Middleman sales structures consistently dilute the authentic connection between a broadcaster and their audience. As part of our Vintage Insights series, we are revisiting foundational conversations that remain highly relevant as the current media landscape demands you either own your brand or let a corporate conglomerate dictate your value. Today, we revisit our sit-down with Jon Williams, CEO and partner of 94-9 Radio, to dissect how he bypassed traditional broadcast limits by stepping out of the talent booth and becoming his own sales force.
We get into the mechanics of running a 100 percent commission-based operation while protecting listener trust. The conversation covers the transition away from relying on Arbitron and Nielsen ratings toward securing direct CPG and vendor partnerships through strict category exclusivity. Jon shares his unique philosophy on authentic brand integration, detailing how melding his personal experiences with partner products drives higher ROI than traditional scripted spots.
Foregoing a guaranteed salary to hunt for your own clients introduces severe financial risk and heavy daily pressure. The transition requires a ruthless commitment to turning down immediate revenue that does not align with your core brand identity. You will walk away from this conversation with a clear framework for auditing your own partnerships and an understanding of why intentionally limiting your exposure is the key to maintaining long-term business relevance.
If you care about building brand equity, navigating retail vendor ecosystems, and mastering the art of authentic influence, you’ll get a lot from this. Please subscribe to the channel and share this Vintage Insights replay with a founder or marketer who is trying to elevate their messaging. What is a difficult partnership or short-term revenue opportunity you have had to turn down to protect your long-term reputation?
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
Hello, and welcome to the Retail Journey Podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
I'm one of your hosts, Charles Greathouse.
And I am James Harris, and todaywe're talking to John Williams.
John wears a lot of hats.
So, among other things, he's theCEO and partner of 94-9 Radio
John Deek, uh, on field and oncourt announcer for the
University of Arkansas Footballand Basketball, uh, and MC
(00:37):
Extraordinaire for fundraisinggalls uh here in Northwest
Arkansas.
Welcome to the retail journey,John.
I made him put extraordinaire inthere.
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
I was part of my rider, which is quite extensive.
Can we get it right, sir?
Between Skittles, not the whiteones that J Lo likes.
No, thank you guys for havingme.
I'm I'm really excited to behere.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:00):
No, so I um I ran into you two or three weekends
ago at um it's calledBreakthrough T1D.
Right.
Right.
Um, so type 1 diabetes.
It's uh the the the money fromit used to be JDRF, right?
Junior um junior diabetes.
SPEAKER_03 (01:17):
You're gonna diabetes research foundation.
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Yeah.
So the the money really goes toresearching a cure for type 1
diabetes.
Uh and we're talking in thelobby afterwards, and my my
wonderful wife, um, who I comehome at night listening to I
listen to you guys in themorning, I listen to you guys on
the ride home because you gotthe two segments now on your on
(01:40):
your radio show, and uh, shecame up to you, which is not her
normal MO.
I grabbed you by the arm, saidyou need to meet my husband
because he's your biggestfangirl.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
Well, and I uh and she had me at hello on that one.
I go, okay.
And uh that was really cool.
First of all, that that eventwas first class and having it at
Osage House with uh if peoplehaven't been to Osage House yet.
SPEAKER_02 (02:06):
Oh, that's my first time, it's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03 (02:08):
That was also my first time, and I had no idea
what an incredible facility uhthat was.
And so that was a first-classoperation.
SPEAKER_02 (02:17):
They raised almost half a million dollars.
SPEAKER_03 (02:19):
Yeah, and their goal was nowhere near it.
And that is what um, as somebodywho has been deeply involved in
charity uh events acrossnorthwest Arkansas, all I care
about is what's your goal?
What do we get?
And it's my job, along with youknow the event planning
committee and everybody elsethat runs those events to break
the goal.
(02:39):
And they shattered the goals.
And uh it was a team event.
Shout out to Kim Daniels and herteam.
SPEAKER_02 (02:45):
They did a really good job.
SPEAKER_03 (02:46):
Incredible auctioneer.
Uh also Allison Wise, a 4029,and and and really, it was a a
great event and really unique.
It was not long.
I know a lot of people,especially in the in the vendor
community who have to go to alot of these charity uh galos
are constantly night, yeah.
Yeah.
Um, they're they're a lot ofthese galas go long, like they
(03:07):
uh a few hours, like people havea set amount of time.
SPEAKER_02 (03:10):
We're not 20 anymore.
SPEAKER_03 (03:11):
No.
Um 20 is that's that's inpictures that aren't on social
media anymore, is what that is.
Um, but that I thought thatevent really hit the sweet spot.
Great auction items, not toomany, just enough.
A lot of personal uh testimonyfrom uh people who are type one,
children, adults, and thingslike that.
(03:32):
I just thought it was afirst-class event.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Do you have a connection to type one diabetes?
Because you were on the board ofJDRF for a while, right?
SPEAKER_03 (03:39):
Uh full disclosure, I was the first president of the
board of JDRF when uh thatbranch uh was first created in
Northwest Arkansas in the early2000s because my son's mom um is
and has been a type one diabeticsince she was 11.
Yeah.
Um and so when we had Jack, uhit is the understatement of the
(04:01):
year to say that was a uhchallenging uh birth time uh for
him.
Yeah.
And they told us that up front.
They said, because you're uhdealing with a type one
situation, uh you're gonna haveall these uh possible uh
problems.
They made us go down to LittleRock, they made us go to UAMS
before we had all the hospitalswe have up here, and they put us
in a room and said, You're more40% more likely to have spina
(04:23):
bifida, you're 40% more likelyto have all this litany of
before he was born.
It was he was uh we we weregetting the gender reveal down
there, and uh basically theywere like, Okay, uh by the way,
it's a boy, and here's all thethings that could go wrong, just
FYI.
And um, yeah, so we're blessedand fortunate that you know, 23
(04:43):
and a half years later, no, he'sfantastic.
He's uh we're very, veryfortunate and very lucky, but
not everybody who is type onediabetic that has kids are, and
so that's really what we'retrying to do is improve the
lives.
And as as we like to say, gofrom type one to type none,
which I thought was clever.
And like 25 years I hadn'tthought of that.
Why where have I been?
Uh, but that's what they'rebasically trying to put
themselves out of business,yeah.
(05:04):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:05):
And um, like we do a lot of the charity stuff, the
industry we're in, whatever, butI'm a type one diabetic.
How long have you been type one?
Uh uh adult onset.
So we had a traumatic event.
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Um that were like 600 or something or low?
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
Were you high or low?
Oh, I was very high.
Oh, yeah, like 800.
So when I when I finally so I'dlost a ton of weight, right?
And I'm drinking apple juice outof the carton.
It's like, oh, this isn't right.
No, I gotta tell you I wasprobably about 500.
Oh, goodness.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:36):
That's dangerous.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah, I'm so sorry.
No, it's it's just it's youknow, and so now you've got
everything on the technology.
SPEAKER_02 (05:48):
I got the technology.
I'm probably getting insulin aswe speak.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
People who were type one diabetic.
Are you okay?
Um people who were type onebefore I would say the year
2000.
Oh, yeah.
Technology was straight out ofFlintstones, man.
It was uh you're it's a lot ofguesswork, it's a lot of math.
You're like, I think this is thelong acting, you're the short
acting, and let's inject themboth, and I think I need a coke.
And I mean it was just yeah,really uh a tough way to
(06:14):
navigate it, but now I know acouple of guys, they're twins,
uh they're adult men, they'rethey're close to my age,
whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (06:22):
Um and they had the gene, which I didn't have the
gene, I had a different thing.
Um but they each had the gene,and one of them had a car
accident, and that triggered hisonset.
Car accident?
Car accident.
So if you have the gene, right?
A traumatic event can spur it.
(06:45):
Oh wow.
And the other, a couple yearslater, had um like um pneumonia,
and that triggered it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:53):
So both of them now are active type ones.
Oh gosh.
Uh, but it's a it's a weird,weird disease.
SPEAKER_03 (06:58):
It is, and I think there's a lot here in 2020, you
know, five where we're stillfinding out about it.
And that's what the research isgoing for, is to help people
manage it better and live theirlives with it better.
And events like that one where Igot I was lucky enough to meet
you, is is one of those things.
And um, it's really cool howNorthwest Arkansas, specifically
(07:18):
the vendor community, um, is soinvested in projects and in
nonprofits like uh that one.
Uh, there's so many.
If I started naming them,someone's gonna get mad.
SPEAKER_02 (07:30):
Yeah, it's a huge, huge.
SPEAKER_03 (07:31):
Yeah, I've been I've been fortunate enough to be part
of Kissipig for I mean almost 18years.
They made me a they they came tome first as a contestant.
And if anybody knows aboutKissipig, it's basically it's
not a gala, it's 10 mini galaswrapped in a gala.
Uh, and they basically make allthese people have their own
contests.
It's a genius business model.
Yeah.
And it's a very late night, too.
Oh, it's uh I I have gotten tothe John Q.
(07:54):
Hammond's uh RIP, uh RogersConvention Center at like five
o'clock and not left there untilalmost midnight on many
occasions.
And they've had incrediblewallflowers and uh blues
traveler and just incredible.
I saw blues traveler.
Yeah, yeah.
So these events that happen innorthwest Arkansas are
oftentimes the most profitableevents that some of these galas
(08:15):
are like, for example, I knowfor a fact ADA their most
profitable event every year isin Northwest Arkansas at
Kissipig, by the way they do it.
Uh so it's it's really cool theway the Walmart community, the
vendor community in NorthwestArkansas really get behind some
of these.
SPEAKER_02 (08:29):
There's always a couple of vice presidents at
Walmart that are on the in therunning for the you know the
pretend people that are bringingthings up, and that it makes a
huge difference.
It's not even the personalities,it's the strength that you know
Walmart talks about this a lotthat we we we have such scale,
we can change the world.
And this is just a microcosm ofit.
(08:50):
No.
SPEAKER_03 (08:51):
So you grew up in Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_02 (08:53):
Yeah, I was born in Silent Springs.
SPEAKER_03 (08:55):
So you have to deal with a lot of people.
I say deal with a lot of people,that's such a negative
connotation.
You have to deal with thesepeople, but you have to you
encounter people that come toNorthwest Arkansas who have only
been here like a year, twoyears, three years.
Oh yeah, and they walk aroundwith their mouth agape, going, I
thought I was coming toArkansas.
What is this stuff?
And it's just really cool to seewhere we are now as a community
(09:15):
in Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_02 (09:17):
About a third of our company's revenue comes through
about two square blocks inmidtown Manhattan.
unknown (09:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:23):
You had to talk to them about like what did you
guys do this weekend, and thenthey'll ask me what I did.
And they're like, well, that wasjust on Broadway, like last
week.
You know?
Yeah.
We're not limited.
SPEAKER_01 (09:35):
No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
And I think access we have to cool things.
Yeah, and I would have alwayssaid that.
No, no, of course not.
Always said that.
No, when I was when I was injunior high in high school, like
there wasn't a reason to come toRogers or Bentonville unless you
had a game.
Yeah, we talked about footballbaseball all the time.
SPEAKER_03 (09:52):
I mean, what what was the draw to Rogers?
What are we?
Dixieland Mall?
What is it?
And if you were in the OliveGarden Club, then you could uh
drink.
And honestly, do you rememberthis?
Here's fun.
Um do are you guys old enough toremember that where every time I
had to cut a commercial on theradio or anything, and it was
for a bar or like Cafe Santa Feshout out R I Did I remember
(10:16):
those things?
Um where I'd have to thecommercial would always start
out the same way.
Attention members and guests.
Uh, you'd have to say attentionmembers and guests before
anything that had anestablishment with alcohol in
it.
Yeah.
And I'm like, where what are we?
What am I?
SPEAKER_02 (10:28):
Because you had to sign a thing, pay five dollars,
and then they would reimburseyou the five dollars.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
Stupid the ABC laws that have existed in this area,
they're like, it's um this it'ssomething.
You know, for those that areconsidering Bentonville, uh, it
is no longer a dry company.
Yeah, this is no longer thecase.
It is well, I mean it haschanged a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (10:48):
That has changed quite a bit.
And and and it's funny you saythat because it's only been how
long has it been that BentonCounty's been not dry?
Ten years, maybe I was thinkingtennis, and uh and now it's a
completely different.
SPEAKER_02 (11:00):
Well, and growing up in Siloam, uh, which was like if
if if this little pocket isconservative, like Siloam is
even more so.
Um I drove through I drovethrough it last weekend uh with
my youngest son going to Tulsafor a basketball tournament.
