PROMOTIONS DIRECTORS CAN’T TURN OFF THE EFFORT

You can’t accuse Rob Tonkin of loafing on the job.

Each weekday, the 23-year-old promotions director for progressive rock radio station XTRA-FM (91X) and its oldies sister, XTRA-AM (69 XTRA Gold), is in the office by 9, ready for another fast-paced day of dreaming up contests, engineering advertising campaigns and ordering promotional items to be given away on the air.

He’s rarely finished before dark--and even then, he doesn’t go straight home. Instead, Tonkin heads for trendy discotheques such as Club Diego in Pacific Beach or Confetti in Mission Valley where 91X each week sponsors “club nights,” featuring personal appearances by the station’s deejays and more prize give-aways.

On weekends, Tonkin can usually be found at various other events sponsored by either 91X or 69 XTRA Gold, such as surf contests, golf tournaments, movie premieres, rock concerts and charity fund-raisers.

And even in his few spare hours, Tonkin makes a habit of wearing his yellow-on-black 91X jacket and keeping a stack of promotional T-shirts in the trunk of his car--just in case he comes across an opportunity to further promote his two stations.

“I literally have to live my job,” Tonkin said. “Radio is more competitive than it’s ever been in the past, and for a radio station to come out ahead it has to rely on a lot more than just music.

“In large part, a radio station’s success now depends on how visible it is in the community, how deeply it becomes involved with its listeners’ lives.

“To accomplish that, we have to be everywhere at once--and as promotions director, so do I.”

Not that it’s always been that way. Five years ago, the promotions director was regarded as a glorified secretary responsible for little more than procuring records and concert tickets for on-air give-aways.

But today, the promotions director is one of a radio station’s key players, responsible for everything the station does aside from programming and commercial sales.

And that means that an awful lot of Tonkin’s counterparts at other local radio stations are every bit as busy as he is.

“We’re now responsible for the overall marketing and imaging of the radio station,” said Joan Hiser, promotions director for adult-contemporary (A/C) stations KFMB-AM (760) and KFMB-FM (B-100).

“The program director, through his choice of music, determines the direction the radio station takes. And it’s the promotions director’s job to make sure that direction remains consistent through all other media, from advertising, contests, and other public events the station can use to reach out to more potential listeners,” Hiser said.

“In the old days, a radio station’s image would emit from the speaker, through its music alone,” added Scott Chatfield, promotions director of album-oriented rock (AOR) station KGB-FM (101.5).

“But that’s no longer enough,” Chatfield said. “Listeners have become a lot more sophisticated in what they expect from a radio station, and at the same time the radio market, especially here in San Diego, has become increasingly competitive.

“As a result, you have to offer listeners more than just music to get their attention. You have to create excitement off the air by becoming involved in your listeners’ lives in any way you can, from sponsoring concerts or movies to giving away prizes or holding contests.”

Indeed, local radio stations are more visible in the community than ever before. Virtually every day, there are three or four club nights hosted by popular deejays, concerts and other special events sponsored by radio stations, and elaborate contests in which listeners have the chance to win cash, trips, cars and even houses.

Radio station logos are splattered on billboards, bus placards and car bumper stickers; deejays are featured in television spots and newspaper ads.

At nearly every public event, from ballgames to shopping center openings, there are teams of people handing out radio station T-shirts, posters, mugs and assorted other promotional gear.

And it’s all part of an overall game plan by promotions directors to market their radio stations off the air as well as on.

“Through promotions, you can create a public perception of your radio station as being a lot bigger than it really is,” said Elizabeth Burley, promotions director of country stations KSON-AM/FM (1240/97.3).

“And the bigger that perception, the more inclined people will be to listen to your station--or at least to say they do when they get surveyed for the next ratings report.”