Conclave 08

The Kelton Agency

Published:  July 1, 2008

The Conclave concluded this weekend in Minneapolis, MN. This year’s conference was a cutting-edge event with ample opportunity to socialize with the radio community.

This year’s best term: curated programming. The Zandl Group, a trend forecasting company, presented a phenomenal study on the media habits of listeners under the age of 30. Zandl concluded that the under 30 demo prefers to curate his or her own programming with editing and editorializing by them and their peers. In other words, the social networking habits of the younger listeners directly translates to radio and podcasting. For talent, this means integrating your program with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Digg.

Lesson #2: invest in your brand: YOU. Syndicated Talker Ed Schultz shared his personal radio journey that included his personal investment of $150,000 in satellite uplink equipment. Ed plowed his own cash into this equipment so on minutes notice, he can appear as a guest on any broadcast or cable network from his home studio. In the last six months, he has appeared on Larry King 22 times and made dozens of other appearances on CNN, Headline News, and MSNBC.

In order to expand your brand, you must make yourself accessible. Invest in the necessary tools that will increase your presence to your listeners and the radio industry. This includes equipment, websites, and attending radio conferences.