Um, and there's just liquorstores and weed dispensaries.
SPEAKER_03 (11:22):
Oh I don't recognize this.
Silem Springs in and and by theway, I apologize because I'm
sure people who live in WestAsylum Springs want me to
differentiate between the two.
Yes, of course.
Um West Sylum and Sylum hasbecome a virtual den of iniquity
uh between the all the liquorstores, all of the I mean,
you've got Cherokee there now,you've got weed billboards every
(11:45):
20 feet.
It's uh Chick-fil-A also.
Oh, well, don't forgetChick-fil-A.
Uh let's start with a numberone.
Uh, but yeah, what Silem Springshas become the wild west.
I expect you know Doc Holiday tocome walking.
Let's let's go.
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
I'd never never imagined it.
SPEAKER_03 (12:02):
No way you could have.
Like if you could have beenprojected into the future and
seen 2025 Siloem Springs, you'dbe like, come on.
No, no, there's no way.
SPEAKER_02 (12:10):
No, that's New York City.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Is that a weed billboard?
Behind the weed billboard?
SPEAKER_02 (12:14):
Yeah, that's what it is.
So all right, let's get into it.
Um, what what brought you tonorthwest Arkansas?
Because you're not originallyfrom here, are you?
SPEAKER_03 (12:23):
I'm not.
My mom is a uh native bread andbuttered Arkansan.
She is uh from El Dorado, whichis LA.
It is lower Arkansas.
And uh she and her whole familygrew up in Magnolia, El Dorado.
Um, but we grew up, I grew up inColorado, uh in the shadow of
the flat irons of Boulder in atown called Longmont, right on
(12:45):
I-25.
Uh, I came here to playbaseball.
Um, I came here originally toplay for Norm.
Um, I I was given an invitedwalk-on because clearly they did
not have a very good view of thevideo I sent them, and they were
somehow mistaken into believingthat I could have pitched for
the University of Arkansas, aprogram that regularly puts
people in the major leagues.
Uh I I am 5'11 and at the time Iwas about 145 soaking wet.
(13:10):
And while I threw really hardfor a kid that looked like he
was 11, um, I did not thrownearly as hard as Scott Brocale
or any of these people that uhwent on to incredible careers
for the Razorback.
So after about five minutes andrealizing what am I doing, um, I
stopped at baseball.
But I stayed at the U of A andI've obviously not left A.
(13:32):
Play four years?
I stayed four years.
I did not play four minutes.
Uh Norm, bless his heart.
I tell this story all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (13:41):
Really good in high school.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (13:43):
Yeah, editing videos.
Really good high school baseballplayer, and I probably should
have gone the JUCO route wherethey could have put weight on me
to where I looked like I wasn't11 but 14 and um would have had
more success that way.
But I went straight, I'm goingright to the SEC to try and do
this nonsense.
Clearly had no male guidance inmy life telling me that I was
(14:04):
out of my mind.
Um, so I tried it anyway.
But I ended up going to the U ofA and and journalism getting
into the broadcast uh program,which back then wasn't much of a
broadcast program until LarryFoley showed up uh a year after
I left, which I thought wasawfully convenient.
Um now it's an incrediblebroadcast program.
Yeah, yeah, really is kind ofknown for it.
(14:24):
Oh gosh, they've what they'vebuilt on that campus uh for the
U of A with their broadcast,whether it's K UAF and their new
facilities just off the square,or that new TV studio they have
in Kemple.
Um it's pretty impressive.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:37):
Excuse me.
You met my daughter, she has atwin brother.
Oh uh, and they're they'rejuniors this year, seniors in
high school next year.
So we've done a lot of campusvisits.
SPEAKER_03 (14:46):
Are they Bentonville?
Rogers.
Rogers, okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:49):
Mounties or heritage?
Uh she's a Mounty.
Okay.
Uh her brother is Providence,Patriot.
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (14:55):
Yeah.
Nice.
Uh so we're we're all split upall over the place.
Sure.
Um diversity.
That's right.
Uh we've we've done a lot ofcampus visits, but each one of
them independently did a U of Acampus tour.
And I'm not like a big collegeguy.
Like I didn't quite finish.
Yeah.
All right.
And most of my classes were likeafter 7 p.m.
(15:17):
There's nothing wrong with thateither.
Learning is not day specific.
But it is so such a greatcampus.
Oh.
And so much fun to like all thehistory, all the the stuff that
just belongs there for 150years.
SPEAKER_03 (15:31):
Isn't it crazy?
It is.
I'm biased.
I mean, I'm again, I'm fromBoulder, and if you've never
seen the Colorado campus inBoulder, it is breathtaking uh
at the base of the flat iron.
It's just, it's to me, I grew upwith that, and that's just
always like, oh, it's such abeautiful campus.
But they didn't have a baseballteam, so I didn't go there.
I came to Arkansas where Iplayed baseball for four
minutes.
And my kid graduated high schoolum in uh 2020.
(15:53):
So we'll get into that later.
What a fiasco that situationdoing graduation ceremonies uh
in an empty auditorium uh viaZoom.
Uh, but he graduated in 2020,and and I'm like, I'm trying to
get him to look at otherschools.
And I think that the reversepsychology of it actually drove
him to go to Arkansas.
Nice because we kept trying togo.
(16:14):
He's he wanted to be in youknow, filmmaking, journalism,
things like that.
We're like, hey, Mizzou's got agreat program, and Kansas has a
really good and all this.
And he's like, Are you kiddingme?
Um no, I'm going to Arkansas.
And I finally was like, let's goto Boulder, show you that
campus, walk around, it's justbeautiful.
And we walk around, take thetour, everything.
We get done, we get in the car,and he goes, That ain't that's
not fatal.
(16:34):
He's in he has this romanticParisian Eiffel Tower view of
like old Maine and that campus.
He grew up on it, so it reallymeant a lot to him.
And he graduated in December.
So did something right.
Uh lucked into him.
He didn't.
He he he lived in the Friscoapartments uh down on Dixon and
(16:58):
West, which is a whole otherpodcast entirely.
But um, he lived down there andyeah, he he got through COVID,
all the Zoom classes, notentering a uh building until
like three semesters into hiscareer, and uh challenging time
for him to graduate high schooland go to college.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:18):
Yeah, I help uh with the the youth at fellowship,
they call it FSM, and my guysare all seniors graduating
actually this weekend.
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (17:28):
From Bentonville and got them since they're freshmen,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the way they do the cellgroup, I've been discipling
these guys since they werefreshmen.
It's just been a really, reallysweet time, and they're awesome.
You know, shout out to the guys.
Yeah.
Uh, but I don't know.
It's an exciting time as well.
15 of them are all going to U ofA.
So yeah.
I expect to be spending a lotmore time uh down on campus.
Well, and we appreciate therebeing more Arkansas kids uh on
that campus and not having Texasplayers.
SPEAKER_03 (17:53):
I'm not judging or saying anything.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
Yeah, but yeah, no, these guys and a lot of them had
you know options all all around.
But at the end of the day, it'slike, no, this is this is a
great school school environment.
SPEAKER_03 (18:04):
And there's some great programs.
Obviously, the business schoolshout out, the Walton Business
School, and there's someincredible engineering chain of
the country.
I mean, I wonder why.
Uh gee, uh that's the definitelyif you want to go into supply
chain management or anything asfar as uh business.
Marketing programs really good.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (18:22):
Uh so I have a couple journalism guys too going
down.
SPEAKER_03 (18:25):
Absolutely right.
Yeah, we and you know what'scool is seeing a lot of the U of
A alums go on to like GoodMorning America, the Weather
Channel, you know, stuff likethat.
It's really awesome.
unknown (18:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
I want to talk to you about like on field, on
court, all that stuff, but let'slet's do a little like like meat
and potatoes here first.
Um so it's a retail journey,right?
Yeah, we we generally, we don'talways, but we generally talk
retail.
Um, and when we were chattingearlier this week, you have a
lot of brands, right?
Like national brands that comeon your your your station and
(18:58):
hire you for kind of localmedia, similar to the billboards
you see on Walton Boulevard,right?
SPEAKER_03 (19:03):
Absolutely right.
SPEAKER_02 (19:04):
Um talk a little bit about that, what that what that
brings to them in terms ofexposure.
SPEAKER_03 (19:10):
Happy to.
I so I've been in radio asyou've both illustrated and as
um we've talked a little bitabout.
I mean, I began my careerin '93, and so this is my 32nd
year on the radio in NorthwestArkansas.
And so for the vast majority ofit, it was one of the situations
where you go find a big companythat has a radio station, and
then hopefully, if you do getenough show, they pay you.
(19:30):
And yay, I get to be on theradio, and then you get a
salary.
Um, and then it basically yoursalary is derived from the
ratings that you get througheither Arbitron, Nielsen, or
what have you.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (19:40):
But then as radio began to kind of get like
started to shrink a little bit,and big radio conglomerates
began to get rid of uh bigsalary local talent.
About 2010, I kind of saw thelandscape and I began to realize
that if I was going to stay inthis medium, I needed to become
the salesperson.
I needed to be the one to go outand get the clients, get the
(20:01):
brands, uh, local, national,what have you, and make uh to
where the situation was they sawmore ROI by having me endorse
their brands on my show and nothaving the middleman of the
salespeople.
I'll be the salesperson.
And so I began that in 2010.
And when you start somethinglike that, it is not easy.
(20:24):
Uh no one's doing what I wasdoing.
Right.
And and so you kind of had tobuild that's the coolest part of
it.
It yes.
I and I I am of a rarepersonality type to where I
don't really uh feel fear.
Um, I really don't think there'sanything if I if I just I just
feel like I can do it.
Yeah.
(20:44):
And so I knew that I wasimmediately foregoing because I
make no salary.
I don't make a dime uh from mymy company doesn't pay me any
money in salary.
And so all of my compensationcomes from a commission of these
partners.
Yeah.
And so therefore, I amincentivized to just keep going
out there, finding the peoplethat I think fit the loyal and
(21:05):
royal army the best.
And fortunately, that iseverybody from small businesses,
really small businesses, toNestle um and Coca-Cola and uh
Sonic and things like that.
Yeah.
And so I've been doing that nowfor 14 years.
I actually love doing it.
I'm very competitive.
And so I like to sell because Ilike to beat other people in
(21:30):
sales, and I'm very, very um, Iguess you would say protective
of the brands of the of thepeople I get on my show.
Like I care a lot about peopleknowing those brands, to the
point where if you were to go toanybody in my audience and ask
them, I'm gonna say a category,you tell me who John and Deke
have on there.
Like you go to them and go,Who's our furniture store?
(21:52):
Get it at Sam's, uh, who's theirliquor store?
Macadoodles, who's theirpharmacy, call your drug.
You go right down the linebecause I do only.
Only exclusivity.
I won't have competing brands onmy my show.
And that and I think that thosebrands see the ROI from that
when they can drive down 49,look up at five billboards and
see four HVAC companies in a rowwhere I don't think people
(22:13):
really get much ROI out of that.
SPEAKER_02 (22:15):
Well, and I just as a listener for years, like if
there's four options forsomething, but one is sponsoring
the loyal and royal, I'm right.
SPEAKER_03 (22:26):
Thank you.
And that's the goal.
And and I'll tell you this, andit's one of those chicken of the
egg things.
Are they a huge brand?
Because that's I gravitatetowards large, or do I help make
them bigger brands?
And I'd like to think it's alittle of both.
Yeah.
We try really hard to Deke and Ireally care about letting
everybody know that when we buya car, Deke has, and I'm not
(22:48):
exaggerating, Deke has probablybought 11 cars from Wrath
Mitsubishi.
SPEAKER_02 (22:52):
Then you trade that like every six months.
SPEAKER_03 (22:54):
It feels like it's every much more than that.
But and we they we joke that wewill pull up into the same call
your drug uh uh parking lot atthe same time.
We go to Macadoodles, everythingin my home is Sam's furniture.
Um and we do and and BenjaminFranklin does our plumbing.
Everything that we talk about onthe show is in a form of how
(23:15):
they have made our lives better.
And so that's what we try toimpart to our audience.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:20):
I feel like it's easier to talk about the things
you authentically feel, yeah,especially in an environment
where like just reading off of ascript is felt like nobody they
can, and you know what?
SPEAKER_03 (23:31):
People aren't dumb.
They people have a BS meter andthey they can tell when you're
like this guy doesn't write.
Like you'll watch a like, Idon't know, I'm trying to think
of a like a national uhspokesperson.
