In my earlier post, I described how broadcasters tend to misunderstand (at best) and abuse (at worst) the term “local,” thinking that the mailing address of the local radio station somehow entitles it to unique privileges versus its competitors, even in today’s digital era.

Today I draw your attention to a fantastic new book called No Size Fits All: From Mass Marketing to Mass Handselling, which discusses the implications of a digital world on our business, our economy, and our culture.

“Anything that can go digital, ultimately will.  And when something goes digital, it inevitably goes global.  And the more things go digital, the more they are rewarded with explosive growth, enhanced scale, [etc.].”

Differentiation is made between varying shades of “local” and “global.”

The two categories that are most relevant for radio are these:  ”Intrinsically local” and “functionally local.”

Author Tom Hayes writes:

INTRINSICALLY LOCAL:

These are businesses that are typically small, rarely serve more than the immediate neighborhood, and are often single-proprietor.  You frequent them because the services they provide can only really be provided locally.  Think barbershops, beauty salons, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, automobile repair shops.

For the most part, these enterprises will not be affected at all by the new global economy.  No matter how much the world is networked, you will still drive down the street to get a quart of milk.

That is not “Radio.”

Tom goes on:

HABITUALLY LOCAL:

These enterprises, though often assumed to be intrinsically local, are in fact highly vulnerable to an increasingly networked world – especially after the right technological revolution or quantum leap in communications or delivery systems.  Classic examples of this are the local printer, the video rental store, the local record store – all were assumed to be enduring local enterprises – until they were rendered all but extinct by, respectively, desktop publishing, Netflix, and MP3 technology.  The LOCAL hardware store, green grocer, and department store were all overwhelmed by improved distribution and inventory systems implemented by national chains.

The awful truth is that, with only a handful of exceptions, every local business and institution is under competitive risk from the newly emerging business order.

THAT is the radio industry’s category.  Vulnerable.

Vulnerable to consolidation.  Vulnerable to centralized, nationalized, globalized content and delivery mechanisms.  Vulnerable to substitutes and alternatives capable of localizing or personalizing content and features as well as or better than a radio station can.

So I call on the leaders of the radio industry to stop harping on the illusory talking point of “local” and to start harping on the advantages that are or could be unique to radio in a local market.

Fail to understand the difference at your peril.

You have a megaphone – a big one.  And the permission to use it to connect consumers and marketers and to carry those consumers wherever they want to go.

That is the leverage-point.

Anything else is a mirage in global media desert.

This is where top-ranked morning shows go when they go off the air – to the garage.

At least, that’s the destination (so far) for San Diego’s legendary Jeff & Jer.

As you’ll see from the archive, this is a very occasional show indeed.

As an aside, my wife and I were looking for updates during the disappearance of Chelsea King, who lived near our neighborhood.  And where did we find the best updates?  From Jeff & Jer and their producer, Tommy.

Hmmm.

Later this month I will be presenting at the European Radiodays Conference in Copenhagen.  The topic is “The American Way – Radio in the homeland of Apple & Google.”

And since I’m speaking for an entire nation, I’d like your input to the making of this presentation!

Here’s the way the presentation is described:

For many years European radio has learned a lot from American radio. Today the situation has changed a bit as the markets are quite different. But there are still lessons to be learned from US – the homeland of Apple and Google.

But what are the news trends over there? What formats are working – and what formats are coming up both in terms of station, content and much more. What are the latest developments within US radio. You get a wide perspective on US radio right now – this is what European radio can learn from US radio right now.

So here’s your chance to express your ideas to an International audience of broadcasters.

Here’s what you can do:

1.  ”Fan” me at http://www.facebook.com/markramseymedia and you’ll be in the loop on ideas as they arise (that’s the spot where you not only get all these blog posts but also tons of other timely tidbit-sized tips on radio’s future).

2.  Go to my Facebook discussion page here:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=13950&uid=115708565063

3.  At that discussion topic, enter your ideas!

4.  Come back later this month and I’ll share the complete presentation with you!

My effort in this blog and in all my digital assets is to provide you with value that provokes and informs – stuff you can use in your job and your career.

