Veterans affairs board votes to table radio advertising proposal

July 13--The Jasper County Veteran Affairs Commission voted unanimously to table a proposal from radio station KCOB during its monthly meeting on Wednesday. Commissioners were interested in the proposal, but ultimately felt that it would be too costly.

KCOB, which broadcasts at 95.9FM and 1280AM is a subsidiary of Alpha Media, and broadcasts in the Newton area. Their proposal included a feature news sponsorship, 500 commercials to be aired throughout the year and exposure during Newton Cardinals and St. Louis Cardinals games. The station's price for the package is $14,040, and they offered to split the cost with the commission, leaving the board with a cost of $7,020, which would be split into monthly payments of $585.

The radio station created a sample commercial they played for the commission. While members were impressed, the veterans agreed the cost was prohibitively high.

"I really wish they weren't charging so much," chairwoman Marta Ford said. "I really liked that commercial."

Kurt Jackson, the director of the Veteran Affairs Commission, said while he was intrigued by the possibilities of radio advertising, the cost was prohibitive. Jackson explained the commission has a yearly budget of $10,000 to spend on outreach efforts to connect with veterans in Jasper County, and the $7,020 cost of radio advertising would take up the majority of his advertising budget.

"Unless they can lower the price significantly, I'm not sure we're interested," Ford said. "I don't think that the people we want to reach are listening."

Commissioner Fred Dimon said while he's used radio advertising for years to support his insurance business, he hasn't seen a lot of results at a cost standpoint. Dimon suggested that the board push for free or reduced advertising.

Currently Jackson has been running newspaper advertisements offering Vietnam veterans living in the county a chance to receive a free commemorative book about the Vietnam war. After receiving 600 books from the state of Iowa, Jackson has placed 78 out of the books, and has had several inquiries from the newspaper advertisements.

According to the last census, there are more than 2,600 veterans, including 1,200 Vietnam veterans residing in Jasper county, although Jackson said he has only been able to make contact with 1,400 veterans.

"I need to try and ID all of these other guys out there to see how I can help them," Jackson said.

Jackson's biggest goal is to try and reach younger veterans, many of whom may not be aware of the services that the Veteran Affairs Commission offers. In addition to advertising in the newspaper, he's been working to increase the group's social media presence by posting on Facebook, as well as co-sponsoring events with other organizations.

"It takes time to get these things up to speed," Jackson said.

Contact David Dolmage at ddolmage@newtondailynews.com

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