On air: fall furnace tune-up
South Bend · Mishawaka · Niles · Elkhart · Goshen · All of Michiana
Christopher AlumbaughMarketing strategy for local businesses · Federated Media since 2014
Make marketingwork together.
Turn attention into momentum. Brand, radio, digital, search, follow-up and customer experience, built as one system instead of a pile of pieces.
The real problem
You're not doing nothing. That's the problem.
Most local businesses already have the pieces. A website, a Facebook page, some ads, maybe radio, an email list, reviews, a salesperson, a CRM.
I call it spaghetti marketing: throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Each piece gets set up by a different person, at a different time, for a different reason. Nobody decides how they should hand people off to each other. So the radio spot sends people to a website that doesn't mention the offer. The form fills go to an inbox nobody checks on Saturday. The happy customer never gets asked for a review.
Go ahead, press play.
CAKEor
Every piece of your marketing is on the table. None of it is connected. Can you make it CAKE?
About a minute
your-marketing (not responding)
Leaks found0/8
Budget: gone by 10 a.m.
Headline: ☀ Summer AC Sale
Number on the site: the old one
Last login: sometime in March
Last sent: over a year ago
Times anyone asked: 0
Find the leaks: press the buttons, or connect two ● with a noodle.
Now yours. Which of these leak in your business? Tap any.
Every piece is working.
None of them are working together.
Meet Christopher
I'd rather ask than pitch.
The first conversation isn't about what you should buy. It's four questions, across the table.
- 01What are you trying to accomplish?
- 02What are you doing now?
- 03Where is it breaking?
- 04What should happen next?
I've been a Marketing Consultant at Federated Media in South Bend since 2014. Radio is one of the most powerful tools I work with, and so are digital, search, email, contests, events, reputation and the customer experience itself. What I bring is knowing how those pieces affect each other, and building them into one plan that fits your business, your budget and your market.
Before that, I spent four years as a regional manager for Anytime Fitness, running club operations. I've been the one responsible for the members, the staff and the budget, not just the one selling the ads.
The marketing flywheel
South Bend, Indiana
Every business in this city is competing for attention.
Right now
Your marketing probably looks like this.
Every piece is working.
None of them together.
Make marketing work together
Eight stages.
One system.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Understand
Start with what is actually happening.
The business, the customer, the market, the competition, the reputation. Before anything gets made, figure out where the real opportunity is.
- Customer research
- Competitors
- Reputation
- Market data
What I'd use at Federated MediaStation listening data by industry, plus a review of your current results before we change anything.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Create
Give people a reason to care.
Positioning, message, offer, campaign idea and creative. One clear idea that every channel can carry.
- Positioning
- Offer
- Campaign idea
- Creative
What I'd use at Federated MediaCreative from FM production: a spot, an offer and a message every channel can repeat word for word.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Amplify
Put the idea where people already are.
Radio, host endorsements, social, video, display, email, events and promotions. Chosen for the job, not out of habit.
- Radio
- Endorsements
- Social
- Video
- Display
- Events
What I'd use at Federated MediaA drive-time schedule on the stations your customers already listen to, with a host endorsement if trust matters.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Be Found
Attention turns into a search.
When someone hears about you, they look you up. Google, your website, local listings, content, and the AI tools people now ask for recommendations.
- SEO
- Local listings
- Content
- AI discovery
What I'd use at Federated MediaBranded search and local listings timed to your radio flights, so people who hear you can find you.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Convert
Make the next step obvious.
Landing pages, offers, forms, calls and appointments. One clear action at the moment someone is ready to take it.
- Landing pages
- Offers
- Forms
- Calls
- Booking
What I'd use at Federated MediaA landing page built for the campaign, matched to the spot, with call and form tracking.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Nurture
Don't let interest go cold.
Email, automation, retargeting, CRM and real sales follow-up, so the people who raised their hand hear back.
- Automation
- Retargeting
- CRM
- Sales follow-up
What I'd use at Federated MediaA station contest that builds an opt-in list you own, then email and retargeting to follow up.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Delight
The experience is the marketing.
What happens after the sale decides the reviews, the referrals and the repeat business. Marketing does not stop at the register.
- Reviews
- Referrals
- Retention
- Repeat business
What I'd use at Federated MediaA review and referral ask built into the customer experience, and events where customers meet you in person.
Your Checkup flagged this stage
Learn
Feed what works back in.
Measure what is creating demand, fix what is not, and carry every lesson into the next turn of the wheel.
- Tracking
- Attribution
- Reporting
- Testing
What I'd use at Federated MediaWebsite lift tracking so you can see traffic move when the spots air, and a monthly look at what to shift.
