UNC STUDENT RADIO

BUSINESS PLAN

Mason Harrison, Patrick Carlson, James Conlan

 Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………........2

II. General Company Description……………………………………………………………....3

III. Products and Services…………………………………………………………....……..…....5

IV. Marketing Plan……………………………………………………………………….……...6

V. Operational Plan………………………………………………………………………….....10

VI. Management and Organization……………………………………………………………...12

VII. Startup Expenses and Capitalization………………………………………………………...13

VIII. Financial Plan……………………………………………………………………………….14

IX. Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………16

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 Executive Summary
UNC Student Radio, rebranded as BEARSX radio, will reinvigorate the outdated and underutilized media
that is student radio. This is shown through the new location (the UNC Mirror Building), new branding
(BEARSX), updated budget, and its new use of the journalism department.

The station will be programmed with students in mind, utilizing the traits of the university and
highlighting subjects like community affairs, local news, and local music. There is vast opportunity to
connect with other JMS students within the UNC Mirror building, which will house the radio station,
while giving the station a designated location and allowing its branding to grow. As an online station, as
opposed to a AM/FM station, we have the opportunity to grow BEARSX past financial and legal barriers
that are presented within a terrestrial radio station.

By attaching BEARSX to the JMS program, we have the potential to teach students the basics of
managing a business, while providing them a real-world opportunity, something sought out by students
across the country.

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 General Company Description
BEARSX is an entity of the UNC Student Network that has the potential to grow and engage the vast
variety of UNC Students.

Mission Statement:
The mission for BEARSX is to create a new means of communication throughout the UNC community. It
will allow a large scale of different people to converse on a media that is underrepresented in the Greeley
community. BEARSX is driven by educational purposes.

Radio Goals & Objectives:

Our objective is to have a sustainable student radio station. The most successful way to do this is to house
the club within the JMS program, allowing students to learn in a real world environment.
Internal Affairs
● Establish an organizational structure
○ Trustee
○ Advisor
○ Board of Directors
● Create sustainable program allowing ease of transition
● Establish a program schedule
○ News (Local & National)
○ Music (Local & National)
○ Community
External Affairs
● Reach 5% of UNC population
● Create advertising/marketing
○ Create logo
○ Create user-friendly website
○ Establish branding
○ Host at least one event per semester

Business Philosophy:
This radio station will be key in communication across UNC and the Greeley community. With the ability
to stream relevant news inside the various businesses UNC runs, BEARSX will bring a community
together in a way never experienced.

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Company Description:
BEARSX will have programming mainly relevant to UNC Students. As a non commercial channel, we
will not sell advertising to businesses, however we will give them the opportunity to advertise on
BEARSX through a variety of means.

Radio is a booming means of communication. It has one of the longest survival rates amongst media,
meaning that with a proper infrastructure, BEARSX has potential for massive growth within the
community. With the growth initiative set in by UNC president Kay Norton, BEARSX will have a
continuously growing student body to present media to for years to come.

The main strength of BEARSX is it’s underrepresentation. We are a community that promotes
involvement, yet rely on no means to transport a message. With BEARSX as a resource, there will be a
complete change of communication across the UNC campus. Our combined group gives the organization
a great opportunity to succeed, with experience in marketing, advertising and branding, which are all key
to the success of BEARSX.

BEARSX will be a club at the University of Northern Colorado.

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 Products and Services
Programming to Listeners
UNC’s Student Radio will be streamed over the Internet due to the lack of resources to be a terrestrial
radio. This is a more cost-efficient way of conducting business without the high expenditures of an
AM/FM radio station.

News:
Sports: Cover the major university sporting events (football, basketball, soccer, etc.) as well as smaller
club sporting events (hockey, running, golf, etc.), provide a rundown of the different games from the
week, cover major sports stories from around the country ex. Score of the Broncos game and provide
interviews from the various athletes and coaches at UNC.

