Today's episode is a great listen if you've ever been interested in sales or the ad rep side of things. Scott Taylor, Class of 1993, has been at Katz Media for his entire 30 year career, since graduation.
We start with him following Larry Barron, Scott Meach, and Guy Cacciarelli, on the Michigan-to-Syracuse pipeline. So, he already knew about WJPZ when he got to campus. And while he started on overnights like many of us, sales soon caught his attention. This was especially true when Kelly Sutton and station management instituted a commission structure. He could make money for something he was already finding a passion for!
Scotty T served as VP of Business while his close friend Dave Gorab was General Manager. They were part of the team that stayed in Syracuse in the summer of 1992, giving away a convertible at the Great New York State Fair - the flamethrower days.
Scott thought he had his first job lined up several months before graduation. He was going to follow Kelly, Ken Scott, and Henry Ferri to Buffalo to do radio sales. But when Lynn Vanderhoek strongly encouraged him to meet with Katz Media at the CNY Consortium, his future changed. Several WJPZ'ers went to Katz Media in New York and found themselves in a slightly awkward situation. Because of their experience at Z89, they were hired as Account Executives, supervising sales assistants who were older than them!
Scotty walks us through his three-decade career at Katz - heading out to Chicago, then back to New York, and finally back to the Windy City, where he is now. And he talks about the lessons he learned at WJPZ, including how to be a good manager, that he still employs today.
Recently, Scott started focusing 100% on digital ad revenue, which served as a great jumping off point for us to discuss the future of radio, digital audio, and where they merge. He's hoping to return to Syracuse for Banque 2024, and we can't wait to have him.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
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Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/
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