Programming a radio station in the days and weeks following an event like the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris requires a unique approach - one that is not something any of us are taught, or that can be studied in market research. As all of us know, media outlets like television and radio stations serve a vital role during and after the kinds of heartache and uncertainty that our friends in Paris have had to endure. Hopefully the heightened tensions in Europe will subside soon, and once they do, we plan to cover in a future blog entry exactly how some of our clients in France approached their work following the tragic events of 13 November.
For now, we wanted to focus on a different kind of hardship that also made international headlines: the government debt crisis in Greece. The economic turmoil in this region has had an enormous impact on everyday Greek citizens and on the radio industry in this country of 11 million people. Alexis Karakatsanis has lived in Greece for all of his life, and has programmed successful radio stations throughout his entire career. He is currently the Group Program Manager for Antenna Music in Greece, a group that includes Easy 97.2 (http://www.easy972.gr/) and Rythmos 94.9 (http://www.rythmosfm.gr/). Alexis’ insight into how he and his staff have dealt with their country’s economic crisis underscores the importance of maintaining morale, and contains valuable lessons for broadcasters around the globe.
Can you give us some brief background on the day-to-day changes that people in Greece have experienced since 2010 as a result of the country’s financial troubles?
Salaries have been seriously reduced and unemployment is growing, while the cost of living and taxes are going up. Beyond the reduction of income, there is widespread insecurity which is prevalent in both the private and public domain; the latter seems to have hit hard on economic activity and potential investments. Finally, many skilled and educated employees have migrated abroad to pursue better career options.
As one of the largest media companies in Greece, what was the impact of the crisis on Antenna Group? What were some of the particular challenges you faced as a media company? In a market the size of Athens with so many radio stations, was the crisis especially hard on particular radio groups or stations?
Obviously the major problem has been a drastic and increasing decline in advertising revenue. In particular, music radio stations were further hit in terms of ratings as major political events (multiple elections, a referendum, and repeated economic negotiations with the Troika) directed attention to political content. In this context, Antenna Music faced three major challenges: downsizing, sustaining a group of motivated and satisfied employees–given the entertainment nature of our on-air products, and maintaining the quality and character of our stations. Downsizing, although a global phenomenon in the media industry, had to happen very fast, altering - and in some cases, suspending - major aspects of the current strategic plans. During this process, it was of critical importance to find the resources to retain our top talent, explore other sources of revenue, and start experimenting with more online content. Thankfully the company decided to subsidize the losses so as to keep the momentum of the media’s popularity. Given that a lot of competitors in the market stopped paying salaries and decide to operate on a sponsoring commissions model (like the ‘old days’), this proved to be a strategic advantage in terms of retaining skilled employees and maintaining the positive reputation of the brand in the labor market.
What kind of effect did the crisis have on advertising budgets in Greece, and what strategies did Antenna Group use to combat the (presumed) drop in spending?
The crisis has been hard on everybody considering that advertising budgets in the period from 2009 to 2014 shrunk by 80%. And this drop has not stabilized yet. We hoped advertising would slightly increase in 2015 (compared to 2014), but after the sudden event of capital controls in June 2015, we are now forecasting a drop of 16%. As a result, we have loosened up our policy on deals, in order to approach new clients and figure out ways to create win-win cooperation with clients and other stakeholders.
How did you address the ongoing financial crisis on the air – especially on music-intensive stations like Rythmos 94.9? Did you alter your programming or promotions in any way to address the situation?
As most research points out, people will always look for some expertise in news and music. Listeners who want to hear news will go to stations specializing in news; ones wanting to consume music choose station like ours. Fortunately, music radio consumption is still very high (except in very specific periods of increased interest in politics) so we tried to preserve our format and to remain consistent with our brand’s image. In terms of other changes to our programming, the number of hosts had to be reduced due to the downsizing pressure so that now most of the on-air shifts are four hours.
Regarding the promotions, we looked for alternate ways to run them. Cash giveaways are no longer options, so we have been looking for ways to partner with clients for other types of giveaways. What is interesting though is that giveaways related to entertainment remain very attractive to listeners.
What is the situation like currently for your stations, and how do you see things going in the near future? Do you have any advice that may help prepare programmers who may someday find their own governments in a similar predicament?
The most difficult–almost painful I would say–part of the current financial situation is that after six years of economic hardship and sociopolitical instability, we still cannot see light at the end of the tunnel. This leaves very little space for designing and implementing a realistic and actionable plan in terms of budgeting, marketing, expanding, and developing new ideas. Also, in the radio business, we say that talents need special treatment. In our case, on top of that, they need a lot of pampering as well. Keeping the morale high is part of our everyday job as program managers and is even more important given our current financial situation.
And, for our readers who may be pondering traveling to your beautiful country at some point, what is your favorite holiday/vacation destination in Greece?
The islands of The Cyclades are a magnificent summer destination catering for multiple tastes in terms of hoteling and dining, while offering a unique combination of marvelous beaches and scenery. I am a big fan of the smaller ones, Folegandros, Amorgos, and Koufosnissia. Although they lack the luxury and infrastructures of the bigger ones like Mykonos and Santorini, they are absolutely great. Travelers should need some guidelines before visiting these smaller islands, and I would gladly provide them to anybody from the radio industry that is planning to visit them! Athens, also, is a well-deserved destination for both its ancient cultural heritage and contemporary lifestyle. And this last remark comes from a Greek guy who recently appreciated the beauty of Athens.