Like when you see somebody likea Kardashian and and they're
endorsing like Hyundai.
unknown (23:49):
Come on.
SPEAKER_03 (23:50):
What does it mean?
Yeah, am I really gonna thinkthat Kim Kardashian's rocking a
Santa Fe?
I have a hard time believingthat.
I of course I'm making both ofthose up, and I'm probably gonna
hear from their attorneys.
Yeah, but I mean it's thingslike that when you when you when
you hear the like Tiger Woodsdoes not wear a tag hearer.
Uh, you know, let's be honest.
Although Tag Hero is a greatbrand.
(24:11):
You know, he's probably wearinga Rolex or you know, something
like that.
SPEAKER_01 (24:14):
Yeah, you can you can hear in a podcast when they
go from sharing the thing thatthey care about to reading the
scripts that they're gettingpaid to say.
Exactly right.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (24:24):
Hit like and share, and you know, just they mail it
in.
And when we do endorsements onour show, it's I mean, we
literally integrate their brandwith our brand into the story
where people don't know thedifference.
Yeah, you do.
And so that is what we havetried to do.
And fortunately, we've got 26partners on a show right now, a
lot of national brands, a fewvendors are on there, and um,
(24:46):
it's great.
This is way off topic, but um,do you ever listen to Conan
O'Brien Needs a Friend?
I'm a very big fan of ConanO'Brien's, but Deke is a way
bigger fan of Cono Bryan's.
Letterman's my guy.
I grew up with Letterman.
Yeah, yeah.
And when I got to go, that's awhole other thing.
I could do a show, and thesecurity guard could see what a
complete nerd I was about it.
And after the show is over, I'mstanding around just like, am I
(25:08):
gonna see anybody?
This would be cool.
And he goes, You want to sit inthe chair?
I go, What?
And he goes, You want to sit inDave's chair, get a picture?
Oh, wow.
So my wife and I were there, andeveryone had started filtering
out, and we just kind of creptup there.
I sat in Dave's chair, she satin the guest chair, got a
picture.
That will probably be on aneasel in my funeral.
(25:30):
That photo.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
The easel photo.
SPEAKER_03 (25:32):
But to answer your question, yeah, Conan O'Brien, I
think, is a masterful podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Is because you know the podcast venue, if you're
commercializing it, is is prettyunique.
And he there's the if youhaven't seen it, you should pull
it up on YouTube where he doesan ad for a bidet.
Go on.
And he clearly hadn't read thescript until it was being
recorded.
And he just goes, he just goesinsane.
(25:59):
It's the funniest, it's probablythe funniest segment that he's
done on his podcast.
That is genius.
But I'll tell you how to, I'mnot gonna go into it because
it's a little prof a littlevulgar, but it is so freaking.
SPEAKER_03 (26:13):
And you know what's funny is that initially I'm sure
that the marketing people areactually the higher people
higher than the marketing peopleof that bidet company probably
lost their minds when they firstheard about it.
Yeah, they're like, oh great,Conor O'Brien's just dragging
our brand of a bidet.
But then the marketing peopleare like, Do you know how viral
this is?
Do you know how many clicks thisis getting?
SPEAKER_02 (26:32):
Yeah, 30 million views on YouTube or whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (26:35):
We did a thing just this morning, just this morning
on the show, because we've gotOzarks Go on the show.
They're the official internet ofthe Loyal and Royal Army.
Thank you so much for allowingme to do this.
And they came up to they go tous and they go, here's the
promotion.
If you're a brand new Ozarks Gocustomer and you use the phrase
loyal and royal three, it'sthree free months.
Now, we can say that incommercial form and endorsements
(26:57):
all we want, but Deke and I,mostly Deke, sat down and wrote
an entire song out about it onour show that sounds like Dio.
I don't know how many RonnieJames Dio fans we have.
I bet you could count them onone hand uh that are watching
this, or maybe they're biggerthan I think.
But we did a whole song aboutOzarks Go and Loyal Royal 3 and
(27:18):
the whole thing.
And I mean, it's a banger.
Love it.
It's just amazing.
We'll probably put it at leaston our social media page, but we
just did it this morning.
And I mean, we sent it to OzarksGo and they lost their minds.
They loved it.
It's so great.
How many of these can you do?
So, yeah, finding new ways, likeyou were talking about with
(27:38):
Conor O'Brien is really it'sit's the key to getting to find
how it sticks in people's minds.
Yeah, yeah.
I love that story about thebidet though.
SPEAKER_02 (27:47):
You you've got to look at that.
SPEAKER_03 (27:48):
That is classic.
SPEAKER_02 (27:49):
So we talked a little bit about your kind of
unique model in terms of a radiostation.
I when we chatted uh last weekor a week before, whatever.
Um, I said I assume that there'sother you know markets that have
a model like this that you likelearn from.
SPEAKER_03 (28:05):
You're like, nope, I think I'm pretty right.
And there may be, I I I'm notgonna sit here and go, I'm the
only one in America.
SPEAKER_02 (28:13):
So so we use this thing in our uh in our company
uh called the five voices.
So and the five voices, youknow, there's a pioneer, a
connector, um, a creative, uhguardian, and a nurturer.
Wow, right?
And that you've got all five ofthose voices, but they're in
different rankings.
(28:34):
So uh um, like I'm the I'm thepioneer.
Um, like that's my primary voicein the company, which
necessitates that your lastvoice is nurturing.
Correct.
That's absolutely right.
Does that does that ring true?
SPEAKER_03 (28:49):
It does, and and and because of the fact that it's
it's you know, they named thestation after us.
I mean, they they which Ithought was really great, and
that's what we wanted to do.
It's like if we're gonna comeover here, which was nine years
ago next month, um, we're gonnabe the brand.
And so at that point, it's theLowen Royal Army, it's Radio
John Deek.
And so they're now you'reprotecting not only the brands
(29:10):
of your you know, your partners,you're now you're gonna protect
your brand because now you'reworried about how you're melding
the two.
And that's what I'm mostgrateful for is the fact that
these brands have trusted us toelevate their brand awareness
and uh their brands within thecall to action to people to
(29:30):
actually buy their products uhat points of sale uh to our
show, which I'm I'm incrediblygrateful for every day.
We get to do that.
Yeah.
unknown (29:39):
That's really cool.
SPEAKER_02 (29:40):
So um you you shared something with me that I want to
bring up.
Uh this community knows CameronSmith well.
Oh, yeah.
Rest in peace.
Yeah.
Um, he's either gotten a persona job or filled a person's open
role um or donated a guitar atyou know, Kiss Pig.
(30:00):
Uh, what's your you have aconnection to Cameron?
What's your connection?
SPEAKER_03 (30:04):
I do.
Uh Cameron um was a mentor tome.
Uh, but he was a mentor to a lotof people.
Yeah.
He he's I mean, I you know, BullMattingley, and Aaron Peters and
a lot of uh guys kind of my age,I'm a little older than both of
those guys, but uh guys my age,people my age, Neely Jones, he
he mentored quite a bit, a lotof people uh that would be he
(30:24):
would meet people at Gala's, andthat's how he would get with
them and start uh and I don'teven know that he did it
intentionally, he just was ahelpful person.
Yeah.
And uh the story that I uh how Imet Cameron uh is crazy.
I was MCing the the Hope CancerResources gentleman of
distinction in honor of BillFlaman, who's an amazing uh
(30:45):
entrepreneur in NorthwestArkansas, and he passed away
sadly of cancer.
And I was emceeing the gala, andthey had the situation to where
I am seated, but at the end,they were supposed to have
somebody that was going to do, Ithink it was John George uh that
was gonna do the ask, and hecouldn't make it that day.
And so about 20 minutes beforethe ask, I am not making this
up, they come to me and they go,John, um, John George cannot
(31:08):
make the ask, or can could youdo that?
And I'm like, I've been askingthese people for money for an
hour and 45 minutes.
You now you want me to get upand go, hey, but everybody, I
appreciate uh everything.
I'm gonna need more money, iswhat we're gonna need.
And and so that's exactly whathad to happen.
But I had never done an askbefore, really.
And so I just like, well, howcan I best connect with these
(31:30):
people to do this?
And that's what I did.
I just tried to extrapolate itinto you'd think$50, but really
it's a gas tank for people goingto Narthai and things like that.
And I really I squeezed thatorange as best I could.
They got a stack of likeenvelopes like this, and they're
like, that was crazy.
Mike, you you just shot us pastour goal.
It was just great.
And so afterwards, this is goingto be a reference everyone's
(31:53):
gonna enjoy.
We all congregate at EddieHaskell's um RIP shout out, and
we go there and we're all justin in just having a great time.
And gentlemen walks up to me andhe goes, John, I want you to
know that I've been inboardrooms from Miami to LA, and
that pitch you gave at the end,you could have put in any
(32:14):
boardroom and he just going onand on about it.
I go, This guy is really nice.
Thank you.
So I think and I'm just talkingto him for five minutes, never
got his name, never gotanything.
He's just very nattily attired,gorgeous wife.
And I'm like, wow, that wasgreat.
So he walks off.
Guy next to me goes, You don'tknow who that is, do you?
Can't tell.
I go, I don't.
(32:35):
And he goes, That is CameronSmith.
And I go, now I knew his nameobviously from CSA, but I had
never met him or seen him.
And they go, go get his card,get his number.
What is wrong with you?
Go talk to him.
And sure enough, I go overthere, I go, Mr.
Smith, I appreciate all the kindwords.
And we became really close fromthat point on.
(32:55):
And uh, he changed my life.
Yeah, he totally did.
I was there was one point in mycareer when I it was right
before I had gotten the businessmodel to own my show and do all
this, and I was really unhappywhere I was, and I could just
see the future of them gettingrid of high talent, morning
talent, and things like that.
And I go to Cameron, I go, Youyou know, your people make X and
(33:16):
suppliers make Y, and I justwant to do that.
And he goes, What are yousaying?
You want to be a vendor?
You want to work for one ofthese companies?
I go, I mean, I know a lot ofpeople that do.
My son's mom has been in thevendor community for 20 years,
loves it, great at it.
And he goes, You just want to goaround and knock on the door and
sell Welch's grape jelly orPines 57 or to some buyer that's
gonna squeeze you for margins,and that's what you that's what
(33:40):
you want to do.
And I go, I don't know.
He goes, John, you're a brand.
And it was like a light, oh thismoment of illumination.
And he goes, Build your brand,don't build anyone else's brands
but yours and people that payyou to build theirs.
And it changed my life.
(34:00):
And and on top of that, he justbecame one of my best friends.
And he and Monica were just thethe very best.
They would have fireworks everyfourth of July at Shadow Valley,
and just he was he was anincredible person and just
grateful he was uh someone thattook interest in me and took me
under his wing.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
Yeah, and and most people in the community have
some sort of a connection toCameron.
Mine was uh when I first startedthe business, um I was working
with a former business partnerof his, and they were still
friendly.
Uh, and he goes, Hey, will youcome in?
Like, we're we we've only beenhiring for like salespeople and
executives, and we're gonnastart hiring for analysts.
(34:41):
Like the low, like you know, thepeople that are getting their
hands dirty.
What will you come in and givemy recruiters uh kind of an
understanding of what the skillset is?
Right.
So I put together an hour,whatever, 45 minutes worth of
content, came in and did it.
I was walking out, and he shookmy hand, he's like, You have an
(35:03):
IOU with me.
I'll give you whenever you wantto call it in.
Oh wow, I'll deliver it.
That's a powerful IOU.
Right, right.
And and I held it for a longtime, you know.
And um, I have two brothers, andmy oldest one, uh, he's a
pharmaceutical rep.
He was getting kind of wary ofthe industry because he uh
layoffs every three years andyou gotta start over, and you
(35:25):
know, yeah.
There's no loyalty in that inthat business.
Uh and he came to me and goes,Hey, I want to I want to become
a salesperson for CPG.
How do I do that?
It's like, well, you probablygotta become an analyst.
Yeah, you kind of got to workyour way up, you know.
Like, I don't I'm not sure.
I'm not sure your skillsnecessarily transfer.
Right.
Uh he goes, Well, I mean, I'vegot an I've got this advanced
(35:48):
degree, whatever.
It's like, well, okay, if youreally want to push it, like,
here, call Cameron.
I send him a note and is like,here's my IOU, meet with my
brother.
SPEAKER_03 (35:56):
Oh wow, you used your IOU on this.
And they sit down.
I know.
SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
They sit down and uh he tell like he lays out what he
wants to do, and Cameron goes,Why are you talking to me?
