Celebrities Edify and Entertain In New Web Videos

Posted on Oct 06, 2010

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San Diego, CA.

The world of online social media took an humorous, yet valuable step forward with the agency’s newest release, Star Scoop. ROI Media Partner, Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D. describes Star Scoop as three to five minutes online videos that are one-half humor and one-half life lessons.

“What sets Star Scoop apart from other social media is its quality of content. Anyone can goof around on video, but we found that pro athletes and celebrities have something extremely valuable to share. We discovered that they’ve learned valuable, life-enriching lessons along their path to stardom and that many are eager to share their wisdom.”

Cynaumon, who’s interest in developing social media that entertains while it edifies is in part related to his doctorate and masters degrees in psychology continued, “For instance, in a segment we shot with former NBA star, John Salley – whom by the way is extremely funny – we asked John questions such as: who took you under their wing and mentored you early in your NBA career? We also asked John: who taught you the most about being a man and what did you learn? John’s answers were insightful and served as a valuable reminder that life is far more about becoming a good person than it is about gaining fame and fortune.”

Cynaumon shared that sponsor response has been a huge surprise. “We’re a full-service ad agency and no, we’re not delusional. We know that advertising is what fuels content, whether it’s seen on TV, heard on radio or viewed on the Internet. What we’ve discovered is that advertisers far prefer to align their brands with quality content that actually edifies while it entertains.”

Star Scoop is in full production and is slated to shoot between 25 and 50 athletes and celebrities a month. For sponsor information, visit www.ROImediaDirect.com or call 1-949-548-2600. You can view the John Salley video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHdk6oRxJw

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New Psychology The Secret to Writing Great Ads

Posted on Aug 23, 2010

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Writing amazing radio and television advertising, winning print ads, and powerfully converting web copy is the greatest challenge marketers face. As a doctor of psychology and the creative force behind some of the most successful media campaigns today, I can tell you – WORDS don’t just matter – they’re 90% of the battle.

To understand the role of psychology and writing winning radio, TV, online and print copy, I need to take you back to the early 90’s. I worked mornings seeing clients as a doctor of psychology before heading off to the radio station where I hosted my talk show in the Los Angeles market. It was my dual focus in both psychology and in trying to help my sponsors and advertisers to succeed that shed light on the essential nature of WORDS in advertising. I can’t tell you how many new advertisers were trotted through my show. I’d read the ad copy created by some ad agency or the station’s writers and shake my head. After a very short time on the air, I could tell you which advertisers would succeed and which would not – based mostly on the ad copy I was reading.

It was during that time that I became intimately involved in the radio station’s creative process. I started meeting with new advertisers and rewriting copy based on what motivated their consumers to… well, consume. I employed words with deeper meanings connecting with the listeners at strategic levels. Once this transformation started, my advertisers succeeded. I don’t say this in a boastful manner at all. I simply stumbled upon the key to writing transformational ad copy because I was so steeped in psychology and radio at the same time.

It was during this time that I coined the term Ad•col•ogy, which is the use of words that tap into consumer’s shared life experiences. Ad•col•ogy is an honest and non-manipulative ad form that replaces its more manipulative cousin, psychology. It focuses on using words and phrases, which evoke a connection through shared life experiences. A common mistake among ad copywriters and creative agencies is that they try to do and say too much in the span of sixty seconds. They mistakenly believe that more words are better when just the opposite is true: fewer words are better as long as those words tap into the consumer’s shared life experiences.

To help you decipher the difference between WORDS and SHARED LIFE EXPERIENCE WORDS, let’s take a look at a handful of examples from recent commercials we’ve orchestrated for our clients.

Words:                         Help

Adcology Words:       Solve

Why it Matters:           Every copywriter uses the word help. It’s a fine word, but it isn’t nearly as powerful as solve, which evokes   a shared life experience among consumers. To solve is a long-term solution while to help is fleeting hope.

