In the past month, the RAB has showcased a strategic transformation, refocusing its mission to best serve an evolving radio industry. With initiatives like One Voice and This Is Radio, the organization is uniting broadcasters across companies for the good of radio’s positioning in the media landscape.
RAB President and CEO Mike Hulvey talked with Radio Ink, sharing insights on how these efforts are shaping the future, the importance of industry-wide collaboration, and how radio’s digital expansion is driving new opportunities for advertisers and broadcasters alike.
Radio Ink: The RAB is undergoing a significant refocusing, with an updated mission statement, the One Voice initiative, and other major projects in motion. It’s clearly an exciting time for you all. What led to this moment?
Mike Hulvey: Lots of things in particular. It’s coming up on a year since Erica retired, which doesn’t seem possible, but it will be on April 1. In terms of me joining the organization and answering the question from that perspective, when I came on board I just wanted to listen.
After Erica officially retired on May 1, I spent my first 90 days with the team asking questions, listening, and observing. Then, at the end of July, we brought the senior team together in Indianapolis for three days to discuss the roots of what we do and the future needs of our members. We asked ourselves: Are we positioned to meet those future needs? And if not, what do we need to do to get ourselves properly aligned?
One of the takeaways from that meeting was a freshened mission statement, which we debuted in our 2024 annual report, released earlier this year. We really focused on the three core tenets of the RAB: advocacy, training, and what I am calling workforce development. In my mind, the strength of our industry is its people. What are we doing to attract new people to the industry? How do we maintain a healthy pipeline?
Another emphasis in our mission statement and our key objectives is retention. When you invest in people, they’re less likely to leave. One of our goals at RAB is to help radio stations retain great talent.
The phrase we added in our mission statement that I’m really excited about is “radio in all its forms.” We serve an industry that is growing, not contracting. When you compare radio today to 2015, we’re doing a lot more – I know in some ways we’re doing a lot more with less – but we have more capabilities and ways to impact the advertisers and the communities that we as broadcasters are licensed to serve.
When we added the phrase “radio in all its forms,” we’re expanding the tenet, but we’re also aligning the organization to the capabilities of the industry. Those were a couple of things that we were really excited about.
Radio Ink: And how does that refined mission statement now guide your direction?
Mike Hulvey: When it comes to the direction of the organization, that’s where initiatives like Better Together and One Voice come in. Another major campaign we recently introduced is This Is Radio. These initiatives emerged from committee work. Leaders from our membership met in New York for deep discussions on how RAB and the radio industry can shape the future. We temporarily paused some of our traditional committee work to focus entirely on these priorities. The ideas from those meetings became the foundation for the new tools and initiatives we launched this past month.
[Audacy COO] Susan Larkin talked about it on the webinar, because it was Susan’s committee. Susan grabbed the advocacy piece of that special committee work, and that’s where This Is Radio came from. Then that created One Voice, which is RAB’s effort to refine the industry’s messaging in response to Nielsen’s three-minute qualifier change. If we hadn’t started these conversations in 2023, if we hadn’t dedicated committees to this focus, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
What I’m seeing is the radio industry has come together. There’s a collective effort around the One Voice concept, emphasizing that we are stronger together. Instead of competing for individual advantage – using a sports analogy, throwing elbows under the basket – we’re passing the ball and playing for the greater good of radio. Every company has its own secret sauce, but this isn’t about that. It’s about communicating why radio is so strong.
Radio Ink: On the subject of togetherness, you’ve got iHeart, Audacy, Beasley, Saga, Times Shamrock, Cox Media Group, and more all sharing one stage at the One Voice kickoff. Sometimes we say that radio is one big family, but when direct competitors come together like this, you think, “Oh, this is pretty serious.” How do you see the current situation for the radio industry in that regard?
Mike Hulvey: I am so proud of the industry. Everyone has been at the table – no one has refused to participate or said, “This isn’t something we believe in.” The level of unification we’re seeing is remarkable. We had [iHeartMedia CEO] Bob Pittman sharing his information. [Cumulus Media Chief Insights Officer] Pierre Bouvard has been so incredibly important on committee work and you see a lot of that in This Is Radio. Susan Larkin has been a strong advocate. You saw [Beasley Media Group CEO] Caroline Beasley on the call.
What we wanted to do was present a clear, visual representation of the entire industry – big and small. We had Hispanic broadcasters, urban broadcasters, small-market and big-market stations, public and private companies. It’s truly everyone saying, “We need to do this.” I don’t remember a time when so many, if not everyone, were this together on some common focuses for the industry. And that is so powerful.
But this isn’t the end. We didn’t start at the finish line. This is just the beginning. Now, we’re focused on moving forward with these messages, ensuring that they are implemented within companies, training sellers, and equipping them with the resources to have productive conversations with advertisers. The Nielsen data is about to roll out, so we’re just at the cusp of what’s next.
So we really have a lot of opportunities before us, but we certainly have challenges. It’s not a panacea, as we all know, but the fact that we are all trying to work together to solve our problems and move us forward is so powerful.
Radio Ink: We saw great representation from the larger groups in the kickoff – what about the independent operators? How are they included in the One Voice initiative and what role do you see them playing?
Mike Hulvey: One of the key points we emphasized from the start of this initiative—and at the One Voice kickoff—was that while some of it was triggered by the three-minute qualifier change for PPM markets, the core message applies to all markets. Whether it’s PPM, diary, or unrated, the message is the same: radio delivers. Radio generates more impressions, our audiences are highly attentive, and we drive better outcomes for advertisers. That’s true everywhere.