The system
Now it turns.
Every stage hands people to the next, and what you learn at the end makes the whole loop stronger. It isn't a list of deliverables. It's momentum.
Find your weakest stageThe marketing flywheel
Every impression should lead somewhere.
Understand
Start with what is actually happening.
The business, the customer, the market, the competition, the reputation. Before anything gets made, figure out where the real opportunity is.
- Customer research
- Competitors
- Reputation
- Market data
Create
Give people a reason to care.
Positioning, message, offer, campaign idea and creative. One clear idea that every channel can carry.
- Positioning
- Offer
- Campaign idea
- Creative
Amplify
Put the idea where people already are.
Radio, host endorsements, social, video, display, email, events and promotions. Chosen for the job, not out of habit.
- Radio
- Endorsements
- Social
- Video
- Display
- Events
Be Found
Attention turns into a search.
When someone hears about you, they look you up. Google, your website, local listings, content, and the AI tools people now ask for recommendations.
- SEO
- Local listings
- Content
- AI discovery
Convert
Make the next step obvious.
Landing pages, offers, forms, calls and appointments. One clear action at the moment someone is ready to take it.
- Landing pages
- Offers
- Forms
- Calls
- Booking
Nurture
Don't let interest go cold.
Email, automation, retargeting, CRM and real sales follow-up, so the people who raised their hand hear back.
- Automation
- Retargeting
- CRM
- Sales follow-up
Delight
The experience is the marketing.
What happens after the sale decides the reviews, the referrals and the repeat business. Marketing does not stop at the register.
- Reviews
- Referrals
- Retention
- Repeat business
Learn
Feed what works back in.
Measure what is creating demand, fix what is not, and carry every lesson into the next turn of the wheel.
- Tracking
- Attribution
- Reporting
- Testing
Now it turns.
This is what making marketing work together means.
Each stage hands people to the next one, and what you learn at the end makes the whole loop stronger. It isn't a list of deliverables. It's a system that builds momentum every time it goes around.
Find your weakest stageThe work
Saying it is easy. Here's the work.
What connected marketing looks like for real Michiana businesses, numbers and all.
Some of the Michiana businesses I've worked with
- Roof Maxx
- Pella Windows & Doors of Northern Indiana
- Metal Supermarkets
192Calls from Facebook call ads, Oct 15 – Dec 30, 2025 (Meta-reported)
Music education
Filling lesson rosters by learning what actually made the phone ring.
AmplifyBe FoundConvertNurtureDelightLearn
Read the story15Homeowners who opted in to hear from Legacy (31.9% of entrants)
Home services
A radio contest that built a list of homeowners who asked to hear from you.
CreateBe FoundConvertNurtureLearn
Read the storyWhat I help with
The tool is not the strategy.
Start with what the business needs, then pick the tools that belong in the system. Everything I help with falls into three outcomes.
01Awareness
Get known by the right people.
Brand story · Creative campaigns · Radio · Host endorsements · Video · Social · Promotions · Events
Flywheel Understand → Create → Amplify
02Conversion
Catch the demand you create.
Search · Websites · Landing pages · Offers · Lead generation · Calls to action · Follow-up systems
Flywheel Be Found → Convert → Nurture
03Loyalty
Keep them coming back.
Customer experience · Email · Reviews · Referrals · Reputation · Measurement
Flywheel Delight → Learn
Behind the plan
I don't have to rent attention.
Federated Media owns the infrastructure.
A lot of marketers can buy media. I work inside a company that owns it: the stations, the on-air voices and the events are local, and they're Federated Media's own. So a plan can start with what your business needs, not with what someone else has to resell.
Owned airwaves
Ten station brands across South Bend and Fort Wayne. Federated Media controls the inventory, so a schedule is built around your goals, with no middleman in the price.
Reach no one can resell
And it answers to this market: family-owned since 1952, home of 100-year-old WOWO, with decisions made in Indiana.
Radio advertisingAudiences you keep
Station contests and loyalty programs build opt-in lists of real local people who agreed to hear from you. The contacts are yours to keep, not a rented lookalike segment.
First-party data
Why it compounds: every campaign adds to a list you own and can follow up with.
Contesting & first-party dataMeasurement you can see
Website lift tracking, digital audio verification and in-dash data line up each flight with what happened on your website and phones. No single signal proves everything, but together they show what to keep and what to change.
Measurement, not mystery
The multiplier: radio changes what people search for, so the digital side is timed around the schedule.
FM case studiesSeven ways in
Whichever door fits the goal, it plugs into the same system.
