Is Talk Radio To Blame For The Rise of Trump?

 

June 8, 2016

 

 

 

 

McConnell,Mitch-012309-18422-jf 0024

The Washington Examiner has the details from the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who said the reason Republican base voters have unrealistic expectations is because of talk radio. And when politicians say talk radio, that usually means Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck and other conservative talkers. McConnell also said talk radio may have contributed to Donald Trump’s win in the party’s presidential primary.

Glenn Beck

While some talk radio hosts, such as Glenn Beck and others, have been dead set against Donald Trump, others such as Rush Limbaugh have not endorsed any candidate. That has been taken by some as a tacit endorsement of the long-time businessman, especially when there were other staunch conservatives in the field before Trump won the nomination and those conservative talkers did not come right out and support them, such as Ted Cruz.

Conservative talker Mark Levin

Here’s what McConnell had to say Tuesday, as reprinted in The Washington Examiner. “A lot of base voters have been really misled by a lot of talk show hosts and others about what’s achievable when you don’t have the White House. There is a president, the only one … who can sign something into law or veto a bill. The notion of shutting down government to defund Obamacare, even if that would achieve the result … is what my friend George Will would call the politics of futile gesture, or put another way, doing dumb things. I’m not in favor of futile gestures and doing dumb things. I think the reason people are unhappy is because of the condition of the country. And because they’ve been fed the notion that somehow a Republican Congress can overcome a Democratic president and somehow bring him to his knees when it’s not possible.”

While McConnell did not mention anyone by name, Limbaugh has repeatedly said Republicans should not be afraid to shut down the government. It’s also important to note that Limbaugh never endorses a candidate running for election in a primary despite being lobbied by many of them.

Report: Funny Business Going On In The Agency World

How much should your clients trust their advertising agencies. Well, according to a new report, not much. On Tuesday, the Association of National Advertisers released a very damaging 58-page report that hits advertising agencies hard in how they conduct business and look upon their clients.

Results of the study, conducted in conjunction with K2 Intelligence, state that there are many non-transparent business practices taking place, including “cash rebates to media agencies,” and other shenanigans.

The K2 study, conducted from October 2015 through May 2016, reveals “evidence of a fundamental disconnect in the advertising industry regarding the basic nature of the advertiser-agency relationship.” The report states that while advertisers expressed a belief that their agencies were duty-bound to act in their best interest, many agency executives said their relationship with advertisers was solely defined by the contract between the two parties.

Even more alarming was evidence in the report of agencies purchasing media on its own behalf and later reselling it to a client after a markup. The study also revealed that senior executives across the agency network were aware of, and mandated, some non-transparent business practices. Contracts for rebates and other non-transparent business practices were negotiated and sometimes signed by high-level agency executives. The study also found dual rate cards in which agencies and holding companies negotiated separate rates with media suppliers when acting as principals and as agents.

ANA Chairman Tony Pace said the report unearthed a “fundamental disconnect” between advertisers and their media agencies. “As media practices have become more complex, stewardship and oversight needs to become more precise, more thorough, and more fully transparent.”
The 4A’s, a trade association for agencies, responded to the findings in a statement that AdAge published: “A healthy and constructive debate about media buying can only happen with a bipartisan, engaged, industry-wide approach — and that is precisely the opposite of what the ANA has pursued. The immense shortcomings of the K2 report released today – anonymous, inconclusive, and one-sided – undercut the integrity of its findings. We call upon the ANA in the strongest terms to make available to specific agencies on a confidential basis all of the materials related to them.”

 

5 evidence-based tips to mental toughness

SmartBlogs from SmartBrief

By LaRae Quy on May 18th, 2016      

Growing up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, I learned to survive by being scrappy enough to make-do and hungry enough to keep moving. Department stores were big buildings in places 100 miles away, and if a rattlesnake came between me and where I wanted to go, guess who came out on top?

As a kid I learned a lot about mental toughness. When I joined the FBI, I learned even more. My defensive tactics and firearms training drilled one thing into me: never choke when faced with an obstacle that looks bigger, meaner, or uglier than you.

In other words, always be game-ready so you can have the mental toughness to rebound from disappointments and missed opportunities. Our coaches trained us to have a hardiness for enduring the downside of a situation.

Entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners have tough situations to face in today’s competitive environment. They need to be ready to meet those challenges with their best mental game.
Here are five evidence-based tips on how to develop a stronger mind:

Mental toughness tip No. 1: Set a super clear goal
Research confirms that the more specific your goal, the better you will perform. General goals are too vague so take the time at the very beginning to think it through so it will become more clear to you.
The goal must be real and important for you to achieve. Do not speculate—that will do nothing but waste your time and valuable energy.
Tips:

• Define your need and really mean it.
• Describe in detail exactly what you want.
• List what you want—it will help you visualize your success.
• Define what will interfere in achieving your goal.
• Determine the starting point.
• Establish a time frame for achieving your goal.
• Break down the tasks necessary for completion.
• Tell others what you plan to do.

Mental toughness tip No. 2: Learn to be OK with pain
We all know we are most motivated just before a deadline — our pulse quickens and our focus narrows. We can use the same principles of neurobiology to help us be mentally tough when it comes to meeting our goals.

Handling tough negotiations, dealing with competitors, and climbing the corporate ladder are not easy achievements, but if you are pursuing something that holds both value and meaning for you, you will embrace the discomfort that comes from pushing yourself past self-limiting barriers.
Whether it’s physical, psychological, or emotional discomfort, pushing past the pain of exertion will require you to suck it up. Leaders who have mental toughness are able to function when they hit their pain threshold because their minds are trained to ease their way through it.
My defensive tactics coach used to shout out, “No pain, no gain!” It captures the idea that we need to move past the point of comfort to achieve professional excellence.
Tips:

• When you feel you are starting to hit the wall, stay in the moment and concentrate on the task in front of you. When you focus and concentrate on the task, it is easier to see where small steps can be taken to keep you moving through the wall you are facing. If you lose your concentration, all you will see is the wall! Your mind takes over and tells you that the task is impossible, so you crumble and wilt.
• Craft your goals as a target you are moving toward. Athletes are rarely thinking how far they are from the starting line but rather how much closer they are to the finish line.

Mental toughness tip No. 3: Get competitive
As badly as I hate to admit this, I was passed in a 6K run by a woman pushing a baby carriage. My pride took a real nosedive at that sorry moment, but it prompted a real competitive spirit within me.
I made sure the woman never got more than a few paces ahead of me for the rest of the race. I focused my eyes on her back and kept her pace until we crossed the finish line.
Inch by inch, life’s a cinch; yard by yard, life is hard.
Tips:

1. Identify your competitors.
2. Gage where you stand against them.
3. Pick out one competitor who is slightly ahead of you in terms of talent and skill set.
4. Find the scrappiness to stay up with them, and eventually, move past.
5. Throw your lasso around the next competitor ahead of you and do the same thing.

Mental toughness tip No. 4:  Talk to yourself
The way in which we talk to ourselves can influence our behavior in both positive and negative ways.
Self-talk used by FBI agents and Navy Seals is not just a motivational message like “You can do it!” In studies published by Perspectives on Psychological Science, it was determined that the most useful mental message is the “instructional self-talk.”
This is the kind of running commentary we engage in when we’re carrying out a difficult task, especially one that’s unfamiliar to us, to keep us focused on what we are learning and what we need to do next.
Learning forces us to focus our attention on the task before us so we can screen out distractions. It also helps us regulate our effort so we can make better decisions about what to do, how to do it, and when.
Tips:

• Recent studies have found that self-talk is most effective when incorporated into a series of thoughts and actions.
• First, comes a thought where you set a goal for yourself and make a plan on how to get there.
• Second, your performance follows where you enact the plan to the best of your ability.
• Third, spend time in self-reflection when you carefully evaluate what you’ve done and adjust your plan to be even better next time.

Mental toughness tip No. 5: Picture it
Visualizing your success is based on solid science. When you imagine yourself doing something before you do it, you are programming your mind to think you can. By visualizing your performance repeatedly, your brain will store that information as a success.
With each success, our brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This is the chemical that becomes active when we encounter situations that are linked to rewards from the past. Dopamine enables us to not only see rewards, but to move toward those rewards.
TIPS:

• Research has suggested that we need to repeat positive mental messages to ourselves at least five times before our brain begins to see an obstacle differently.
• Visualize your success three to five times a day.
• Hold those mental messages for 20 seconds at a time.

