Scott Muller May 6, 2013

Best Radio Event in the World ? Pt 2

Radio Consultancy

In just three years, the Radio Days Europe conference has snowballed to become the world’s most significant annual radio industry event.

In Part 1 yesterday SCA’s Craig Bruce, BP&R’s Peter Don and Wayne Clouten, and MMH’s Alex Dean shared some highlights of this year’s RDE in Berlin with Scott Muller. Read it here.

Here's more of what they experienced….

The Australian Contingent – L-R: Sam Cavanagh SCA, Craig Bruce SCA, James O’Brien ABC, Peter Don BPR, Scott Muller MBOS, Alex Dean MMH Russia

25 IDEAS IN 45 MINUTES

Wayne: The most memorable presentation for me was 25 ideas in 45 minutes, particularly David Halls succinct summary of the key issues in using Social Media. His observation that social media now means your audience has an audience was something I hope everyone noted.

Alex: There weren't too many spare seats for this session featuring 5 radio brains from around the world. Countries represented were Slovenia, Norway, the USA and Australia. Each presenter was given 6 minutes each to give their top 5 ideas and it seems (many of the) best ideas are still coming out of Australia.

(Craig Bruce’s example from) Triple M Brisbane was the idea which received the best reaction from the audience. This was where listeners were asked to register their other halves 'one true love', could be a boat, car or animal and the station then married the listener to their 'one true love', in this case a boat. Great to see his ideas winning over the large European contingent.

See more about this session here.

HYBRID RADIO AND PANDORA RADIO

Alex: There weren't too many sessions at Radio Days where someone wasn't speaking about Multi Platforms whether it be DAB, DAB+, smart Phone Apps, internet streaming and let's not forget traditional FM radio listening.

Nick Piggott, Chairman from Radio DNS explained how their company is repackaging broadcast radio to include all forms of radio (distribution or transmission) to look like an app. So if I'm in Sydney listening to my favourite station, it picks up the FM signal, if I'm listening in Melbourne, the app picks up the digital signal. Cool idea – looks a lot easier than negotiating your way around some of the digital radios on the market! – and this session was received very positively, due to the fact it glues the various technologies together to be just like a smart phone app.

Scott: This was one of the most important sessions at RDE, and particularly pertinent to the Australian radio industry. The session’s bottom line: no listener cares how they get your station, whether it’s AM, FM, digital, online, mobile – or whether it’s a commercial, public, state, or community station – so design the way they get it so that the technology is completely invisible and it all works together seamlessly.

See more about this session here.

Craig: Larry Rosin’s cautionary tale about American radio’s response (or lack thereof) to the threat of Pandora was chilling. It’s hard to see how the industry in the U.S is going to come back from here, which is ultimately bad for all of us.

See more about this session here.

Scott: Craig’s comment about Larry Rosin’s session is timely. For more information on Pandora Radio, read the recent interview with Jane Huxley here. Pandora Radio has only recently launched in Australia – and Australian radio can either replicate “American radio’s response (or lack thereof)”, or prepare and adapt to the change in listeners’ behaviour that Pandora Radio and other services are likely to bring about.

The Australian version of the tale needn’t be “chilling”, too – though on the technology side, it may make the fast-tracking of Hybrid Radio an urgent and critical priority. Pandora Radio is easy to use across a range of devices – Hybrid Radio looks like it could do the same for existing radio brands broadcasting through multiple means of distribution (FM, digital, mobile).

USING PRODUCTION TO CREATE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

Scott: Dave Foxx of Z100 New York is somewhat of a living legend in radio production circles. His session was an excellent, back-to-basics reminder of the communications process – along with some awesome imaging, and a live demonstration of creating a jingle from scratch.

Alex: I've been following Dave Foxx's work for years on Z100. It was awesome to not only hear him speak but to finally meet him. A great reminder that one of the most effective ways to build an emotional connection with your audience is through powerful imaging either in station promos or packaging. Fantastic hearing example's of Dave's work from his twenty something years at Z100 – Minimal words, brilliant production, go Foxxy!

See our interview with Dave Foxx from late last year here.

Alex Dean with Dave Foxx of Z100 New York

BBC RADIO 1’S WATCH-LISTEN-SHARE STRATEGY FOR UNDER-30s

Craig: I loved the BBC1 presentation from Ben Cooper. Watch/Listen/Share is a really strong and obvious starting point to attract an under 30s audience. The thinking and research that went into this strategy was excellent. I was really impressed with the supporting KPIs to help them achieve their goals. Hearing the station in London a couple of days later and you could genuinely hear the strategy on the air.

See more about this session here.

HOW YOU CAN BE PART OF RDE 2014

When/where:

The next Radio Days Europe event is in Dublin, Ireland – Sunday March 23 to Tuesday March 25, 2014.

Who is it for:

Commercial, public, and state radio broadcasters – owners, managers, program directors, executive producers, content developers, interactive managers, and professionals in marketing, sales, audience research, on-air talent, production, technology, and radio-related industries.

For more information visit here.