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800.275.2840 MORE NEWS» insideradio.com THE MOST TRUSTED NEWS IN RADIO MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 Inside Story: Through Radio, Brands Meet Fans Live. Inside an air-misted Subaru tent on a scorching July afternoon, music festivalgoers are lining up to enter a contest for a shot at winning a kayak or beach cruiser bike perched atop one of the shiny new Outback and Forrester vehicles parked nearby. Outfitted with cellphone charging stations, comfy day-glo couches and a crew of friendly Subaru product specialists, the showcase exhibit at XPoNential Music Festival—produced by adult alternative WXPN, Philadelphia (88.5) and held at New Jersey’s Camden waterfront near the Delaware River—is the biggest event the automaker does on the East Coast, one that will deliver a rich ROI of lead generation, product experiences, customer feedback, purchase consideration and general good vibes about the brand. It is, in a sense, a textbook example of an advertiser working with radio on an event to their mutual benefit. “For Subaru America it’s become our showcase event on the East Coast in terms of how to do an event and activate with your customers, to engage with them for future interaction and to get them to support the brand,” says Matt Ritter, director, Philly Zone, for Subaru of America. “We know this is where our customer is.” Subaru wasn’t alone. WXPN, the influential non-commercial station, has doubled the number of sponsors for its three-day mega-fest to 36 during the past four years. Most purchased a multi-tiered marketing campaign that included on-air, online and on-site components. Verizon, Nature Valley, Xfinity, Flying Fish Brewing Company, Whole Foods Markets and other clients made the most of the chance to engage with the 34,000 adventure-seeking, environmentally friendly folks on hand to catch 30 artists on three stages in two adjacent venues over three days at the site. Fully Engaged—Read how sponsors at XPoNential really won over the crowd, only at InsideRadio.com. Subaru-WXPN Is Win-Win Come Fest-Time. For Subaru, the bottom line of being very involved in the XPoNential Music Festival—produced by adult alternative WXPN, Philadelphia—had to do with, frankly, the bottom line. Among other things, Subaru used the event to reward existing customers with surprise free ticket upgrades, and to solicit feedback for its product- planning department. “It’s a chance for us to engage with our customers, and bring some new ones to the brand,” Matt Ritter, director, Philly Zone, for Subaru of America, says. It’s also about reaching and building brand awareness for those who may not be that familiar with Subaru.” The Subaru tent at XPoNential was mobbed for three straight days. Many were either existing Subaru customers or people interested in becoming one. “We want to help drive that customer who is considering Subaru all the way down that purchase funnel to say, ‘I’m going to go buy one now,’ and we know that we can do that by being at this festival,” Ritter says. Subaru’s multiplatform campaign included on-air and online components, including spots during the live video stream from the festival. Digital components included social media amplification and uploading photos from the event to Subaru’s website and social channels. The 10-year tradition of involvement with the music fest was born out of the realization by Subaru of how close its customer base aligned with WXPN’s demographic and qualitative audience profile. “They have disposable income and they care about different causes deeply, as does Subaru,” Ritter says. “We looked at the XPN customer and ours and we said it’s the same person in many cases.” By the Monday after the event, Subaru had 847 leads for new customers. Dear Subaru—Read about the trust factor between the automaker and potential customers, created through the event, only at InsideRadio.com. [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 1 NEWS insideradio.com MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 Stations See Events As Brand Extensions. With three days of events planned for Georgia’s sprawling Lanier Islands resort, “The Fan” WCNN, Atlanta (680, 93.7) will give clients almost limitless ways to activate at its Labor Day weekend Tailgates and Touchdowns event. Golf, a 5K run and live music are all on the bill for the Dickey Broadcasting sports station’s kick-off for college football season. Zaxby’s, a fast casual restaurant chain and a title sponsor, will offer product tastings while official beer Bud Light will provide post-party refreshments for golfers and 30 former NCAA College Football players at the Sept. 3 Tailgate Golf Classic. Georgia’s Own Credit Union will have laptops ready to process car loan applications while Bud Light Beach will offer obstacle courses, games and giant