Community: Up-to-date coverage on UNC & Greeley News (Kay Norton’s retirement, for example), local
announcements, or relevant Colorado news. Additionally could provide short updates on national events,
however will not provide in-depth details as there are countless organizations to receive it. BEARSX
could work with the Greeley Tribune to report relevant and official news, giving the Tribune the
opportunity to reach UNC Students directly (“this update brought to you by the Greeley Tribune”).

Miscellaneous: Cover any smaller events that UPC or student life hosts on campus (Open Mic Night,
Homecoming, Greek Week, etc.). Announce any organization’s events held on and off campus.

Music:
BEARSX will be a great platform for local Colorado artists. It can act as a broadcast medium for
musicians across the state. Additionally, the station could team up with Ely Corliss, owner of the Moxi
Theater and Bandwagon Magazine to find some local talent. The station could also broadcast live events
at the Moxi Theater. This could act as a means of competition as well (for instance, broadcast a Battle of
the Bands where the winner opens for the official UNC Spring Concert).

Competitive Advantages:
UNC’s Student Radio will be the most relevant communication platform for UNC students and faculty.
The news content will be revolved around all current events relating to the university. The organization
will also update the viewers with news within the city and state, as well as major national news. To keep
relevance with its audience, the station will focus on local news, as there are multiple platforms to receive
national news, and local news is underrepresented in the community.
The station is free to use, available online at unco.edu/uncradio at any time. Additionally, the station will
be absolutely ad-free, allowing more airtime for relevant information, such as announcements from local
businesses, fraternities and sororities, and student-run organizations.

Since the station will have an understanding of the majority audience (millennials), BEARSX will be
convenient and easy to use. This medium will be easily accessible through a user-friendly and easy-to-
navigate website. For students that are mobile, they can download the BEARSX app.

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 Marketing Plan for BEARSX
Situation Analysis:
The University of Northern Colorado student radio is currently not being used, but with the right
infrastructure and plan in place our team believes we can properly start it up again. This new student
radio would be accessible through a 24/7 online stream and through a mobile application. The main
purposes of the student radio would be to inform and entertain students, alumni, and faculty at UNC.
Doing this by creating quality content catered towards those groups of people. The student radio would
also help students gain valuable experience in radio by volunteering. Some problems that may be faced
by the student radio would be lack of student participation. However, this could be avoided by offering
incentives for students to participate in through contests. To stimulate participation with the student body
radio personalities would be encouraged to use social media to communicate with the audience on a
regular basis.
Strengths Weaknesses
Informs and entertains students, alumni, and Lack of student participation
faculty Cost to run radio
Gives students more of a voice on campus Constant turnover of staff from graduation
Gives students valuable experience in radio

Opportunities Threats
Promote university sponsored events Other radio stations around Greeley and
surrounding areas

Identify Opportunities

Target Segmentation
The potential target segments are determined using geodemographics, specifically by location, age group,
and student standing. As far as location, the segments are consumers in or around Greeley or UNC
(Students & Faculty) and consumers who are not located in or around Greeley or UNC (Parents &
Alumni). The age group segment involves consumers belonging in the 17-25 years of age group, or
consumers who are outside of that age range. The segments pertaining to student standing are UNC
students, non-UNC students and potential UNC students. Another segment to keep in mind is whether the
consumers are convenience-focused or tradition-focused. These may be considered psychographic
segmentation. Convenience-focused consumers want acquiring information to be simple and easy, and
prefer a “one stop shop” approach. So, a radio station where they can get their news and entertainment all
in one place. Over time we would focus on, tradition-focused consumers who tend to stick to what they
know. They use things that have been around for a while and that they have most likely previously used,
sticking to a more “tried and true” kind of product. They may keep using only the products or services
that they have been using for years until they no longer have the option to. This may be hard to

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accomplish right away but if we cater some programming to alumni. That will be when marketing to the
tradition-focused consumers will come into play.

