After twelve years leading the RAB, Erica Farber will be handing the role of President and CEO to Mike Hulvey in April 2024. Radio Ink sat down with the Neuhoff Communications CEO to discuss everything from his leadership transition plan and vision to perceptions around young radio sellers as we get to know the man taking on one of the industry’s most vocal and powerful mantles.
Radio Ink: Let’s start simple. You’ve spent your whole career in this industry – what made you fall in love with radio?
Mike Hulvey: I know the exact day. I was eight years old. My father was the school administrator of a school district in North Central Illinois. One night I went to a high school basketball game with him and a local radio station was there to broadcast that game. I looked up in the top row of the bleachers and there, sitting behind the table, were two broadcasters with a felt banner and they were wearing their headphones. I will never forget it. From eight years old and on, that is all I’ve ever wanted to do, with the exception of the days of wanting to be an astronaut. I didn’t much care for roller coasters, so the astronaut business was out. By the time I was 14, then I was working, helping a local radio station sports director.
Radio Ink: You’ve been on the RAB board since October 2012. What made you decide to take the step to President?
Mike Hulvey: I love this industry. It really feels like a calling. My default is always to be positive. My birthday is March 4th. It’s the only command in the calendar. I like the march forth, be positive mantra. I know our industry has changed. I know people sometimes think that radio has seen its better days, and I disagree with that. It’s different than what it was in the past, but we impact so many in the communities that we serve. We impact businesses, communities, and organizations that we get involved in. Our listeners love the connection. To what we do – to help carry that message forward, to be able to share that passion with advertisers at any level, to be able to motivate and inspire the members of the RAB who are those radio station owners and operators and the from the small to the large, to be able to play somewhat of a role in that was just impossible to ignore. It feels like a calling.
Radio Ink: You’ve been at Neuhoff Communications since ’92. Neuhoff operates twenty stations in central Illinois and Indiana. Do you believe that coming from smaller and medium markets gives you an advantage when it comes to leading the RAB?
Mike Hulvey: Absolutely. I think it’s a superpower. I’ve seen radio work. I’ve seen how it’s changed lives. What a radio station is defined as now is much different than just a box with music or information of spoken word coming out of it. It’s all of the other things that we do. So I think actually my experience is a superpower that I intend to exploit for the industry. There’s greatness that’s still out there for us to achieve.
Radio Ink: The third major part of your resume is the Broadcasters Idea Bank. For those that aren’t aware of what that is, can you tell a bit more about that?
Mike Hulvey: I have been a part of the International Broadcasters Idea Bank for 20-plus years. I served as President for about four years. It is a peer-to-peer networking organization made up of a core group of 100 broadcasters in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The goal of the organization is to provide resources and information and idea sharing from like-minded broadcasters on the things that are going on in their markets and how they’ve impacted their communities and their businesses and to share those ideas.
Radio Ink: Are you considering any of those global ideas for this new role when it comes to marketing and advertising?
Mike Hulvey: I think the first thing that’s on my list is listening. When we get on board in April, I’m going to be engaging with Erica. We have weekly calls now, but that whole month of April will be special. One of the things that I’m anxious to do is to have conversations across the broad spectrum of those who are impacted by the RAB or vice versa. I can’t wait to start having conversations and listen to hear what people have to say and what ideas are out there. I have a lot of energy and excitement about what I know is possible with our industry and so I have to kind of temper that a little bit, but the very first thing I want to do is to have conversations and listen.
Radio Ink: This year we ran a week-long series, “Why Do So Many Radio Ads Suck?” It got a passionate and active response. We talked with leaders from across radio, from the executive level to small market production directors, including some RAB Radio Mercury Award winners, about the state of ad creation. There’s obviously some negative perception out there. Anyone who’s listened to radio has admittedly heard ads that were dogs. What’s one step that radio can take right now to start fixing this?
Mike Hulvey: We always have to be conscientious of the most important part of the speaker. That’s the outside audience. That’s something that we’ve talked about in the Neuhoff company a lot. What resonates with the audience? What motivates the audience? What brings the audience to action? As we evaluate copy and general content, I think if we put ourselves on the outside of the speaker and we evaluate from that perspective, that would be impactful.
Radio Ink: The RAB has many wings, including the National Radio Talent Institute. The NRTI plays an amazing part in cultivating young talent, both behind the mic and out in the sales department. At our Radio Masters Sales Summit this year, many in the audience had a very negative, almost angry perception of young radio sellers. This is a two-part question: how do we bring more young broadcasters into the fold and how can we help change this perspective from within the industry?
Mike Hulvey: One of the things I’m really excited about in this position is being able to continue to impact young people and bring them into the industry. One big step forward the RAB Board undertook in 2015 after the 2014 NAB Radio Show was to physically get college students into the room with professionals. I think we ended up raising enough money for more than 125 college students to attend the next year’s Radio Show. Once they got in the room, it made a difference.
