Profile: Taylor has his eye on the main prize
by Isabella Piasecka Media Week 07-May-08, 07:30
Less than a year after being appointed GMG Radio's commercial director, Stuart Taylor is now firmly established in his new medium. He tells Media Week about the challenges facing UK radio.
It is hardly surprising for a man who spent almost 20 years in newspapers that Stuart Taylor refers to the medium often, even when talking about radio, his new baby. Ask him about the need to court an increasingly online audience, and he readily draws parallels between radio and print.
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"Whether you're a fish-and-chip shop or a newspaper company, you can't go out into the world without a decent quality website," he says.
"The challenge for us, as for all radio businesses, is to start imagining our content in ways other than just audio.
"We remain primarily an audio business - just as newspapers remain primarily a print business - because that's where the costs, overheads and revenues are. But if you are not online, you start to lose touch with your audience."
Taylor's love of newspapers, and his intimate knowledge of the sector, is not unwelcome at GMG Radio, his new home. If anything, he believes it smoothed his transition from sister company Guardian News & Media, where he was commercial director for three years from 2004.
"When I started [at GMG Radio], I honestly didn't know anything about radio," he admits. "But they wanted senior input from somebody who'd been involved in other media. We have already got radio expertise in spades."
Extended role
Taylor is clearly learning fast. He joined as commercial director of GMG Radio in September last year, as well as managing director of Smooth Radio, and has already been promoted to deputy chief executive under John Myers.
In the new role, which adds to his existing responsibilities, Taylor will work across the division as it strengthens its core brands, including Century FM and Rock Radio.
His latest project is to oversee a national promotional campaign for Smooth Radio - a challenger to Bauer Radio's Magic FM aimed at the growing and lucrative over-40s audience - which launches this week in Manchester, with a London campaign to follow "as soon as possible".
According to Taylor, the future for GMG Radio lies in building national brands with broad advertiser appeal. This will be all the easier, and more vital, as the radio industry consolidates.
"Our Century network is number one in all regions except Yorkshire, where it is number two," says Taylor. "That's a vast footprint for advertisers, who can get quasi-national coverage."
He adds: "Right now, the whole geographical make-up of radio is nuts. Consolidation will help sort that out, especially now that most of the radio sector is in private hands. We're going to see development in terms of realignment of networks and brands."
Consolidation has affected the placing of GMG Radio's sales contract. It was moved out of Global into GCap when Global acquired Chrysalis, and now Taylor must decide what to do following Global's purchase of GCap. Despite speculation that Taylor will take its sales in-house, he insists he has no immediate plans.
He adds: "We are in discussions and awaiting developments with Global. It's business as usual. If radio is a commoditised market, which it is, we figure we'd be best off with the biggest kid in the playground."
And yet he doesn't rule out taking the ad sales business back completely: "It's a rolling contract, annual but rolling: there is comfort for both sides in all eventualities."
Hostile takeover
Another area where Taylor believes radio broadcasters will come together is to push and develop DAB radio, which was dealt a massive blow in February when GCap chief executive Fru Hazlitt dismissed the platform as economically unviable.
In an attempt to fend off a hostile takeover, she told shareholders that GCap would sell its 63% stake in Digital One, although that sale is currently on hold.
Taylor insists: "You've got to understand the context of Fru's comments. DAB wasn't happening quickly enough for GCap and she had to make a call. It was a cost- cutting exercise; that was quite transparent." He adds: "Certainly we've moved on from the ‘is it, isn't it?' debate. DAB is going to be with us for a long time, as enough interest and money has been sunk into it.
"Let's argue about the cost, about how licences are tied to FM licences, about how to sell the medium properly, and about the technology. But let's keep our eye on the main prize: the long-term future of radio."
Taylor's prediction for radio - and for newspapers - is that audiences will use traditional and digital formats interchangeably, without reducing their net exposure to the brand, be it Smooth Radio or The Guardian.
"Ultimately, we don't mind how people are listening to radio, as long as they can and the quality's good," he says.
"We don't mind if you read our paper online, as long as you're reading it. It's all about eyes and ears."