In our committee meetings – whether it’s the multicultural committee, sales advisory committee, or leadership committee – we’ve worked to include as many voices as possible. It was [Times Shamrock CEO] Jim Loftus, who is the co-chair along with Katie Reid of Bonneville, who made an important point.
Jim has run both the biggest stations and small, unrated markets, and his company has a mix of both. He said something so impactful: as we are developing these materials, make sure we’re talking and speaking in the voice of the advertiser. And that’s radio’s great universal strength.
So, whether you’re the smallest broadcaster or the largest, everyone benefits from these tools and resources.
Radio Ink: To talk about “radio in all its forms,” RAB, Borrell Associates, and Marketron just released a study showing that radio crossed the $2 billion digital revenue threshold for the first time last year, with nearly one in four revenue dollars now coming from digital. Some have voiced concerns that the shift toward digital could negatively impact the on-air product. How do you see this unfolding?
Mike Hulvey: I’ve spoken to Gordon [Borrell] about this. One of the things I think that makes radio so special is that we’re a force multiplier. Advertiser demand is driving digital growth. When advertisers invest in digital, radio – across all its forms – is positioned to enhance that investment. Add radio to any other platform, and the impact multiplies.
There’s both data and anecdotal evidence in the This Is Radio hub that supports this. No matter what part of the sales funnel you examine, adding radio strengthens results.
As a former group operator, I certainly understand that from a financial perspective, the margins are much better if it’s radio only. But at the end of the day, what is the need of the advertiser? Our success is going to come from adding all of our strengths and capabilities to address the needs of the advertiser. If we’re going to have growth, it’s going to come from that mentality.
That’s what “radio in all its forms” means – whether it’s video, digital, streaming, podcasts, broadcast, events, or influencer marketing.
That’s what radio is today, and that’s where radio is also going to be tomorrow. I think as an industry, we understand that and we have to embrace that while recognizing our unique role in the media ecosystem. Radio stands on its own, but it’s a force multiplier when added to something else.
Radio Ink: Something you said reminded me of a separate piece of Borrell research that’s stuck with me since last year. Around 40% of advertisers described radio sellers as having exceptional marketing expertise—ranking above TV, newspapers, and cable. How do we keep that up and capitalize on it?
Mike Hulvey: I was also talking to Gordon about that very point recently and the emphasis on training and reinvestment in terms of the skills of our sellers. Radio has done well in this area, but if we give up ground, we have to work to regain control.
Doubling down on training ensures our sellers are not only competent but also knowledgeable about evolving areas of marketing, so advertisers understand that expertise. I’ve been proud of the numbers that radio has been held to because we have been above the crowd. It speaks to the industry’s willingness to embrace, learn, and engage with advertisers on that front. But we can’t rest on our laurels – this is a fast-moving environment, and nothing demonstrates that more than AI and how quickly it’s reshaping the landscape.
Radio Ink: Looking to the future, part of your new mission statement focuses on workforce development. The RAB hosts the Radio Talent Institutes each year. How is the process shaping up for 2025?
Mike Hulvey: It’s already underway, as a matter of fact. We have team members in Georgia this week and are finalizing our institutes in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. You’ll be happy to know we’re launching a new model in Kentucky in partnership with the University of Kentucky. We’re also testing a different approach in Illinois – an off-site academy centrally located in the state, working with multiple schools. It’s a beta program to see if this model can be used in the future.
The goal is to turn on as many on-air lights as possible and highlight career opportunities in radio.
There are times when people hear “radio,” pause, then think, “There’s no opportunity.” But when we start talking about podcasts, digital media, social media, influencer marketing, broadcast, journalism, and production, their interest grows. That’s the approach we’re taking – showing the full scope of opportunities in this business
Again, we intend to have five very successful programs in 2025, then we will evaluate what those opportunities bring in 2026. But we have to be actively participating in filling the pipeline of the future for the industry. And that’s what we’re doing.
Last year, we had a wonderful experience in Pennsylvania with two students who were involved in our Institute at Confer. They had no idea they were interested in marketing and sales. By the end of the week, not only did they have an interest, they also had jobs. They were hired by Pennsylvania broadcasters and were actually working two weeks after they graduated. That’s how it’s supposed to work!
Radio Ink: What’s one more thing you’re excited about in the next six months?
Mike Hulvey: At the NAB Show, we partner with the Broadcast Education Association for what we call the Student Scholar Program. For 2025, radio broadcasters and RAB board members are sponsoring 100 college students to attend the NAB Show in Vegas. Not only will they participate in programming, but this year we’ve borrowed an idea from Paul and Fred Jacobs like they do at CES.
We’ve organized three separate, guided tours where students will interact with vendors supporting the radio industry. Plus, for the first time, a few students with an interest in engineering will assist RAB on-site in producing content for our Radio on Main Street series. So we have a level of engagement with the students that we’ve never quite done before and I’m excited about that.
And Erica Farber is coming! It’s a home game for her in Vegas and she’s going to be guiding some of the tours and participating. How lucky are those college students to be engaging with Erica during their time at NAB?
Again, I’ve observed college students running around on their own not knowing where to start. We need this match. We do meetings and panels with them, but this is a way to walk them into a vendor and say, okay, this is what we do. This is how we impact the industry. These are technologies that we’re using. Here’s what we see in the future. It’s all forward-thinking. The students saying, “I never even thought about that before.” That’s what we want.
All One Voice resources are now available at rab.com/OneVoice and rab.com/ThisIsRadio.
