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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Locally based radio company raids ad-sales talent from Cox Radio
AN EARTHQUAKE rattled through Hawaii's radio landscape yesterday as Maui-based
Visionary Related Entertainment LLC announced it had snagged some top advertising sales talent from Cox Radio Hawaii.
Sales Director John Aeto, Sales Operations Manager Kuulei Park, Mark Haworth, general sales manager for KHPW-FM 104.3, and Stuart Chang, general sales manager for KCCN-FM 100.3, who just joined Cox in July, have all migrated to Visionary.
Aeto will lead Visionary's Oahu radio stations as general manager. Park will become sales operations director for Visionary's Oahu stations, Haworth will serve as director of sales for KPOI-FM 105.9 and KDDB-FM 102.7, and Chang will be sales director for KUMU-FM 94.7/AM 1500 and KQMQ-FM 93.1.
Chang had just joined Cox after a short stint as corporate sales director for the UH Athletic department. He had previously served KHON-TV as one of two longtime local sales managers.
"Stuart's under contract, so he's not going to leave anytime soon," Aeto laughed.
This is not a case of David slaying Goliath, but Goliath's shin is surely sporting a bruise, thanks to a swift kick from the David in this scenario. Atlanta-based Cox Radio Inc. is one of three station group owners on Oahu that are mainland based and publicly traded.
According to the Arbitron spring 2006 survey, four of the top 10 Oahu stations belong to Texas-based Clear Channel Communications Inc., three to Cox, two to Visionary and one to California-based Salem Communications Corp.
"Strategically this is a great day for our company," said John Detz, president of Visionary, which had an Oahu sales staff of six before yesterday's announcement.
Detz said Visionary's stations have been profitable since they were purchased in 2004. The new hires are "a way of taking the stations to the next level," he said.
"We have deliberately kept the sales force small during the last year or so, looking for a strategic move," he said.
"One of the things that appealed to John (Aeto) and his crew was that all the decisions will be made here in the 808 area code. We have the opportunity to be more nimble and intuitive with our clients' wishes because we're all home-based," said Detz.
By the end of this year Visionary will have 16 radio stations statewide, and that was also part of the appeal, Aeto said.
"We looked at the statewide strategy as being something we can utilize ... to really deliver to both the listeners and the advertisers," said Aeto.
Probably nobody in or around the local radio industry would have imagined that Aeto would ever leave Cox.
Mike Kelly, vice president and general manager of the Hawaii stations owned by Atlanta-based Cox Radio, hired Aeto as an account executive in 1987. It was the start of his radio career, following graduation from Kamehameha Schools.
"It was a real tough decision ... leaving Mike, who was like a mentor and father to me for all those years," Aeto said.
Visionary had pursued Aeto for a couple months as part of the strategic move Detz wanted to make to add heavy-hitters to the Oahu stations' sales operation.
Visionary's gain is Cox's loss, but Aeto said Cox has "a very deep management pool and they will rise to the occasion."
Kelly said he was "shocked" when he learned Aeto, Park, Haworth and Chang would be leaving. However, he added, "We'll come through this and we'll be fine."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com