credit: iStockphoto The author is senior director of new media technologies for NAB.
NAB Labs, in conjunction with the NAB Radio department, created the Digital Strategies Exchanges for Radio (DSX4r) workshop in response to a need for radio managers to meet and consider in a comprehensive fashion the many non-traditional options that are available to them today, as they look for ways to better reach their existing audiences, and to draw new listeners to their core services.
There is such an eye-glazing blur of possibilities out there that we thought a well-curated selection from the crowd, presented in a clear and actionable fashion, would be of value to radio managers. We first presented DSX4r in 2012, and we’re heartened that it’s grown each year into something that attendees and prospective presenters alike now seem to greatly anticipate.
DIGITAL DIRECTORS
This year’s event will be fast-paced and diverse, considering topics like new methods of online audience measurement and radio’s role in the connected car. We’ll also present strategies for radio to stay at the top of mind for listeners despite ever-growing competition from other platforms. And of course, we’ll look at hybrid radio, particularly the promise of the NextRadio app for handhelds and the digital dash.
One of the founding premises of DSX4r is for it to live up to its name as an “exchange” of strategies among radio stations, so most of the presenters are broadcasters talking to their fellow broadcasters. Thus there are purposely not a lot of vendors on the program.
DSX4r Agenda
Wednesday April 9
Introduction
10:30 a.m.
Advances in Web Measurement for Radio
10:40 a.m.
Shawn Smith, Interactive One; Kathleen Bohan, Univision Communications; Farshad Family, Nielsen
Connected Car Marketplace Update for Radio
11:20 a.m.
Julie Koehn, WLEN Radio; Justin Nielson, SNL
Staying Top of the Dial for Radio
11:45 a.m.
Charlie Sislen, Research Director Inc.; Tim Murphy, Entercom; Rob Williams, Greater Media Boston
Digital Strategies for Radio: A World Tour (Box Lunch)
James Cridland, media.info
Digital Directors Roundtable for Radio
1:15 p.m.
Skip Pizzi, NAB; Lacey House, The Cromwell Group; Alan Segal, Cox Media Group; Sam Stiers, Interactive One Local
Hybrid Radio/NextRadio
2:15 p.m.
Paul Brenner, Emmis Communications; Skip Pizzi, NAB
Hiring a Digital Director for Radio
2:45 p.m.
Angie May Cook, Emmis Communications; Stacey Sedbrook, Beasley Broadcast Group
New Idea Showcase for Radio
3:15 p.m.
John Armstrong, synchronicity.co; Carla Borque, Smartify; Cait Watson, Nobex Technologies Inc.; Kim Wilson, SocialNewsDesk, Inc
Closing Comments
3:50 p.m.
This year we’ll drill down on that component by presenting a “Digital Directors Roundtable,” an interactive discussion with some of the top digital strategy leaders from the U.S radio environment, who will share their greatest successes and biggest challenges. We’ll also talk with several eminent radio managers about the importance and proper process of hiring a digital director, which we know is something on the mind of many stations and groups right now.
And we won’t stop our exploration at the U.S. shores. A highlight of the day will be a luncheon talk from the well-known and ever-affable James Cridland, who will take us on an international tour of how radio broadcasters elsewhere are applying digital and social media to their offerings around the planet.
One place where we will hear from vendors, however, is a popular session we’ve done each year called the “New Idea Showcase,” in which selected purveyors of new-media products or service get a few minutes to make their elevator pitch to radio broadcasters — our own version of the Shark Tank.
We end the day with this so attendees can collar any of the vendors they were intrigued by to talk further.
Despite the packed agenda, we’ve built in plenty of time for interaction with the attendees throughout the day, again to enable the “exchange” component. We’re looking forward to another exciting—and mutually educational—experience at the 2014 edition of DSX4r.
It runs from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9, in Room N238 of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2014 NAB Show. Hope to see you there!
