A regional business focus keeps ears on ‘Eyes on the Future’

There are many ways to build buzz, and word of mouth is among the best. Sometimes the words (and mouths) are on the radio or captured in a podcast for later listening.

The hourlong program “Eyes on the Future,” airing weekly on local AM radio station 1180 WHAM and covering commerce in Greater Rochester, N.Y., easily repackages as a podcast, convenient for area businesspeople to access anytime.

In providing its increasingly popular forum for promoting area businesses, Greater Rochester Enterprise and Dixon Schwabl (a Rochester PR/marketing agency) are the 2012 winners for Best Podcast in Ragan’s PR Daily Awards for “Eyes on the Future.”

The success encompasses several key elements:

• Flexible focus: The overriding subject of the show—living and working in Greater Rochester—is specific and easy to grasp, yet it affords great latitude within its parameters.
• Audience engagement: Many listeners are potential guests; each holds a stake in the community. Callers offer salient insights and ideas for the host, panelists and other listeners.
• Return on Investment: The elusive ROI metric is quite easily discernible here. With the lion’s share of costs picked up by sponsors, GRE’s outlay is minimal and the amount of exposure for its message is wide—and growing. Talk is indeed cheap, but its value is abundant.

The sentiment of the show/podcast—that the Rochester area is a swell place to live and do business—might seem a glad-handing premise. The deeper value lies in the program’s focus on how businesses can thrive and support one another.

On the submitted podcast, there was discussion about coaxing national chain restaurants to serve local products—in this case, beers and ales from Genesee Brewing Co. Panelists offered ways to nudge said eateries to do so. A caller suggested a more blunt approach: If he is told they don’t serve Genesee products, he said, “I get up and walk out.”

The liveliness and relevance of the discussions give audiences a reason to tune in—or download the award-winning podcasts, as you can do by clicking here.

Kudos to Jon Alhart and the Dixon Schwabl team.