- Radio Advertising Spots, sponsorships and endorsements across ten station brands: the reach everything else is built on.Amplify
- In-Car Dashboard Ads Your logo and message on the dash screen while your spot plays.Amplify · Be Found
- Podcast Advertising Host-read placements and fully produced branded podcasts.Amplify · Create
- Social Influencer On-air personalities your market already trusts, working your brand into their feeds and their shows.Amplify · Delight
- Recruitment Marketing Reach working people where job boards can't: in the car, on the way to their current job.Amplify · Convert
- Contesting & First-Party Data Contests that turn listeners into opt-in contacts you own: names, emails and what they need.Nurture · Delight
- Digital & Content Marketing Search, display, video, streaming audio, email and content, timed to the radio schedule so every channel says one thing.Be Found · Convert · Learn
The infrastructure
Five South Bend brands.
Every audience that matters.
South Bend
100.7 FMB100CountryToday's Best & Most Country, adults 25–54
95.3 FM95.3 MNCNews / TalkEngaged, affluent homeowners
103.9 FM103.9 The BearRockHome of The Jason Lee & Kluck Show
102.7 FMFroggy 102.7Hot ACElkhart County's own station
StreamMNC NationNews / TalkNews/talk, streaming
Plus five more brands in Fort Wayne, including WOWO.Fort Wayne stationsSouth Bend market
Family-owned since 1952 · Home of WOWO, 100 years on the air
Michiana
Local roots.
Bigger thinking.
You don't need an agency hundreds of miles away to get sophisticated marketing. You need someone who knows the market you actually sell in.
I live and work here. I know how people in Michiana find a business, which stations they listen to, which events fill up, which neighborhoods talk to each other, and how fast a reputation travels in a region this size.
That local knowledge is part of the strategy, not a line in the footer.
- South Bend
- Mishawaka
- Elkhart
- Granger
- Goshen
- Niles
- St. Joseph County
- Michiana
Writing
I've been saying this since 2020.
Long before this site, I was writing about spaghetti marketing, connected campaigns and what actually makes local marketing work.
The tools keep changing. The idea hasn't. Everything here is organized around the same system I use with clients today.
- Strategy and message
- Radio and getting noticed
- Search, listings and AI
- Leads and follow-up
- Customer experience
- Measurement
- Sep 2026Spaghetti Marketing, Six Years LaterIn 2020 I wrote about throwing marketing at the wall to see what sticks. Most local businesses are still doing it. Here is where it actually breaks, and where to start fixing it.
- May 2026Your Front Desk Is Your MarketingPeople don’t refer friends because of your ad. They refer them because of how they were treated. The people who greet, answer and follow up are the experience, so train the handoff, not just the pitch.
- Feb 2026Where Local Attention Is NowYour customers’ attention is split across the car radio, streaming audio, connected TV, short video, search and AI answers. You don’t need all of them. You need the right few, connected.
- Nov 2025Plan Next Year Around What This Year Taught YouBefore you set next year’s marketing budget, look hard at this one: what brought customers in, where they leaked out, what to stop and what to double. Budget on evidence, not habit.
Questions & answers
Everything business owners ask me first.
No. The business problem decides the tools. Sometimes the right first move is radio. Sometimes it's fixing your follow-up or your Google profile before you spend another dollar on attention. If radio isn't the right move yet, I'll tell you.
For a lot of local businesses, yes. Radio reaches people in the car, often close to when they buy. Website lift tracking lets us compare your site activity with the exact hours your spots aired, which gives us another signal of what the campaign moved. No single measurement tells the whole story, so I look at lift, searches, calls and leads together.
It depends on your goals, market and mix. Most businesses start somewhere between a focused single-station test and a full multi-station system with digital. Because Federated Media owns the stations, there's no middleman markup, and every plan is priced against the outcome it's built to produce.
Website lift tracking lines up your site sessions with the exact hours the spots aired. Digital audio verification confirms the spots ran. Contests, landing pages and tracked phone numbers count real leads with names attached. You get one report that puts what you spent next to what happened, and we decide together what to keep.
Traditional agencies buy media from vendors and resell it. Federated Media owns the stations and the events, and the audiences they've earned. And I look at the whole system, including the parts I don't sell: your reviews, your follow-up, your website. A plan only works if every piece hands off to the next.
Mostly Michiana: South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Granger, Goshen, Niles and the towns in between. Federated Media also has five stations in Fort Wayne if your customers are there too.
You get your brief right away, on the page. If you choose to send it to me, I'll look it over and reach out with one or two ideas specific to your business. No obligation, and no hard sell.