Hey, we’re Waterloo Media. Even if you think you’ve never heard of us, we’ve probably crossed paths around town. You might listen to one of our radio stations at some point during the day. Or maybe you’ve found yourself at one of our iconic community events, like Blues on the Green.
So, who are we exactly? We’re a media company made up of music loving, experienced marketing professionals. We have media veterans who have spent decades building relationships around town sitting beside recent college grads who can answer your toughest social media questions, and everyone in between. Our team represents the rare combination of experience and forward thinking, bringing the best of each to the table.
Waterloo Media is connected to the Austin community with a reach that is unparalleled. We create marketing plans that deliver results for our clients and use our local footprint to help advertisers engage with potential customers in meaningful ways.
CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY
Roots
Our Austin roots go all the way back to 1939 (history buffs check out our timeline), but we know it’s not a sleepy college town anymore. It all began when Austin radio listeners first heard the call letters KTBC in 1939. Just three short years later, Lady Bird Johnson became the new licensee of KTBC, eventually changing the call letters to KLBJ-AM in 1973. Over the years many famous names have worked here including Nellie Connally, Harfield Weeden (who later became VP of CBS programming), Pat Adelman, J.C. “Jesse” Kellam, John Connally, Bonner McLane, Jake Pickle, Bill Moyers, and of course Cactus Pryor. Throughout it all, we’ve been connected to the community, providing up-to-the minute and relevant info every day including during major historical events like the Charles Whitman U.T. Tower Shooting, Bastrop Fires, Memorial Day Floods and COVID-19 pandemic.
Relationships
Our presence and longevity in the Austin community has enabled us to establish and foster deep relationships with individuals and institutions around town. We regularly host segments featuring Austin’s elected officials like the Mayor, City Council members, and Police Chief to provide information and resources for the community. Waterloo Media is an official media partner for SXSW and the ACL Music Festival, and we’re proud to partner with the City of Austin to deliver the longest running free outdoor concert series every summer in Zilker Park, Blues on the Green.
Responsibility
At Waterloo Media, our mission is to use media and entertainment to connect and ultimately strengthen our community, especially in the following areas:
- Attending to the basic needs of ALL residents – especially children. This means food, clothing, shelter, and safety.
- Looking out for our pets and other animals that depend on us.
- Supporting those who have honorably served our country in the military.
- Protecting our environment and the natural beauty of our city.
We provide ongoing support for over 20 local non-profits whose missions align with our focus areas, including Make-a-Wish, Austin Pets Alive, the Comfort Crew for Military Kids, and Keep Austin Beautiful. Our support largely consists of in-kind media donations through recurring annual radio station events like KGSR’s SXSW Broadcast benefitting Make-a-Wish and 101X’s Indie Xmas concert benefitting Austin’s Habitat for Humanity. The in-kind media we provide helps raise awareness and substantial donations for our non-profit partners.
REACH
Waterloo Media may be locally owned and operated but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete with the big boys. In fact, Waterloo Media has the largest local radio reach of any company in the Austin area. Combined, our eight radio stations reach over one million people every week! Our diverse combination of formats includes two Spanish language brands, giving advertisers the targetability they need in order to be succesful. Additionally, we offer full-service digital solutions and event sponsorship opportunities which, combined with local radio, give advertisers the ability to reach the entire market and take care of all of their marketing needs in one place.
RESULTS
Everyone seems to have a different definition of the word results, as it relates to advertising. The emergence and historical growth of digital advertising has only complicated things further. To set the record straight, advertising results should yield a return on an advertiser’s investment. That’s it! Advertisers purchase ads with the intent of being profitable. Anything less than profitable, unless we’re talking about an awareness campaign, is a failure. While other companies point to clicks, impressions, and visits as their definition for success, we point to things like leads generated and new customers acquired.
ENGAGEMENT
Other radio companies in Austin play to their strength, which is a national presence and the ability to place ads at scale for advertisers in multiple markets at once. Although Waterloo Media has the largest local radio reach in Austin, we’re still focused exclusively on the Austin community. Our local resources include state-of-the-art audio and video production studios and an entire team dedicated to helping advertisers engage with target consumers face-to-face at hundreds of events around town throughout the year.
Our Process
If you’re ready to learn more about Waterloo Media, step one is requesting a free, no obligation marketing consultation from one of our experienced marketing consultants. We’ll ask plenty of questions to learn about some of the unique marketing challenges your business is facing. From there, we’ll help to identify your target customers, what drives them and what sets you apart from the competition. Finally, we’ll work with you to develop a fully integrated custom plan to fit your needs and help you achieve measurable results.