The Evolution of Radio Station Stickers in the 21st Century
By Andy Gladding, EdD, CBT
Chief Engineer
Salem Media of New York
WRHU Radio, Hofstra University
The best thing about attending media conferences like TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond, which occurred last week on June 7, is the opportunity to hear diverse viewpoints from industry experts. Gatherings like these also provide the opportunity for attendees like me to “chew” on some of the great ideas presented by the expert panelists and think about solutions to some of the challenges raised during the discussions.
One of the many contemporary issues facing radio brought up during TALKERS 2024 was the evolution and need for vinyl bumper stickers in today’s branding environment. Bumper stickers have been a central component of radio station marketing over several decades, as they provide a low-cost visual aid for stations to get their logo and frequency out to the public, using a “listener-driven” mobile platform. However, as cars increase in price, value, and longevity, station owners are questioning the willingness of car owners to plaster their high-cost investment with third-party advertising. Therefore, the value of continuing to create and distribute vinyl stickers for radio stations has been called into question.
While cars may no longer be an attractive moving billboard destination for station listeners, a whole new field of organic advertising space has emerged, especially on the surface of laptop computers, tablets, and other mobile devices. Many consumers use the uniform blank space of their laptops and cellphones as a place for vinyl stickers. The idea behind this concept is that vinyl stickers allow the device owner to personalize their equipment for identity branding and theft protection. It is much easier to identify a personal device at a place like a coffee shop or airplane security line if you’ve placed a personalized vinyl sticker on it. Many Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are more willing to use the back of their electronic devices as a showcase for vinyl sticker advertising, as it helps attract attention to the user while in a public setting and lets others know “what they are about” with just a quick glance. Electronic devices are on display everywhere and are often carried around with the user in backpacks. When presented with a vinyl sticker, the recipient is usually willing to place the sticker on the device, simply because trying to store it elsewhere will usually result in the destruction of the vinyl sticker.
With this in mind, radio station marketing folks may want to rethink the footprint and layout of their vinyl stickers, choosing to migrate the wider “car bumper” format to a smaller, more concise mini-billboard that could live, display, and survive more effectively on the back of an electronic device.
Solutions like these can only happen when the listener is presented with a challenge by top industry minds. This TALKERS 2024 attendee is grateful for the chance to help provide a solution to a practical problem, made possible by the collaborative environment fostered by an in-person gathering.
Andy Gladding is the chief engineer for Salem Media of New York and WRHU, Hofstra University. He can be emailed at biggladman@aol.com
WRHU-FM, Hempstead, New York chief engineer Andy Gladding played a role in organizing the November 8 event when eight university and high school owned-and-operated stations broadcasting in the 88.1-88.9 segment of the FM band in the number one media market in the country join together to celebrate their love of college radio. Starting at 12:00 noon ET, “The Big 88” will become New York and New Jersey’s largest college radio station, covering an FM broadcast footprint of over 120 miles. In a story written for TALKERS magazine, Gladding says that despite the rash of American colleges selling their radio properties, the New York market has a vibrant college radio community. He says college radio stations have a special value. “I have spent 20 years working as a student volunteer and administrator at WRHU, ‘Radio Hofstra University,’ and have seen first-hand how college radio contributes to the growth and success of students looking to pursue a career in radio, television and digital media. Students and community volunteers who participate at college radio stations find themselves engaged in a diverse community of voices, opinions and music. While their approach and interests may be different, their practice at the college radio station unites them with one unified goal: to serve the listening audience by creating imaginative and alternative audio programming using the university’s FM transmission facility as their channel to the world. 
College radio is a special place on the FM dial. Listeners know it as the channel at the low end of the band where student and volunteer DJs have free reign to play music not usually heard from commercial operators. College students recognize it as a place where they can hone their broadcasting skills and put their passion and talents to work to prepare for a career in the industry. Hiring managers recognize it as a proving ground that provides quality pre-professional development and a destination to seek out qualified candidates to fill entry level media industry roles.