As a new station our #1 goal was to embed ourselves into the community, providing value to both our listeners and our advertisers. Examples of my success include: • Annual “Clean Ocean Action” Beach Clean-ups Campaigns from LBI to CM. • I rocked the Jersey Shore Bar-Crawl campaign to benefit March Of Dimes. • Jerry Garcia Vigil. • Stairway To Heaven marathon for charity.
As PD, converted station from Classic to Active rock for which it was recognized by Radio & Records after 7 months. I identified great talents for the morning show and a weekly program that highlighted local musicians. Under my mentoring both became success stories. Created local events featuring up and coming national artists including Days of the New headlining the first annual X-Fest and then an unknown band (Creed) at a local venue for a dollar admission.
As the production director, my role included forging relationships with the sales staff. I led specific advertising campaigns. Many of those campaigns required non- professional voices in the form of the clients themselves. To create the best possible results, they sometimes needed direction and coaching to which I provided. Donavan McNab, Eagles QB is an example
As Director of Programming for Acces1, I was charged to rebuild the brands of 3 FM’s and the culture of the cluster which was affecting ratings and relationships with advertisers. The installation of checks and balances created a stronger relationship with our advertisers. Under my leadership WMGM had its highest rating in station history (M25-54 – 10.6 share) and my afternoon drive show was also rated #1.
As the APD/MD at BEN FM I helped create research parameters for data mining and extrapolated those results in coordination with the sales and marketing teams to elevate our brand. From those results I created our musical features and weekend promotions including writing the imaging and producing audio. I was part of the Innovation team. As the social media team lead, I managed our schedule of daily posts including pop culture and seasonal initiatives. As a BEN FM personality, I was regularly offered endorsements and my contribution to the station included its best success from QTR2 of 2012 through QTR3 of 2013. Ranked in the Top 10 with Persons 25-54 5 quarters straight.
This station rebuild was cloaked behind the camouflage of the annual Christmas music season and launched on December 26, five weeks after my arrival. The results of studies performed dictated big changes in the parameters of the stations presentation. This included hiring a new morning show host and co-host, creating a new logo, positioning statement and updating station documents. During this process, an unexpected event occurred in my personal life. In early December, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As my mother’s POA, despite this downgrade to her health requiring more of me, I was still successful balancing both high priorities. Examples of content: • Jingle Bell Radio. • Dear Santa Letters read on air by local school children. • Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday email videos to database membership. • Riddle Me Rich, a fun interactive game presented on the air for social media engagement.
My role at CSB as a instructor includes the modernization, structure and content of the Studio Operations, Digital Audio, Podcasting curriculum as well as post graduate workshops content. Many of my former students have gone on to successful radio careers and some I have worked side by side in Philadelphia.
Rich DeSisto 