Tag Archives: carl fremont

RAB’s Erica Farber: A Sound Strategy for Radio

February 25, 2021advertising, business, Episodes, marketingadvertising, brand marketing, business, carl fremont, cause-marketing, Digital Media, E.B. Moss, Entercom, Erica Farber, Horizon, insider interviews, marketing, measurement, media, Pierre Bouvard, podcasting, RAB, radio, research, targeting, westwood one, zoomE.B. Moss

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:48 — 56.0MB) | Embed

In interviewing the Radio Ad Bureau’s CEO, Erica Farber, my worlds collided: it’s a podcast, but about radio, the medium I grew up in and started my career in. Certainly radio IS about community, but it was still surprising to discover zero degrees of separation with Erica and two important people from my past: my dad and my first female boss, Joan Gerberding as well as a recent Insider Interviews guest and radio aficionado, Carl Fremont!

Erica and I took the conversation from the evolution of radio to the present, to how it’s defined today – audio? is digital radio still radio? – to its challenges, success stories, and current career opportunities.

We discussed:

What is radio today?

It’s broadcasting, but Radio is also available on any platform: If you want to hear it on your smart speaker…If you’re sitting in front of your computer or in your automobile. It’s multi-platform and available in any form and full of diverse content. It is a companion. It is a trusted source of information, news and entertainment. It’s available 24 seven. And there’s no cost to access it.

The ways everything is audio-focused today – with sound and voice;
The power of personalities;
Why Theater of the Mind is still key to listener engagement/conversion;
How radio served — and recovered from — the Pandemic;

I’ve never been so proud to say I work in radio as I have since March 2020. No one knew what to do…But radio rose to the occasion and stations did what they do best: they put their arms around their communities, consoled listeners and brought some humor and information. …They said to businesses that were open, ‘let us help you communicate to the market your protocols’. How can we raise money to feed or clothe people, to help people keep their homes? We have example after example of retailers who said that if it wasn’t for local radio they would have lost their business.

The role of the RAB as a nonprofit trade association;
Overcoming the digital divide and big brand success stories; (Reference: P&G and Radio)
What makes good creative (Resources Referenced: The Radio Ranch and Wordsworth & Booth)
Radio research; (Resources Referenced: RAB Research, Westwood One )
Trends for the future of radio formats and revenue; (Resources Referenced: Entercom, Beasley)
Why radio is a great career and mentoring women (MIWinRadio) in the space….

And yes, host E.B. Moss finds a way to sing in yet another episode….

IAB’s David Cohen with the Pulse of Digital Media & Marketing

October 22, 2020advertising, business, Episodes, marketingaddressability, advertising, attribution, branding, business, carl fremont, cause-marketing, CTV, data, David Cohen, Digital Media, E.B. Moss, IAB, NPR, OTT, performance marketing, podcasts, research, targeting, tech, televisionE.B. Moss

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:03 — 52.7MB) | Embed

When David Cohen joined the IAB as President, the US was two weeks into stay-at-home mandates. While that may have curtailed in-person conferences the industry association is known for, it upped the focus on all things digital. Not long after, the ante was also upped for Cohen personally when he was named CEO following the 14 year run of Randall Rothenberg. Pressure? Not to hear Cohen, who has helmed major agency divisions and had $20B in media spending under his purview during his days at MAGNA and UM. But pandemic-influenced strategy changes? Definitely.

In support of its mission to “empower the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy” – let alone during a COVID economy — Cohen has “brought an unprecedented number of industry captains into their leadership councils and transformed the timeliness of their strategic initiatives.”

Those words from Rothenberg’s commendation of Cohen on his promotion sparked a song from me. Of course. No one is safe. But that didn’t curtail a compelling conversation about more serious matters, such as Cohen telling me about the advantages that came with adapting to the digital world as early as the 90’s and how he – and the IAB overall – are continuing to innovate with today’s current technologies for marketers. I also put Cohen in the same hot seat he put recent panelists in when moderating a Reach Conference talk himself, asking what he would most like to see fixed in our current digital eco-sphere.