Mental toughness is the ability to manage our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that will set us up for success. It’s truly about mind over matter.

Top 10 Latino Creative Devices

By Roberto Siewczynski, Op-Ed Contributor Thursday, May 19, 2016

As we were presenting work to a client a question came up: “Where is the Latino relevance in the execution?” Frequently, when presenting creative work for the Hispanic market, there is tension in trying to show something that is unique to Latinos in the work, and the question of whether or not you really need it. A lot of this stems from the perspective that Latino consumers behave differently than the general market consumer and therefore require something different when it comes to brand communications that Hispanics will connect with. Enter the “Hispanic creative device.” Once I asked my executive creative director what is a “creative device” or as they say in Spanish “un recurso.” He responded, “Something that helps us have a hook to engage the consumer with our work.” After further discussion, I learned it could be a word, a setting, a sport, a celebrity, a glass of water. Literally, anything. In this case, it just “has to be Hispanic.” This seems to help clients justify the need for creative that is divergent to the general market. What happens though is that over time if you are looking for a unique cultural “device,” you start seeing these devices pop up over and over in creative work across many categories. I could say they are overused, but in some cases, even if they are clichés or stereotypical, I have seen these devices work and perform in the marketplace. It is what it is. Rather than get into a dissertation about whether this is good or bad, I decided to put a list together of some of the more common devices I frequently see in work targeted towards Latinos. So here they are, whether you call them stereotypes, clichés, devices or nuances. If you work in the advertising/marketing business, it’s very likely to have run across these when marketing to Latinos. Abuelita en la Cocina: How many more commercials do we need to see with Grandma in the kitchen or living room giving advice to her daughter while her granddaughter listens intently? Birthday with Piñata party: Whether you are selling insurance or cars, I have seen this scene frequently creep in, whether it’s the focus of the execution or blurred out in the background so that you can see what it is in an impressionist sort of way. Luchadores (Mexican wrestlers): Okay! Yes, they are colorful, fun to watch and are very typical of Mexican culture but do you really need a luchador to sell cars or beer or cellular services? Sometimes you do, I guess; once a year maybe? Loteria: From agency websites to financial services to beer, how many more times do we need to see the loteria board game treatment to represent a product, scene or print ad? Novela Setting: Regardless if it’s a radio ad for fruit or TV ad for spring fashion, yes, Latinos love their novelas but do they really need to listen at your product pitch in this setting that often? Papel Picado: Hmm…I guess that’s the only type of decorations Latinos buy. Okay, I have seen some awesome work using this and it’s a great merchandising tactic for in-store. La Quinceañera: Yes, we have a Sweet 16 a year before; it’s important, frequent and insightful. Even MTV did a few sweet 16 episodes on this and there is whole industry (similar to Indian weddings) to support this celebration. El Partido de Fútbol: Guys or couples sitting in front of the TV or in the soccer stadium or at a bar, watching the ever-present soccer game (wearing their seleccion jersey) is something that keeps popping up in almost every category, especially during World Cup years. Dia de los Muertos: The general market has Halloween, what can we do that is Hispanic? In come the Calaca designs and Catrinas. Mind you, this is “not just a Latino thing anymore”; check out what HEB did last year. The Big Parrillada: Yes, Latinos have extended families and like to invite all friends and neighbors for an outdoor BBQ. Look for the ever-present smoke and grill in everything from soft drinks to Wal-Mart ads. Are these good devices? Yes. Are they bad devices? Yes. It’s not just what you say but also how you say it that matters, so it’s not just how you use these devices but also when you use them that matters.

Critic's Notebook: Why Being Critical of Broadcast Television Matters

The Hollywood Reporter

May 19, 2016 4:59pm PT by Tim Goodman

Not a job I'd want, but an industry worth covering critically.  Getty Images; ISTOCK       

Despite the sad state of affairs that the upfronts couldn't truly mask, some smart moves might be happening with the networks.

Now that the cavalcade of audacious dreaming is over — aka the network upfronts — what does it all mean?

