If you ask most PR execs their strategy for successfully and consistently booking clients and executives on satellite radio, a dazed, glassy-eyed look tends to envelop their face. The unease is
understandable: satellite radio programming, on the surface, has a wild, wild west element to it. There are no hard and fast rules, and a massive and constantly changing lineup schedule can make
scheduling radio bookings with the satellite radio entities challenging.
But for PR professionals truly seeking to put together a comprehensive media outreach program, ignoring satellite radio is like assembling a puzzle without all the pieces. There are sound reasons
for investing time and resources in a strategic approach to pitching satellite radio talk show producers and news reporters - more than 15 million reasons to be exact.
To successfully pitch satellite radio requires a mix of traditional and non-traditional techniques. Below are a few strategies to keep in mind when reaching out to satellite radio.
*Find the chosen one: Real estate might be all about location, but for satellite radio it is producer, producer, producer. Satellite radio channels include a labyrinth of contacts, especially for
shows hosted by heavyweights like Bob Costas or Oprah. The best way to demystify the clutter is to identify the single point of contact all pitches flow through. The reason to take the time to find
this person is that if you go after another show contact, you not only have to sell that person, but hope he/she will be able to sell the ultimate decision-maker. While it is useful to have numerous
points of entry into every media outlet, focus first on developing a Rolodex of those key producers for each show that are best positioned to act quickly.
One mitigating factor to keep in mind when it comes to identifying the best point of contact is that the show producer could be an employee of XM or Sirius, but it is equally likely that the show
originates elsewhere and is just picked up on satellite radio. Therefore, it is important to be mindful to check not just with the satellite radio providers to find the show's producer, but also with
other syndication companies such as Westwood One.
*Aim before you shoot: The knee-jerk reaction for public relations professionals short on time and facing a lengthy list of potential targets is to throw as many darts as possible and hope a few
of them stick. While there are only two major satellite radio providers (and perhaps one if their merger is approved), XM and Sirius offer hundreds of programming options, and that type of approach
would suck up far too much time to be productive. For this reason, it is critical to research the programming channels and lineups on the XM and Sirius Web sites, not only to determine which ones
might be the best fit for your client, but also to identify whether they even take guests.
*Identify your demographic sweet spots: Radio, relative to television and print, has always made it fairly easy to target a specific demographic. Satellite radio goes a step further, as XM and
Sirius represent the epitome of niche programming. Whether your guest is an ideal fit for right-wing talk, Hispanic programming, African American shows, or female-oriented shows, satellite radio has
it, and by demonstrating to the producer why your guest or topic fits the demographic, your pitch stands a much greater chance for success.
*Set aside preconceived notions: When MySpace first busted onto the scene, the membership base skewed young - the average member age was in the low 20s.
Similarly, the early days of satellite radio found an audience that skewed heavily male - fueled by tech early adopters, subscribers drawn to sports channels, and a broader tilt towards male-
oriented programming. But as XM and Sirius have added heavyweight female talk show hosts such as Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, the demographic shift among listeners has been noticeable. For that
reason, PR execs should make sure they are up on the latest subscriber demographic data.
The benefits of booking guests on satellite radio can even extend beyond those outlined above. Satellite radio offers the rare opportunity to "double-dip." In other words, because XM and Sirius
carry scores of talk shows that originate on terrestrial radio, guests booked on these shows will be heard not only on the satellite channel, but also on the show's original terrestrial syndication
on traditional AM and FM stations - a "double-dip."
Successfully pitching satellite radio doesn't require a radically different approach from terrestrial radio. Instead, it simply involves demystifying the target, understanding it, and honing an
approach with razor-sharp focus.
CONTACT:
This article was written by Richard Strauss, president and founder of Strauss Radio Strategies. He can be reached at [email protected].