SPECai AE Spotlight: Tom Carrozza

Tom Carrozza is the Corporate Director of Production Operations with Beasley Media Group.

1. What do you enjoy most about collaborating with local businesses?

Collaborating with local businesses helps us stay grounded in our local community. Understanding the needs of our local business and bringing their message to our audience fosters that sense of community that is increasingly necessary in the radio industry.

2. What advice would you give to AEs who are just starting to integrate SPECai into their workflow?

Adding this tool to your prospecting is a fast way to give clients an example of our capabilities. The new Instaspot feature is something which is helpful for those walk-in, cold-calls which happen from time to time. Letting a client hear what they would sound like opens the door for them to think seriously about creating an advertising campaign.

3. How do you keep your sales pitches fresh and relevant, especially with long-term clients?

When collaborating with long-term clients, I find that using trends and current events are a great way to help your clients connect with the audience. If the client’s creative pays attention to the same news/events the audience is, it helps their message cut through and identify with the audience.

4. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in selling radio ads, and how did you overcome it?

My challenge hasn’t been so much in selling radio ads, but in getting the messaging for a client right. Some clients have a clear idea of what message they want to get out, but being an objective point of view allows me the ability to help them craft their message in a way that makes more sense to the audience/demographic they are interested in targeting. The client knows their product best, it is our role in the Production world to help deliver that with the best possible creative we can. Working with a client on their creative is the best way to foster a strong relationship that is built around trust that you are doing everything you can to bring their message to the audience.

5. What’s a misconception about radio advertising that you often have to address with clients?

Some clients do not realize how much of an impact radio still has. People are in their own bubble when it comes to how they digest media, they might not realize that some of the most successful companies have a diversified advertising campaign that is across streaming, podcasts, and radio. Radio is still one of the most accessible mediums out there for brand messaging, and depending on the advertising campaign, you can reach a large number of customers with the right messaging and budget.

6. Can you share a success story where radio ads helped a local business achieve something significant?

One client we worked with built his company by starting with radio ads. It was the easiest way for him to access a broad swath of the local audience, and his service was something that worked across multiple demographics. His business now has advertising campaigns on multiple media platforms, and he still uses radio as his first line of messaging. His business has been immensely successful and while growing his business, he has been able to sponsor and support charities in the community which has contributed to his success.