Interep Presents 9th Annual
Power of Urban Radio Symposium
Symposium for Multicultural Advertisers and Agencies
Leading National Advertisers Discuss $710 Billion African American Market at Interep's Power of Urban Radio Event
Event Draws Standing Room Only Crowd to Grand Hyatt in New York
New York, September 21, 2007 -- The strategic importance of the $710 billion African American market and how to most effectively engage this major consumer group, along with the ramifications of Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) technology, were the prime topics of discussion at Interep's ninth annual Power of Urban Radio event held yesterday at the Grand Hyatt in New York.
A standing room only crowd of more than 200 executives attended the event, which began with welcoming remarks from Sherman Kizart, SVP/Urban Marketing, Interep; David Kennedy, CEO/Vice Chairman, Interep; and Jeff Haley, President/CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau. These were followed by a keynote address from Tony Ponturo, Vice President, Global Media,Anheuser Busch & President/CEO, Busch Media Group.
Ponturo told the enthusiastic crowd that "urban radio is an integral part of our urban marketing plan." Ponturo said that his company has spent $900 million in radio over the past 10 years, with urban stations receiving about 10 percent of that figure.
Following Ponturo's keynote, a distinguished group of leading national advertisers took the stage for a panel discussion, "The Strategic Importance of the African American Market to Help Grow Business." The group included executives from Coca-Cola, State Farm Insurance, Wal-Mart, Verizon, and Procter & Gamble. Andrea Brown, who manages a portfolio of 80 brands at Coca-Cola, said that "radio needs to reclaim its rightful spot as the first interactive medium," adding that radio "has a unique way of communicating with people."
The day concluded with a pair of discussions on the red-hot subject of Arbitron's Personal People Meters, or PPMs, which rolled out in New York on the day of the POUR event, after previously being introduced in Philadelphia and Houston. Rick Cummings, President/Radio Division, Emmis Communications; Julian Davis, Director, Urban Media Service, Arbitron; and Mark O'Neill, Partner, ROI Media Solutions made a full presentation. Cummings said that senior executives from the radio industry held many rounds of meetings with Arbitron on PPM data. ROI Media Solutions was brought in to help synthesize the "new currency" and how it can best be used by radio sellers and buyers.
Following the radio executive PPM panel was one consisting of advertising agency executives, called "Agency Perspective on PPM and How an Investment in Urban Radio Grows Business." Participating on the panel were Robbyn Ennis, Media Supervisor/Local Broadcast, Global Hue; Coreen Gelber, SVP/Local Media Director, PHD; Paul Hunt, VP/Media Director, Burrell Communications Group; Kay Lucas, SVP/Media Director, Carol H. Williams Advertising; Dennis McGuire, VP/Regional Spot Director, Carat; and Matthew Warnecke, Partner, Director, Network/Local Radio Services, MediaCom. The session was moderated by Charles Warfield, President/COO, ICBC Broadcast Holdings.
McGuire said that "PPM should give us the tools to go to clients to show them how radio will work for them. We can show that radio can deliver reach." According to Gelber, "there is a lot for us to learn. It's the new currency, the new reality. If you are not the champion of the new data, you'll be a victim of it. The PPM data allows stations to better understand who they are." Warnecke agreed, saying that "PPM will provide great, robust data. Clients had to adjust to TV people meters too, so we all we adjust to this as well."
Interep's Kizart said, "Our ninth annual Power of Urban Radio event was a huge success. We drew a large crowd, but more importantly we had some very substantial discussions on the urban market and radio's ability to engage the African-American consumer. The high level of participation that we saw from senior-level national advertisers, agencies and radio executives spoke to the value and importance of this event."
The Power of Urban Radio was presented by Interep in conjunction with sponsors American Urban Radio Networks, Arbitron, CBS Radio, Cox Radio, Radio One, Emmis Communications, Inner City Broadcasting, BRE, Jones MediaAmerica, Premiere Radio Networks, and New Revenue Solutions.