No, really, that's an actual question. Other than broadcast networks presenting their new shows and selling them and spinning and maybe even lying in the process, what is the take-away from this last week of circus-hoopla? What happens now to this most interesting of businesses?
The short answer is probably "more of the same, only worse than before."

Of course that will only make even more people think I'm a cynical buzz-kill out to ruin everyone's good fun — conclusions they might have reached  or, for that matter, a lot of stuff I've written for the past decade.
But here's a truism for you: The most fascinating thing right now in all of television — and believe me, there are so many intriguing take-aways throughout the industry — is monitoring the state of network television.

And there are not that many left doing it, at least not critically.
Why? Because it's not sexy. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu — all the streaming services are the sexy of today. FX, HBO, Showtime, AMC, Starz — all the cable channels attracting the most talented creators and visionaries remain sexy and interesting. But broadcast networks are not even yesterday's sexy thing. They are a thing you carbon-date.

Writing about the state of broadcast television — and by that I mean covering it critically, not cheerleading for its stars or fan-boying up its soapy dramas or gif-girling on its best comedies — is not going to win you a lot of friends because, seriously, most of the news and much of the content coming out of it is not very good.

But I'd argue that it's important and, if you like failure-analysis, intriguing. Still, it's not super exciting and it's almost impossible to be upbeat about the industry if you've been paying actual attention, but it's valuable nonetheless. Broadcast network television is the foundation of all of television — the ur-business of the industry, the IBM before the Apple. Right now its vaults hold the largest percentage of accrued culture in the medium.

Also, right now broadcast television is one feisty-ass entity. From CBS' Leslie Moonves boasting that ad money is leaving digital and coming back to broadcast to every entertainment president arguing that breakout hits still confirm networks are where the most eyeballs are — and that's worth paying for, everybody's aggressively on point. If you work in broadcast television right now, your talking points memo is that reports of your death are very premature.
And yet, whoa.
 No amount of spin can counter the diminished ratings (the ones that have people using words like "end times" after reporting them on Twitter), the yearly lack of breakout hits and how difficult it is to actually maintain what generously might be considered a hit not only from the start to the end of the season (where the show might be better called "on the bubble") but from season to season, where further drops are often forthcoming.

I've detailed a lot of the issues the networks face — a lengthy list — and watched while some improvements have come (shorter seasons; anthologies, etc.) and some dumb decisions continue (shell-game shifting of times and days, particularly with new series, etc.).

This latest upfronts overload of hype brought some good and bad into focus. For starters, if network sales teams can get Madison Avenue to pay the same rates as before on diminished ratings returns — I'm very dubious that this is the case — then godspeed. It's not my money. The entire television industry, not just broadcast, has been very good at shifting the discussion away from both overnight ratings and Nielsen-only ratings to other quantifiable metrics that have nudged dollars out of pockets, so that alone is an amazing achievement.

But beating back digital ad buying (whether its hammering home accuracy and accountability or ad effectiveness) is a minor victory. Streaming services Amazon, Netflix and even part of Hulu, with its no-ad premium offer, are not competing for network ad dollars; neither is HBO, Showtime or Starz. Ad-supported cable (and the influx of cable channels producing very good content) remains broadcast's biggest financial issue. Given that many niche channels are producing ratings equal to or better than network offerings means the frontline of the dollar wars is and remains with cable.
No, the bigger-picture issue confronting the broadcast networks, one I think they appeared to uniformly address in this upfronts, is the choice/time conundrum that's central to virtually everyone's life. Meaning, people are now overwhelmed with choice in television and they don't have the time to watch all of the choices they are given.

Choice/time is the main driver for reduced ratings across the board. That's irrefutable. Poor quality is also part of that, but plenty of bad shows get good ratings. Systemic network issues like trust — viewers know that networks cancel series at an alarming percentage and thus wait or don't opt in at all — are also in play. (Netflix drops entire seasons, which is an advantage, and both Amazon and Hulu are new enough to not have bad reputations around mid-run cancellations). But mostly too many choices and not enough time is the culprit here.

 

May 20, 2016

 

PRX stands for Public Radio Exchange. It’s an online marketplace for distribution, review, and licensing of public radio programming. The nonprofit has distributed radio programs including This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, and Reveal. As podcasting grew in popularity, PRX built mobile listening apps for its exploding user base. And, over the past year, PRX has been working on a project it says will reimagine the way listeners spend their time with audio content. The new company is called RadioPublic and it is building a mobile listening platform for on-demand radio and podcasts.

