I
transferred my syndication and consulting business to Puerto Rico to be
in closer contact with record producers and several major
clients. Syndication activities were discontinued in 1987 due
to tighter currency exchange regulations in a number of
countries which made payments difficult or impossible.
Additionally, the political situation in several Latin
nations (including the closing and bombing of a major
group client in Panamá) reduced income potential.
Consulting in
Puerto Rico
I started looking at local consulting. The A/C station
(WSRA) allowed me to consult in other formats, so I
worked with both disco/dance WDOY and all-salsa WPRM.
More
Involvement with Salsoul
My
client,
FM network WPRM/WIVA was rescued from a five book downtrend
after they eroded to #8 in the market. Within 6 months,
the net was overall #1. Due to
ratings and sales success of WPRM under consultation
agreement, ownership offered full time position as General
Sales Manager with additional responsibilities in the
areas of programming and promotion.
What is Salsoul?
The
SalSoul Network, made up of two simulcast FM facilities,
was top rated in every significant demographic from 1986
through today. In the important age groups, the network
often doubled the audience of the number two station in
this market of 125 stations and 3.5 million persons.
Puerto Rico
Ratings Rankers
Networking to
Cover a Large Market
The WPRM and
WIVA network made up the first instance in the U.S. of
using two FM signals to cover all of a large market. WPRM
covered San Juan and Ponce; WIVA covered Mayaguez and
Arecibo. Together, they covered the
"consolidated" market favored by advertising
agencies. Through use of parallel clustering, spots could
be sold locally on either signal for smaller retail
accounts.
Sales Services
With each
ratings period (Puerto Rico was measured 4 times a year),
a complete set of computer generated rankers was prepared
for advertising agencies and clients. SalSoul was the only
broadcaster to provide this service. As of 1999, Salsoul
has been #1 for over 50 consecutive ratings periods.
Cover of the
quarterly ranker booklet that Salsoul prepared
within 12 hours of the release of every rating book
and mailed to clients and agency staffers.
Every significant
demo and every major stations was ranked and cume to
AQH "efficiency" calculated as well as Time Spent
Listening, a concept not directly provided by the
local ratings company.
These
two pages and the blow-up of one of the tables
illustrates the mailing pieces done for Salsoul. Every
ratings book was delivered to WPRM alone on computer
disk. I wrote a program to pull the data for the
tables, calculate TSL and average age, and prepare
about 24 tables. All were laid out on a home computer
and delivered the night the book came out to the
printer and mailed the next morning to our list of
nearly 1000 agency buyers, AE's and account managers.
Rate Card
This
is the cover for a Salsoul rate card. Rates were increased
8 times in 6 years between 1986 and 1992, going from less
than $25 to over $100 for drive time 60 second spots.
Sales
Increase
In the years
between 1986 and 1992, annual sales increases
averaged 28%, while the market never grew at more
than a 7% rate.
Expansion in
Florida
In 1989, and
unable to expand in Puerto Rico due to duopoly rules
then in effect, the company purchased several combos
in Florida, the principal being WTNT-FM and WNLS-AM
in Tallahassee.
Although a market leader in ratings,
WTNT had never been profitable. Aggressive promotion, new
management and improved sales promotion turned the station
profitable in just a few months. WNLS, the sister AM
station, was repositioned as an all news and sports
station.
Sales
Promotion in Florida
WTNT and all
the ARSO stations published monthly newsletters for
clients and prospects. These were all prepared in-house in
San Juan.