Words:                         Estate Tax

Adcology Words:       Death Tax

Why it Matters:           90% of consumers don’t relate to estate tax. They mistakenly believe that only rich people have an estate so they remove themselves from the commercial message. Conversely, 100% of consumers understand the term death tax, which elicits an emotional reaction through shared experiences.

Words:                         We think

Adcology Words:       We believe, we’re convinced, we’re resolved.

Why it Matters:          Which ad copy phrase garners more confidence in a service: “We think we can help you”. Or, “We’re resolved to helping you”

You might equate overused and passive-advertising copy to trying to cure a health issue with overly prescribed antibiotics. Doctors tell us that viruses mutate over time and become resistant to once successful treatments. Consumers have been so over-exposed to common advertising, that they have become desensitized to the approaches that once worked like a charm. Adcology breaks through today’s creative morass and we’ve proven it over and over with our direct response and brand clients. It’s absolutely the most effective way to launch a new product or service – boost sales – or revive a campaign that was on life support.

For more information, please contact: greg@roimediadirect.com

Strategic Radio Advertising A Continuing Series With Dr. Greg Cynaumon, ROI Media Direct

Posted on Jul 24, 2010

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Strategic Radio Advertising

A Continuing Series With Dr. Greg Cynaumon, ROI Media Direct (http://www.ROImediaDirect.com )

Interview #09: How to Avoid the 5 Biggest Radio Advertising Mistakes

For any of us who are responsible for creating winning radio campaigns, either for ourselves or for our clients, it’s essential to understand how TSL (time spent listening) has evolved over the years. You don’t have to be a doctor of psychology to understand that people today have a greatly reduced attention span. With the massive amount of brief, impactful messaging streaming at us moment by moment, you have to know that has impacted the way people listen to radio. If you don’t factor in these sociological changes, you’re destined to discover mediocre radio campaign ROIs.

Back in the 90’s it used to be that you could place one, direct response :60 second commercial on a program and you’d effectively reach your audience with enough frequency to see quick and sustained traction. Not anymore. The radio market today offers about a dozen more format options than listeners had back then. Now add mobile devices and satellite to the mix and you can see how advertisers are fighting for consumer’s attention like never before. In today’s in-car and out-of-home listening landscape, the one spot a show, per day rationale is risky if not suicidal at best. Here are some points you may want to consider:

1. Understand that radio listeners have a SHORT attention span and an itchy trigger finger. (Averaging 2 min. in some markets and on some formats). As soon as a DJ starts talking too much or a less popular song comes on – or that dreaded COMMERCIAL – listeners bail in droves. Talk radio fares somewhat better than music formats, but has it’s own unique problems.

2. Know that, as soon as the commercial break hits, many listeners (believed to between 15 and 25%) are gone. Experience tells me it’s more like 35-40% – especially in markets where consumers have more choices. Now factor in listening habits by the time the second or third commercial comes around. Good luck to the direct response advertisers who land in the 3+ commercial break position.

2. Getting buried in pods (or stop-sets) of commercials is death to direct response clients. Yes you can push for first in stop set. No, stations don’t like it, but smart advertisers need to push anyway. This can be the difference between a successful campaign and cancellation. You’d be shocked how many stations will mindlessly place some grocery store or gas station branding commercial first or second while the 800 number driven direct response client gets killed later in the break.

3. For a DR Campaign to have a chance to succeed strategic advertising minds need to pick stations wisely by analyzing ALL the data. TSL, demo, buying habits, format trends, commercial clusters, in-show content ops, psycho demographics of the listeners and our INSTINCTS. Then…

a) Dominate a day part with several commercials per show including more than one spot per hour at the start of your campaign.  Remember, TSL dictates it’s tough to reach the audience that jumps in and out of a station depending on the programming.

b) As advertisers, our greatest chance of succeeding is to dominate ONE day part first, get traction and then move virally through the other day parts. A schedule should look more like two plus commercials PER HOUR in the CHOSEN day part. At the start of the campaign. Think of it as you would a jet taking off. It takes tremendous energy to get a jet off the ground, but once it reaches altitude, you can throttle back and cruise. This frequency play can often include; :30’s and even :15’s so that listeners are receiving the necessary “cumulative frequency” of our advertising.

c) Again, when you see traction, you can spread that buying pattern to other dayparts on the same station, followed by replication on other stations in that market and then outside of the market.

Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D. is a partner and the Creative and Media Strategy Director at ROI Media Direct – a full service, radio and television advertising agency. ROI specializes in direct response clients serving such notable clients as: LegalZoom.com, LifeLock, eHarmony, Blinds.com, and Ring Central.com.

To Contact Dr. Greg Cynaumon: (http://www.ROImediaDirect.com )

Doctor Cynaumon: Read The Bible and Call Me in the Morning

Posted on Jul 10, 2010

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SAN DIEGO, CALIF. —July 10, 2010— “You can’t watch ten minutes of TV without being bombarded by constant reminders of how much better your life would be with the right pill, tablet, capsule or liquid gel cap,” said noted doctor of psychology and author Dr. Greg Cynaumon. “Between depression, anxiety, erectile dysfunction, and swollen nasal passages, if you didn’t think you needed meds before, you probably do now. Is it any wonder that about 60% of us take some prescription each day? Look, I’m not jumping on pharmaceuticals; I’ve seen how beneficial the right medication is for patients. I’m just saying I’ve seen amazing results by introducing a simple, Biblically-based alternative to passing the prescription pad.”

Best-known for his teachings in the field of psychology, dream analysis, and parenting; Greg Cynaumon has introduced a new, Biblically-based program aimed at providing a fast-acting consideration for people struggling with depression, anxiety, stress and chronic unhappiness.

“Look, everyone who suffers from anxiety, depression, stress, sleeplessness – you name it, shares one significant commonality; chronic unhappiness. What’s life changing is that, once you reintroduce people to a clear path to happiness – a path clearly taught through scriptures, other emotional problems clear up. Virtually everyone wishes they were happier and discovering the bible’s secrets to happiness is the path to a better, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Years of research have revealed that the bible is the perfect blueprint to happiness and it’s that what you’ll find inside Unlocking The Bible’s Secrets to Happiness.

According to Dr. Cynaumon, “Life has a way of beating happiness out of us. We lose our way and forget what it takes to be happy again. Yesterday’s hurts, regrets and failings combine with tomorrow’s worries and stress over money, work, marriages, and families to the point that happiness seems unattainable.”

Unlocking the Bible’s Secrets to Happiness reveals 6 biblical secrets that can bring people instant happiness and lasting peace? In fact, Dr. Cynaumon reports that people who have used this program report a sizable and significant elevation in mood, far less stress and worry, better health, happier relationships, better concentration, and improved sleep.

For more information about Dr. Greg Cynaumon and Unlocking the Bible’s Secrets to Happiness, please visit UnlockingBibleSecrets.com.

About Dr. Greg Cynaumon
Dr. Cynaumon holds both a masters and doctorate degree in psychology.

BOOKS:

  • Unlocking the Bible’s Secrets to Happiness
  • Discovering Your Child’s Discipline Quotient
  • Does God Still Speak Through Dreams
  • How to Avoid Alienating Your Kids in 10 Easy Steps
  • Empowering Single Parents
  • Helping Single Parents With Troubled Kids
  • Married But Feeling Alone
  • Hassle Free Homework System
  • Bible Trivia Quiz Book

GAMES:

  • The Dr. Laura Game (Hasbro)
  • Left Behind Game (Talicore game)
  • EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS:
  • The Phonics Game (co-developer)
  • Hassle Free Homework System

“Why Not Put Stern/Limbaugh on Your Website”. Dr. Greg Cynaumon

Posted on Jul 02, 2010

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Radio Ad? Okay, But Why Put Stern or Limbaugh on Your Website Too?
An interview with Dr. Greg Cynaumon, President of ROI Media Direct.

Just when you think you know a little something about the world of advertising and in particular, direct response radio and television, you bump into someone who makes you feel like you’re back in preschool. If you want to understand what makes radio-advertising work, you need to spend a week with Dr. Greg Cynaumon, President of ROI Media Direct. We didn’t have a week, but we did come away with some business-changing ideas. Hint: if you are advertising on radio and you don’t follow this advice – we officially believe you are one unsafe children’s toy short of a Happy Meal.

