Today is someone's first day listening to B 96. Every day is someone's first day listening to B 96. And what impression, what emotion do we want them to feel when they turn us on?
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Obviously we live and die on ratings. But it's difficult because it takes a while to see that reaction, right? And I think What we do is analyze everything as a whole. What's the interaction that we're getting from our listeners when they call in? Are we getting interaction on social media? I think also just going out into the community and getting a feel for a pulse as well. When I'm hopping into Ubers and taxis, do they have B96 on?
Brandwidth On Demand. Rebooting radio with a different take on all radio can be. Now your guides through the Media Morphicist, David Martin and author of the book, BRANDwidth, Media Branding Coach, Kipper McGee.
When it comes to starting a career in media, today's guest has it all figured out. Well, at least she makes it look that way. In fact, she makes it look easy. After graduating from the Illinois Center for Broadcasting in Lombard, Illinois, This Chicago native got her start at suburban station STAR 105. 5 WZSR in Crystal Lake. While there, she spent her weekends commuting to Milwaukee, where she did air shifts at 1037 KISS FM.
Soon, the Milwaukee cluster needed an assistant program director and music director for WMYX and KISS FM. And she got that job, held it for seven years. When she was transferred back home to the company's Chicago CHR. The historic B96 FM. BRANDwidth on Demand is proud to welcome the brand manager for B96 FM, WBBM FM in Chicago, Molly Cruz.
Hey, Molly.
Thank you so much for having me.
Oh, yeah. Well, we are just so glad to have you. And big question is moving from Milwaukee to Chicago now, obviously there's going to be some differences and some similarities between the two markets, but what do you find are like the biggest differences in your audience focus, who you're targeting? Because I know Chicago is a lot more complex than Milwaukee.
And then also, how does it impact your programming strategies between, being in that top three market and coming from a medium to large station.
I love this question. That's a really great one. Milwaukee and Chicago, for those who don't know, are only 90 minutes down the road from each other. So relatively close, but two very different cities. And first of all, my programming strategy, I think whether you're in a market number three or market number 41, a lot of the same tactics and strategies and ideas are still the same. It's just a different market.
And I think what I look at as a brand manager in a new city is what's the ethnic comp of the market. What is the competition like? It was very different in Milwaukee. Brian Kelly did a A really great job of batting off all of his competition for both WMYX and WXSS. So really didn't have a lot of competition towards the end of my time there. As far as HotAC at top 40 went, they both owned their lane in Milwaukee.
And we're in a very different landscape here at B96, but a lot of those brilliant at the basic kind of tactics and mentalities that I learned working alongside Brian Kelly, and obviously still do work with him today. They still apply, same rules, different market. Obviously you look at it at a different lens and a lot larger audience, but the same rules apply. It's radio, regardless of market size.
Good point, Molly. What are the biggest challenges you have managing a team and a station in a top three market, Molly?
I think my challenges of managing a team in Chicago it's the same as Milwaukee, truthfully, it's, it's knowing your team and knowing how to best manage them. I think each person individually needs something different. They react differently to different things. Some people really need it's understanding their love language, right? Or do they need words of affirmation? Are they visual learners? Are they hands on learners? Do they need examples of things?
So I think in coaching talent it's first and foremost, understanding that individual person. I don't think one size fits all for any market or any person, just in managing people and I always try to keep a positive attitude. Even if I have to deliver difficult news or I'm displeased with something, I always try to come at it from an angle of how would I want to receive this information and how am I going to deliver this information so that I get the outcome that I need.
So I'm very hands on with my on air team, meet with them multiple times during the weekend. I think that comes from me being an on air talent, even in the past couple of years and knowing how hungry a lot of talent is for feedback. And even just for a pat on the back, I think that really goes a long way with talent. It's just saying, Hey, you're doing a great job. Hey, that was a really great break. Hey, I loved that social media post that you did. That was really creative.
A lot of that stuff goes a long way. And again, that just leads to the positivity and just always having an open door. I'm always available to my team and I really feel that. And they see that. And I also lead by example too. So out at a parade or we have a big event or there's a concert going on. And I'm asking them to be present 99 percent of the time. I will also be there as well.
Just to know that a, I support the brand and B it's important for all of us, all boots on the ground, it doesn't matter if I have the largest title on the team, I will be in the trenches with them. And yeah, I think that just shows what I do for the brand and what I expect my team to also commit to the brand.
So Molly, besides ratings, how do you measure success in a top three market? What KPIs, the key performance indicators are most important to you?
I think that's a really good question because obviously we live and die on ratings, but it's difficult because it takes a while to see that reaction, right? And you're dealing with so few meters, especially in the younger part of 18 to 49 and women. And it just keeps getting fewer and fewer. So it's difficult to base everything off of that. And I think what we do is analyze everything as a whole. What's the interaction that we're getting from our listeners when they call in?