Your brother's like retail linkguru.
SPEAKER_03 (36:13):
He just saw things quicker and in ways you didn't
see them.
It it was such a talent that hewould have such perspective.
He was also the first person totell me to do fewer events
because the perception is thatyou got to do more events.
That way it's exposure.
Exposure equals likefamiliarity.
Familiarity means that peopleare more comfortable and the
whole like the whole thing.
(36:33):
But he goes, John, you are youare entering uh overexposure
territory because I do a gala, Isee you.
I opened celebrate or cityscapesmagazine, I see you, and uh you
need to make yourself moreexclusive.
And and he gave he was the onethat gave me that advice.
I there was a point where I wasdoing a gala every four to six
(36:54):
weeks.
It was maniacal.
If there's a gala to do here,well, right.
I mean, you could do one everyweek, honestly.
And and I I took his advice, andnow I only do like three a year.
Um, and it was one of thesmarter again, every piece of
advice he ever gave me turnedout true and helped me.
SPEAKER_01 (37:10):
Well, you see the full circle of like only working
on the things you're close to,passionate about, so that you
can speak authentically andright.
SPEAKER_03 (37:18):
And that's how I actually got into it was through
JDRF and things like that.
But then you do those events,you keep breaking goals, and
it's it's one of those, it's agood problem to have, is when
they want to have you beinvolved with it.
And I'm grateful too.
Like the Cancer Challenge isamazing, the gentleman of
distinction is fantastic.
I mean, just go right.
There's so many amazing eventsin Northwest, Arkansas, but you
can't do all of them, man.
(37:38):
And um, he was right.
I mean, I I got to the pointwhere I would open up
Cityscapes, and I'm there fourtimes, and I was like, that's
not maybe too many.
SPEAKER_01 (37:46):
Yeah, yeah.
It resonates a lot in thisspace.
There's a lot of brands that areat Walmart that want to, you
know, execute at a higher level.
There are there are a whole lotof brands that are not at
Walmart that would like to be atWalmart executing at that high
level.
Um, and so you know, us here atHigh Impact, we we um I was told
early on when I was getting hereof like, you know, the most
(38:08):
important thing is who you'resaying no to.
Um, so that you are you knowtied to those that you really
should be tied to.
Yeah.
And you know early on, I waskind of like, you know, I'd like
to have a few yeses uh and thenwe'll work on the no's.
But but now we're at this stagewhere it's becoming so evident
um and we're having to say no.
And it's it's hard uh becauseyou want to be able to help, but
(38:32):
I can't um operate at a highlevel if I'm saying yes to
everything.
Need to be able to paceourselves uh so that we're able
um to deliver.
SPEAKER_03 (38:42):
That was the difficult decision I made.
And I have had people from thethe stations I'm on to everyone
go, why the exclusivity?
You're cutting off such arevenue stream.
Uh if you listen to most radiostations, they'll have three
different car remotes on aSaturday at three different
locations.
Oh my god.
And it's you'll Lewis Ford one,and then you'll be at uh the
(39:04):
auto park, and then you'll be atMcClarty, and then and don't get
me wrong, all incredibledealers, all incredible things,
but like what are you tellingall of them when you're like 10
to 1 at one place where I'mlike, all right, man, cool,
thanks a lot.
And then an hour later, you're adifferent place.
It I think that when when I doexclusivity and like you talking
about saying no to certainthings and saying yes to the
(39:25):
ones that you want to nurture arelationship with, I I have just
been fortunate that for theentirety, I've had people just
renew every year, every yearafter one after like Sam's and
Colliers and Macadoodles and uhon and on, because they exhibit
the loyalty that I try to givethem.
Yeah.
And and so it is paid off inspades.
(39:46):
I'm sure I have cost myselfmoney with that, but I would
rather have someone who knowsthat I'm loyal to their brand
than someone who's gonna besitting there going, I don't
know, man.
Is he talking about mycompetitor now?
SPEAKER_01 (39:56):
And and you create real value.
Right.
Um, it we've uh I've talked alot lately as I'm talking to
people.
It's like, you know, I don't, Idon't actually want to receive a
resentful check from a partner.
Uh, because well, one, no one'sgonna write a whole lot of
resentful checks.
You'll stop at some point.
But like, no, I want to have adeep relationship.
I want to be able toauthentically be grateful for
(40:17):
partnership and want them to begrateful because that's the kind
of thing that has stuck aroundat high impact for 14 years is
the the folks that haveexperienced that.
I'm thinking of one that's beenin.
I love that.
14.
Like 18.
Um you get it, buddy.
Um for a long time.
Um 19 in July.
(40:38):
I think there's something therefor everybody that like the
spirit of fear isn't actuallyhelpful, useful that you have no
fear.
Um that one's gonna be part ofit.
SPEAKER_03 (40:47):
I'm a little too unflappable, which is is both
phenomenal and there's aproblem.
There is.
Uh like it's it's the reason I Istarted noticing this.
I'd be at midfield.
There's 77,000 people in RazBack Stadium, and I'm just like,
all right, I guess I'm gonna dothis thing here on the field
with uh just this numb.
It just doesn't affect me.
(41:08):
It's weird.
I don't know if it's always beenthat way.
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
When you're on the court or on the field, you can
see it like you're you're there,you're you're doing a job.
I am not aware of the peoplearound you.
SPEAKER_03 (41:17):
I'm really not.
SPEAKER_02 (41:18):
And let's individuals, yes.
Correct.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
But the mass, no.
If I'm engaging with someone thepressure is not a felt pressure,
right.
SPEAKER_03 (41:24):
If I'm like doing the Whataburger Fry Shuffle,
which Razorback Twitter loves somuch, uh, or the tic-tac-toe,
which they love even more.
Uh I I yeah, I'm I'm interactingin that fashion.
But I I really don't I I don'treally think about the other
people.
I'm just doing my best job andsuper helpful.
SPEAKER_01 (41:39):
Well without having fear, maybe avoid mountain
biking.
SPEAKER_03 (41:41):
Uh uh Yeah.
So we live next to uh the trail.
We live next to the the trail,because it's so what a blessing
to have that northwest,Arkansas.
It's because we live in Johnson,and I mean we are 500 yards from
that trail, and I we havestarted using the heck out of
it.
And mountain biking does terrifyme, even though I grew up in
Colorado because everyone I knowthat mountain bikes, it takes
(42:03):
about a year, year and a half,everyone wrecks.
Breaks a collarbone.
Yeah.
Bingo.
I got a new one.
Collarbone.
SPEAKER_01 (42:09):
I got a new one a couple years ago.
Yep.
Have you what's your worstaccident?
I have a new collarbone.
Yeah, I got that.
You have a new collarbone.
You got one on each side.
Brought to you by Mercy.
And what is this?
Momo's getting.
Um Ozark Orthopedics?
Yeah, I got to pay full price.
There was no sponsorship.
And no discount for the secondeither.
Oh man.
Got to full you can't buy themin a bundle.
SPEAKER_03 (42:28):
I was gonna say your podcast for the next year is
brought to you by OzarkOrthopedics on Futural Road in
Fayetteville.
Thank you, Dr.
Kaler.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (42:37):
This is awesome.
I I'm afraid we've uh exhaustedour time here.
SPEAKER_03 (42:41):
I do that every time.
SPEAKER_02 (42:43):
We normally do uh lightning round and the thing.
SPEAKER_03 (42:46):
We can be quick.
SPEAKER_02 (42:46):
Yeah, really quick, quick.
So uh failure.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (42:50):
Biggest failure.
SPEAKER_02 (42:51):
Maybe that you learned from that.
You learn from.
SPEAKER_03 (42:52):
I mean, yeah, make it biggest failure that I
learned from.
Ooh.
That's a tough one.
Um, I would say um I gotsyndicated early, early, early
in my career.
Yeah, like in the late 90s, andI did not handle it the way I
would handle it now.
Yeah.
And um, I I would definitely goback and handle that
differently.
(43:13):
Big time.
Big time.
Impestuous.
Just uh, yeah, that was mybiggest that that comes to mind.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (43:21):
Um, so over the last year, year and a half, whatever,
things are changing at a crazypace, right?
What do you what are you takingaway?
What's your learnings from youknow the last uh in just in in
in America or the world orparticularly in business, but if
you want to get it into thepersonal, that's fine.
SPEAKER_03 (43:41):
I I the one thing I I I I think is the bigger things
and the more complicated thingsget the more as simple it is.
I love what we just talked aboutis the the it always comes down
to relationships in business.
It always comes down tohandshakes, names,
neighborhoods, making peoplefeel like they matter.
Yeah.
Um That I always tell mypartners, uh, the more you give
(44:03):
me the uh creatively, the betteroff our campaign's gonna be,
things like that.
And and so people start reallyworrying about, you know, you
guys were doing a podcast.
Did you think five?
I mean, you're doing it in along time, but like this thing
is such a great idea.
It's so cool.
People need to be doing more ofthis, and they are, but you had
you do you remember theinflection point when you
(44:24):
realized you had to do apodcast?
SPEAKER_01 (44:26):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
We wanted to non-pretentiouslyactually help people.
Um, thank you.
And how can you give goodinformation without just feeling
like you're bragging about yourthing?
SPEAKER_02 (44:38):
Also being known for that.
Yeah, yeah.
Like we're a consultancy at ourcore.
SPEAKER_03 (44:43):
Have you had good response within the Walmart
community, vendor community,things like that?
SPEAKER_01 (44:47):
Yeah, plenty of uh you know, merchants that have
shared you know differentpodcasts because we talk through
lessons for you know new buyers,you're uh or even on the
supplier side when you'renavigating you know omni-channel
growth.
What are the things you need topay attention to?
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_03 (45:01):
Yeah, that's a smart idea.
So yeah, I I I think that peopleare realizing that there's new
like you see movies nowadays.
You used to never see people sitdown for 30 seconds, like Tom
Cruise with Mission Impossible.
He has done every kind of mediain the last two months, months,
I mean two years for this.
SPEAKER_02 (45:17):
Alright, he almost died in this last filming.
SPEAKER_03 (45:20):
Uh I'm not shocked.
SPEAKER_02 (45:21):
He's doing one of his own stunts.
SPEAKER_03 (45:22):
That's that guy does all his own stuff.
That's crazy the stuff he does.
So yeah, I think people have hadto kind of evolve their the the
way they perceive what their jobis based on how you get uh kind
of connectivity and tractionwith these brands.
SPEAKER_01 (45:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (45:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (45:38):
And then last one, uh, what's the you know content
you're taking in?
What are you what are youenjoying lately?
SPEAKER_03 (45:44):
Oh, uh a lot of streaming, a lot of Netflix, a
lot of Hulu, a lot of handmaid'stale, a lot of severance, a lot
of oh, there's so many goodshows.
SPEAKER_02 (45:55):
There's so many good shows, right?
SPEAKER_03 (45:56):
Yeah, I mean, right now to me, severance is the best
thing that's happened this yearTV wise.
SPEAKER_02 (46:01):
Such a mind-bender.
SPEAKER_03 (46:02):
Man, you know what it is?
It's Stanley Kubrick doing TheOffice.
Yes.
So if The Office were done.
SPEAKER_01 (46:08):
That's exactly what it is.
SPEAKER_03 (46:10):
If the Office were done in like 2001 of Space
Odyssey, that's what Severanceis.
SPEAKER_01 (46:15):
Yes.
Oh my gosh, that's so true.
SPEAKER_03 (46:17):
That's a beautiful, yeah.
And then I'll if I see TheOffice, I'll just stop and watch
the next five episodes, as longas it's not the last season or
two, which are garbage withoutMichael Scott.
Yeah.
Um, I'm a big Nuggets fan.
I do like the Will Farrellseason, but you know what?
I did like that.
And James Spader's appearanceswere amazing.
Um, and then I'm a hugerazorback, obviously, fan.
And uh Broncos hopefully uh, youknow, don't uh embarrass me this
(46:40):
year.
Uh so yeah, stuff like that.
A lot of sports, a lot of bassRoyals fan.
I'm the weird Kansas CityRoyals, Denver Broncos fan,
which is an odd hybrid.
So, yeah, hopefully the Royalsdoing great.
Bobby Witt, we know we got theWalmart connection with that.
SPEAKER_02 (46:54):
So excited.
And thank you so much forspending time with us today.
My honor to do it.
SPEAKER_03 (47:00):
Would you have me back?
SPEAKER_02 (47:01):
I would definitely have you back.
SPEAKER_03 (47:02):
Okay.
All right.