According to Dr. Greg Cynaumon, (by the way, his Ph.D. is in psychology) “One of the most underutilized secrets in advertising is to combine traditional radio advertising and then repurposing that same radio host or DJ on the product’s or service’s website. It’s so simple and synergistic that it shocks me that nobody has done it before we did. I mean, if you are spending good money and trusting the radio celebrity to represent your product or service ‘on the air’ – doesn’t it make sense to have that same radio celebrity meet and greet your consumer on your website?”

ROI Media Direct, (www.RoiMediaDirect.com) a leading direct response radio and television advertising agency has not only created what they call the ROI VoiceStars 360 program – they’ve gone out and enlisted some of the biggest radio personalities and networks in the industry. Here’s what you need to know about Dr. Cynaumon and ROI Media Direct’s new program:

FACT: Advertising messages that use celebrities (radio hosts, actors, musicians or athletes) can hugely augment credibility, increase sales, and shorten your sales cycle.

FACT: If your advertising features an endorsing host, DJ, celebrity, or athlete and you are not using the ROI 360º model on your website, chances are you are wasting over 50% of your ad dollars.

“Here’s how to capitalize on this emerging sociology,” Cynaumon added. “Switch your media buying over to ROI Media Direct. Not only will we create your advertising copy (at no cost), but we’ll will work with your celebrity or radio host or DJ, or we’ll help you find the right, affordable celebrity endorser. Next, we’ll fully leverage every possible benefit of that endorser through strategic positioning throughout the entire sales cycle. Here’s how we do it.

“First, ROI 360º provides consumer continuity through a creative and technology process allowing your celebrity to walk (virtually live) onto your website and greet your customer. Secondly, ROI 360º uses psychology and technology to analyze prominent buy vs. don’t buy decision points on your website. This allows us to reintroduce your celebrity at just the right moment to reenergize buying decisions. And thirdly, ROI 360º recognizes that a significant majority of visitors to your website have not yet made a decision to buy. To help close these leads, we analyze your consumer’s buying resistance and produce a strategic string of email follow-up messages. Each email is strategically timed and features your celebrity appearing virtually live with a message proven to increase closing ratios.”

To summarize our visit with Dr. Greg Cynaumon of ROI Media Direct, the ROI 360º program is an amazingly cost-efficient way to fully leverage celebrity, athlete and radio show host and DJ endorsers to your consumers. The ROI 360 is the first advertising model to link both on and offline endorsement marketing to maximize ROI. (www.ROImediaDirect.com)

The Doctor of Advertising Is In

Posted on Jun 20, 2010

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The Doctor of Advertising is in

The New Psychology in Advertising

By Daniel Blackman

In this article, you’re about to learn the key to creative advertising psychology from Dr. Greg Cynaumon, recognized as one of the most successful advertising minds of our time.  In fact, his string of radio, television and online commercial successes have been so impressive that it landed him on the cover of Response, the magazine that brings marketers and advertisers independent news.

Consumers recognize Dr. Greg Cynaumon as they’ve seen him on countless television commercials and hundreds radio commercials. He’s one of the driving forces behind some of the best-known, multi-million dollar advertising campaigns in the history of radio advertising including Hooked on Phonics The Phonics Game. You can view a more comprehensive list of Dr. Cynaumon and his credentials at www.RoiMediaDirect.com.

By any measure, Dr. Greg Cynaumon is an advertising success with the uncanny ability to analyze consumer products, incubate and market them into multi-million dollar successes. He is a retired therapist and author of multiple psychology and self-help books and he attributes much of his advertising acumen to understanding how psychology has everything to do with advertising and consumer motivation. But traditional psychology in advertising has been supplanted by a far-more effective tool that Cynaumon has invented – termed Ad•col•ogy.