Are they saying they love the show and they listen every single day? Are we getting that often? Are the phones lighting up? I think that's an important thing to note as well. Are we getting interaction on social media? Although sometimes that doesn't equate to ratings, I think that it does equate to brand awareness. And I think that's an important part.
Of a brand as a whole Odyssey several years ago, changed our titles from program director to brand manager because we're more than just a radio station. It's treating it as a brand as a whole. And I think when you do that, you have to zoom out and look at all of the things that make up a brand. I think also just going out into the community and getting a feel for a pulse of the community as well. When I'm hopping into Ubers and taxis, do they have B96 on?
Can I turn B96 on in that car and get there, get an instant reaction. Oh, I didn't realize, wow. I thought you guys just played new music, so things like that. I think everything adds up together. And I think a lot of little wins and little things can increase everyone's morale and thoughts on what success is. But ratings are just a small piece of that.
Well, Molly, in a competitive town like Chicago, how do you stay ahead of the curve? And what trends are you seeing for branded station content?
Oh gosh it's a, that's a constant that's a constant thing to be working on is, staying ahead of the curve and. I think it's just being aware of your surroundings. Not only, what's my competition doing around me, but also again, zooming out and what's happening in the world. I think an advantage that I have is that I have a really young staff. So I have a staff of a lot of 20 somethings. 30 somethings who are really in, in the core of the demo and they're on the pulse of what's going on.
So they're on TikTok, I'm on TikTok, we're all watching what's happening. I think we're also very Chicago centric. So we really are on the pulse of what's happening in the city. I think just again, just having awareness of what are other successful radio stations, whether they're CHR stations or other formats, what are they doing? How do I look at my peers and applaud them for a really good idea? And. Maybe take that and try to make my own version, my own B96 version of that.
So I think it's just awareness. It's seeing what other people are doing. It's collaborating and it's just understanding what's going on and always having a drive to be better and taking feedback and I think, What trends am I seeing for the future of radio? I think that I'm seeing people start to be more interactive again, start to be more active again. I think the Taylor Swift tour was the first time where radio had a presence at concerts again, which was really exciting.
And it started to see that more stations were doing creative things. Around shows coming to town and people were out at Lollapalooza and it just feels like events are coming back again, which is really exciting. And that was always just a place where radio really shined, right? We were all about community. We were all about creating experiences that couldn't be bought for our listeners and all about human connection. And I think we lost that face to face.
And I see more stations getting back to that. And I'm really excited. And I think that's just something that we've always done very well.
Do you think that's part of the pandemic or is it just a cyclical thing?
Uh, I think it's part of the pandemic. We just stopped events and a lot of large companies, Audacy included, did restructuring. And so you had less staff doing more. And so a lot of people just had full plates and you got used to not doing events and now we have to reconnect with our communities. That's It's what we're about. It's what radio is about.
It's not only about music, but it's about a connection with our listeners and not only one to one when you're in the car listening that experience, but it's also connecting at a Taylor Swift concert and giving them that bracelet. It's that emotional connection. And then that's just so important to radio. And I'm really glad to see that, that really coming back.
So Molly, you are connecting with your listeners. You're connecting with your fellow stations. You're connecting with listeners. You're connecting with people in the company. You're connecting with other stations. And I happen to know you've got just a family is starting as well. So you've got a lot going on.
Yes. What
strategies do you have for dealing with All of the things that are going on and keep it from becoming stress, staying resilient, bouncing back and just doing that when you're in such a demanding leadership position.
Yeah, it's definitely not easy, but I think thank God for therapy because that's always very helpful. And restructuring my mindset as far as what I let stress me out. I think, you Number one, I think the power of positive thinking is something that I really carry with me because it's extremely helpful. I can only stress about the things that I can control. And as much as I'd love to control Nielsen ratings, I can't, none of us can.
We can do all the best tactics and strategies and, make smart decisions, but There are a lot of things in anyone's job inside of radio or outside of radio that you just can't control. And so I really tried, I'd really try to put myself through that filter of, I can only stress about the things that I can control and I can only make smart decisions with the information that I have at the present moment.
I am very big, again, on the positive thinking on just always understanding that it's a trend that went around on social media, but I take it seriously. It's called the lucky girl syndrome. And I truly believe that I that everything works out for me, that I'm the luckiest person that I know and that I am surrounded by abundance. And that's like just having that positive mindset of just everything is going to work out the way that it's supposed to work out.