I'm honored, and I'm it's agreat job, man.
And I want you guys to know theyhave an entire sheet of notes.
These guys are prepared.
They ain't they ain't just likewinging it.
This is a real operation.
So I dig it.
Good job, guys.
Appreciate it, man.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (47:18):
I really appreciate you coming on.
It's kind of a kind of a it's atreat to me personally.
SPEAKER_03 (47:22):
Well, I loved it.
I'll I'd come back.
SPEAKER_02 (47:24):
All right, and thank you all for joining in.
Um, you can uh, as always, youcan find all of our podcasts,
uh, audio video onhighimpactanalytics.com or
wherever you get your podcasts,and uh appreciate you being with
us today.
Hello, and welcome to the Retail Journey Podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
I'm one of your hosts, Charles Greathouse.
And I am James Harris, and todaywe're talking to John Williams.
John wears a lot of hats.
So, among other things, he's theCEO and partner of 94-9 Radio
John Deek, uh, on field and oncourt announcer for the
University of Arkansas Footballand Basketball, uh, and MC
(00:37):
Extraordinaire for fundraisinggalls uh here in Northwest
Arkansas.
Welcome to the retail journey,John.
I made him put extraordinaire inthere.
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
I was part of my rider, which is quite extensive.
Can we get it right, sir?
Between Skittles, not the whiteones that J Lo likes.
No, thank you guys for havingme.
I'm I'm really excited to behere.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:00):
No, so I um I ran into you two or three weekends
ago at um it's calledBreakthrough T1D.
Right.
Right.
Um, so type 1 diabetes.
It's uh the the the money fromit used to be JDRF, right?
Junior um junior diabetes.
SPEAKER_03 (01:17):
You're gonna diabetes research foundation.
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Yeah.
So the the money really goes toresearching a cure for type 1
diabetes.
Uh and we're talking in thelobby afterwards, and my my
wonderful wife, um, who I comehome at night listening to I
listen to you guys in themorning, I listen to you guys on
the ride home because you gotthe two segments now on your on
(01:40):
your radio show, and uh, shecame up to you, which is not her
normal MO.
I grabbed you by the arm, saidyou need to meet my husband
because he's your biggestfangirl.
SPEAKER_03 (01:50):
Well, and I uh and she had me at hello on that one.
I go, okay.
And uh that was really cool.
First of all, that that eventwas first class and having it at
Osage House with uh if peoplehaven't been to Osage House yet.
SPEAKER_02 (02:06):
Oh, that's my first time, it's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03 (02:08):
That was also my first time, and I had no idea
what an incredible facility uhthat was.
And so that was a first-classoperation.
SPEAKER_02 (02:17):
They raised almost half a million dollars.
SPEAKER_03 (02:19):
Yeah, and their goal was nowhere near it.
And that is what um, as somebodywho has been deeply involved in
charity uh events acrossnorthwest Arkansas, all I care
about is what's your goal?
What do we get?
And it's my job, along with youknow the event planning
committee and everybody elsethat runs those events to break
the goal.
(02:39):
And they shattered the goals.
And uh it was a team event.
Shout out to Kim Daniels and herteam.
SPEAKER_02 (02:45):
They did a really good job.
SPEAKER_03 (02:46):
Incredible auctioneer.
Uh also Allison Wise, a 4029,and and and really, it was a a
great event and really unique.
It was not long.
I know a lot of people,especially in the in the vendor
community who have to go to alot of these charity uh galos
are constantly night, yeah.
Yeah.
Um, they're they're a lot ofthese galas go long, like they
(03:07):
uh a few hours, like people havea set amount of time.
SPEAKER_02 (03:10):
We're not 20 anymore.
SPEAKER_03 (03:11):
No.
Um 20 is that's that's inpictures that aren't on social
media anymore, is what that is.
Um, but that I thought thatevent really hit the sweet spot.
Great auction items, not toomany, just enough.
A lot of personal uh testimonyfrom uh people who are type one,
children, adults, and thingslike that.
(03:32):
I just thought it was afirst-class event.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Do you have a connection to type one diabetes?
Because you were on the board ofJDRF for a while, right?
SPEAKER_03 (03:39):
Uh full disclosure, I was the first president of the
board of JDRF when uh thatbranch uh was first created in
Northwest Arkansas in the early2000s because my son's mom um is
and has been a type one diabeticsince she was 11.
Yeah.
Um and so when we had Jack, uhit is the understatement of the
(04:01):
year to say that was a uhchallenging uh birth time uh for
him.
Yeah.
And they told us that up front.
They said, because you're uhdealing with a type one
situation, uh you're gonna haveall these uh possible uh
problems.
They made us go down to LittleRock, they made us go to UAMS
before we had all the hospitalswe have up here, and they put us
in a room and said, You're more40% more likely to have spina
(04:23):
bifida, you're 40% more likelyto have all this litany of
before he was born.
It was he was uh we we weregetting the gender reveal down
there, and uh basically theywere like, Okay, uh by the way,
it's a boy, and here's all thethings that could go wrong, just
FYI.
And um, yeah, so we're blessedand fortunate that you know, 23
(04:43):
and a half years later, no, he'sfantastic.
He's uh we're very, veryfortunate and very lucky, but
not everybody who is type onediabetic that has kids are, and
so that's really what we'retrying to do is improve the
lives.
And as as we like to say, gofrom type one to type none,
which I thought was clever.
And like 25 years I hadn'tthought of that.
Why where have I been?
Uh, but that's what they'rebasically trying to put
themselves out of business,yeah.
(05:04):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:05):
And um, like we do a lot of the charity stuff, the
industry we're in, whatever, butI'm a type one diabetic.
How long have you been type one?
Uh uh adult onset.
So we had a traumatic event.
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Um that were like 600 or something or low?
SPEAKER_02 (05:21):
Were you high or low?
Oh, I was very high.
Oh, yeah, like 800.
So when I when I finally so I'dlost a ton of weight, right?
And I'm drinking apple juice outof the carton.
It's like, oh, this isn't right.
No, I gotta tell you I wasprobably about 500.
Oh, goodness.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:36):
That's dangerous.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah, I'm so sorry.
No, it's it's just it's youknow, and so now you've got
everything on the technology.
SPEAKER_02 (05:48):
I got the technology.
I'm probably getting insulin aswe speak.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
People who were type one diabetic.
Are you okay?
Um people who were type onebefore I would say the year
2000.
Oh, yeah.
Technology was straight out ofFlintstones, man.
It was uh you're it's a lot ofguesswork, it's a lot of math.
You're like, I think this is thelong acting, you're the short
acting, and let's inject themboth, and I think I need a coke.
And I mean it was just yeah,really uh a tough way to
(06:14):
navigate it, but now I know acouple of guys, they're twins,
uh they're adult men, they'rethey're close to my age,
whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (06:22):
Um and they had the gene, which I didn't have the
gene, I had a different thing.
Um but they each had the gene,and one of them had a car
accident, and that triggered hisonset.
Car accident?
Car accident.
So if you have the gene, right?
A traumatic event can spur it.
(06:45):
Oh wow.
And the other, a couple yearslater, had um like um pneumonia,
and that triggered it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:53):
So both of them now are active type ones.
Oh gosh.
Uh, but it's a it's a weird,weird disease.
SPEAKER_03 (06:58):
It is, and I think there's a lot here in 2020, you
know, five where we're stillfinding out about it.
And that's what the research isgoing for, is to help people
manage it better and live theirlives with it better.
And events like that one where Igot I was lucky enough to meet
you, is is one of those things.
And um, it's really cool howNorthwest Arkansas, specifically
(07:18):
the vendor community, um, is soinvested in projects and in
nonprofits like uh that one.
Uh, there's so many.
If I started naming them,someone's gonna get mad.
SPEAKER_02 (07:30):
Yeah, it's a huge, huge.
SPEAKER_03 (07:31):
Yeah, I've been I've been fortunate enough to be part
of Kissipig for I mean almost 18years.
They made me a they they came tome first as a contestant.
And if anybody knows aboutKissipig, it's basically it's
not a gala, it's 10 mini galaswrapped in a gala.
Uh, and they basically make allthese people have their own
contests.
It's a genius business model.
Yeah.
And it's a very late night, too.
Oh, it's uh I I have gotten tothe John Q.
(07:54):
Hammond's uh RIP, uh RogersConvention Center at like five
o'clock and not left there untilalmost midnight on many
occasions.
And they've had incrediblewallflowers and uh blues
traveler and just incredible.
I saw blues traveler.
Yeah, yeah.
So these events that happen innorthwest Arkansas are
oftentimes the most profitableevents that some of these galas
(08:15):
are like, for example, I knowfor a fact ADA their most
profitable event every year isin Northwest Arkansas at
Kissipig, by the way they do it.
Uh so it's it's really cool theway the Walmart community, the
vendor community in NorthwestArkansas really get behind some
of these.
SPEAKER_02 (08:29):
There's always a couple of vice presidents at
Walmart that are on the in therunning for the you know the
pretend people that are bringingthings up, and that it makes a
huge difference.
It's not even the personalities,it's the strength that you know
Walmart talks about this a lotthat we we we have such scale,
we can change the world.
And this is just a microcosm ofit.
(08:50):
No.
SPEAKER_03 (08:51):
So you grew up in Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_02 (08:53):
Yeah, I was born in Silent Springs.
SPEAKER_03 (08:55):
So you have to deal with a lot of people.
I say deal with a lot of people,that's such a negative
connotation.
You have to deal with thesepeople, but you have to you
encounter people that come toNorthwest Arkansas who have only
been here like a year, twoyears, three years.
Oh yeah, and they walk aroundwith their mouth agape, going, I
thought I was coming toArkansas.
What is this stuff?
And it's just really cool to seewhere we are now as a community
(09:15):
in Northwest Arkansas.
SPEAKER_02 (09:17):
About a third of our company's revenue comes through
about two square blocks inmidtown Manhattan.
unknown (09:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:23):
You had to talk to them about like what did you
guys do this weekend, and thenthey'll ask me what I did.
And they're like, well, that wasjust on Broadway, like last
week.
You know?
Yeah.
We're not limited.
SPEAKER_01 (09:35):
No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
And I think access we have to cool things.
Yeah, and I would have alwayssaid that.
No, no, of course not.
Always said that.
No, when I was when I was injunior high in high school, like
there wasn't a reason to come toRogers or Bentonville unless you
had a game.
Yeah, we talked about footballbaseball all the time.
SPEAKER_03 (09:52):
I mean, what what was the draw to Rogers?
What are we?
Dixieland Mall?
What is it?
And if you were in the OliveGarden Club, then you could uh
drink.
And honestly, do you rememberthis?
Here's fun.
Um do are you guys old enough toremember that where every time I
had to cut a commercial on theradio or anything, and it was
for a bar or like Cafe Santa Feshout out R I Did I remember
(10:16):
those things?
Um where I'd have to thecommercial would always start
out the same way.
Attention members and guests.
Uh, you'd have to say attentionmembers and guests before
anything that had anestablishment with alcohol in
it.
Yeah.
And I'm like, where what are we?
What am I?
SPEAKER_02 (10:28):
Because you had to sign a thing, pay five dollars,
and then they would reimburseyou the five dollars.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
Stupid the ABC laws that have existed in this area,
they're like, it's um this it'ssomething.
You know, for those that areconsidering Bentonville, uh, it
is no longer a dry company.
Yeah, this is no longer thecase.
It is well, I mean it haschanged a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (10:48):
That has changed quite a bit.
And and and it's funny you saythat because it's only been how
long has it been that BentonCounty's been not dry?
Ten years, maybe I was thinkingtennis, and uh and now it's a
completely different.
SPEAKER_02 (11:00):
Well, and growing up in Siloam, uh, which was like if
if if this little pocket isconservative, like Siloam is
even more so.
Um I drove through I drovethrough it last weekend uh with
my youngest son going to Tulsafor a basketball tournament.
Um, and there's just liquorstores and weed dispensaries.
SPEAKER_03 (11:22):
Oh I don't recognize this.
Silem Springs in and and by theway, I apologize because I'm
sure people who live in WestAsylum Springs want me to
differentiate between the two.
Yes, of course.
Um West Sylum and Sylum hasbecome a virtual den of iniquity
uh between the all the liquorstores, all of the I mean,
you've got Cherokee there now,you've got weed billboards every
(11:45):
20 feet.
It's uh Chick-fil-A also.
Oh, well, don't forgetChick-fil-A.
Uh let's start with a numberone.
Uh, but yeah, what Silem Springshas become the wild west.
