The Amtower Report

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In this issue:
1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Evolving Radio Scene
3) Events Worth Attending

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

Item: Lorenz Hassenstein of PostNewsweekTech Media and I were the guests on Taking Care of Business with Brian Roberts (WMAL, Sunday, 3 PM) yesterday. If you missed the show, it will archived at Mr Roberts web site, www.CroixConnect.com, by midweek. It should be, as always, a good listen. More on radio and other media below.

Item: Many people have been asking when I am going to do a seminar in my native Maryland. Answer – February 23, 2006 – see below.

Item: Lots of folks asking about FY 2006 budgets and the spending level: where will it be? Flat at best, but probably down more than a little.

Item: My Hall of Fame at the new web site brought several questions and some comments. For those who know me or read me, you know I have some definite ideas and some strong opinions. The CompUSA place in the Hall of Fame is a classic example of a team effort – including the ad agency headed by Bob Gosselin, who was an integral member of the Bill Griffin-led team and who developed some very innovative marketing techniques. To my knowledge, no other reseller has ever made that kind of run in this market. If you have not yet seen the list, go to www.GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com/halloffame.html . Comments are welcome, but changes will not be made.

Related item: Many thanks to the first wave of members who joined our new site last week.

Item: Two weeks back WJLA (Albritton Communications, the local ABC affiliate) used their cable News Channel 8 to launch a Thursday evening (7:30 PM) half-hour Federal news show. I felt the first show lacked focus. I did not see the second week. Stay tuned for more on this one.

Item: Questions came in to me last week about the Government program at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. All info is second hand, but the reports to me indicate that this will go nowhere. While the content was reported to be good, the venue (Vegas) and the focus (consumer) is wrong. There is no immediate synergy between consumer electronics and the business of government.

Not that I have an opinion.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: THE EVOLVING RADIO SCENE

WTOP, the DC all news radio station, moved from AM to the FM dial last week for broader and better geographic coverage of the DC region. At the same it was announced The Washington Post will take over the old AM position (1500) on the local radio dial along with 107.7 FM, the old FM location, from WTOP. The Post plans a 24/7 news talk format that will start in March. I assume (and fervently hope) this means Business News will be a part of that, and further that Government Business News will be included as a regular feature. The way the press release was written I assume PostNewsweekTech Media will get some air-time, though they were not specifically mentioned. 

While there was nothing to indicate the all talk format would have any B2G news on it, it makes tremendous sense for the Washington Post to include PostNewsweekTech Media in the schedule, at least a couple times through the day. The main reason would be the advertisers it could attract.

The likelihood of government contractors listening to a 15 minute segment from Government Computer News or Washington Technology is infinitely higher than just about any contractor listening to WFED, the federal employee news radio station that seems to be filled with trivia about Federal employment from Mike Causey.

Overall this is a good move by the Post that could become a great move – especially if they begin to see that B2G may not be sexy in the Hollywood sense -no cleavage, no movie blockbuster weekends, no premiers and no stars. What the Post needs understand is the pervasive (not in an evil sense) nature of government, that Uncle Sam is Fortune One, and that government business is only sexy if you like money.

What it means to us is there will be one more element to the mix, and one more radio sales person in your voice mail.

Beware of the schlock vendors, producing minimal value events, events that eat your money with no significant return! The events listed below are among those I think are worth your time, money and effort. Just because an event is not listed below does not imply it is not worth attending. If you want my opinion on a specific event or producer, call me.

January 19, ITAA's Base Realignment & Closure: Moving Forward with Information Technology, Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City http://www.itaa.org/es/events/bracinvite.htm

January 25, 2006 National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, Virginia In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com

January 26, 2006 National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, Virginia In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com

February 2, 3rd Annual Strategies for Winning Government Contracts Matchmaker & Conference, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Sheraton Conference Center Burlington, VT http://www.vtsbdc.org/getcontracts.cfm

February 15, 2006 NSA/OPS 1 Building (Day 1), Fort Meade, Maryland In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com

February 22, 2006 NSA R&E Building (Day 1), Fort Meade, Maryland In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com

February 23,  GOVERNMENT MARKETING BEST PRACTICES – First Maryland Session – 10 Oaks Ballroom – Clarksville, Maryland, 9:00AM – Noon. www.FederalDirect.net/gmbpfeb23.html

February 23, 2006 NSA R&E Building (Day 2), Fort Meade, Maryland In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com

February 28 - March 1, 2006 FAA IT/ISS Conference, Denver, Colorado www.fbcinc.com

March 7-9, 2006: FOSE www.FOSE.com 
This will be the thirtieth anniversary of FOSE.

April 18, FEDERAL CHANNELS, Denver www.fbcinc.com

APRIL 19, 2006, Tower Club, Vienna, VA. Amtower & Company presents the one and only Amy Africa and THE ULTIMATE B2B WEB SITE MAKEOVER. For those of you who do not know Ms Africa, she is perhaps the most sought after web consultant in the world, and we have sixty seats available for her first ONE DAY session focusing exclusively on maximizing the impact of B2B and B2G web sites.  www.FederalDirect.net/ultimatewebsitemakeover.html

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As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower Report is published by Amtower & Company, and is written for companies targeting the government marketplace. The opinions expressed are those of Mark Amtower unless otherwise noted. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 314, Highland, MD 20777-0314 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. Email subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net