Marketing Job Interview

Position: Integrated Marketing & Sales Consultant Company: Central Broadcasting (Home of ROCK95, KOOL107.5 and INDIE88) Location: , Ontario Reports to: Sales Manager – Susan Orr General Manager – Megan Bingley

Central Ontario Broadcasting is an independent broadcasting company with over 25 years of experience. We are used to innovating and winning, we still believe radio is fun, and we encourage high fives in the hallway. Our latest expansion and Toronto’ newest radio station is INDIE88 (see the attached Globe & Mail article for our ‘birth announcement’) . We offer each of our clients an integrated tool kit of advertising and marketing solutions, each tool kit will include a mix of traditional broadcast advertisements, content sponsorships, promotions, on-site activations, as well as sponsored web content initiatives such as pre-roll campaigns, social media marketing, and banner advertising on Indie88.com. We are looking for a motivated self-starter to join our growing team as an Integrated Marketing and Sales Consultant.

The JOB: Our Integrated Marketing & Sales Consultant will:  Find and develop prospective clients.  Work in a consultative role with clients to conduct a SWOT analysis and review their USP in order to uncover their advertising and marketing needs.  Intermediate between client and INDIE88 digital and programming departments to build an individualized toolkit of integrated advertising & marketing solutions (see above).

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE: The ideal candidate will:  Have a college diploma in Business or Marketing or Advertising  Show excellent communication & interpersonal skills with clients and the INDIE88 team  Be very comfortable creating and delivering creative multimedia presentations  Have a solid understanding of broadcast, advertising and digital media metrics and measurement

Please submit 4 copies of your cover letter & resume to: Professor Lillian Tepera Georgian College 1 Georgian Drive Barrie, Ontario L4M 3X9 Closing Date: Friday, October 31, 2014

Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:14 AM EDT the star.comEntertainment Indie 88 radio station marches to an independent drummer -(tune to 88.1).

Megan Bingley and Adam Thompson are the general manager and programming director of Indie88, Toronto's first indie rock radio station.

By:Vinay MenonColumnist, Published on Fri Jul 26 2013

In a city as big and diverse as Toronto, radio should fulfill most needs.

And in general, there are stations that cater to many listening preferences, from classical to jazz, adult contemporary to dance, classic rock to Top 40, talk to sports. But for fans of indie music — including new artists not signed to major labels — a jaunt across the FM dial can be a gloomy journey.

The creators of a new commercial station, awarded a CRTC license last fall, hope to change all of this when Indie88 begins playing music Wednesday at noon (tune to 88.1). The month-long “soft launch” will herald the station’s official arrival on Sept. 3.

In a spacious building on Atlantic Ave., inside Liberty Village, workers are toiling with tools and paint brushes, putting the finishing touches on floors, walls, consoles, desks, a digital hub, a marketing and sales floor, the announcer booth, a production suite and even the metal rails outside. On the third floor, sitting at a boardroom table, Megan Bingley, the station’s general manager, and Adam Thompson, program director, are holding court, explaining their vision for the station and the impact they hope it will have.“Indie music has gained a lot of popularity all across Canada and the world,” says Bingley. “But what we’ve noticed is that it hasn’t been making its way on the radio as much as it’s consumed online.”

The station’s parent company, the independent Central Ontario Broadcasting, operates Rock 95 and 107.5 Kool FM in Barrie. Five years ago, it tried and failed to get a licence to start a new indie station in Vancouver. So when news broke that Ryerson’s CKLN, the previous occupant of the 88.1 frequency, was shutting down, the company was ready. There were 22 applicants for the licence. But nobody else pitched an indie station, one that promised to help Canadian artists who might otherwise be deprived of commercial airplay in the country’s largest market. “New and emerging Canadian talent is the hot button issue in front of the CRTC,” says industry analyst David Bray, president of Bray and Partners Communications and a participant in the hearings last spring. “That is critically important to them.”

So what might a listener hear on Indie88 next week? The playlist, which will always be fluid, already includes such local bands as July Talk, Fast Romantics, Dinosaur Bones and Born Ruffians. There will be music from emerging Canadian bands such as Purity Ring, Half Moon Run, Young Galaxy and Whitehorse. This new music will be layered into sets that include established acts such as Arcade Fire, Metric and Feist. There will also be regular nods to the genre’s spiritual past, including tunes by Beck, The Pixies, Franz Ferdinand, Talking Heads, The White Stripes, David Bowie and Radiohead, among others. “We just need to be seen as a credible source,” says Thompson. “We need to build that relationship of trust with our audience. That they know if they hear something they’ve never heard before — and that will happen on this radio station — they are hearing it for a reason. It’s not because some A&R guy in Vancouver says this is great. They are hearing it because it’s a real band that’s making waves.” Tony Dekker is the lead singer of Great Lake Swimmers, the revered Toronto band that first made waves years ago after getting exposure on college radio, which remains the de facto showcase for emerging bands on both sides of the border. “I think there’s definitely a lot of music that falls through the cracks,” says Dekker. “Toronto is just teeming with all kinds of great music that doesn’t necessarily have an outlet. So this kind of thing is really perfect for the city.” Or as Thompson observes: “If you’re selling out the Horseshoe and you’re not on the radio, there’s a problem.”

With the notable exception of 102.1 The Edge, which currently plays alternative music, the city’s indie void might also be explained by economics. “It will be a tough row to hoe initially,” predicts Bray. “They are going after a format that will not deliver huge boxcar numbers for obvious reasons. This is not an all things to all people station. It’s very much an alternative station.” According to the latest ratings data from BBM, the FM stations with the largest audiences in Toronto are CHFI, CHUM-FM, CBC Radio One, Q107 and Virgin Radio 99.9. There is no programming overlap between those stations and Indie88, a fact that likely influenced the CRTC’s decision.

“Certainly, this will help Canadian talent,” says Bray. “But from a ratings or revenue standpoint, it won’t dramatically affect current licence holders.”

For Bingley and Thompson, however, the pre-launch focus is not on profits or even revenue models. It is on spreading the gospel and letting potential listeners know that Indie88 intends to democratize the airwaves and remain faithful to its operating slogan: “Giving great music a home.” “When we say we are building a station for people in Toronto, we really mean it,” says Bingley. “We want people to feel like this is their station. We will always be listening to our audience.”

For radio, as with all media, there has never been more competition: mobile apps, satellite networks, online stations, digital music services. But what most of these global platforms can’t do is connect a listener to one region, the bedrock of radio advertising.

“We are a real thing in Toronto and we can talk directly to you,” says Thompson. “If you don’t like what we’re playing, we can have a conversation with you and discuss music. There are real humans that work here. This is not just a satellite service operating from the States.”

In addition to the music, there will be news, weather, traffic and the requisite banter. There will be five to six on-air announcers. While the full list will be revealed closer to the fall, Indie88 has already hired Raina Douris, formerly of The Edge and CBC Radio 3. And to boost its bona fides, Indie88 has also nailed down music demigod Alan Cross to fulfill the role of “guidance counsellor.”

Will it all work?

“It generally takes three to four years to go into a profit picture,” says Bray. “But radio is still very profitable. Year over year, radio continues to thrive. Most stations are still looking at a 20 to 30 per cent profit margin.”

Starting a new radio station today also means that radio is just part of the equation.

“We’ve never thought of it as being just a radio station,” says Bingley. “It’s a new content platform. Our very first hire was the digital director. We’re trying to think of this in a brand new way. We understand that people discover music in new ways now.”