I expect you know Doc Holiday tocome walking.
Let's let's go.
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
I'd never never imagined it.
SPEAKER_03 (12:02):
No way you could have.
Like if you could have beenprojected into the future and
seen 2025 Siloem Springs, you'dbe like, come on.
No, no, there's no way.
SPEAKER_02 (12:10):
No, that's New York City.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Is that a weed billboard?
Behind the weed billboard?
SPEAKER_02 (12:14):
Yeah, that's what it is.
So all right, let's get into it.
Um, what what brought you tonorthwest Arkansas?
Because you're not originallyfrom here, are you?
SPEAKER_03 (12:23):
I'm not.
My mom is a uh native bread andbuttered Arkansan.
She is uh from El Dorado, whichis LA.
It is lower Arkansas.
And uh she and her whole familygrew up in Magnolia, El Dorado.
Um, but we grew up, I grew up inColorado, uh in the shadow of
the flat irons of Boulder in atown called Longmont, right on
(12:45):
I-25.
Uh, I came here to playbaseball.
Um, I came here originally toplay for Norm.
Um, I I was given an invitedwalk-on because clearly they did
not have a very good view of thevideo I sent them, and they were
somehow mistaken into believingthat I could have pitched for
the University of Arkansas, aprogram that regularly puts
people in the major leagues.
Uh I I am 5'11 and at the time Iwas about 145 soaking wet.
(13:10):
And while I threw really hardfor a kid that looked like he
was 11, um, I did not thrownearly as hard as Scott Brocale
or any of these people that uhwent on to incredible careers
for the Razorback.
So after about five minutes andrealizing what am I doing, um, I
stopped at baseball.
But I stayed at the U of A andI've obviously not left A.
(13:32):
Play four years?
I stayed four years.
I did not play four minutes.
Uh Norm, bless his heart.
I tell this story all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (13:41):
Really good in high school.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (13:43):
Yeah, editing videos.
Really good high school baseballplayer, and I probably should
have gone the JUCO route wherethey could have put weight on me
to where I looked like I wasn't11 but 14 and um would have had
more success that way.
But I went straight, I'm goingright to the SEC to try and do
this nonsense.
Clearly had no male guidance inmy life telling me that I was
(14:04):
out of my mind.
Um, so I tried it anyway.
But I ended up going to the U ofA and and journalism getting
into the broadcast uh program,which back then wasn't much of a
broadcast program until LarryFoley showed up uh a year after
I left, which I thought wasawfully convenient.
Um now it's an incrediblebroadcast program.
Yeah, yeah, really is kind ofknown for it.
(14:24):
Oh gosh, they've what they'vebuilt on that campus uh for the
U of A with their broadcast,whether it's K UAF and their new
facilities just off the square,or that new TV studio they have
in Kemple.
Um it's pretty impressive.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:37):
Excuse me.
You met my daughter, she has atwin brother.
Oh uh, and they're they'rejuniors this year, seniors in
high school next year.
So we've done a lot of campusvisits.
SPEAKER_03 (14:46):
Are they Bentonville?
Rogers.
Rogers, okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:49):
Mounties or heritage?
Uh she's a Mounty.
Okay.
Uh her brother is Providence,Patriot.
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (14:55):
Yeah.
Nice.
Uh so we're we're all split upall over the place.
Sure.
Um diversity.
That's right.
Uh we've we've done a lot ofcampus visits, but each one of
them independently did a U of Acampus tour.
And I'm not like a big collegeguy.
Like I didn't quite finish.
Yeah.
All right.
And most of my classes were likeafter 7 p.m.
(15:17):
There's nothing wrong with thateither.
Learning is not day specific.
But it is so such a greatcampus.
Oh.
And so much fun to like all thehistory, all the the stuff that
just belongs there for 150years.
SPEAKER_03 (15:31):
Isn't it crazy?
It is.
I'm biased.
I mean, I'm again, I'm fromBoulder, and if you've never
seen the Colorado campus inBoulder, it is breathtaking uh
at the base of the flat iron.
It's just, it's to me, I grew upwith that, and that's just
always like, oh, it's such abeautiful campus.
But they didn't have a baseballteam, so I didn't go there.
I came to Arkansas where Iplayed baseball for four
minutes.
And my kid graduated high schoolum in uh 2020.
(15:53):
So we'll get into that later.
What a fiasco that situationdoing graduation ceremonies uh
in an empty auditorium uh viaZoom.
Uh, but he graduated in 2020,and and I'm like, I'm trying to
get him to look at otherschools.
And I think that the reversepsychology of it actually drove
him to go to Arkansas.
Nice because we kept trying togo.
(16:14):
He's he wanted to be in youknow, filmmaking, journalism,
things like that.
We're like, hey, Mizzou's got agreat program, and Kansas has a
really good and all this.
And he's like, Are you kiddingme?
Um no, I'm going to Arkansas.
And I finally was like, let's goto Boulder, show you that
campus, walk around, it's justbeautiful.
And we walk around, take thetour, everything.
We get done, we get in the car,and he goes, That ain't that's
not fatal.
(16:34):
He's in he has this romanticParisian Eiffel Tower view of
like old Maine and that campus.
He grew up on it, so it reallymeant a lot to him.
And he graduated in December.
So did something right.
Uh lucked into him.
He didn't.
He he he lived in the Friscoapartments uh down on Dixon and
(16:58):
West, which is a whole otherpodcast entirely.
But um, he lived down there andyeah, he he got through COVID,
all the Zoom classes, notentering a uh building until
like three semesters into hiscareer, and uh challenging time
for him to graduate high schooland go to college.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:18):
Yeah, I help uh with the the youth at fellowship,
they call it FSM, and my guysare all seniors graduating
actually this weekend.
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02 (17:28):
From Bentonville and got them since they're freshmen,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the way they do the cellgroup, I've been discipling
these guys since they werefreshmen.
It's just been a really, reallysweet time, and they're awesome.
You know, shout out to the guys.
Yeah.
Uh, but I don't know.
It's an exciting time as well.
15 of them are all going to U ofA.
So yeah.
I expect to be spending a lotmore time uh down on campus.
Well, and we appreciate therebeing more Arkansas kids uh on
that campus and not having Texasplayers.
SPEAKER_03 (17:53):
I'm not judging or saying anything.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
Yeah, but yeah, no, these guys and a lot of them had
you know options all all around.
But at the end of the day, it'slike, no, this is this is a
great school school environment.
SPEAKER_03 (18:04):
And there's some great programs.
Obviously, the business schoolshout out, the Walton Business
School, and there's someincredible engineering chain of
the country.
I mean, I wonder why.
Uh gee, uh that's the definitelyif you want to go into supply
chain management or anything asfar as uh business.
Marketing programs really good.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (18:22):
Uh so I have a couple journalism guys too going
down.
SPEAKER_03 (18:25):
Absolutely right.
Yeah, we and you know what'scool is seeing a lot of the U of
A alums go on to like GoodMorning America, the Weather
Channel, you know, stuff likethat.
It's really awesome.
unknown (18:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (18:35):
I want to talk to you about like on field, on
court, all that stuff, but let'slet's do a little like like meat
and potatoes here first.
Um so it's a retail journey,right?
Yeah, we we generally, we don'talways, but we generally talk
retail.
Um, and when we were chattingearlier this week, you have a
lot of brands, right?
Like national brands that comeon your your your station and
(18:58):
hire you for kind of localmedia, similar to the billboards
you see on Walton Boulevard,right?
SPEAKER_03 (19:03):
Absolutely right.
SPEAKER_02 (19:04):
Um talk a little bit about that, what that what that
brings to them in terms ofexposure.
SPEAKER_03 (19:10):
Happy to.
I so I've been in radio asyou've both illustrated and as
um we've talked a little bitabout.
I mean, I began my careerin '93, and so this is my 32nd
year on the radio in NorthwestArkansas.
And so for the vast majority ofit, it was one of the situations
where you go find a big companythat has a radio station, and
then hopefully, if you do getenough show, they pay you.
(19:30):
And yay, I get to be on theradio, and then you get a
salary.
Um, and then it basically yoursalary is derived from the
ratings that you get througheither Arbitron, Nielsen, or
what have you.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (19:40):
But then as radio began to kind of get like
started to shrink a little bit,and big radio conglomerates
began to get rid of uh bigsalary local talent.
About 2010, I kind of saw thelandscape and I began to realize
that if I was going to stay inthis medium, I needed to become
the salesperson.
I needed to be the one to go outand get the clients, get the
(20:01):
brands, uh, local, national,what have you, and make uh to
where the situation was they sawmore ROI by having me endorse
their brands on my show and nothaving the middleman of the
salespeople.
I'll be the salesperson.
And so I began that in 2010.
And when you start somethinglike that, it is not easy.
(20:24):
Uh no one's doing what I wasdoing.
Right.
And and so you kind of had tobuild that's the coolest part of
it.
It yes.
I and I I am of a rarepersonality type to where I
don't really uh feel fear.
Um, I really don't think there'sanything if I if I just I just
feel like I can do it.
Yeah.
(20:44):
And so I knew that I wasimmediately foregoing because I
make no salary.
I don't make a dime uh from mymy company doesn't pay me any
money in salary.
And so all of my compensationcomes from a commission of these
partners.
Yeah.
And so therefore, I amincentivized to just keep going
out there, finding the peoplethat I think fit the loyal and
(21:05):
royal army the best.
And fortunately, that iseverybody from small businesses,
really small businesses, toNestle um and Coca-Cola and uh
Sonic and things like that.
Yeah.
And so I've been doing that nowfor 14 years.
I actually love doing it.
I'm very competitive.
And so I like to sell because Ilike to beat other people in
(21:30):
sales, and I'm very, very um, Iguess you would say protective
of the brands of the of thepeople I get on my show.
Like I care a lot about peopleknowing those brands, to the
point where if you were to go toanybody in my audience and ask
them, I'm gonna say a category,you tell me who John and Deke
have on there.
Like you go to them and go,Who's our furniture store?
(21:52):
Get it at Sam's, uh, who's theirliquor store?
Macadoodles, who's theirpharmacy, call your drug.
You go right down the linebecause I do only.
Only exclusivity.
I won't have competing brands onmy my show.
And that and I think that thosebrands see the ROI from that
when they can drive down 49,look up at five billboards and
see four HVAC companies in a rowwhere I don't think people
(22:13):
really get much ROI out of that.
SPEAKER_02 (22:15):
Well, and I just as a listener for years, like if
there's four options forsomething, but one is sponsoring
the loyal and royal, I'm right.
SPEAKER_03 (22:26):
Thank you.
And that's the goal.
And and I'll tell you this, andit's one of those chicken of the
egg things.
Are they a huge brand?
Because that's I gravitatetowards large, or do I help make
them bigger brands?
And I'd like to think it's alittle of both.
Yeah.
We try really hard to Deke and Ireally care about letting
everybody know that when we buya car, Deke has, and I'm not
(22:48):
exaggerating, Deke has probablybought 11 cars from Wrath
Mitsubishi.
SPEAKER_02 (22:52):
Then you trade that like every six months.
SPEAKER_03 (22:54):
It feels like it's every much more than that.
But and we they we joke that wewill pull up into the same call
your drug uh uh parking lot atthe same time.
We go to Macadoodles, everythingin my home is Sam's furniture.
Um and we do and and BenjaminFranklin does our plumbing.
Everything that we talk about onthe show is in a form of how
(23:15):
they have made our lives better.
And so that's what we try toimpart to our audience.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:20):
I feel like it's easier to talk about the things
you authentically feel, yeah,especially in an environment
where like just reading off of ascript is felt like nobody they
can, and you know what?
SPEAKER_03 (23:31):
People aren't dumb.
They people have a BS meter andthey they can tell when you're
like this guy doesn't write.
Like you'll watch a like, Idon't know, I'm trying to think
of a like a national uhspokesperson.
Like when you see somebody likea Kardashian and and they're
endorsing like Hyundai.
unknown (23:49):
Come on.
SPEAKER_03 (23:50):
What does it mean?
Yeah, am I really gonna thinkthat Kim Kardashian's rocking a
Santa Fe?
I have a hard time believingthat.
I of course I'm making both ofthose up, and I'm probably gonna
hear from their attorneys.
Yeah, but I mean it's thingslike that when you when you when
you hear the like Tiger Woodsdoes not wear a tag hearer.
Uh, you know, let's be honest.
Although Tag Hero is a greatbrand.
(24:11):
You know, he's probably wearinga Rolex or you know, something
like that.
