group] president . . . to address the media."



EARN WHILE YOU LEARN

Our experts agree that much of what promotions directors do is learned on the job.

"Ten years in radio will make you way better at your job," Sandor says. Though she has a bachelor's and master's degree, she says, "I continue to learn every day. It's about making your station stand out in the crowd, and there's not a classroom around that can teach you that."

Like Sandor, Heling has the appropriate college background but also learned on the job. "I was a communications major with an advertising emphasis, so while I played radio at the student station, I was taking marketing and PR classes," he says. "But the specifics of radio came from living through it. I had the most fun in my first gig when we just jumped in and did stuff without much strategic thought behind it.

"It was a small market, and we were all young and energetic. We learned from each other," he continues, "and soaked up information from the trades, conventions and consultants."

Warren says she has also learned from experience. "Greater Media has been a wonderful training ground," she says, noting that her only previous experience came while working at a college station.

She says her responsibilities have grown along with those of her boss, Greater Media director of corporate communications/WMGC marketing director Heidi Raphael. "As her duties increase, so do mine," she says. "My experience increases too."

Being the face or voice for a station or cluster means dealing with the media in difficult situations.

While working as a programmer in West Palm Beach, Fla., Mac recalls a good promotion gone bad that caught national attention. "We had a well-thought-out promotion to help the Palm Beach County Fair," Mac says. "To kick off the fair, [NBC's] Willard Scott was going to do his 'Today' show weather from the county fairgrounds live at 7:05 a.m."

The plot thickens. "Our well-thought-out promotion went a little awry, causing Willard Scott to be knocked over, into a live cow, which took off running, on national TV," Mac recalls. "The 'Today' show abruptly cut the live shot and quickly went back to the studio in New York.

"When I arrived at work, all the local TV stations and newspapers were waiting," Mac says. "Each one came at me like Mike Wallace, wanting to know why my radio station caused the Palm Beach County Fair to look foolish in front of a national audience."

Sandor says she is lucky to not have had any tragedies occur at station events. But explaining air personality turnover is no picnic. "The most awkward would have to be talking about replacement of staff," she says. "I went through five morning shows in my time in Hartford, and each time the press calls got weirder. I had to keep the station in the best possible light, while making sure to stay within guidelines of legalities and etiquette.

" 'No comment' is just not a good response anymore," Sandor believes. "It automatically presumes guilt or fault."

Heling has also faced tough questions, though they were not from the media. "I think the most difficult time for me was the week that we were about to drop bombs on Iraq and the Dixie Chicks had their 'PR problem,' " Heling says. "I was the promotions director for a country station and the promotions manager for the cluster.

"On the good side, we had a cluster-wide campaign ready to go to raise money for families of service people, and the station I was promotions director for had a great overall portfolio of public service.

"On the bad side . . . hate e-mails to the [country] station became fierce," Heling says. "The station continued to play the Dixie Chicks, which the PD should be applauded for.

"The tough part there wasn't dealing with the media, but [dealing] directly with the listeners," he says. "We tried to get to as many of their calls and e-mails as we could at a time when emotions were high." ????