A Public Benefit Corporation, RadioPublic has secured funding from some very recognizable names, including Project11, The New York Times, Graham Holdings Company, UP2398, Knight Foundation Enterprise Fund, Matter Ventures, American Public Media, McClatchy, and Homebrew.

Jake Shapiro, founding chief executive of PRX, will lead the new venture as CEO. Shapiro tells Poynter, “We believe RadioPublic can be radio rethought. We think that there’s something extraordinarily powerful and simple and beautiful and coherent about radio that needs to be transformed for how people are using and accessing information.” The idea behind RadioPublic is to provide a one-stop shop for all kinds of audio, including news, entertainment, and storytelling.

When RadioPublic’s first mobile apps launch later this year, listeners will have access to podcasts as well as PRX’s full catalog, including The Moth Radio Hour, 99% Invisible, Reveal, the Radiotopia podcast network, and the Remix story channel. RadioPublic will also integrate with PRX’s ad product, Dovetail, which powers Serial and other signature shows. Shapiro said, ““We are at a clear inflection point in the shift to on-demand radio through mobile devices and the connected car and home. PRX has been public media’s engine for talent and technology from podcasting’s earliest days, and now together we’re rethinking radio and transforming the way listeners connect with the shows they love. ”

Shapiro also tells Poynter that audio storytelling defies the trend of consumers taking in their news on social media. “Listeners want to consume audio in a native app that allows them to listen to podcasts and other radio when they’re in the car, out of sync with their data connection, or otherwise on the go. He and his team see vast and largely untapped potential in the current base of audio consumers. Having billions of radios, essentially, in people’s pockets, is an enormous channel for distribution that is still, in many ways, up for grabs.”

New York Times Executive VP of Product and Technology, and editor of Innovation and Strategy Kinsey Wilson said, “News and entertainment radio is at a moment of profound transition as broadcast and podcast listening moves to simple on-demand digital listening. And The Times sees opportunity there.”

eMarketer reports the U.S. media and entertainment industries will spend a combined $7.34 billion on paid online and mobile media advertising this year. The firm is projecting that number to balloon to $11.52 billion in four years. The media category is expected to spend $4 billion in 2016, up from $3.45 billion in 2015. And entertainment advertisers will spend $3.29 billion on digital ads in 2016.

eMarketer says, “As digital consumption of news and entertainment increases, advertisers in these sectors are spending larger portions of their advertising and promotional budgets on online and mobile channels, as explored in a new eMarketer report, “The US Media and Entertainment Industries 2016: Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Trends.”

Fox Television Network, Fox News Network Highest in Commercial Clutter

               

• by Wayne Friedman, Yesterday, 1:24 PM                                           

Fox Television Network and the Fox News Channel run the most commercials time per hour among the respective broadcast and cable network categories.
With results from iSpot.tv, the Fox Television Network averaged 15 minutes and 4 minutes in the first quarter of 2015 -- virtually flat (0.16% higher) versus the fourth-quarter period and the highest of all broadcast networks. These results include local TV ad time and exclude promotional time.

Fox News Channel was at 16:52 -- the most of any cable network (and all networks overall). It was down 3% from the previous quarter. Fox News has been posting soaring viewership due to the Presidential election news/campaigns.

After Fox, CBS is the next-largest broadcast network with commercial time -- 14:23, down 0.7%. ABC is next at 13:51, up 0.05%. NBC had the biggest change, up a strong 9% to 13:46 versus the fourth quarter of 2015. CW has the lightest advertising load at 10:43, down 6.4% from the fourth quarter 2015.

Total broadcast advertising commercial time -- national and local advertising -- on networks was virtually flat in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter of 2015. The five top English-language networks inched up 0.7%, averaging 13 hours and 13 minutes, excluding any promotional time.
Although cable networks have announced efforts to cut back on advertising time, generally, they still have more commercial time than broadcast networks.

