Historically, like many public media stations, WGVU has sold on-air underwriting inventory in exchange for corporate or philanthropic dollars. Turner has been experimenting with a new strategy of seeking opportunities that reflect the value of public media’s role as a community pillar.
He shared an example of one of the station’s popular community events called Kids Day at the Zoo where families can attend Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo at a discounted rate. In the past, WGVU sold corporate sponsorships for the event at different tiers that provided a certain number of on-air underwriting spots. “Even though we were doing a community engagement event, we were still approaching it from a sales perspective,” says Turner. “As a media organization, we were failing to articulate our value as a normal, regular nonprofit would.”
Turner says his lightbulb moment came when he learned that a different organization that sponsored Kids Day at the Zoo had donated $20,000 to a local hospice organization’s annual gala that same year. This organization had never given more than $2,000 to support Kids Day at the Zoo. Turner asked his underwriting team why the sponsor wasn’t giving more. The response: That’s as high as they will ever go. Turner then asked, “What’s the difference in our messaging and value proposition, as to why this organization feels we’re only worth two grand, and we’re afraid that if we ask them for a penny more they’re going to leave us?”
He says there’s always going to be less money in marketing budgets, which is a limited commodity, compared to the funds stations can generate through value-driven philanthropic sponsorships. “The value we’re offering is about giving sponsors a chance to support kids and families in the community.”
Of course changing the messaging isn’t enough if the structure of an underwriting team is built around selling inventory. When the majority of WGVU’s five-person underwriting team retired a few years ago, Turner and General Manager, Jim Rademaker, used that transition as an opportunity to redesign roles. They shifted underwriting staff to salaries and eliminated underwriting commissions. He introduced a new incentive of tying 20% of an underwriting staffer’s yearly revenue goal to securing philanthropic sponsorships for special events and programming. At the time of our interview, Turner was hiring for a new staff position focused specifically on corporate and community partnerships with a focus on community events. “Galas in our community are netting $100,000 and so I’m bringing someone in that has that experience,” he says.