Doug Zanger
Recently my colleague Doug Zanger was selected as the first ever Radio Jury President for the prestigious London International Awards. Shortly thereafter I was appointed to the Jury with 22 other folks, tasked with judging radio creative from around the world. Last years’ winning radio entries were produced in Johannesburg and Hamburg. It’s been sometime since I worked in radio, but I’m looking forward to being part of this process.
Doug has set up AmerWeCan Radio, a hilarious push to get more American radio stations to enter the “Conceived by Radio Station” category of the LIAs. Apparently no American radio station has ever won this award, and AmerWeCan mouthpiece Brett Britland takes great umbrage at this horrific oversight.
Doug is also pushing the IDA (It Didn’t Air) Awards to recognize great creative that never quite made it past the “creative review” process and onto the airwaves. I look forward to hearing what almost was (or what never had a chance).
As founder and CEO of Xhang Creative, a Portland, Oregon-based radio and audio content creative agency/consultancy, Doug Zanger is a leading voice for creativity in radio. Doug’s other ventures include pOne partners, a radio-station/company-centric business that serves as a full creative resource for radio stations and groups and Small Plate Radio, an online audio content creation group that has been running “pop-up” radio stations for advertising and industry trade events. Doug is also the mastermind behind Good Radio Stories, an online PR service dedicated to showcasing the charitable works of radio stations and companies around the country. Good Radio Stories is a Radio 2020 project commissioned by the Radio Advertising Bureau, National Association of Broadcasters and HD Radio Alliance.
“Dr. Z” also blogs on Advertising Age’s Small Agency Diary and is an adjunct professor at Mount Hood Community College in Oregon, where he lectures about the importance of radio and advertising.
He is also an active donor for the Freeplay Foundation, a non-profit organization that distributes hand-cranked and solar powered radios to remote areas of Africa with the purpose of delivering content and messaging that helps stem the tide of poverty.
I’m probably missing several things, but I think that description is sufficient. When does Doug ever sleep?!
UPDATE: After judging nearly 150 spots, I’ve listened to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
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