So we’ve continued to do that, even when the Radio Show was merged with the NAB Show in April. We still bring our Student Scholars to get in and engage. When the RAB took over the National Radio Talent Institute, it gave us another opportunity to engage again with the next level of broadcast students. I am fully committed to that.
One of the things that I’m very proud of in my career – for the last 26 years in our market in Danville, Illinois, we have hosted a summer program with industry leaders for a week that is focused on young sports broadcasters. We introduce them to radio. We introduce them to skills such as writing and editing, public speaking, play-by-play, public announcing, and interviewing. In the last 26 years, we’ve had over 400 students go through our program.
It’s seeding the future. We’re going to continue to seek out opportunities to welcome the next generation into the broadcast industry.
Radio Ink: But what about changing the perception from within? There’s the stereotypical idea that Gen Z and Millennials don’t want to work. There are very few bad apples, yes, but there’s a wealth of exceptional, driven young talent in radio, including sales. You’ll find plenty highlighted in Radio Ink‘s 30 Under 30 in the December issue. How can we get more salespeople to welcome the younger sellers, bring them in, and change that negative attitude?
Mike Hulvey: What comes to mind is just understanding those individuals in terms of what motivates them and what they see are wins then working towards that with them. I don’t know how you change individual perspectives other than to create a vision to show them what is possible and where we might go in the future. What I’ve found with young people and younger employees is a desire to be successful and a desire to grow.
Generationally, there are different incentives. But again, if you create a culture that is focused on what is possible, not just today, but for the longer view, and you turn light bulbs on, then all of a sudden you start to create positive interactions. You start to create a positive path forward.
Radio Ink: Let’s talk about advertisers. We have national folks at the very top, like John Fix running Procter & Gamble’s “radio experiment,” seeing remarkable growth for the US’ ad juggernauts via AM/FM. Then folks on Main Street know the power of radio. How does radio get more dollars from the middle?
Mike Hulvey: We have to articulate radio’s results and the amazing success stories out in the marketplace on how radio has been deployed and impacted. Radio is not just an audio delivery vehicle; it is all of the other aspects that radio stations in the modern space create – from events to digital to community-focused initiatives. We have to share the excitement that comes with those opportunities. Radio is so unique because it has such a personal relationship with the audience. It’s not just an advertising platform.
It’s great that we have these champions at a high level. It’s great that we have the champions at the closest to the consumer local level. But I think we have to continue to find ways to share that same message and engage up and down the entire ecosystem of advertising.
Radio Ink: It’s been neck-and-neck with AM for the honor of hottest topic of the year – what are your thoughts on AI when it comes to selling radio?
Mike Hulvey: From the RAB’s perspective, AI is it is here to stay. It is without question the most disruptive thing that’s happened to technology in maybe our lifetime. Finding ways to harness the positive powers of AI is very exciting to me. The RAB is going to explore AI and what’s possible, then share those messages and lessons with members to use AI as a positive tool moving forward.
We’re definitely in the first inning with AI, so I, again, think we embrace it and we look for ways to deploy it.
Radio Ink: Neuhoff has an active digital arm like most in radio have had to acquire. How does your RAB help radio compete in that sector?
Mike Hulvey: Again, it goes to the definition of radio today. We’re not just a single, point-to-point audio service anymore. Whether it is digital services like website development to email to OTT to digital display, we have found great success in being able to serve the needs of the advertiser. The great thing about radio is our relationship with the client. There are a lot of people in the digital space who independently provide services, but they don’t have the relationship that radio does.
For example, Neuhoff has been able to create digital campaigns that are community-focused beyond traditional advertising. As an example, we’ve used strategic tactics to drive recruitment for a local police department. We focused on geo-targeting police headquarters around the Midwest and delivered messages about a particular police department and the quality of life and economic benefits of a certain community that department is in. That was happening in the digital space with a local client marketing really through multiple states by a radio station. When we expand our idea of what radio is today, we help the local client with resources and ideas that have nothing to do with the transmitter and receiver.
Radio Ink: Let’s say we’re talking again in April 2025. What do you hope we’re discussing about your first year leading the RAB?
Mike Hulvey: One of my focuses going into this entire process was “Eye on ’25.” What are the things that we do in preparation now will ensure that we are up to speed with where we need to be to serve our members and our industry in 2025? We’ve gone through a strategic planning effort over the last year and a half with the RAB board, executive team, and staff to align with what our needs are in the future. It also goes back to the great conversations I’m looking to have in April for listening and meeting our members’ needs.
So, I can’t give you an A, B, and C, because that would not be in line with the process, but my vision for April 2025 is that we are fully up to speed and have seen opportunities to accelerate growth.
The RAB is in great shape now with Erica’s leadership. But as we move forward, it’s going to look a little different. It’s going to feel a little different. And I’m very excited about where we’re going.