TVs for the Sept. 4 beach-themed Tailgate Cove Party at the venue’s waterpark, headlined by country singer Frankie Ballard. Michelob Ultra will be the sponsoring beer for the fitter crowd members participating in the Sept. 5 Tailgate 5K run and walk. Scott McFarlane, WCNN assistant PD, marketing director & interactive media director, says the events complement the station’s brand, for which college football is a core element, and provides brand partners an opportunity to “touch and feel our P1 listeners.” WCNN has done events before at the 1,100-acre Lanier Islands but this marks the first time it has staged an event of this size spread out across the complex. “Clients are always looking for something extra, beyond just gross impressions from on-air,” McFarlane says. “These events allow us to extend our brand into more tangible forms, which in turn gives loyal listeners different ways to interact with our people and our partners. The key is to recognize that our listeners embrace hobbies and have interests beyond sports.” Entercom Puts Rhythmic Spin On Alternative In Miami. In its first format change since closing on the purchase of Lincoln Financial Media, Entercom split its Miami sports simulcast to fill the market’s alternative void. WAXY-FM, the former partner of “The Ticket 790” WAXY, flipped to “104.3 The Shark” at 11am Friday, targeting adults 18-49. Alternative has been absent from the Miami dial for years as operators have struggled with current rock-based formats in a market that is 49% Hispanic and 24% black. That required a different approach, Doug Abernethy, VP/market manager, Entercom South Florida, told Inside Radio. “It’s a little more rhythmic and poppy than most because that’s the South Florida lifestyle,” he says. In addition to current hits, The Shark weaves rhythmic gold from Stereo MCs and Sublime in with grunge and alt classics. With no Miami station dedicated to the genre since the old “Zeta 4,” many of alternative’s biggest recent crossover hits were never played in the market, which hasn’t had any current based rock station. Entercom is well versed in alternative with successful modern rockers in Seattle (“The End” KNDD), Kansas City (“The Buzz” KRBZ ) and Portland (KRNK). Despite adding an FM simulcast in 2012, Abernethy says most listening for “The Ticket” was still occurring on AM, making the flip an easy call. “You have an AM station that owns the brand in sports, an FM frequency that’s doing nothing to help it, and a gaping hole for a format that’s complementary to the other stations that you have,” he says. Former “The Buzz” WPBZ, West Palm Beach PD John O’Connell will program the new station, which launched with 5,000 commercial-free songs in a row. Trump Tries Reaching Out To Hispanic Media. Recognizing that he’s not making many friends within the Latino population in his bid for the White House, candidate Donald Trump is approaching powerful Hispanic media organizations in hopes of changing the conversation. Meanwhile, the Donald remains a lightning rod for Spanish-language talk radio. Advocacy group National Hispanic Media Coalition says it was “quietly” contacted last week by the Trump Organization’s head of strategic development, proposing a peace-making meeting. Politico quotes coalition CEO Alex Nogales regarding three calls the advocacy group has received from the Trump camp—first, one threatening to sue, a second attempting to change what Trump had said about Mexicans and “the third time was ‘Let’s get together to talk so we can solve our differences.’” Trump’s olive branch has everything to do with the national conversation regarding how he’s perceived on Spanish-language radio stations. Laura Vazquez, Senior Immigration Legislative Analyst with Hispanic advocacy group the National Council of La Raza, told Politico that Trump stories are big business in Spanish-language media: “Radio is huge. The radio shows are all having a lot of commentary in a huge way our community gets.” Vazquez added, “In the radio shows where there’s more back and forth and with call-ins, there would be anger and outrage about [Trump’s immigration] proposal, but also a sense that this can’t be serious. It’s so outrageous, how could this be taken seriously.” So far, Trump has refused requests to appear on Latin-leaning radio stations. Influential Univision [email protected] | 800.275.2840 PG 2 NEWS insideradio.com MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2015 on-air host Jorge Ramos said that his team was in “constant contact” with Trump’s camp, and told they would not get an interview. For the past month, “Ramos said it’s been radio silence,” Politico reports. Politico concludes, “Trump may be realizing that in both politics and business, his war with Hispanic media may not be sustainable if he wants to be a serious candidate.” Auto Buys—and Loans—At Peak Points.