Target Marketing
The main segment that BEARSX will be marketed to are consumers between the ages of 17-25 years
old*, attending UNC and residing in or around Greeley, Colorado. BEARSX will also be initially
marketing more toward the convenience-focused consumers, as they will appreciate the convenience of a
radio station that is specifically geared towards their needs and wants in a way that’s easily accessible.
*There may be exceptions to this age range due to the number of non-traditional students who attend
colleges and universities, the University of Northern Colorado in particular.

Target Positioning
The plan is to position BEARSX so that it is easily accessible from anywhere. BEARSX wants to be able
to reach out to UNC students (generally aged 17-25 years) who want original programming and news
specifically catered to them as students. It is understood that life in college can be crazy and hectic, so
BEARSX would provide an escape from this stressful life with programs that they can connect to and
take part in, creating a community for students to participate in. Because of this, the goal is to ensure that
BEARSX is readily convenient. It will be very straightforward and easy to find, and will act as a “one-
stop-shop” for students to get all the information and entertainment that they need. By accomplishing
these things, BEARSX will meet the needs of its target segments.

Target Interaction:
BEARSX plans to have their audience interact with the organization. Listeners will be able to
easily contact the station to play a song they want to hear. There will also be contests held over
the air on some shows. Whether it is on the website or through the app, there will be a place for
them to participate in the contest. Another opportunity for the station to interact with their
audience is during hosted events and covering campus events.

Marketing Mix

Product
Commercial free radio that is streamed on the internet and through a mobile app.

Price
Student Radio will be a free service to consumers due to the fees of students’ tuition.

Location
On campus preferably in either the new campus commons or in the university center.

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Promotion
- Host events: To promote the organization by hosting concerts.
- Contests: BEARSX can host contests over the air. This will increase audience interaction too.
Branding
UNC Student Radio will have a new name, something like “BEARSX” or “UNCX” to help identify the
brand, and update the name from “UNC Student Radio”. BEARSX will have it’s own branding, fitting
under the University of Northern Colorado Branding Guidelines. The branding will be consistent across
all platforms (e.g. Facebook, BEARSX Website, Tents & Banners, Van Wraps, etc.). Only BEARSX will
be allowed to give rights to use their branding. Below are some examples of BEARSX’s new branding,
including a new logo and color scheme. Please check the appendix for further examples of BEARSX
branding.

Potential mockup of van wrap.

Potential mockup of buttons.

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Economics
The total size of the listening audience would be about 16,000 people. According to the Fall 2017 Census
Enrollment Plan, there are 12,968 undergraduate and graduate students. And there are about 3,000 faculty and
employees of UNC. BEARSX’s market share would be around 90% to 95% of the university’s population taking
into account the local radio stations that cater to the Greeley community.
The current demand in the target market for programs would be based off of the survey given to the student body of
UNC. Internet radio broadcasting has been steadily growing over the past five years because of mobile internet
usage and changing consumer preferences to online music streaming applications like Spotify and Pandora to name
a few.

Mobile application marketing

According to a 2015 study conducted by Pearson they found out that about 8 out of 10 college students
have a smartphone that they use on a regular basis. Based off of this information it can be assumed that
the UNC’s student radio mobile application could fall into the hands of around 9,808 students. The
mobile application would be free to download and use but the opportunity to sell advertisement space on
the app is there. Using a pay per view model BEARSX could get 50 dollars for every 2,250 views
according to Team App Advertising. So if 9,808 students on average open the app 3.5 times per day they
app could make around 5,400 dollars in a week off of advertisements.

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 Operational Plan
Programming
Club
The plan for student radio as a club organization would be to review and rewrite the clubs
constitution and bylaws, using the templates shown in the appendix.The professor for the media
management class would act as the adviser for student radio.

In addition to having an adviser, there will be a trustee that supervises the organization.This
trustee position will be given to somebody that is outside of the University and specializes in the
radio industry. Trustee position will be paid for his/her time during the weeks of the fall and
spring semesters.

Student radios board of directors would consist of students from the media management course.
And after a board of directors has been established, the interview process for department
managers would take place. After that it's up to the discretion of the managers to assign the
various dj roles, talk hosts, anchors, etc.