SPEAKER_01 (24:14):
Yeah, you can you can hear in a podcast when they
go from sharing the thing thatthey care about to reading the
scripts that they're gettingpaid to say.
Exactly right.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (24:24):
Hit like and share, and you know, just they mail it
in.
And when we do endorsements onour show, it's I mean, we
literally integrate their brandwith our brand into the story
where people don't know thedifference.
Yeah, you do.
And so that is what we havetried to do.
And fortunately, we've got 26partners on a show right now, a
lot of national brands, a fewvendors are on there, and um,
(24:46):
it's great.
This is way off topic, but um,do you ever listen to Conan
O'Brien Needs a Friend?
I'm a very big fan of ConanO'Brien's, but Deke is a way
bigger fan of Cono Bryan's.
Letterman's my guy.
I grew up with Letterman.
Yeah, yeah.
And when I got to go, that's awhole other thing.
I could do a show, and thesecurity guard could see what a
complete nerd I was about it.
And after the show is over, I'mstanding around just like, am I
(25:08):
gonna see anybody?
This would be cool.
And he goes, You want to sit inthe chair?
I go, What?
And he goes, You want to sit inDave's chair, get a picture?
Oh, wow.
So my wife and I were there, andeveryone had started filtering
out, and we just kind of creptup there.
I sat in Dave's chair, she satin the guest chair, got a
picture.
That will probably be on aneasel in my funeral.
(25:30):
That photo.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
The easel photo.
SPEAKER_03 (25:32):
But to answer your question, yeah, Conan O'Brien, I
think, is a masterful podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Is because you know the podcast venue, if you're
commercializing it, is is prettyunique.
And he there's the if youhaven't seen it, you should pull
it up on YouTube where he doesan ad for a bidet.
Go on.
And he clearly hadn't read thescript until it was being
recorded.
And he just goes, he just goesinsane.
(25:59):
It's the funniest, it's probablythe funniest segment that he's
done on his podcast.
That is genius.
But I'll tell you how to, I'mnot gonna go into it because
it's a little prof a littlevulgar, but it is so freaking.
SPEAKER_03 (26:13):
And you know what's funny is that initially I'm sure
that the marketing people areactually the higher people
higher than the marketing peopleof that bidet company probably
lost their minds when they firstheard about it.
Yeah, they're like, oh great,Conor O'Brien's just dragging
our brand of a bidet.
But then the marketing peopleare like, Do you know how viral
this is?
Do you know how many clicks thisis getting?
SPEAKER_02 (26:32):
Yeah, 30 million views on YouTube or whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (26:35):
We did a thing just this morning, just this morning
on the show, because we've gotOzarks Go on the show.
They're the official internet ofthe Loyal and Royal Army.
Thank you so much for allowingme to do this.
And they came up to they go tous and they go, here's the
promotion.
If you're a brand new Ozarks Gocustomer and you use the phrase
loyal and royal three, it'sthree free months.
Now, we can say that incommercial form and endorsements
(26:57):
all we want, but Deke and I,mostly Deke, sat down and wrote
an entire song out about it onour show that sounds like Dio.
I don't know how many RonnieJames Dio fans we have.
I bet you could count them onone hand uh that are watching
this, or maybe they're biggerthan I think.
But we did a whole song aboutOzarks Go and Loyal Royal 3 and
(27:18):
the whole thing.
And I mean, it's a banger.
Love it.
It's just amazing.
We'll probably put it at leaston our social media page, but we
just did it this morning.
And I mean, we sent it to OzarksGo and they lost their minds.
They loved it.
It's so great.
How many of these can you do?
So, yeah, finding new ways, likeyou were talking about with
(27:38):
Conor O'Brien is really it'sit's the key to getting to find
how it sticks in people's minds.
Yeah, yeah.
I love that story about thebidet though.
SPEAKER_02 (27:47):
You you've got to look at that.
SPEAKER_03 (27:48):
That is classic.
SPEAKER_02 (27:49):
So we talked a little bit about your kind of
unique model in terms of a radiostation.
I when we chatted uh last weekor a week before, whatever.
Um, I said I assume that there'sother you know markets that have
a model like this that you likelearn from.
SPEAKER_03 (28:05):
You're like, nope, I think I'm pretty right.
And there may be, I I I'm notgonna sit here and go, I'm the
only one in America.
SPEAKER_02 (28:13):
So so we use this thing in our uh in our company
uh called the five voices.
So and the five voices, youknow, there's a pioneer, a
connector, um, a creative, uhguardian, and a nurturer.
Wow, right?
And that you've got all five ofthose voices, but they're in
different rankings.
(28:34):
So uh um, like I'm the I'm thepioneer.
Um, like that's my primary voicein the company, which
necessitates that your lastvoice is nurturing.
Correct.
That's absolutely right.
Does that does that ring true?
SPEAKER_03 (28:49):
It does, and and and because of the fact that it's
it's you know, they named thestation after us.
I mean, they they which Ithought was really great, and
that's what we wanted to do.
It's like if we're gonna comeover here, which was nine years
ago next month, um, we're gonnabe the brand.
And so at that point, it's theLowen Royal Army, it's Radio
John Deek.
And so they're now you'reprotecting not only the brands
(29:10):
of your you know, your partners,you're now you're gonna protect
your brand because now you'reworried about how you're melding
the two.
And that's what I'm mostgrateful for is the fact that
these brands have trusted us toelevate their brand awareness
and uh their brands within thecall to action to people to
(29:30):
actually buy their products uhat points of sale uh to our
show, which I'm I'm incrediblygrateful for every day.
We get to do that.
Yeah.
unknown (29:39):
That's really cool.
SPEAKER_02 (29:40):
So um you you shared something with me that I want to
bring up.
Uh this community knows CameronSmith well.
Oh, yeah.
Rest in peace.
Yeah.
Um, he's either gotten a persona job or filled a person's open
role um or donated a guitar atyou know, Kiss Pig.
(30:00):
Uh, what's your you have aconnection to Cameron?
What's your connection?
SPEAKER_03 (30:04):
I do.
Uh Cameron um was a mentor tome.
Uh, but he was a mentor to a lotof people.
Yeah.
He he's I mean, I you know, BullMattingley, and Aaron Peters and
a lot of uh guys kind of my age,I'm a little older than both of
those guys, but uh guys my age,people my age, Neely Jones, he
he mentored quite a bit, a lotof people uh that would be he
(30:24):
would meet people at Gala's, andthat's how he would get with
them and start uh and I don'teven know that he did it
intentionally, he just was ahelpful person.
Yeah.
And uh the story that I uh how Imet Cameron uh is crazy.
I was MCing the the Hope CancerResources gentleman of
distinction in honor of BillFlaman, who's an amazing uh
(30:45):
entrepreneur in NorthwestArkansas, and he passed away
sadly of cancer.
And I was emceeing the gala, andthey had the situation to where
I am seated, but at the end,they were supposed to have
somebody that was going to do, Ithink it was John George uh that
was gonna do the ask, and hecouldn't make it that day.
And so about 20 minutes beforethe ask, I am not making this
up, they come to me and they go,John, um, John George cannot
(31:08):
make the ask, or can could youdo that?
And I'm like, I've been askingthese people for money for an
hour and 45 minutes.
You now you want me to get upand go, hey, but everybody, I
appreciate uh everything.
I'm gonna need more money, iswhat we're gonna need.
And and so that's exactly whathad to happen.
But I had never done an askbefore, really.
And so I just like, well, howcan I best connect with these
(31:30):
people to do this?
And that's what I did.
I just tried to extrapolate itinto you'd think$50, but really
it's a gas tank for people goingto Narthai and things like that.
And I really I squeezed thatorange as best I could.
They got a stack of likeenvelopes like this, and they're
like, that was crazy.
Mike, you you just shot us pastour goal.
It was just great.
And so afterwards, this is goingto be a reference everyone's
(31:53):
gonna enjoy.
We all congregate at EddieHaskell's um RIP shout out, and
we go there and we're all justin in just having a great time.
And gentlemen walks up to me andhe goes, John, I want you to
know that I've been inboardrooms from Miami to LA, and
that pitch you gave at the end,you could have put in any
(32:14):
boardroom and he just going onand on about it.
I go, This guy is really nice.
Thank you.
So I think and I'm just talkingto him for five minutes, never
got his name, never gotanything.
He's just very nattily attired,gorgeous wife.
And I'm like, wow, that wasgreat.
So he walks off.
Guy next to me goes, You don'tknow who that is, do you?
Can't tell.
I go, I don't.
(32:35):
And he goes, That is CameronSmith.
And I go, now I knew his nameobviously from CSA, but I had
never met him or seen him.
And they go, go get his card,get his number.
What is wrong with you?
Go talk to him.
And sure enough, I go overthere, I go, Mr.
Smith, I appreciate all the kindwords.
And we became really close fromthat point on.
(32:55):
And uh, he changed my life.
Yeah, he totally did.
I was there was one point in mycareer when I it was right
before I had gotten the businessmodel to own my show and do all
this, and I was really unhappywhere I was, and I could just
see the future of them gettingrid of high talent, morning
talent, and things like that.
And I go to Cameron, I go, Youyou know, your people make X and
(33:16):
suppliers make Y, and I justwant to do that.
And he goes, What are yousaying?
You want to be a vendor?
You want to work for one ofthese companies?
I go, I mean, I know a lot ofpeople that do.
My son's mom has been in thevendor community for 20 years,
loves it, great at it.
And he goes, You just want to goaround and knock on the door and
sell Welch's grape jelly orPines 57 or to some buyer that's
gonna squeeze you for margins,and that's what you that's what
(33:40):
you want to do.
And I go, I don't know.
He goes, John, you're a brand.
And it was like a light, oh thismoment of illumination.
And he goes, Build your brand,don't build anyone else's brands
but yours and people that payyou to build theirs.
And it changed my life.
(34:00):
And and on top of that, he justbecame one of my best friends.
And he and Monica were just thethe very best.
They would have fireworks everyfourth of July at Shadow Valley,
and just he was he was anincredible person and just
grateful he was uh someone thattook interest in me and took me
under his wing.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
Yeah, and and most people in the community have
some sort of a connection toCameron.
Mine was uh when I first startedthe business, um I was working
with a former business partnerof his, and they were still
friendly.
Uh, and he goes, Hey, will youcome in?
Like, we're we we've only beenhiring for like salespeople and
executives, and we're gonnastart hiring for analysts.
(34:41):
Like the low, like you know, thepeople that are getting their
hands dirty.
What will you come in and givemy recruiters uh kind of an
understanding of what the skillset is?
Right.
So I put together an hour,whatever, 45 minutes worth of
content, came in and did it.
I was walking out, and he shookmy hand, he's like, You have an
(35:03):
IOU with me.
I'll give you whenever you wantto call it in.
Oh wow, I'll deliver it.
That's a powerful IOU.
Right, right.
And and I held it for a longtime, you know.
And um, I have two brothers, andmy oldest one, uh, he's a
pharmaceutical rep.
He was getting kind of wary ofthe industry because he uh
layoffs every three years andyou gotta start over, and you
(35:25):
know, yeah.
There's no loyalty in that inthat business.
Uh and he came to me and goes,Hey, I want to I want to become
a salesperson for CPG.
How do I do that?
It's like, well, you probablygotta become an analyst.
Yeah, you kind of got to workyour way up, you know.
Like, I don't I'm not sure.
I'm not sure your skillsnecessarily transfer.
Right.
Uh he goes, Well, I mean, I'vegot an I've got this advanced
(35:48):
degree, whatever.
It's like, well, okay, if youreally want to push it, like,
here, call Cameron.
I send him a note and is like,here's my IOU, meet with my
brother.
SPEAKER_03 (35:56):
Oh wow, you used your IOU on this.
And they sit down.
I know.
SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
They sit down and uh he tell like he lays out what he
wants to do, and Cameron goes,Why are you talking to me?
Your brother's like retail linkguru.
SPEAKER_03 (36:13):
He just saw things quicker and in ways you didn't
see them.
It it was such a talent that hewould have such perspective.
He was also the first person totell me to do fewer events
because the perception is thatyou got to do more events.
That way it's exposure.
Exposure equals likefamiliarity.
Familiarity means that peopleare more comfortable and the
whole like the whole thing.
(36:33):
But he goes, John, you are youare entering uh overexposure
territory because I do a gala, Isee you.
I opened celebrate or cityscapesmagazine, I see you, and uh you
need to make yourself moreexclusive.
And and he gave he was the onethat gave me that advice.