“It’s no longer about the old school forms of manipulative psychology to motivate a consumer to action. Consumers these days are far more sophisticated – almost immune to traditional advertising manipulation, which employ scare tactics and other psychological ploys which have been used since the 1930,” advised Cynaumon. “When I created Ad•col•ogy (www.adcology.com) it instantly revolutionized the way our clients approached consumers whether it was online or offline campaigns. When applied to new campaigns, Adcology, gave them instant and more long-term lift and traction with minimal ad spends. And when applied to stalled, or fatiguing campaigns, it reinvigorated consumers and immediately boosted sales.”

Cynaumon calls adcology an honest, evolved, and non-manipulative ad form. Adcology works to activate consumerism through the subtle integration of shared experiences. The secret to effective advertising is not that dissimilar to effective psychological counseling. The key to both comes when the individual ‘buys in’. Lock that term into your mind because Cynaumon fastens all his ad theories around it. He continues, “A ‘buy in’ in counseling comes when the patient fully understands, embraces his or her particular need or problem and projects him or herself into the solution. Without the ‘buy in’, you never get to the action steps or the solution.”

Now transfer that knowledge of human behavior over to the field of advertising. Creative must be emotionally impactful enough to allow the consumer to ‘buy in’ or embrace the need for the product without sounding gratuitous or blatantly manipulative. Once a consumer hears a message, which resonates at the emotional level, only then is he or she able to project him or herself into the product.

“I know it sounds a bit complex at first,” Dr. Greg Cynaumon added, “But think of it in terms of problem – solution. Whether we’re talking about a patient in therapy or a consumer listening to the radio – the paradigm is identical. You must get through the individual’s defenses in order to get him or her to recognize and embrace a need. Until then, he or she has little interest in the solution – or your product or service.”

In the coming weeks, we’ll continue our series with Dr. Greg Cynaumon. You can reach him at www.ROImediaDirect.com.

Dr. Greg Cynaumon Discusses KFI Radio and Host Endorsed Commercials

Posted on Jun 18, 2010

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Radio Hosts Endorse Hundreds of New Advertisers

How many Ford dealerships can one radio host endorse at a time? Only one ON THE AIR, but ONLINE… that’s a completely different story.

ROI Media Direct, recognized as one of the premier talent-endorsement (or host endorsement) advertising agencies in the US announced its revolutionary VoiceStars 360 Program. According to Dr. Greg Cynaumon, President and Partner with ROI Media Direct, the new program enables agencies, advertisers, and radio stations to fully leverage the endorsement star power of on-air personalities that extends far beyond the obsolete: 1 client per category at a time on-air model.  In fact, the 360 Model allows stations and networks to activate multiple same category advertisers without ever crossing the line of conflict and competition. So how did ROI do it?

According to Dr. Greg Cynaumon, “It was a difficult at first to help station and network execs to understand how their current on-air endorsement campaigns were tapping into just a tiny fraction of the total endorsement power of their on-air talents. Truly, a talent (or host) endorsement is one of the most powerful mediums available to advertisers and yet, it is woefully underutilized.”

Cynaumon continued, “All of us in the radio advertising industry are used to the standard metric: one car dealership per on-air endorsement, but why would that have any bearing on ONLINE endorsements? Why limit KFI’s, Bill Handel endorsement capabilities to ONE FORD DEALER? If he loves the brand and the car, why not bring Bill’s star-power to the 30 Ford Dealers within KFI’s flamethrower broadcast signal?”

ROI Media Direct, with such premier clients as LegalZoom.com, LifeLock, eHarmony.com and Blinds.com developed the VoiceStars 360 model whereby multiple advertisers share in the ONLINE endorsement star power of each on-air personality.

“So with the Bill Handel example on KFI,” Dr. Cynaumon stated, “We simply suggested offering Bill’s endorsement value online to multiple Ford dealers. So instead of Bill calling out just one Ford dealer on the air, in the VoiceStars 360 model, Bill can do a video walk-on – or an audio endorsement communicating how much he loves his Ford’s Taurus on 30 different Ford dealership websites.”

