Dear friends,

While many of us are relieved that 2009 is finally coming to an end, we still face the uncertainties of how the economy will play out for us all in 2010. The chill in the air is real. For many businesses, sales are down and credit is tight. But on the bright side, there are many businesses out there right now with plenty of money, willing and ready to buy radio and television advertising today. Many of these businesses have never advertised on radio or television before. What?  Yes. 

There is a huge advertising revenue shift happening right now, particularly with service-oriented businesses, away from print and reference books (Yellow Pages) and towards broadcast, cable and the Internet.  Even in this economy, we're talking billions of dollars shaking loose from these other media and potentially right into the hands of broadcasters. In my lifetime I have never seen an opportunity this big for savvy radio and television stations. 

For all practical purposes newspapers and the yellow books are finished, and advertisers by the thousands in every market are now realizing that. Many local businesses are dramatically scaling back on their phone book and newspaper commitments or they aren't renewing those contracts at all. Our opportunity to work with many new product/service categories has finally arrived.

So why are broadcasters acting so morose when we should be behaving like sharks in a frenzy, like grizzly bears at a salmon spawn or Minnesotans at a ludefisk festival? 

Over the past year I have spoken with plumbers, garage door companies, attorneys, doctors, heating and air conditioning contractors, funeral homes, door and window companies, roofers, electricians, restaurants, home health care specialists, automotive service companies, body shops, builders and remodelers, mortgage companies, movers, telecommunications companies, IT firms...you name it...and the handwriting is on the wall. Owners of these businesses are looking for new ways to reach out to consumers and now, maybe for the first time, broadcast stations are on the radar.

What they need from us now, are middle-of-the-fairway big ideas to make cash registers ring and an ROI calculation so they know that advertising with us is not gambling, but instead a good calculated risk. What local business owners do not need from broadcasters are more cliché-riddled commercials, skimpy month-to-month schedules, unimaginative sales reps or confusing ratings information.

 

So here's our chance, folks.  Don't let it slip away. If we can help these local businesses survive these hard times with good sensible marketing strategies that identify and solve consumer problems, we'll earn their Yellow Pages and print budgets for the long-term.

I am absolutely committed to helping your stations sell more local direct business and to help create cultures of smart, intuitive and proactive local broadcast sales people.  At Paul Weyland Communication Strategies we have the training elements, the products and the local direct expertise you need right now to turn ordinary sellers into local direct money machines so that you can hit and exceed your 2010 budgets.

As you know, we are unique in our approach to helping broadcasters increase long-term local revenue at rate card. When you need a hired gun, use one. Don't just sit there and gripe about your situation. Call us now and let's figure out a way to work together in the next year. We can help you, we promise.

 

Wishing you and your family and friends all the best,
 
Paul Weyland