Exhibitor Preview: ENCO at NAB Show New York – Radio World

Ken Frommert highlights the company’s generative AI solutions

With the 2024 NAB Show New York just around the corner, Radio World is asking exhibitors about their plans and expectations. Ken Frommert is president of ENCO.

Radio World: What news will your company feature at the convention — which of your new products or services for radio will you highlight?

Ken Frommert: We will highlight our two generative AI solutions, SPECai and aiTrack, which share similar performance qualities and achieve the same professional results for two different production needs.

Both use generative AI models to create compelling multi-lingual scripts, and synthetic voice engines to produce natural sounding voiceovers in many languages.

SPECai places the power of spec ad creation into the hands of account managers at radio stations, providing a simple software toolset to create compelling, localized spec ads on their personal devices within seconds.

SPECai’s responsive workflow guides users through three key steps with remarkable efficiency. That begins by creating copy with generative AI, which immediately delivers multiple script options.

SPECai then transitions to voiceover creation, with the freedom to choose from many voice styles, adjust tone of voice and dial in phonetic pronunciations. The final stage allows users to add music beds that suit the mood of each ad. SPECai provides direct access to diverse music libraries from Benztown who, along with Compass Media Networks, officially partner with ENCO on all SPECai initiatives.

aiTrack as an AI production toolset built into to our DAD automation workflow, and will be seen a more fully-formed iteration at NAB New York than previously demonstrated in North America. aiTrack is a dynamic content insertion tool that leverages generative AI models and synthetic speech engines to dynamically provide engaging content for listeners in diverse ways. Users can pre-schedule and customize automated voice tracks as well as unique content, such as summarizing earlier shows or giving a detailed introduction of future song blocks, within DAD for playout at specified times.

As an authentic part of the DAD automation workflow broadcasters, aiTrack can deliver engaging content at any time, with instant turnaround and insertions of breaking news, weather, sports and more into live broadcasts. aiTrack essentially assumes the role of the AI DJ.

RW: Your SPECai won the Radio World Best of Show award earlier this year, what feedback have you received from customers about the tool? 

Frommert: Feedback has been very positive to say the least. There has been wide adoption of this use case for AI in radio and we have signed over 25 radio groups already. Compass Radio Networks and Benztown have been amazing partners on the sales side of the equation, helping us introduce the technology and its benefits to a much wider customer base.

Account managers love the fact that they can drive the creative process directly in front of clients, receive their input on the spot and have an approved ad campaign upon leaving the site. 

We also walked away with a second Radio World Best of Show award at IBC, thanks to SPECai’s new voice cloning feature. Customers are responding to the improved customization that feature brings, and in general there is excitement about SPECai is a solution that we can continue to develop and improve over time with new features and ideas.

RW: What specific applications for AI seem to be most popular among radio stations in the past few months, since the AI field is moving so quickly?

Frommert: Without question, the application of AI to enable spec spot creation is the quickest and smoothest adoption of AI we have seen in the broadcast industry. It just works and the benefits are clear and immediate. That fact that it keeps the focus on producing high-quality content while delivering meaningful new business results to broadcasters really sets it apart as an early AI success for the broadcast and media space.

RW: As we look ahead to the latter half of the year, what are your goals? What trends will you be keeping an eye on as we look to 2025?

Frommert: We will continue to improve SPECai and aiTrack, and we will see a stronger message and momentum behind aiTrack as its benefits make their way into the on-air production and automation workflow of more broadcasters. While SPECai has been on the market for nearly a year, aiTrack’s development is just reaching the point where SPECai was at that time. There is a lot more to come.

RW: What else will you be watching for/looking forward to at the convention?

Frommert: As always, the priority is connecting with our partners and customers in-person and learning about how we can help them solve problems and create new opportunities. NAB New York continues to grow in size and stature, but its core function as a regional networking event remains. We see more people from the New York metropolitan and east coast regions that for various reasons no longer come to the April show in Las Vegas. This gives us a chance to meet with that larger regional customer base that we may not otherwise see through the year.

ENCO booth: 907

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