Like everything else this past week, Radio Row…there is a rumor that name may change next year… in Las Vegas seemed to be bigger, busier and had more life than quite some time. The entourages for the obscure were bigger, the amount of outlets were bigger, the buzz was louder. Maybe it was because it was Las Vegas in February. Maybe it was the social buzz with Taylor Swift, maybe it was more thought being put into value from all the content generated, maybe it was all of the above and then some. Here are some thoughts.
First and foremost, a good read from colleague Bryan Curtis on the week that was, which included one of the two things we wanted to do but never got to...seeing Rich Little at the future home of the Oakland A\’s, what is known now as the Tropicana Hotel. The other thing? stopping in to the Pinball Hall of Fame, which was shaped like a pinball machine, which was located across Las Vegas Boulevard from our home away from home, The Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Onward.
Radio oh Radio There has been so much talk about the demise of terrestrial radio, yet spoken word, with over 2oo outlets, made Las Vegas a must have for content and storytelling. We counted over 125 cities or regions represented, with more than enough podcasts and video platforms to go around. By the way the leader in the clubhouse for interviews appeared to be Tony Khan, Jaguars exec and head of AEW, who logged at least 42 interviews in two days, besting the perennial leader and Radio Row mainstay Leigh Steinberg. Another observation, the younger the athlete, no matter how small a presence he has on the field, the bigger the crowd he took along. Dan Marino, Warren Moon, even JJ Watt or CJ Mosely…one or two people. third string tight end from xx team. lets make sure we have a dozen people…doing what, I\’m not sure. We overhead one veteran NFL player turn to a very young teammate on the rise, start laughing and say \”Trim the payroll dude!\” Older but wiser.
The foreign touch grows: One of the more important areas of growth reflective of the NFL plan was international outlets. While the UK and Mexico have had spots before, this year a record 21 outlets from countries from Australia to Saudi Arabia had spots collecting content. NBC also had their Telemundo Deportes spot and two US based radio stations which were Spanish language only were on site. Where could your voice have resonated? Canada, Germany, Spain, the UK, and yes…Panama…were found. This will probably continue to grow into the next few years as we head towards the Olympics and all around Flag Football around the world.
Randomness Rules The beauty of Radio Row is not the interviews, it has been the people, those you would see once a year, but also so many you would know, or know of, who you would cross paths with roaming the aisles of talk going on. The chance meetings, like with CarrotTop or Wayne Newton…who called me a nice kid…or Dr. Oz or The Rock or a random magician or with a media member you have only connected with on email or a call, and the partnerships and opportunities that came out of that encounter was really the beauty of what makes Radio Row such a special event, and that was certainly back this year.
NIL is nil. An area we thought would rise for brands would be having high profile athletes activate with brands who are allegedly paying them big money correct? Nope. The use of Radio Row for college athletes went from three or four current, and soon to be former, college athletes making the rounds in midweek to none this year. While we heard some were in and about the party scene in Vegas, if brands are looking for ROI, RR was a missed opportunity. A good listen on the topic is here with Kenyon Rasheed and Brian Jones, one of 12 we did during the week.
Faith Based Storytelling: There was much made of the “He Gets Us” spots that ran on Super Bowl Sunday, but even more interesting were the amount of platforms, all in their own quadrant, who were there gathering content with a wide range of speakers big and small. From “Faith on The Field” to “Sports Spectacular” to “Beleav” and others, there were at least 10 outlets that mixed faith messaging with Super Bowl storytelling (adding in The Disability Channel as well), the largest contingent ever, and a group that speaks, literally, to the conservative core many NFL fans embrace.
Stats Takes A Content Stance As Well: Once just background for fans and media outlets, prominent statistical platforms have also found their way to story tell on Radio Row. Pro Football Focus and The 33rd Team both used the week to build relationships and talk data for their own platforms, showing again how expansive data and all the predictive numbers of the NFL can be as a stand-alone.
Student Stations Find Their Spots. This year we hit a new high for Radio Row schools…seven…Penn State, Arizona State, Syracuse, Fordham, St. Bonaventure , Ithaca all had a prominent spot, with a few others visiting on select days. JA. Adande brought his students from Northwestern and learned they can find a spot next year in New Orleans as well. But where were locals other like UNLV? It remains a missed opportunity to bring in young new voices to capture content of all forms and give them a taste of the networking and the job opportunities…and even to have them share best practices with others. Maybe next year in New Orleans, the host committee can do the outreach and work with the NFL on identifying the best in class form a 100 mile radius to experience and build personal storytelling. Those young people are the future, so why not let them in?
Quality of audio, and the ability to bring in video. Most outlets have been able to pivot to using everything from Zoom to Microsoft teams to bring in guests far and wide. The ability to see people, not just hear them, has actually led in many cases to very focused and more expansive storytelling. There are less chances to be distracted when someone is looking at you, not just talking at you. The ability to stream video has also led to more opportunities for sponsorship for outlets, because video just lends itself to more opportunities to snapshot content. Now bring along the adaption of 5G in the coming months and year, and the quality just keeps improving, and that’s good news for those on both ends of the connection.
Social sharing: Something that has grown for the good is the use of social tools for expanded storytelling. If you are ESPN San Antonio it’s great to have a Hall of Famer join you for a conversation, but when the HOF guy shares a picture on his social accounts, and tags the station, it amplifies the message and the narrative to a much wider audience. It also helps grow the presence of the midlevel players or celebs and spokespeople well beyond just an audio or video interview. A nuance, but a valuable one become more and more of the process, and that’s a good thing.
Where were the women? As one looks for Radio Row blue ocean, the growth of women’s sports and spokespeople also remains amazingly wide open. While you do get announcers, some in leadership and maybe an occasional athlete, it is rare that you see a prominent woman make her way through Radio Row. More voices needed to take advantage of the platform next year.
You also love the innovative…the guys from Cornhole bringing in boards, random pizza deliveries, Bounty Towels serving wings, Gallo dropping small bottles of wine, even one year the Girl Scout selling cookies that find their way into the little extras as well.
There was some talk about the demise of Radio Row at the outset. By the time the doors closed on Saturday, there was little doubt it was again a place to be for a week in Vegas, best practices abounding.
Days Get Longer, Truck Day Arrives…