At the 10th annual Power of Urban Radio Forum, black-owned agencies and media outlets ruminated over a multiplicity of issues related to the future of black-owned radio.
In one of the sessions, Ken Smikle, president and founder of Target Market News, asked if “urban radio is in danger of losing its identity that it’s had for so long? As [the] digital platform becomes more prevalent, people have more control over the things that urban radio traditionally delivers to them, whether it’s music or information. Has urban radio seen its better days already?”
“Urban radio — like all black media — has its challenges. We are only buying a third of black radio that we [bought] back in 2003, and that‘s startling to me,” says Carol H. Williams, founder of Carol H. Williams Agency. “That money is now going to digital and cable. We’ve talked to our media clients. We have to promote and do out-of-the-box types of things of a promotional nature. Let’s come to the table and do some things that have not traditionally been done and those kinds of things that clients are looking for.”
The series of provocative discussions at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington was facilitated by the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) in conjunction with the Kizart Media Partners during the 40th Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference. The event was punctuated by an unprecedented forum of CEOs of specialized African American agencies and national retailers such as Home Depot, AARP, Boost Mobile, Hewlett-Packard and many others.
Bob Wingo, CEO of Sanders Wingo Advertising, which boasts AT&T as a client, told the packed audience, “We don’t control the media budgets. We work with Starcomm and with media conglomerates [and] big brands. They pick us and sometimes we can bring media friends on and sometimes not. How do we become more creative [and] make sure we get the fair share of the pie? Sometimes we don‘t control how things go.”
Williams strongly suggested that urban radio take the extra step to ensure that a media buy campaign is successful. “We need you guys to take ownership in its success as well. Sometimes all we get is one shot. You have to help us. Taking some extra effort and going a little bit beyond to make sure the buy is going to deliver what it does. We need you to partner in ensuring the success of the campaign,” she said. –terry shropshire