Management Class
This class will act as the liaison between the journalism program and student radio. Student radio
can be beneficial to the students by giving them a hands on experience learning environment.
The students in this class will be head of a department and as a director on the board. After a few
weeks of the students being head of a department, there can be a rotation so the students can
learn and experience different aspects of the organization. Right now the schedule for this class
in Fall 2017 is 3:30pm to 4:45 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One of the days can be in the
classroom for lecture, and the other day will be at the BEARSX station.

Here are a list of benefits and opportunities students, the program, and the university can benefit
if this organization is managed by the media management class.
● The trustee and supervisor will have the time and availability to advise and help manage
the station.
● Students who are interested in radio can now be educated and have an opportunity to
experience the communication medium of radio.
● This station can attract new students to join the program.
● Students can collaborate with Bear News. (Ex. is a story better for television or radio?)
● The News & Editorial emphasis students can benefit by being reporters for the radio
station.
● The Strategic Communications emphasis students can use the statistics and data of
Student Radio to come up with marketing, advertising, or promotional plans.
● Still be available to students that are not in the Journalism and Media Studies Program
● This enforces the radio’s mission statement by having it be ran for educational purposes.

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 ● Student experience
● Resume
● Course or internship credit
●
Location
BEARSX will operate above the UNC Mirror newspaper building. This will give UNC Students
the opportunity to work closely with the Mirror, while creating a hub for JMS students to
network.

Legal Environment
● Trademarks, copyrights, patents:
○ Automatic copyrights: content created by someone (Podcasts, Local Music)
Personnel
● Number of Employees: 5-10
● Type of Labor: Volunteer, Paid position (advisor/trustee)
● Quality of Staff: Students & Faculty
Inventory
Current Inventory:
● Van
● Tent
● Standard Radio Equipment
● Web Space

Potential Inventory:
● App Space
● Current/updated Standard Radio Equipment

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 Management & Organizations
Organizational Chart

Trustee(s) Adviser

Board of Directors

News Sports Promotions Music PR &

Marketing
Positions & Key Functions

Trustee(s)
The Trustee is a hired position, potentially someone in the industry who knows how to run a
student radio. Their roles would include ensuring the station runs smoothly.

Adviser
The adviser would have the same accountability of the trustee, but would be the professor of the
Media Management class. Their roles include teaching the students the information they need to
run the business.

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors would be students in the Media Management class. They would act under
the Trustee, as well as the advisor. They would meet as a class one day a week to learn, and meet
the other day of the week in the studio to run the station.

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 Startup Expenses & Capitalization

Expenses
Pacifica Internet Technology Package 2,100
Soundexchange 500
Office Supplies 300
Printing 500
Postage 120
Equipment 1,500
Marketing 1,000

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 Financial Plan

Detail Budget: $20,186.00 annually

EXPENSE AMOUNT Notes

Trustee $6,000.00

Licensing $2,600.00

Equipment $1,500.00 startup cost

Office supplies $920.00

Promotional/sponsored $4,000.00 $2,000 per semester

events

Marketing $1,000.00 startup cost

T-shirts/swag $2,000.00

Cultural Development $2,000.00

Miscellaneous $166.00

Total $20,186.00

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Trustee
Given $4,000 annually to supervise the organization during the weeks of the fall and spring
semester.

Licensing
The licensing is for the Pacifica Internet Technology Package and for soundexchange.

Office Supplies
These expenses would be for the basic necessities of any administrative work, as well as printing
and postage.

Marketing
This is a startup cost to pay for the van wrap and new logo print outs.

Cultural Development
We believe to keep the retention of students to keep BEARSX running for years to come, there
should be some money invested in retreats or other resources to promote the student work that
goes into this organization.

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 Appendix

Constitution & Bylaws

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For sources on student media organization constitutions, bylaws, and other forms for conducting
business, go to: https://www.askcbi.org/resources/station-documents/

BEARSX Website Example

https://patrickjcarlson.wixsite.com/bearsx

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