February 5, 2009: ToastedRav Celebrates 1 Year

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
February 5, 2009                    
Jen Danker
New Media Director
Bonneville Interactive Group – St. Louis




TOASTEDRAV.COM CELEBRATES FIRST BIRTHDAY WITH A REDESIGN

Bonneville St. Louis Media Group's Portal Boasts More Interactivity and Social Networking 

ST. LOUIS – Not everyone gets a facelift for their first birthday. But Bonneville St. Louis Media Group's ToastedRav.com decided to adopt a fresh look for the web site, created to be all about St. Louis, in order to celebrate the positive metamorphosis the web site has recently experienced. The newly refreshed web site destination is an upgrade and refinement of the initial web site that launched just one year ago, on January 31, 2008.

Combining the strengths of their FM products with the latest in new media content and online features, the updated ToastedRav.com web site has evolved into the place to find out what makes St. Louis truly one-of-a-kind, and what makes the locals tick.

ToastedRav.com was developed and designed as a destination website that takes Bonneville’s ability to engage and entertain listeners to an entirely new level.

Over the past year, the appeal of ToastedRav.com has gone beyond gooey butter cake and that proverbial "Where did you go to high school?" question to become one of the social media meccas for St. Louisans. With the tagline "Entertainment St. Louis Style!" the web site extols the uniqueness of St. Louis through the inclusion of originally produced audio and video, as well as the audience interaction aspects popular on social media web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

According to Bonneville St. Louis Media Group's New Media Director Jen Danker, "Since our initial launch, we've seen 60% more engagement, 30% more user sign-ups and 35% more page views. And the content of the web site has grown tenfold since our launch."



Danker comments, “For ToastedRav.com’s first birthday, we thought some "nips and tucks" were in order to keep it fresh and interesting. We've enhanced the web site with various upgrades, consisting of a different look and updated navigation, to allow for user-generated content where visitors can have a bigger role and 'start' the online – and even the on-air – conversation."

ToastedRav.com now includes features such as the "Loutopia" section with articles, audio and video highlights; distinct buttons on the navigation bar that lead directly to the radio station's main pages; expanded video features such as "Ask St. Louis" and "The Toast", which explores celebrity gossip gone wrong; an expanded Community Guide where businesses, churches, charitable groups and community organizations can post the latest information about upcoming events and activities; and a blog/forum area for visitors and staff to "Shout!" their thoughts and opinions, or to post whatever they are passionate about.

"We've tried to keep everything about the location of content and functionality intact, but with a more polished look and distinct styles for each of the radio station sections," notes Danker. "We're hoping the redesign will be a hit with our staff, our listeners and online fans alike."

Besides the changes to the web site's look, feel and navigation, Bonneville also changed up and expanded the staff of ToastedRav.com over the past year, adding new media journalists Audrey Holaday and Melody Meiners, as well as videographer Mike Merenda into the mix. Danker comments, "Mike, Melody and Audrey have played key roles in the metamorphosis that ToastedRav.com has experienced this past year, along with the help of Lead Developer Mike Flynn, Video Producer Chris Files and Graphic/Web Designer Margo Hughes."

ToastedRav.com's increase in traffic and content over the past year has also translated into more advertisers on the web site. New Media Sales Manager Kim Grant comments, "We've experienced a tremendous increase in the number of savvy advertisers that are combining their on-air efforts with a presence on our website.”  She adds, “Our revenue from on-line advertising has consistently grown over 25% each year by building high-value, high-engagement, integrated marketing solutions for our clients.  More and more of our "traditional" radio advertisers now have "interactive" budgets while others have shifted a portion of their traditional media spend to our on-line products."  

Grant notes, "When you look at all the research being done, it just makes good business sense to combine an interactive campaign with your traditional radio buy.  Not to mention the fact that our listening audiences expect to find out more about our on-air advertisers by going to our website."  

Bonneville St. Louis Vice President and Market Manager John Kijowski comments, "Radio is inherently a localized, entertainment-based media, and ToastedRav.com is a natural extension from our core business. When we introduced the web site a year ago, our team initially looked at the localized new media opportunities available to the St. Louis market, and determined that local entertainment content and St. Louis-centric social media opportunities were greatly underserved on established St. Louis-oriented web sites."


Kijowski continues, "The recent local trend shows that our traditional radio advertisers have increased their ad expenditures to take advantage of the incredible audience opportunity ToastedRav.com offers." He adds, "Based on the popularity of the web site over the past year, both for our listeners and our advertisers, we believe that ToastedRav.com will continue its significant growth, both in audience and advertiser figures."

To learn more about Bonneville St. Louis Radio Group's new media opportunities and ToastedRav.com, please contact New Media Director Jen Danker at or ; or New Media Sales Manager Kim Grant at or .


About ToastedRav.com
ToastedRav.com is a website about, for and by St. Louisans. The website's goal is to entertain the public with engaging video, stories and opinions about St. Louis people, places, events and history while providing the public with a forum to contribute opinions, views and information.

ToastedRav.com topics span a broad range of categories - everything from where to eat dinner, take the family this weekend or find the latest fashions around town; to the hottest celebrity gossip; to views and perspectives all about the wonderful, strange and sublime around St. Louis. After all, like Toasted Ravioli, it's a St. Louis thing.

For more information, please visit ToastedRav.com.


About Bonneville International
Bonneville St. Louis is an affiliate of Bonneville International, which was founded in 1964 and currently owns and operates 29 radio stations in the Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Phoenix, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City markets. It also owns and operates KSL Television (NBC affiliate) and has operating divisions of Bonneville Communications and Bonneville Satellite in Salt Lake City. Bonneville's motto is "Do good, do well, make a difference, and have fun."

In addition to competing aggressively in major-market broadcasting by structuring its business model on the three principles of building its people, making a difference in the community, and meeting aggressive financial goals, Bonneville also enjoys a longstanding reputation and is known industry-wide for its nationally recognized and award-winning commitment to serving the communities where it broadcasts.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Bonneville is known for its innovative business model and is a national leader in providing quality, values-oriented media products.