Gary Stone is currently the President/CEO of Strategic Thinking One on One and former-COO at Univision Radio, the largest Hispanic Radio group in the US.  From his early days as a DJ at KIKK in Houston to his rise to the top at Univision, Gary has always had a winning formula which has led him to having a very successful track record.  His book outlines his incredible story.  Gary is a good friend to Global Media and shares his wisdom and advice about the current state of Spanish radio and our industry as a whole.

 

Given your background, which is artfully detailed in your book “A Face for Radio,” your radio experience took an unconventional path when you made the move into Spanish radio.  What drew you to this side of the business?  What is keeping you drawn to this particular audience segment?

 

I was an ON-AIR Personality for about seven years early in my career. In order to get into sales I interviewed at a number of radio stations but I was told that as a Morning Drive DJ I couldn’t take the rejection that comes with sales. A salesman, I met while I was a DJ, named Chuck Brooks, went to work at KESS a Spanish Radio Station and recommended me. I interviewed and got the job. I had a piece of research from a career psychologist showing that I ranked in the top 5% for Sales and top 5% for Management. Hence, I began my career as a salesman.

 

As it so happened, I left Spanish Radio after two years and worked at WFAA Radio in Dallas a Talk Station. The owners of KESS the Spanish Stations bought radio station KLAT in Houston calling it La Tremenda (The Tremendous). They called me and offered me the Local Sales Manager job.  After a few years I left to go to work for a Country Stations KIKK in Houston and then for KMJQ an Urban Station as Sales Manager. The GM of KLAT La Tremenda called me and asked me to come back. I did so and stayed for the next 25 years. The ownership and name changed, as it had been Tichenor Media System, then Heftel Broadcasting to Hispanic Broadcasting to finally Univision Radio. As you know I progressed up the ladder as the company went from five Radio Stations to over 70 Radio Stations in total.

 

I realized that the Hispanic community and the population were burgeoning and spendable income was rising. I could see that Hispanics were going to be an economic and political force in this country. While many of my friends in the broadcast business could not understand me staying in Spanish Media I was able to rise to the level of President & COO of the largest Spanish language radio company in the US valued at over $3.4B that’s with a B.

 

Going forward, what are some of the biggest challenges facing Spanish radio?  How do you think that the industry will handle these obstacles?

 

With the launch of PPM and the economic crash that began in 2008 made it very difficult for Hispanic and Urban Radio Stations. As a result, ratings and revenue declined and cutting people and things began. The biggest challenge today is for Broadcasters across the board to invest in their radio properties by hiring more people, doing more research, create compelling programming and promotions while diversifying into digital and other platforms that would be an extension of terrestrial radio. Innovation has been stifled and most people are keeping their heads down, not being innovative and simply hoping to keep their jobs.

 

We have heard that one of the challenges facing the radio industry is that it is increasingly difficult to attract young people to the radio industry.  What can the industry do to make our business a more appealing option to people just graduating from high school/university?

 

Radio needs to become fun again. A bottom up strategic approach to building the radio business needs to take place. Young people need to have the opportunity to become On-Air personalities vs. voice tracking. Promotions need to come back in a big way vs. just selling more commercials. As radio interacts with its audience, young people will more and more want to be a part of the broadcasters side of the business rather than a radio consumer or a digital consumer of jukebox Internet music.

 

It seems that a lot of US-based groups continue to be focused on saving their way to profitability.  Is that a viable business plan in your option?  What are five things that a broadcaster/group can do to increase profitability/productivity?

 

You cannot cut your way to success. There is a short-term benefit to cutting people and a long-term erosion of the product.  (1.) Invest in communicating entertainment with music and content that reflects the lifestyles of the consumer is one of the only ways to build audience that results in more profitability. Productivity comes from (2.) strategic initiatives in a group setting, communicated and derived from (3.) a bottom up process so you have communication, teamwork and goal congruency. (4.) Leadership from the top needs to have a respectful and involved relationship with employees individually. (5.) Lastly, no one should be afraid to state their ideas, opinions or criticisms worrying that they might lose their job or be retaliated against.  

 

Is now a good time, in your opinion, to invest in the radio industry here in the US? In what segment of the industry do you see the greatest upside?

 

Hispanic Media still has the greatest upside due to so many advertisers who still have not included Spanish Media in their advertising or who have only invested a small percentage below the percentage of the Spanish Language population.

 

Given a reinvention of radio or retro to the pre 2008 or even pre 2001 operation of radio stations would be a very good reason to invest in radio along with the added digital platforms, concerts, events, promotions, etc. that connect directly with the audience.

 

What can the radio industry do to make it a more attractive investment option?  How important is optimizing the product so that we can start to make our industry a more alluring investment prospect?

 

Ratings and revenue will increase from the various new platforms making radio more diverse, from the strategic initiatives being implemented and the deep desire of all employees for success and freedom to help make that happen, Radio will reemerge as an industry that is in the hearts and minds of radio listeners and will be more viable than ever increasing listening levels.  Basically, having the right management at the top with this kind of vision makes the difference. Success is just a heartbeat away if you employ these principles.