DALLAS -- RAB President and CEO Erica Farber gave opening remarks this afternoon during the 2012 Radio Show produced by RAB and NAB.
Below is the full-text of Farber's prepared remarks.
Welcome to Dallas, Texas home of the 2012 Radio Show, on this amazing fall day and for your listening pleasure a choice of 73 commercial radio stations with a combined billing of almost $340 million dollars! Thank you so much for joining us. We hope you find these three days of speakers, sessions, and special events instructional, informational and energizing! And we also know the importance of spending time with your friends and colleagues and how great it is to meet new friends as well.
It is my honor to be working with you and for you in my role at the Radio Advertising Bureau. Your RAB has an engaged group of people working on your behalf each and every day. With our headquarters located right here in Dallas we are excited that our entire team can be with us at the Radio Show.
I would like to take a moment and recognize our great partners at the NAB. Led by Gordon Smith and John David we have worked very closely with their team and you should know how committed they all are to putting on the best meeting possible.
A conference like this doesn't just happen overnight. The planning for this year literally began the day after the conference was over last year. The agenda has been designed by a Steering Committee led by this year's chairman Dan Mason of CBS and made up of your colleagues around the country representing management, sales, digital, marketing and programming. Thank you for your great work, your time and your energy.
Next I would like to give a big shout out to all of our sponsors and exhibitors. They play an important role in this conference as well. May I ask that you make some time to visit with them on the exhibit floor as well as in many of the sessions and special events that will be occurring. And thank you to all of the advertisers and agencies joining us. On behalf of this great medium - radio - we thank you for your support of including radio in your marketing and promotion plans to reach your consumers.
This theme of the Radio Show is, Hear what's next!
OK, did I get your attention? We know the majority of our listeners and consumers are not listening to us in the dark but I wanted to take a couple of minutes to make a point. I wanted to remind you of the importance of what it is you do. The importance of audio information and entertainment. Radio is not tied to a device - radio is everywhere - it's in the car, it's online, it's on your phone, on your on mobile devices and believe it or not some people are still listening to radio through a radio!
Consumers today are interacting with us across all kinds of platforms. We are the leading audio content providers in the world and are being copied daily. There is a reason everyone wants to be like us and there are reasons they like to use our name. Radio has tremendous consumer adoption but we cannot stop at that. We truly have the ears of our markets, but we cannot take them for granted!
We all need to continue to present our portfolios to every local, regional and national advertiser and advertising agency. We need to present innovative solutions to help them reach their consumers. We all need to think beyond just selling 10's, 30's and 60's.
Radio today is not about having a separate conversation about our on-air product or our digital strategy. Radio today is about respecting the listeners, delivering products that she or he are interested in and recognizing that our listeners are listening in different ways than most of us ever thought possible.
As diverse of a group as the industry is today, there is one thing I guarantee that everyone in this room can agree on - growing our industry. On behalf of the staff at the RAB we all look forward to working together now to continue to insure a strong and bright future for this great medium!
Thank you.
About the Radio Show
The 2012 Radio Show, produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), will be held September 19-21 in Dallas. This year's show brings radio broadcasters and industry colleagues together to share knowledge, discover the latest innovations, network with industry leaders and explore creative business strategies to help radio flourish in the digital age. To learn more about the 2012 Radio Show, visit www.radioshowweb.com.
About RAB
The Radio Advertising Bureau serves more than 6,000 member Radio stations in the U.S. and over 1,000 member networks, representative firms, broadcast vendors, and international organizations. RAB leads and participates in educational, research, sales, and advocacy programs that promote and advance Radio as a primary advertising medium. Learn more at www.rab.com.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.