My hope is that this presentation is on track with that goal.

I’ll make sure to include your names in the postscript to the presentation!

The group improved its 2008 loss of € 119.1 million to a profit of 144.5 million in 2009, while revenues were down 5.5% to 2.077 billion.

“Thanks to continuous cost management and our good performance in the fourth quarter, we have been able to return the company to profitability in 2009″ says the group’s CEO Thomas Ebeling.

Munich-based Pro Sieben Sat 1 is owned by private equity firms KKR and Permira and is active in the German speaking countries, the Benelux, Scandinavia, central and eastern Europe and the Balkan region. It runs radio stations in Scandinavia (through SBS Radio), Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Greece.

Motor FM is already on-air in the German capital Berlin and in Stuttgart . The station will be the third commercial player on the Bremen market, alongside NRJ Group’s NRJ and RTL Group’s Hit-Radio Antenne.

“Motor FM fulfills all the requirements and has convinced us with its concept of linking up with Bremen’s cultural and musical scenes. The committee found that Motor FM’s varied programming will bring the most enrichment to the Bremen radio market” says Felix Holefleisch, president of Bremen’s broadcasting authority.

Motor FM was launched in 2004 on the Berlin market and the following year in Stuttgart. The station has editorial cooperation with London’s XFM and Los Angeles-based Indie 103.1.

Courtesy of RadioTime.

Let me say this as plainly as I can:

The Internet is coming to the automobile.

And with it will come audio, video, and new user experiences matched to the medium, beneath the distraction threshold, and appropriate (if not essential) for the place – in a car and on the road.

When the tools of entertainment and information are arm’s length away and built into every car, your audience will use them.

The question for you isn’t simply being on the menu – it’s how you should be on the menu and what you should be serving cross-platform.

“Radio owns the car,” we used to say.

It turns out it was only a long-term lease.

Opportunity abounds, but only if we see the world as it is.  Not as we wish it to be.

It’s common to stress radio’s advantage as a “local” medium. 

But what does it mean to be a “local medium” when the consumer’s local weather comes from the weather.com? When their local traffic comes from the traffic.com or, in the not too distant future, from the screen in your car’s dashboard? When their local news comes from Google News or Twitter? When their local ads are everywhere they search online? When their local radio can be heard on mobile devices from any connected spot in the world? When their favorite songs weren’t local to begin with? 

What does “local” mean when everything local is available from everything which is not? 

And why do we keep proclaiming “local” as if anyone understands what we’re talking about or what’s in it for them? 

I think the term “local” dates to a time when communities could only be served by media which originated within them – the local newspaper, TV, or radio.
Today, communities continue to have local pride, interest, and concern, but their means of expressing and sharing in those things are no longer limited to the media which so happen to be around the corner. 

Twitter is “local” if the tweet is about your son’s baseball team. E-vite is local if the event you’re invited to is a few blocks away. Facebook is “local” if your circle of friends happen to live near you. 

In fact, “local” is the old-fashioned term for what we today call “community.” “Local” was once defined by the idea that you didn’t need to drive for hours or get on a plane to get there. Because there was already here. “Local” was close to home. 

But today, “communities” are not bounded by the geography of your Arbitron report. They are bounded by interest and connection irrespective of their spot on the map. 

There are communities of gossip fans and horror fans and Rush Limbaugh fans and knitting fans and technology has granted them all new, simple, and extremely effective ways to meet, communicate, and stay connected. If an advertiser can benefit in their highly targeted presence, so much the better. But what does this have to do with “local”? 

Indeed, the ultimate “local” is the personal. When I can get my ideal mix of news or music, then why should I settle for your middle-of-the-road-version? When “local” begins at the tips of my fingers and ends at the tips of my toes, then how exactly do you offer me a better “local” solution? 

After all, the personalized page on Yahoo is called “MyYahoo” not “OurYahoo.” 

if, by “local,” you mean a way for local advertisers to reach local consumers, then what do you call Facebook, where your clients can target specific demographic segments in the specific areas their local business serves – no muss, no fuss – and no waste. 

