What Makes A Good Radio Conference?

What makes a good radio conference?

Over the last few weeks I’ve been ‘conferenced up’ attending and speaking at a good variety of events. So what are the things to look out for?

Do It Differently

nextrad.io was an attempt to redefine the genre somewhat. Short, snappy presentations on a whole range of topics worked really well. It meant that as a delegate, you never had the time to get bored with anyone, plus you got a vast range of information that you could draw from take away with you. And it also meant that as a speaker, you focused more on exactly what you had to say, always aiming for that radio mantra... “Less is More!”. I’m certain nextrad.io will be back next year, even better then the debut event.... which was actually pretty damn good to start with. So ‘doing it differently’ is one angle that certainly works

Do It Well

I spoke an event in Cyprus on Friday morning called ‘The Radio Breakfast Show’ organised by Dias Media Group, a big Cypriot media company. It was a simple idea executed well;

• Get media agencies, clients, PR firms and other interested parties all in one room in a nice hotel... about 300 of them.

• Make the room look fantastic

• Give them a really nice breakfast

• Put on a short ‘morning only’ session with 4 interesting speakers

• Let everyone go back to work at 11am

I spoke about the changing nature of radio and advertising and was pleased that what I had to say struck a chord with many delegates. But it was just all very well put together, making the experience a good one for delegates (and speakers)! So getting the conference right and ‘doing it well’ may seem simple stuff, but you’d be surprised at many who don’t.

Speakers Who Share

I remember back in the days of the old 'NAB Europe', many a time I would turn up at a session where I thought I’d learn something... often to find that someone was trying to sell me something instead. #FAIL. A conference session should not be sales session. They should be about sharing knowledge and insight. Do your sales pitch in the bar afterwards!

Getting speakers who share is crucial. I was lucky to have 2 speakers who were fantastic at sharing during my two sessions at Radiodays Denmark over the weekend. First Pete Simmons, the PD of Magic 105.4 took everyone through the strategy behind Magic, and why it’s number 1 in London. He was open, honest and shared everything. The delegates really got some fantastic insight thanks to Pete, and I enjoyed chatting with him on stage about the format and how he overcomes challenges.

Likewise Andy Parfitt, in his first real ‘event’ after stepping down as Controller of BBC Radio 1 was equally candid. I created a session where Andy would take us through the Radio 1 strategy, how it functions as a station, and along the way telling the importance of everything from Live Music to Online. And he didn’t disappoint. He was brutally honest, perhaps being able to talk more openly than ever before, as he is now free from the responsibilities that heading the network brings with it. My only regret is that the session was not recorded so a wider audience could share in some of the insight that Andy shared. Mind you, maybe if it had been, he might not have been so candid! So ‘speakers who share’ is vital to the success of any event.

With all that in mind, it’s only about 4 weeks to go until the Radio Festival in Manchester. Much more on that to follow no doubt!

Back To School...

September always feels like the 'back to school' month after the long, hot, balmy summer that we had here in the UK. Well... not really, but anyway...

And with that comes a glut of conferences to attend, clients to see and projects to develop.

At the tail end of August, it was great to hook up with all the guys from P5 in Norway at their summer conference. It was an opportunity for all the team to be updated on the current state of the market, new initiatives moving forward and what lies ahead for 2012. But even more than that, it was a great ‘team’ event. It’s easy to be cynical about these kind of get togethers, but I witnessed first-hand the great effect that making members of your station ‘walk the plank’ can have!! If your station doesn’t do events like this every now again, start doing them!!

There’s a good buzz about the nextradio.io conference in London in a couple of weeks time. There’s a fantastic line-up of speakers and I also have my allotted ‘9 minutes’ to deliver some sage words to the assembled crowd. I hope this event proves to be an annual get together, offering a forum for new, fresh and innovative ideas in radio.

Cyprus is a country I’ve not been to before, and I’m really looking forward to speaking at the ‘Radio Breakfast’ at the end of September organised by Dias Media, who are one of the big media players on the island. Any opportunity to drive home the benefits of using radio as a great medium for advertising is one that I can’t resist, and they tell me the sun always shines in Nicosia this time of year!!

Denmark’s annual get together of the good, bad, and erm... ‘damn good looking’ of Danish radio takes place at the start of October. Radiodays Denmark (from which Radiodays Europe sprung from) is always a great day, and the fact it’s combined with the Danish Radio Awards on the same night ensures it’s a hell of a party. I’m doing a session with the PD of London’s Number 1 Commercial station – Magic 105.4, Pete Simmons. We’re looking at “The Magic Behind Magic” (the title was too easy I know) and we’ll be dissecting the factors that have made that station consistently perform well in a tough market.

So, in between all that, I think some visits to client stations in Austria and Slovakia are in order, as everyone is now ‘back to school’. Plus **plug alert** my Saturday morning show on Absolute 80s (‘Cafe 80s’) which I present along with Dan McGrath, is going great guns and keeping us busy... so I guess that it’ll be a pretty busy month ahead.

Plus there’s another very exciting project in development... but more about that when the time is right!

Welcome ‘Back to School’ everyone!!