'Deathstar' Marketing Plan Takes Shape for Radio Network's April '11 Launch

react's second marketing session again burst with the type of passion and intelligence worthy of a public policy debate.  The objective of Sunday evening's meeting was to refine the radio network's marketing plan; to settle upon its corporate mission, vision, identity (brand), target metrics, and promotional strategy as its launch date approaches.

The initial framework for the marketing plan was created at a meeting 12 days earlier.  Gloria Nauden, former executive director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, lent her expertise in focusing the workgroup's ideas into readily digestible marketing materials.  By the closing of Sunday's meeting, a consensus was reached most of the information needed for react's media kit -- including the target market's demographic and psychographic profile.  The topic of demographics proved to be the most vigorous area of discussion, with very strong feelings expressed both for and against ethnocentric marketing strategies.  After a somewhat lengthy and intricate sidebar on economics, marketing, and radio, it was decided ethnocentric appeals were both problematic and inconsistent with a 'progressive' theme.

There was a short discussion on how best to take advantage of new media and the Internet.  Isaac Shmaschemov raised some very interesting points on how the latest technologies are underutilitized by broadcasters.  Not much time in this session was spent discussing new media strategy, but Isaac, Seth Jackson, Robert Newkirk, and I have pledged to meet ASAP to map out this part of react's marketing plan, including the network's logo and web page.

A topic that sent the workgroup into brain fade twice is the network's promo liner, the voice-over announcers give every hour when giving a radio station's ID, e.g.; 'Q99 FM... BANG!!! The Future of Rock n' Roll'.   I think there had been 7-8 suggestions in the first marketing session, and another 10 discussed between Kymone Freeman and myself.  Again, some good ideas bubbled up from the group -- all of which were intended to capture the essence of our mission and programming format.  It was near the end of the session, after the debate over promoting react as 'Black' versus 'Progressive', when someone casually mentioned, '360 degrees of knowledge'.  I quickly wrote, '360 degrees of positivity' on the board, and the phrase seemed to resonate with the workgroup.  I think it's a winner.

Hopefully, we'll be able to have promotional literature announcing react -- with its logo and slogan -- available for Kymone's event this Sunday at the Lincoln Theater , Umoja on U: A Black History Celebration.