No Rob is not paying me to write this article, however, I am open to a small fee. I’ve had the privilege of watching Christian radio very close over the last 30 plus years. I love how radio has changed over the decades. I believe the biggest changes in radio will take place over the next 5 years. I have been beating the drum that radio needs to find out what is next and how to ride the wave. Those who figure it out will be successful and those who don’t will be left behind, perhaps even out of the radio business.
If you say that you work at a radio station, you are already behind the eight ball. You should be working at a communication company that has many different outlets in reaching it’s listeners and yes even viewers and that is exactly where Rob Dempsey at His Radio fits in.
If you are simply looking for music, time, temp and traffic than the following morning show would not fit your station. Rob’s morning show has a 5 camera shoot, providing listeners with amazing content that is heard over the radio and yes seen online. His morning show is nothing shy of brilliant. His first year in providing video of his breaks, he saw more than 1.2 million downloads. Rob has found a way to create community with his listeners and using the TV aspect has brought the listeners into the studio with Rob.
Rob and the team spend countless hours putting together content both that works for audio and video. Many videos include those in the community, content from Youtube and artists that stop by the studio.
Just last Christmas Rob did a great radio piece that worked well for both radio and video by making a Christmas wish come true. Warning, you might be fighting tears while watching this break from the morning show.
Recently Kirk Cameron stopped by Rob’s show to push his new Christmas movie. Instead of doing the normal interview, Rob took time to place Kirk at a local Chick Fil A for some fun and of course had the camera rolling. This one break from his morning show went viral and landed up on Good Morning America.
Artists often stop by the studio. Listeners love hearing their favorite artists but you can see how video would draw them to a web site so they could actually see the interview as well. I love this piece with Brandon Heath.
Recently the morning team built the first TV trailer for radio so they can film
while on location. Needless to say, if you see Rob pop up just about anywhere your going to see camera’s following him.
I caught up with Rob to ask him a few questions and yes, he was on the treadmill when I asked him some of these questions.
- When did you start video for your morning show?
- How many cameras do you shoot with?
- Rob: 4 Stationary GoPro and 1 mobile Black Magic Camera.
- How many people do you have on the morning show?
- Rob: 2 Co-Hosts and 1 Producer On air and Camera.
- How many off air helping to run your morning show?
- Rob: 2 to 3 for video support.
- So how many downloads did you have the first year?
- Rob: 1.2 million videos viewed and loaded in the first year.
- Are you seeing your online streaming growing?
- Rob: An overwhelming YES now at 2,004 million videos viewed as of 1/2/15.
- Why do you feel it’s important to provide your morning show on video?
- Rob: When was the last time you watched a video? What did you watch it on? Most people would tell you that they watched a video today and on their smartphone. This is why we started video. We wanted to be were the people are, on their devises they are using today and tomorrow. I really believe that this helps to build deeper relationships with the people we spend time with on the radio everyday. This type of radio helps to make a greater impact and ultimately sharing the gospel in their lives .
- How often do you do live remotes and do you film on location?
- Rob: Our goal for 2015 is two each month and this will grow to one a week laster this year. We built a fully custom LIVE radio/video trailer that brings the whole show on the road.
The morning team at His Radio is Rob Dempsey, CO-host Alison Storm, producer Jim Mann, and our executive video producer DJ. Also, video switcher JD. This group of folks make up one of the best morning shows in our industry.
I would encourage you to tune in and also watch what Rob and the morning team are doing at His Radio. At first you might be thinking this is way to much work and I agree it can be. I would encourage to begin small, just like Rob did. I think you’ll be amazed at how quickly things will grow. Go and make 2015 an out of the box experience for your radio station! If you are doing something out of the box at your station, I would love to hear from you. Email, Bill@BillScottGroup.com.