To speak with Dr. Greg Cynaumon or to learn more about ROI Media Direct and their VoiceStars 360 program, please visit ROIMediaDirect.com.

NO-RISK RADIO ADVERTISING

Posted on Jun 14, 2010

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“You know that BUYER ASSURANCE program that Hyundai introduced that sort of takes the risk out of buying their cars? Well, being one of the largest radio advertising agencies in the country, it sort of got us to thinking – what if we created an advertising model that took all the risk out of advertising a product or service on the radio? Why not?”

According to Dr. Greg Cynaumon, Partner and President of ROI Media Direct (San Diego, Manhattan and Newport Beach), that was the genesis of the agency’s brand new, risk-free radio ad program. It should be noted that ROI Media Direct handles some major accounts such as: LifeLock, LegalZoom.com, eHarmony and many others. Here’s how ROI’s new Advertising Assurance Program works.

  1. Qualifying advertisers engage ROI Media Direct. (www.ROIMediaDirect.com)
  2. ROI scripts the radio commercials and strategizes a radio buy.
  3. The advertiser shares the success measurement metrics with ROI so both parties know precisely what constitutes a profitable campaign.
  4. The advertiser agrees to place a radio ad schedule of between $10,000 and $20,000.
  5. Should the schedule fall short of at least a “break even return”, ROI will provide the difference between the paid schedule and the break- even point in free advertising. Call ROI Media Direct for details.

According to Cynaumon, qualified radio advertisers have everything to gain and nothing to lose. “This is the absolute best way for any company to advertise on radio because the worst you can do is a break-even. And even then, you’ve gathered new customers, expanded your list and garnered brand recognition for free.”

If you’re interested in ROI Media Direct’s NO RISK radio advertising for your business, contact Dr. Greg Cynaumon at 858-412-1400.

Entrepreneurs Wanted

Posted on Jun 04, 2010

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Home Entrepreneurs Cashing in on Their Hobbies

By Reggie Statler

The dictionary defines entrepreneur as: a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. But… can anyone really be an entrepreneur? I asked that same question to Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D. ~ creator of a fascinating and highly acclaimed new program entitled: Ideas to Cash (www.IdeasTOcash.com) and his answer might surprise you. Dr. Greg replied, “Yes. Everyone has at least one unique gift, idea, or talent that can be turned into a cash machine. The trick is in discovering which of your unique capabilities is most marketable and then learning how to cash in on it”.

What first attracted our attention to this system is that it is utterly simple and asks: would you like to make money doing what you love to do? No paying hundreds of dollars to some multi-level marketing group, no selling soap, energy drinks or cosmetics to your friends and family – simply a way to earn money doing what you love to do. The list of endorsements is quite impressive and the number of people who have successfully used the system reads like a local phone book.

Cynaumon points out… “You don’t need any business experience to make a LOT of money doing what you love to do.” For instance, we interviews a high school soccer coach who used Ideas to Cash to turn his passion in coaching soccer into a profitable online coaching tips business generating between $2,500 and $6,000 each month for the past 2 years. We also spoke with a grandma who turned her amazing brownie recipe into a $3,000 per month venture. And finally there was the nurse who sewed children’s clothing and baby blankets for fun who turned her hobby into a $12,000 a month cash machine.

Dr. Cynaumon comments, “The world is full of people with great ideas, amazing gifts and talents, but who never followed through. Or they follow through, but have no plan for success. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need:

  1. A solid idea that others are willing to buy
  2. A desire and drive to succeed
  3. An smart plan to succeed
  4. Access (contacts and connections)
  5. Sound, experienced and personal advice

“The beauty of the Ideas to Cash System is… all you need to bring is your idea and your desire. The System will work for you if you implement it properly.”

To learn more about this remarkable money-making system, contact Dr. Greg Cynaumon at: Turn Your Ideas into Cash!

Moving Radio Advertisers to Online Advertising by Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D.

Posted on May 21, 2010

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MOVING RADIO ADVERTISERS TO THE ONLINE SPACE

BY GREG CYNAUMON, PH.D.