While radio continues to have huge advantages in terms of reach and habit, the fact remains that these advantages are not God-given. And there are many forces aligned – driven by the consumer – which aim to diminish these strengths over time. 

Yes, you need to make hay while the sun shines. But recognize that the true value of “local” media is in the richness of the content and connections you’re creating, not in the number of ears you’re interrupting. 

There is no longer any such thing as “local” as we traditionally use the term. The definition of “local” is both expanding (interests are broader than geographies) and shrinking (I am the ultimate “local”) at the same time. 

The opportunity for radio is to use our reach to connect consumers with the information and entertainment they want in the way they want it, regardless of where they are or how they want us to connect with them. 

The opportunity for radio is to be so unique and compelling that there is no substitute – near or far – which can match the magic it provides. 

Otherwise “local” is just another way of saying “near you.” And why do I need you to be nearby in order to hear the new Lady GaGa song? 

Next time you hear a broadcaster boast that “we’re local,” ask him (and it’s usually a “him” who says stuff like that) what that means, exactly. See if he even knows, or if he’s plucking low-hanging talking points off the RAB tree. 

If the Internet makes the world “local,” then what’s is your advantage?

“Honest signals are the only signals that travel.” 

That’s a sentence from Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? 

While Seth is talking specifically about the rewards of digital and social media, I think his point can be interpreted much more broadly. 

Now, more than ever, the audience knows when you’re faking. Especially the more active and engaged audience. 

There’s so much crap and manipulative nonsense in this world, your audience will thank you for a moment of authenticity. They’ll heave a sigh of relief for a gift that has real feeling behind it. 

Is your Facebook fan page’s follow list rather anemic? Maybe that’s because they know you’re in it for you, not for them.

Recently I was invited to a friend’s house for a living room concert. It featured a journeyman Country artist who has had more than one hit on the charts.
There were about 20 people in the audience. This artist was thrilled to perform there, and he – and we – had the time of our lives.
He did it because he loved doing it. It was 100 percent authentic, and we all knew it.
He was sending honest signals. And now they’re traveling from me to you. 

Too often when we talk about marketing strategy for our stations – messaging, positioning, music mix, you name it – we tend to think of what we need, what we want, what’s good for us. We think of how to avoid competitors’ strengths and target their weaknesses. 

Meanwhile, as far as I can tell, competing stations don’t fill out diaries or carry meters. It’s people – real, genuine people – who do these things. 

And real, genuine people react to honest signals.
That’s why these signals travel best. 

So what kind of signals are you sending?

“Let me state it as clearly as I can: internet radio cannot and will not replace over-the-air broadcast radio.”

So says iBiquity’s Bob Struble, and I could not agree more.

But I think Mr. Struble is making the wrong point.

Because Internet radio can and will cannibalize over-the-air broadcast listening, not replace it. And it will cannibalize radio’s advertising pool, not replace it.

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.”

And those edges are tasty, indeed.

Particularly as the speed-bumps to accessing and using and enjoying Internet radio are cleared – as they will be – over the next few years.

Particularly as advertiser demand continues to build for the highly targeted capability of Internet radio which, quite frankly, leaves its over-the-air alternatives in the dust.

Particularly as revenues for Internet radio build and agency acceptance of this new medium grows.

Particularly as the Internet becomes embedded in everything, everywhere – even in places where radios generally don’t exist (or won’t exist forever) – like, say, your pocket.

Particularly as Google and others provide new access ramps to monetization for publishers (formerly called “broadcasters”) large and small.

It seems to me that our response to Internet radio should be more about developing effective strategies to transform this threat into a golden opportunity.

And less like Alfred E. Newman’s timeless “What, me worry?”

Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.

And (as of this writing) he has a quarter of a million followers.

That’s a lot.  And it is growing fast.

A “brand” isn’t what YOU say it is, it’s what consumers say it is.

A “brand” has a gravitational pull.  It’s not simply a stick with four call-letters and a website. Just as a list of ingredients isn’t the same as a tasty dessert made from those ingredients (don’t take my word for it, ask these folks).

And that gravitational pull happens because creative and hard-working people invest their effort and energy in a project that matters – to them and to their audiences.

Embrace your brand.

Not simply your ingredients.