Seventeen cable networks tally total hourly average advertising time higher than 14 minutes, with four Viacom networks in the top five -- Spike (16:43), MTV (16:21), BET (16:16), and Comedy Central (16:14). Turner networks were next: TBS (15:31) and truTV (15:17).
Some of the least commercial cluttered networks, according to iSpot.tv -- ESPN (8:33), AMC (9:43), FX (11:09); Cartoon Network (11:46); National Geographic (12:28); and TNT (12:39).

Why You Should Geo-Target For Your Advertisers

By Gabriel Barnes -

May 12, 2016

                   

 

 

 

 

(by Gabriel Barnes) When looking to pinpoint an audience based on geography, the terms geo-fencing or geo-targeting are often used. These terms are often incorrectly used interchangeably, creating confusion, so let’s clarify what they mean.

Geo-targeting is a broad term for the method of pinpointing an audience based on their location — ranging from as wide as the state to as granular as an address. Any and all advertising types can use geo-targeting to define a location applicable to each campaign.

Geo-fencing refers to a more specific application of geo-targeting, where a virtual barrier is created around a defined area, usually determined by a geo-targeting strategy. A geo-fence can be as broad as a state or as hyperlocal as a city block, and the smaller the geo-fence, the more granular the targeting. Geo-fencing is almost always used alongside other targeting elements, including demographics, search history, etc.

Both of these tools are finding their way into the hands of radio groups across the country, and with much success. Picture the following scenario:
Station X and Station Y are both pitching the same local Mercedes dealership on running a digital marketing campaign with their stations.

Station X educates the dealership on the value of advertising on the station website. The AE provides the dealership with the usual information about the station, including demographics, and analytics for its website. To the dealership it sounds very intriguing, because the average household income of the station’s visitors makes for a perfect prospect. However, in the back of his mind, the dealer feels like much of the site traffic wouldn’t be great prospects, and he is weary of having to “pay” for non-qualified traffic.

On the other hand, Station Y educates the dealer on the value of location-based advertising. The dealer is unaware of the concept, so the AE explains that the dealer can create virtual fences around all of his dealership’s competitors and show its Mercedes ads to anyone within range of those competitors.

Also, the dealer can draw a fence around his own dealership, add an additional targeting layer — household income — and show ads only to individuals who are inside that “fence” and meet the income criteria. The AE informs the dealer that there is a potentially smaller “prospect pool” than Station X’s website, but the smaller pool consists of highly qualified prospects, because ads are only shown to those who meet the requirements — resulting in a higher ROI.

Although this is a hypothetical scenario, who would you choose to do business with?
As “big data” continues to be dissected and businesses begin to have a very clear understanding of the who, what, when, and where of their revenue, the ability to strategically target areas that will drive traffic to stores or to websites will be invaluable. If you are still thinking you can pitch your “digital marketing” products — i.e., your website and some Facebook posts by your on-air personalities — you will continue to lose out to those who have the means to deliver geographically targeted ads.

So what can your station do now to get involved in geotargeting and geo-fencing for your advertisers? Here are three things I recommend:

1. Do your own research. There are numerous businesses that offer geo-fencing or geo-targeting services, so be sure to compare. You can start by searching for “best geotargeting companies” or “geo-fencing solutions.” Be sure to be clear on whether you are looking to help an advertiser with being found on search engines or help them with branding through targeted display advertising.
2. Categorize your advertiser database. Identify business categories that have many competitors in close proximity to each other. Car dealerships, for example, are everywhere, but the average person couldn’t list half of the dealerships within 10 miles of them. We know that most people do their shopping close to their home base and that the businesses they frequent tend to be located on streets or in areas that they drive most often. Helping advertisers target people who are nearby and who might be unaware of the business will increase site and foot traffic.
3. Offer location-based advertising as part of a radio buy. Inform your advertisers that you can deliver custom online ads or messages based on their location — something a radio commercial can’t do. Due to demographics and other factors, a display for one location might need to be completely different from that designed for another area.

As always, it’s important to have a strategy in place before beginning something new. The beauty of this particular concept is that it doesn’t require any kind of upfront technology investment on the part of a broadcast station. It’s a matter of incorporating it into the rate card and then making an infrastructure investment.

So take some time to research the benefits of geotargeting and geo-fencing to increase your revenues. Who knows, you might be able to target competitor stations “steal” away listeners!