CV
2008 Deputy chief executive, GMG Radio (still commercial director, GMG Radio and managing director, Smooth Radio)
2007 Commercial director, GMG Radio and managing director, Smooth Radio
2006 General manager, The Guardian, Guardian News & Media
2004 Commercial director, Guardian News & Media
2000 Ad director, Guardian News & Media
1996 Ad manager, The Guardian and The Observer
1993 Magazine ad manager, Guardian News & Media
1988 Various sales positions, The Observer
1988 Ad manager, Emap Maclaren
1985 Ad manager, Argus Specialist Publishing
"The challenge for us, as for all radio businesses, is to start imagining our content in ways other than just audio.
"We remain primarily an audio business - just as newspapers remain primarily a print business - because that's where the costs, overheads and revenues are. But if you are not online, you start to lose touch with your audience."
Taylor's love of newspapers, and his intimate knowledge of the sector, is not unwelcome at GMG Radio, his new home. If anything, he believes it smoothed his transition from sister company Guardian News & Media, where he was commercial director for three years from 2004.
"When I started [at GMG Radio], I honestly didn't know anything about radio," he admits. "But they wanted senior input from somebody who'd been involved in other media. We have already got radio expertise in spades."
Extended role
Taylor is clearly learning fast. He joined as commercial director of GMG Radio in September last year, as well as managing director of Smooth Radio, and has already been promoted to deputy chief executive under John Myers.
In the new role, which adds to his existing responsibilities, Taylor will work across the division as it strengthens its core brands, including Century FM and Rock Radio.
His latest project is to oversee a national promotional campaign for Smooth Radio - a challenger to Bauer Radio's Magic FM aimed at the growing and lucrative over-40s audience - which launches this week in Manchester, with a London campaign to follow "as soon as possible".
According to Taylor, the future for GMG Radio lies in building national brands with broad advertiser appeal. This will be all the easier, and more vital, as the radio industry consolidates.
"Our Century network is number one in all regions except Yorkshire, where it is number two," says Taylor. "That's a vast footprint for advertisers, who can get quasi-national coverage."
He adds: "Right now, the whole geographical make-up of radio is nuts. Consolidation will help sort that out, especially now that most of the radio sector is in private hands. We're going to see development in terms of realignment of networks and brands."
Consolidation has affected the placing of GMG Radio's sales contract. It was moved out of Global into GCap when Global acquired Chrysalis, and now Taylor must decide what to do following Global's purchase of GCap. Despite speculation that Taylor will take its sales in-house, he insists he has no immediate plans.
He adds: "We are in discussions and awaiting developments with Global. It's business as usual. If radio is a commoditised market, which it is, we figure we'd be best off with the biggest kid in the playground."
And yet he doesn't rule out taking the ad sales business back completely: "It's a rolling contract, annual but rolling: there is comfort for both sides in all eventualities."
Hostile takeover
Another area where Taylor believes radio broadcasters will come together is to push and develop DAB radio, which was dealt a massive blow in February when GCap chief executive Fru Hazlitt dismissed the platform as economically unviable.
In an attempt to fend off a hostile takeover, she told shareholders that GCap would sell its 63% stake in Digital One, although that sale is currently on hold.
Taylor insists: "You've got to understand the context of Fru's comments. DAB wasn't happening quickly enough for GCap and she had to make a call. It was a cost- cutting exercise; that was quite transparent." He adds: "Certainly we've moved on from the ‘is it, isn't it?' debate. DAB is going to be with us for a long time, as enough interest and money has been sunk into it.
"Let's argue about the cost, about how licences are tied to FM licences, about how to sell the medium properly, and about the technology. But let's keep our eye on the main prize: the long-term future of radio."
Taylor's prediction for radio - and for newspapers - is that audiences will use traditional and digital formats interchangeably, without reducing their net exposure to the brand, be it Smooth Radio or The Guardian.
"Ultimately, we don't mind how people are listening to radio, as long as they can and the quality's good," he says.
"We don't mind if you read our paper online, as long as you're reading it. It's all about eyes and ears."
CV
2008 Deputy chief executive, GMG Radio (still commercial director, GMG Radio and managing director, Smooth Radio)
2007 Commercial director, GMG Radio and managing director, Smooth Radio
2006 General manager, The Guardian, Guardian News & Media
2004 Commercial director, Guardian News & Media
2000 Ad director, Guardian News & Media
1996 Ad manager, The Guardian and The Observer
1993 Magazine ad manager, Guardian News & Media
1988 Various sales positions, The Observer
1988 Ad manager, Emap Maclaren
1985 Ad manager, Argus Specialist Publishing
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