We also discuss:

Cohen’s A-ha! Moment – from the Yellow Pages!
The lessons he learned after joining the IAB family that every marketing agency should know
“Pulse studies” on changes in consumer consumption trends to media buyers/seller polls
The IAB’s Brand Disruption Summit
How to navigate through your Brand and Demand goals
The shift in how digital engagement is being accomplished
How IAB is helping in pushing cross-platform forward
Like his friend and recent Insider Interviews guest, Carl Fremont, Cohen has a pro-social personal mission. Hear how he — and ANA’s Bill Tucker — are helping push support of disadvantaged children.

Resources Mentioned:

Social Media Links:

David Cohen LinkedIn
IAB on Twitter IAB, IAB Tech Lab

Insider Interviews is on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Please share the podcast and share how smart you are about media, marketing and advertising! To reach out to be considered for an episode or suggest questions or a guest — or to have your own bespoke podcast series produced and/or hosted by E.B. Moss — email podcasts@mossappeal.com. We’re “hear” for you!

Carl Fremont On Brand – and On Demand: Epi 11

June 18, 2020business, diversity, Episodes, Uncategorizedadvertising, b2b, branding, business, carl fremont, ceo, COVID-19, data, diversity, E.B. Moss, ecommerce, history, insider interviews, marketing, measurement, media, quiqley simpson, radio, targeting, television, WPP, wundermanE.B. Moss

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:05 — 51.0MB) | Embed

Back in January I had the good fortune to get seated next to someone I’ve long admired — Carl Fremont — on our return flight from CES. If you’ve been to CES you know it’s non-stop learning about what’s trending. And my non-stop flight next to Carl made for even more learning as we recapped what we’d each just experienced, and then he was kind enough to share his own projections for the future of the media and advertising industry. I immediately understood why Quigley-Simpson had made Carl CEO just months before. So, for this episode of Insider Interviews I asked him to share a lot of those thoughts so more people outside of row 8 could benefit from his insights.

Carl has held senior roles in the media/marketing industry for decades, and explained how his longest tenure – 16 years with Lester Wunderman – gave him skills that are still applicable today. Hear how the former Chief Digital Officer for MEC and Chief Media Officer for Digitas describes direct marketing and performance marketing, and the importance of brands optimizing every channel possible – including how to capitalize on eCommerce.

Long an advocate of supporting women and diversity in the industry, Carl discusses how this transformative time is also a time to embrace change in order to evolve and benefit business. He shares a moving story of his own diverse background and how a discovery of his father’s past dovetails with his own unique hobby tied to vintage radios.

We are all fortunate that Carl loves sharing knowledge, and listeners will benefit from priceless marketing and advertising advice. And yes, I found an opportunity or two to sing to him….

Please listen – and share – Carl Fremont’s thoughts on advertising trends, common brand pitfalls and diversity including:

Is “direct marketing” different from DTC?
How the pandemic accelerated the emergence of alternative channels for businesses
Creating a harmonious consumer experience
What you can do to speed up purchasing path
Authenticity: How to build it and what it truly means
Mistakes brands make and how you can avoid them
The pros and cons of third-party eCommerce platforms
Considerations for building your own eCommerce platform
The holistic approach to promoting your brand
What omnichannel really means
Influencers: Does scale matter here?
Diverse creative staff to reflect diverse consumers
How mentoring benefits companies – and oneself.

Social Media Links:

Resources mentioned in the episode

Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay (1998) by Lester Wunderman

Quotes

“We’ve been practicing direct to consumer skills since our founding. We just didn’t call it “DTC”. “Direct marketing” does not mean you abandoned brand.”

-Carl Fremont

“We need to always make sure that we’re giving opportunities, that we’re mentoring, that we’re helping to grow the industry with a more diverse background.”

-Carl Fremont

“I love looking back and looking forward. I believe a lot of lessons can be obtained about moving forward from looking back.”

-Carl Fremont

Carl Fremont’s father’s radio