I there was a point where I wasdoing a gala every four to six
(36:54):
weeks.
It was maniacal.
If there's a gala to do here,well, right.
I mean, you could do one everyweek, honestly.
And and I I took his advice, andnow I only do like three a year.
Um, and it was one of thesmarter again, every piece of
advice he ever gave me turnedout true and helped me.
SPEAKER_01 (37:10):
Well, you see the full circle of like only working
on the things you're close to,passionate about, so that you
can speak authentically andright.
SPEAKER_03 (37:18):
And that's how I actually got into it was through
JDRF and things like that.
But then you do those events,you keep breaking goals, and
it's it's one of those, it's agood problem to have, is when
they want to have you beinvolved with it.
And I'm grateful too.
Like the Cancer Challenge isamazing, the gentleman of
distinction is fantastic.
I mean, just go right.
There's so many amazing eventsin Northwest, Arkansas, but you
can't do all of them, man.
(37:38):
And um, he was right.
I mean, I I got to the pointwhere I would open up
Cityscapes, and I'm there fourtimes, and I was like, that's
not maybe too many.
SPEAKER_01 (37:46):
Yeah, yeah.
It resonates a lot in thisspace.
There's a lot of brands that areat Walmart that want to, you
know, execute at a higher level.
There are there are a whole lotof brands that are not at
Walmart that would like to be atWalmart executing at that high
level.
Um, and so you know, us here atHigh Impact, we we um I was told
early on when I was getting hereof like, you know, the most
(38:08):
important thing is who you'resaying no to.
Um, so that you are you knowtied to those that you really
should be tied to.
Yeah.
And you know early on, I waskind of like, you know, I'd like
to have a few yeses uh and thenwe'll work on the no's.
But but now we're at this stagewhere it's becoming so evident
um and we're having to say no.
And it's it's hard uh becauseyou want to be able to help, but
(38:32):
I can't um operate at a highlevel if I'm saying yes to
everything.
Need to be able to paceourselves uh so that we're able
um to deliver.
SPEAKER_03 (38:42):
That was the difficult decision I made.
And I have had people from thethe stations I'm on to everyone
go, why the exclusivity?
You're cutting off such arevenue stream.
Uh if you listen to most radiostations, they'll have three
different car remotes on aSaturday at three different
locations.
Oh my god.
And it's you'll Lewis Ford one,and then you'll be at uh the
(39:04):
auto park, and then you'll be atMcClarty, and then and don't get
me wrong, all incredibledealers, all incredible things,
but like what are you tellingall of them when you're like 10
to 1 at one place where I'mlike, all right, man, cool,
thanks a lot.
And then an hour later, you're adifferent place.
It I think that when when I doexclusivity and like you talking
about saying no to certainthings and saying yes to the
(39:25):
ones that you want to nurture arelationship with, I I have just
been fortunate that for theentirety, I've had people just
renew every year, every yearafter one after like Sam's and
Colliers and Macadoodles and uhon and on, because they exhibit
the loyalty that I try to givethem.
Yeah.
And and so it is paid off inspades.
(39:46):
I'm sure I have cost myselfmoney with that, but I would
rather have someone who knowsthat I'm loyal to their brand
than someone who's gonna besitting there going, I don't
know, man.
Is he talking about mycompetitor now?
SPEAKER_01 (39:56):
And and you create real value.
Right.
Um, it we've uh I've talked alot lately as I'm talking to
people.
It's like, you know, I don't, Idon't actually want to receive a
resentful check from a partner.
Uh, because well, one, no one'sgonna write a whole lot of
resentful checks.
You'll stop at some point.
But like, no, I want to have adeep relationship.
I want to be able toauthentically be grateful for
(40:17):
partnership and want them to begrateful because that's the kind
of thing that has stuck aroundat high impact for 14 years is
the the folks that haveexperienced that.
I'm thinking of one that's beenin.
I love that.
14.
Like 18.
Um you get it, buddy.
Um for a long time.
Um 19 in July.
(40:38):
I think there's something therefor everybody that like the
spirit of fear isn't actuallyhelpful, useful that you have no
fear.
Um that one's gonna be part ofit.
SPEAKER_03 (40:47):
I'm a little too unflappable, which is is both
phenomenal and there's aproblem.
There is.
Uh like it's it's the reason I Istarted noticing this.
I'd be at midfield.
There's 77,000 people in RazBack Stadium, and I'm just like,
all right, I guess I'm gonna dothis thing here on the field
with uh just this numb.
It just doesn't affect me.
(41:08):
It's weird.
I don't know if it's always beenthat way.
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
When you're on the court or on the field, you can
see it like you're you're there,you're you're doing a job.
I am not aware of the peoplearound you.
SPEAKER_03 (41:17):
I'm really not.
SPEAKER_02 (41:18):
And let's individuals, yes.
Correct.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
But the mass, no.
If I'm engaging with someone thepressure is not a felt pressure,
right.
SPEAKER_03 (41:24):
If I'm like doing the Whataburger Fry Shuffle,
which Razorback Twitter loves somuch, uh, or the tic-tac-toe,
which they love even more.
Uh I I yeah, I'm I'm interactingin that fashion.
But I I really don't I I don'treally think about the other
people.
I'm just doing my best job andsuper helpful.
SPEAKER_01 (41:39):
Well without having fear, maybe avoid mountain
biking.
SPEAKER_03 (41:41):
Uh uh Yeah.
So we live next to uh the trail.
We live next to the the trail,because it's so what a blessing
to have that northwest,Arkansas.
It's because we live in Johnson,and I mean we are 500 yards from
that trail, and I we havestarted using the heck out of
it.
And mountain biking does terrifyme, even though I grew up in
Colorado because everyone I knowthat mountain bikes, it takes
(42:03):
about a year, year and a half,everyone wrecks.
Breaks a collarbone.
Yeah.
Bingo.
I got a new one.
Collarbone.
SPEAKER_01 (42:09):
I got a new one a couple years ago.
Yep.
Have you what's your worstaccident?
I have a new collarbone.
Yeah, I got that.
You have a new collarbone.
You got one on each side.
Brought to you by Mercy.
And what is this?
Momo's getting.
Um Ozark Orthopedics?
Yeah, I got to pay full price.
There was no sponsorship.
And no discount for the secondeither.
Oh man.
Got to full you can't buy themin a bundle.
SPEAKER_03 (42:28):
I was gonna say your podcast for the next year is
brought to you by OzarkOrthopedics on Futural Road in
Fayetteville.
Thank you, Dr.
Kaler.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (42:37):
This is awesome.
I I'm afraid we've uh exhaustedour time here.
SPEAKER_03 (42:41):
I do that every time.
SPEAKER_02 (42:43):
We normally do uh lightning round and the thing.
SPEAKER_03 (42:46):
We can be quick.
SPEAKER_02 (42:46):
Yeah, really quick, quick.
So uh failure.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (42:50):
Biggest failure.
SPEAKER_02 (42:51):
Maybe that you learned from that.
You learn from.
SPEAKER_03 (42:52):
I mean, yeah, make it biggest failure that I
learned from.
Ooh.
That's a tough one.
Um, I would say um I gotsyndicated early, early, early
in my career.
Yeah, like in the late 90s, andI did not handle it the way I
would handle it now.
Yeah.
And um, I I would definitely goback and handle that
differently.
(43:13):
Big time.
Big time.
Impestuous.
Just uh, yeah, that was mybiggest that that comes to mind.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (43:21):
Um, so over the last year, year and a half, whatever,
things are changing at a crazypace, right?
What do you what are you takingaway?
What's your learnings from youknow the last uh in just in in
in America or the world orparticularly in business, but if
you want to get it into thepersonal, that's fine.
SPEAKER_03 (43:41):
I I the one thing I I I I think is the bigger things
and the more complicated thingsget the more as simple it is.
I love what we just talked aboutis the the it always comes down
to relationships in business.
It always comes down tohandshakes, names,
neighborhoods, making peoplefeel like they matter.
Yeah.
Um That I always tell mypartners, uh, the more you give
(44:03):
me the uh creatively, the betteroff our campaign's gonna be,
things like that.
And and so people start reallyworrying about, you know, you
guys were doing a podcast.
Did you think five?
I mean, you're doing it in along time, but like this thing
is such a great idea.
It's so cool.
People need to be doing more ofthis, and they are, but you had
you do you remember theinflection point when you
(44:24):
realized you had to do apodcast?
SPEAKER_01 (44:26):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
We wanted to non-pretentiouslyactually help people.
Um, thank you.
And how can you give goodinformation without just feeling
like you're bragging about yourthing?
SPEAKER_02 (44:38):
Also being known for that.
Yeah, yeah.
Like we're a consultancy at ourcore.
SPEAKER_03 (44:43):
Have you had good response within the Walmart
community, vendor community,things like that?
SPEAKER_01 (44:47):
Yeah, plenty of uh you know, merchants that have
shared you know differentpodcasts because we talk through
lessons for you know new buyers,you're uh or even on the
supplier side when you'renavigating you know omni-channel
growth.
What are the things you need topay attention to?
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_03 (45:01):
Yeah, that's a smart idea.
So yeah, I I I think that peopleare realizing that there's new
like you see movies nowadays.
You used to never see people sitdown for 30 seconds, like Tom
Cruise with Mission Impossible.
He has done every kind of mediain the last two months, months,
I mean two years for this.
SPEAKER_02 (45:17):
Alright, he almost died in this last filming.
SPEAKER_03 (45:20):
Uh I'm not shocked.
SPEAKER_02 (45:21):
He's doing one of his own stunts.
SPEAKER_03 (45:22):
That's that guy does all his own stuff.
That's crazy the stuff he does.
So yeah, I think people have hadto kind of evolve their the the
way they perceive what their jobis based on how you get uh kind
of connectivity and tractionwith these brands.
SPEAKER_01 (45:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (45:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (45:38):
And then last one, uh, what's the you know content
you're taking in?
What are you what are youenjoying lately?
SPEAKER_03 (45:44):
Oh, uh a lot of streaming, a lot of Netflix, a
lot of Hulu, a lot of handmaid'stale, a lot of severance, a lot
of oh, there's so many goodshows.
SPEAKER_02 (45:55):
There's so many good shows, right?
SPEAKER_03 (45:56):
Yeah, I mean, right now to me, severance is the best
thing that's happened this yearTV wise.
SPEAKER_02 (46:01):
Such a mind-bender.
SPEAKER_03 (46:02):
Man, you know what it is?
It's Stanley Kubrick doing TheOffice.
Yes.
So if The Office were done.
SPEAKER_01 (46:08):
That's exactly what it is.
SPEAKER_03 (46:10):
If the Office were done in like 2001 of Space
Odyssey, that's what Severanceis.
SPEAKER_01 (46:15):
Yes.
Oh my gosh, that's so true.
SPEAKER_03 (46:17):
That's a beautiful, yeah.
And then I'll if I see TheOffice, I'll just stop and watch
the next five episodes, as longas it's not the last season or
two, which are garbage withoutMichael Scott.
Yeah.
Um, I'm a big Nuggets fan.
I do like the Will Farrellseason, but you know what?
I did like that.
And James Spader's appearanceswere amazing.
Um, and then I'm a hugerazorback, obviously, fan.
And uh Broncos hopefully uh, youknow, don't uh embarrass me this
(46:40):
year.
Uh so yeah, stuff like that.
A lot of sports, a lot of bassRoyals fan.
I'm the weird Kansas CityRoyals, Denver Broncos fan,
which is an odd hybrid.
So, yeah, hopefully the Royalsdoing great.
Bobby Witt, we know we got theWalmart connection with that.
SPEAKER_02 (46:54):
So excited.
And thank you so much forspending time with us today.
My honor to do it.
SPEAKER_03 (47:00):
Would you have me back?
SPEAKER_02 (47:01):
I would definitely have you back.
SPEAKER_03 (47:02):
Okay.
All right.
I'm honored, and I'm it's agreat job, man.
And I want you guys to know theyhave an entire sheet of notes.
These guys are prepared.
They ain't they ain't just likewinging it.
This is a real operation.
So I dig it.
Good job, guys.
Appreciate it, man.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (47:18):
I really appreciate you coming on.
It's kind of a kind of a it's atreat to me personally.
SPEAKER_03 (47:22):
Well, I loved it.
I'll I'd come back.
SPEAKER_02 (47:24):
All right, and thank you all for joining in.
Um, you can uh, as always, youcan find all of our podcasts,
uh, audio video onhighimpactanalytics.com or
wherever you get your podcasts,and uh appreciate you being with
us today.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.