Name: Ken Schaffer, 48, of Brigantine
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Villanova University
Family: Single
Company: WIBG Radio LLC
Position: Account executive and on-air host
I grew up in the disc jockey business from about age 13, so I’ve been around music. I was on the tail end of the WIBG AM group of listeners in Philadelphia in 1977, the same year I started playing school dances.
Through the years I built Schaffer Sound Productions and we do corporate events and private parties, out of Media, Pa.
On air, I’m playing the music today that was Top 40 throughout the years of WIBG in Philadelphia. We stay true to that format that WIBG AM was playing back in the day.
In 1977 WIBG AM went off the air, and in 2009 WIBG came back as an FM music station. We use the old jingles and play clips from old shows. We’re really in the memory business.
As an account executive, basically I’m selling radio time. We try to create programs and events that generate interest, things like contests and live remote broadcasts.
As we build events, we sell the airtime to sponsors. I’ll meet with a business, try to learn who their target clients are, and we try to put a package together to try to reach their demographic.
The typical WIBG listener is 45-plus, and so businesses who would benefit from the baby boomers are potential clients for me.
If the station is a good fit for them, I’ll sit down with them and ask a series of questions. I will then get copy points from the business owner.
Radio is a theater of the mind, and we try to capture the listeners’ attention. The more creative we are in finding out a special niche, and the better I can translate that into copy, the more successful my client is.
Entry: My first radio job was WVLT in Vineland, and I was to host the Sunday Night Supper Club in 2003. From there I became the nighttime host on KOOL 98.3 in Atlantic County, from 2008 to 2010.
Then I was recruited to become the nighttime host on WIBG.
About me: I’m a big advocate of dog rescue and involved with Beacon Animal Rescue, and you’ll often find a few dogs at my house. I enjoy boating, fishing and over the years I’ve been an avid collector of vintage memorabilia and arcade games.
Business editor Kevin Post