And I'm going to work really hard and I'm going to do the best that I can do. And I'm going to throw it all at the wall. And I know that confidently, I know that I'll always do that. And so if I do that, and if I believe in the process fully wholeheartedly, and I have a positive mindset, only good things are going to come through. And when I go home at the end of the day, I have two kids who barely understand what it is that I do.
And I have a huge title at work, but at home, I'm a mom and that is my favorite job. It is the hardest job and it's the most rewarding job. And so it's something that keeps me extremely humble. And it is something that helps me, I think, detach from some of the hard, stressful days here at the office and come back with a renewed, Attitude and purpose and understanding of what's important.
So the radio stuff is all fun and all serious during the day, but I really roll my sleeves up after 5 PM when I go home and change titles to mom. So
great attitude, Molly.
Yeah.
Joining us today, Molly Cruz, Brand Manager of B96 Chicago. Somebody you'd love to hear from. We'd love to hear your suggestions. Just email show at brandwithundemand. com or reach out on social. BRANDwidthPlus on Graham, Facebook and X it's Twitter BRANDwidthplus P L U S BRANDwidth plus.
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Coming up, Molly Cruz shares some of the best advice she's ever gotten.
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We're with Molly Cruz, the Brand Manager of B96 FM in Chicago, Molly. What's the single best piece of advice you've ever gotten?
That is such a hard question because I have gotten so much great advice throughout my career. I feel like I got advice every single day from Brian Kelly that I just couldn't retain at all. Just, just always good advice from my mentor, Brian. But I think one that I always circle back to, I always tell it to my air talent. And I always try to remember it myself, especially being a part now of, of such a legendary and legacy brand that is B96 is today is someone's first day listening to B96.
Um, every day is someone's first day listening to B96 and what impression, what emotion do we want them to feel when they turn us on? What impact are we leaving on them? What are we sharing with them? How are we making their day better? And I, and I think it's just an important filter to put yourself through. So when you're writing imaging, when you're writing a promo, when you're putting together a big contest, when you're just turning on a microphone and doing a break, you're doing it.
Always to remember that today is someone's first day listening to your radio station that moment. So make count, I guess, is kind of the whole focus of that. And again, just something I always remind myself of, and it is one of many of the best pieces of advice that I've ever gotten.
Great stuff. Now, what one piece of advice would you give someone who's just starting out in radio?
That's so hard because radio when I started out even though that was Well longer ago than it feels like But not too far off and it's still it's very different. It's a very different landscape I've seen a lot of people do this recently. We've had a lot of job postings open over the past 10 months that I've been here. And I think reaching out, getting feedback, being open to feedback, being okay with just being a promo staffer. That's how I started.
You got to start at the bottom and work your way up. And I know it's harder and harder and there are fewer and fewer positions, but I've seen people go into smaller markets and in the past couple of years, even, and follow along the same trajectory that I did, which is, you start out as a promo staffer and you do everything in the building. So I think maybe my advice is don't be as scared to start small and work your way up and network yourself as best you can. And I think.
Mentorship is something that we all need. Everybody needs to be doing more of. It's something that so many people did for me. And I think it's all of our jobs to continue to fill that bucket of new, young, excited talent, and it's been dwindling over the past. And we all have to do a better job of dedicating time to mentoring young talent and listening to an air check and giving constructive feedback.
And so I think my best advice would be don't be afraid to start small and don't be afraid to reach out. Send an air check and ask for feedback. How can I get better? How can I get on B 96? Might be a, a big dream, a pipe dream, but you know, you never know what good feedback or even just what having a network of connections can do for you. Because when a job pops up, we're all gonna talk to each other. That's what we do.
Of course, we're gonna look and see who applied for the job, but we're going to talk to each other and we're going to say, Hey, Oh, you know what? I did talk to that one person and I think they might be really a really good fit for your station. So it's definitely a little bit about who, you know, it's about working hard and it's about putting in the time.
Yep. Our thanks to the amazing Molly Cruz, brand manager of B96 Chicago. We have links to B96 online, their streams, socials, podcasts, and more all in the show notes, just scroll down on your phone.
And Molly made a big mention about Brian Kelly. He is on actually episode nine in the back issues of this podcast. Go ahead and look him up. You will learn a lot. Meanwhile, our thanks to Exec Producer, Cindy Huber for getting us all organized and to associate producer, Hannah B for booking
and coming up next. Hello, boys and girls. It's Mike Bivet here, inviting you to discover the secrets of innovative marketing. We're going to show you how to leverage all your media platforms and make your media brand stand out in a crowded mediascape. It's all next time on BRANDwidth on Demand.
That's a wrap, Kipper. Wanna earn more? Well, you have to learn more. Details in the new One Minute Marginizing. I'm Dave Martin. And I'm Kipper McGee. May all your BRANDwidth be Wide.