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Allan Davis Knows He Can’t Replace Howard Simon at WGR

“That would be hard to do. I don’t try to do that.  I just try to look at who’s out there and who’s next and build around that team.”

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In October of 2011, Allan Davis left his position as Vice-President of Programming for Genesis Communications radio stations in Tampa and Orlando to become the Program Director of all-sports WGR Radio in Buffalo. He brought an impressive resume of programming with him to Western New York and, over a decade later, the station continues to be a smashing success.

When you ask him about his time at WGR, all Davis can do is smile from ear to ear.

“I’m very happy,” said Davis. “It’s been a great 11 years. The fan base here is extraordinary.  They love the Bills. They love the Sabres. It’s the primary topic around town day in and day out whether you’re in-season or not and WGR benefits from that.  The station is doing really well.”

The station is thriving for a number of reasons and one of them is the passion of the great sports fans in Buffalo and throughout Western New York. As fans of the Bills and Sabres continue to wait patiently for that elusive first major pro sports championship in the city of Buffalo, there is an excitement in the air these days. The Bills are a Super Bowl contender and the Sabres are in contention for a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After a win or after a loss, the fans are ready let their feelings out and WGR is there for them.

“I love the fans calling into the station,” said Davis. “I love the fans connecting and engaging in the station whether it’s over the phone or through Twitter or any other social media platform.”

To that point, sports fans these days can go just about anywhere to talk sports. They can have a full-fledged conversation at the water cooler with co-workers, they can engage with radio hosts, sports writers and other fans on social media or they could just pick up a phone and call their local all-sports radio station.

For fans in Buffalo, WGR is the destination and Davis’ lineup of hosts makes it very easy for them because they stick to a radio philosophy that works and isn’t only successful in “top 40 music” formats.

They “play the hits”. 

“Our strategy is for the guys to remain focused on the Bills and the Sabres every day hour-in and hour-out,” said Davis. “If you want to talk about Lebron James and him becoming the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, that’s going to get a mention on the radio station. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s not going to be the topic. We’re still going to stay with the Bills and we’re still going to stay with the Sabres and it’s going to be the same thing throughout the entire calendar year.” 

It should not be a surprise that Davis has enjoyed the success he has achieved at WGR because he’s been successful everywhere he’s been including 1080 The Fan in Portland and 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City.

But it was what he did, north of the border, in September of 1992 that really opened up eyes throughout the radio industry.

As the Toronto Blue Jays were on their way to their first World Series title, Davis brought the all-sports format to Canada for the first time when he launched The Fan 590 in Toronto.

“It was an exciting time,” recalled Davis.

Before Davis flipped CJCL to all-sports, it was a hybrid of music and sports. He already had the well-known sports personality Bob McCown working afternoons at the station so the station had two huge building blocks in place.

“We built the station around him and the Toronto Blue Jays,” said Davis.

Before the flip the station had a cume of 12+ of just over 120,000. After the launch of The Fan and the Blue Jays winning the World Series, the cume grew to over 700,000 and would eventually settle in on around 400,000 through the ensuing years.

Davis flipped the switch to all-sports, but he knows he had a lot of help from everyone involved.

“It was an exciting time and it was a lot of work putting it together. It was new for everybody,” said Davis. “We were throwing darts at the board a lot of the time but so were a lot of other smart people here in the United States doing the same thing as they were flipping to all-sports stations as well so I wasn’t alone in that.” 

Today, as fans in Buffalo wonder how the Bills can overtake the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and what moves the Sabres might make before the NHL trading deadline, there is also the question of who is going to be talking about these tops during mornings on WGR. 

Legendary morning-show host Howard Simon has announced his retirement after 18 years at the station with his final show set for this Friday March 3rd.

Those are going to be big shoes for Davis to fill.

“I don’t think I can really quantify how much he has meant to the radio station,” said Davis.  “Howard has been outstanding. It didn’t matter what the weather was. It didn’t matter how he felt. He was always on point and as a morning wake-up person, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. He was always well-prepared. He’ll be missed a lot.”

So, how does Davis replace Simon?

“You can’t really replace Howard,” said Davis. “That would be hard to do. I don’t try to do that.  I just try to look at who’s out there and who’s next and build around that team. You move forward. There have been a tremendous number of great talents who have gone through our industry in any format.”

And that’s why a good program director is always channeling his or her inner Goldberg uttering an iconic wrestling catch phrase…

“Who’s next?”

“You always are preparing for who might be next,” said Davis. “This is a great opportunity for WGR, at the same time, to bring in new talent, to promote from within potentially as well…talent that has been waiting. We could fill and we will and WGR will remain healthy and WGR will continue to proper and move forward.”

Buffalo is a great sports town and perhaps there will be a day in the near future when some of the most passionate sports fans in North America will get to celebrate a championship. The Buffalo Bisons have been one of the most successful minor league baseball franchises in the country and the Buffalo Bandits are a perennial championship contender in the National Lacrosse League, but sports talk in Buffalo is driven by the Bills and Sabres.

And when the fans dial-in to WGR to talk about their beloved teams, they’re not left waiting very long to discuss the topic at hand.

“I think that’s one of the reasons why WGR is successful because the fans are just so passionate about the Bills and the Sabres and we don’t make them wait when they tune in,” said Davis. “When they tune in, they know we’re going to be talking about the Bills and talking about the Sabres. The interaction with the fans is critical to that. Everybody is together. It’s a family type of atmosphere.”

For 11 ½ years, Allan Davis has presided over that family atmosphere at WGR in Buffalo.  Now, the only question is when that family gets to celebrate and talk about hoisting a trophy.

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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