This is Part 2 in a series of articles by Dr. Greg Cynaumon discussing how utilizing radio personalities in online advertising is destined to be a significant growth industry in 2010 – 2011

Agencies such as ROI Media Direct has signed representation agreements with national and local radio personalities as well as networks and stations for the purpose of facilitating the use of radio personalities among ONLINE and OUTDOOR advertisers. The backbone of this model will be an asset tray of radio personalities tha  we can deliver, track and bill their use among our ONLINE and OUTDOOR advertisers worldwide.

The VS-360º asset tray offered to advertisers for both ONLINE ADVERTISING and OUTDOOR BILLBOARDS will include:

(a) Still images of radio personalities served online through banners or billboards with a graphically displayed generic and customizable messages about the advertiser

(b) Geo-targeted radio personalities to specific cities/regions corresponding to the consumer’s location

(c) Genre-targeted personalities to advertiser’s consumer targets (ex: country personality to western wear store)

(d) Both generic and personalized audio sound bites from radio personalities to ONLINE advertisers

(e) Video features whereby the personality “walks on” to the advertiser’s website. Audio personalization is extra

INDUSTRY REACTIONS by Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D.

Two highly influential radio visionaries were interviewed in order to calibrate the VS-360º model. They were: Roy Laughlin, Senior VP-Market Manager for CBS Radio, and Kraig Kitchin, retired President of Premiere Radio Networks. Kitchin now represents Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Dan Patrick and several other top tier radio talents.

• From a radio station management perspective, Laughlin labeled the plan, “brilliant and visionary” noting that radio stations and networks across the country have long had executive mandates to expand reach and revenue into online, but have failed miserably. Laughlin sees VS-360º as the program that will ultimately bridge the expanse between radio advertising and online. Additionally, he committed to immediately bring CBS to the table with 500 LA area on-air talents for an initial test and then bring in the entire CBS/AOL (1,640 plus) radio affiliates and stations in 50 top markets.

• From a talent management perspective, Kitchin called VS-360º, “the first win-win-win online and offline model he has seen”. Summing it up, he noted that: (a) talent wins big by gaining online reach and revenue without diluting personal brand. (b) Radio stations and networks win by bringing in non-traditional revenue from online advertisers. (c) Radio stations win double by converting online advertisers to traditional radio ad schedules. And lastly: (d) online advertisers win because the vast majority of local businesses that could not afford traditional radio advertising will now have access to on- air personalities to augment brand awareness and increase conversion) at accessible prices.

Kitchin predicted that once the radio industry sees upper tier personalities joining the VS-360º program, the rank and file will follow. Subsequently, he committed to introducing this model to several of his top tier talents as well as to facilitate other strategic meetings.

WHO BENEFITS by Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D.

• Online advertisers benefit financially from brand enhancement and increased conversion whenever a radio personality is added to an advertiser’s website.

• Online advertisers benefit further through affordable access to (heretofore unaffordable) radio personalities for their websites.

• For the first time, on-air radio personalities will benefit financially by a virtually unlimited number of reaching non-radio advertisers.

• On-air personalities (and radio stations/networks) will benefit further by appearing online without diluting their on-air brands. In essence, a personality could appear on and all parties will receive revenue from hundreds of websites. This model also avoids exclusivity restrictions. For instance, a host can only read commercials for one Ford dealerships on his show, but could appear on dozens of Ford dealership websites as long as they were not in competing customer areas.  This model allows the host as well as station (or network) to capture previously off-limit advertising revenue.

• Radio stations and networks will benefit financially through revenue participation generated from online advertising. This will be viewed as an attractive non-traditional revenue stream.

• Radio stations and networks will further benefit when ONLINE advertisers recognize the benefits of using radio personality messaging and migrate a portion of their advertising budgets to traditional radio. VS-360º will receive a commission in these circumstances.

• Radio stations and networks further benefit in that both are experiencing an ever-increasing percentage of advertising budgets moving away from radio to online. VS-360º allows stations, networks and on-air personalities to benefit from online advertising revenue for the first time.