MAY 6, 2019 RADIOINK•COM 13
between the Yankees and the Red Sox.
It’s always fun with them. Sid is very fast
and very witty, and Bernie is bright and
very intuitive. They are a very good com-
bination. There is magic they create on
the radio, something that we haven’t had
for a while.
Radio Ink: There is a chemistry there
between you and Bernie and Sid, so I
guess that makes it pretty easy to talk
and just be you.
Abboud: It does, and you know at this
point in my career, I don’t force anything.
I love the relationship; I’m a listener
as well as an advertiser. I see who they
reach, and the people who speak to me
about it. It’s WABC, and for the Tri-State
Area, they have a pretty broad reach and
have the history of being a pretty impor-
tant channel here in NYC.
Radio Ink: What’s it like working with
WABC and the Cumulus people?
Abboud: They are a great partner. They
have brought more value-added than any
other experience I have ever had. It’s more
of a partnership than an advertiser rela-
tionship. If there are things they are doing
outside the show, they will have me on,
or make a mention. They really give you
three times more than what you pay for.
Part of it, I think, is that it is an
authentic relationship. I go way back with
the guys, but I always feel welcome. I feel
they treat my brand extremely well in a
very conversational, editorial way. Even
when they read the commercial, they put
a lot of energy into it. It’s not just a dead
read, which I hate. It’s not just lip-syncing
it. They make it feel so much more
authentic and more credible. I’m always
welcome over there. They are gracious.
Their whole team makes me feel very
welcome, and that to me is a really nice
thing.
Radio Ink: How do you translate the
visual medium of fashion into the
audio medium of radio?
Abboud: I’m not advertising a blue plaid
shirt. I’m talking about brand awareness,
about great tailoring — things you can
talk about. We don’t talk about price,
ever, in our ads. We’re not promotional in
that way for our flagship Joseph Abboud
store here in NYC. We really talk about
the quality, the style, the timelessness of
our clothing.
You know men are very hungry for
relevant fashion information. It’s amaz-
ing how Bernie and Sid can ask the right
questions, so if I were listening on the
radio I would say, “Oh, yeah, suits are
getting softer,” or, “You know what?
Linen is a great fabric.” We don’t have to
be visual. Storytelling, for me, has always
been the magic of radio.Radio Ink: What sets radio apart from
other advertising mediums?
Abboud: It’s the storytelling. You know,
you’re driving in the morning, they set
the stage, they talk about my factory in a
way that might not be possible to do visu-
ally. We employ 800 people in our factory
in New Bedford, Massachusetts. We have
been making in America for 30 years,
even before it was cool to be “Made in
America.” To just tell that story and the
way they do it — they lend authenticity
and credibility to a brand I started 31
years ago. I love that part of it.Radio Ink: How do you know radio is
working for you?
Abboud: The most elemental and primi-
tive way is that people come into the
store and say they heard me or the guys
on the radio talking about it. I’m not an
analytics guy that needs to see those
numbers. It’s awareness. You know,
people will walk by our store at 49th and
Madison and they take the time to stop
in and say they heard about us on Bernie
and Sid: “How long have you been here?
You know I’ve walked by many times, butnever noticed.” It’s the awareness — you
know, people pick their heads out of their
phones and look at our award-winning
windows. People in NYC are destination-
driven, they’re moving fast. So having
them aware they are near 49th and
Madison and thinking, “Hey, let me go in
and take a look,” is great.Radio Ink: What would you tell folks
who are considering using radio but
haven’t taken the leap yet?
Abboud: You know you used the right
word. It’s a leap of faith, but it’s a very,
very positive leap. It’s really more of a
question of where you advertise on radio
and what it is you are looking for. You
really have to think about the quality
of your ads and the message you want
to deliver. To me, I wanted to deliver an
authentic, credible message about being
a brand that specializes in beautiful
men’s tailoring. To talk about that, and
talk about the heritage of it, is important.
That’s the story we crafted for the com-
mercial I recorded, and the live read that
Bernie and Sid do. I told them, “Guys,
you just talk about it the way you feel
about it.” They do an amazing job. You
know, they do it a little bit differently
every day. They may throw something dif-
ferent in, or make a seamless transition
from a conversation they just had. So it
feels like they own it, that they are a part
of it, that they are a partner.Thanks to John Tyranski,
Cumulus New York
212.613.
[email protected]A display at the Madison Avenue Joseph Abboud store