• by February 11, 2002

“This is a time of opportunity,” said Gary Fries, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) during his semi-annual State of the Industry speech, delivered last week to over 1400 Radio industry professionals in Orlando, Florida for RAB2002, the Radio Sales, Management & Leadership Conference.

Fries officially announced total Radio revenue for 2001 was off by only 7%. “Compared to other media, that is a remarkable feat,” he noted. “We have never seen a year like this before. For ten years we were invincible. Then we had our legs cut out from under us,” he said referring to the earliest days of the weakening economy. “On September 11, we had our legs cut out from under us again. It changed our lives. The goals in our careers have changed.”

Fries related his personal experience on September 11th when he and RAB staff members watched from his New York City office as the World Trade Center crumbled. He told of how they turned on the Radio for up-to-the-moment information and proclaimed, “That was my proudest moment to be in the Radio industry.

“It is important to realize that it is not business as usual. It is easy to do your job during good times,” he said. “It is not difficult to be a success in good times. But, to be a success in a difficult time is a challenge. This is an opportunity to be of service. We are going to service our clients like we never have before!”

Fries stressed the increased significance of accountability and integrity and reminded the audience that their job is to connect advertisers and their message with Radio listeners. “Our advertisers do not know how to connect with consumers. They are looking for leadership and that comes from you. We are the teachers.

“We have to remember that the people we are responsible to need leadership. Your tower is worthless without listeners. The assets that you are responsible for are your listeners. We have not lost any assets. Our value has increased, not diminished. The value is who is listening and connecting that listener to the advertiser. You are no longer “time” salespeople,” he said.

“If you knew how to sell Radio ten years ago, you do not know how to sell it today,” he cautioned. “We are building our business one advertiser at a time. Change is good if we take advantage of it.”