Radio Ratings Questions

Richard Harker has been blogging some important questions about the current state of radio ratings (Arbitron, We Have a Question: What Happened to the Button-Pushers?), such as:

When PPM identifies a radio station and then the audio switches to an unidentifiable source, it is recorded as a switch to non-encoded media. No more radio credit is given. But what if the participant really just switched stations, but PPM couldn't identify it? Could this explain lower listening estimates and the absence of button pushers with PPM?

Now, I’d like to add a few more of my own:

Nielsen research from their Lexington diary test earlier this year found cell phone-only households are heavier radio users, while Arbitron has reportedly come to a totally different conclusion. Their new spokesperson told Inside Radio yesterday “There does not appear to be different listening behavior.”

Are the differences based on diary measurement vs metered usage? Or, is there really no difference in radio usage between the kind of people who would not have a land line home phone and those who do? Who’s right? How can we know for sure? Will Nielsen and Arbitron (or the RAB?) fund an academic study of this?

When Nielsen announced their 2009 radio survey in the U.S., they talked about releasing the data in June. Now, company insiders say they are working toward a tentative launch date of August 17, which just happens to be three days after the last Spring 2009 Arbitrons have been released.

Why the change, in spite of the fact that Nielsen’s local market surveys started and ended a month before ARB’s?

Nielsen, it seems, has chosen to have the luxury of seeing ARB’s Spring 2009 local market reports before they give ARB a look at their data in the markets they both have been surveying this spring.

Why keep their Cumulus and Clear Channel subscribers waiting for the data like this? Or, are subscribers seeing the first Nielsen radio data this month and were they a part of the decision to delay the release?

In Canada, where BBM is discontinuing their use of Nielsen TV meters, lowering their client TV station subscriber rates as they embark on using PPM for all media measurement, keeping radio rates the same as they have been for diary surveys (unlike Arbitron which is charging 60% more), diary sample proportionality in market after market is causing hair-raising levels of weighting - making for wild book-to-book swings.

Has BBM already done the replication study I am asking about? Or, are they moving ahead with PPM merely because of the economies of scale for their subscribers?

Confusing as all of this is right now, it's good to see so many different approaches being tried by broadcast researchers.

Once all of this data is available to independent observers in the coming year, we're going know a lot more about what's unquestionably fact .. and what's just preliminary theory.

Billy Currington Goes Viral

His crazy new website is nothing to sneeze at!

(This could get real big, real fast.)

Taylor's Pink Truck Is Doing "Victory" Laps

When Taylor Swift was presented the infamous ‘pink truck’ for her 18th birthday, fans may recall she donated the truck to NASCAR’s Victory Junction, a special camp for special kids with health care needs. As you can see from the photo above, Taylor’s gift is going to great use, bringing smiles and attention to the North Carolina-based charity.

CRB: Music Scheduling For Dummies

Chris Huff, APD/MD, KSCS, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX: Music scheduling is often considered to be both an art and a science, and in "Music Scheduling For Dummies (Better Music Logs in Less Time)", three of the most respected artists/scientists the format has to offer discussed the hows and whys of how they put together their music logs. This at a time when the increase of multi-tasking in radio means there is less and less time to dedicate to their craft.

John Shomby of WGH/Norfolk moderated a panel that included Greg Frey, Music Director of KILT/Houston and Gwen Foster, Music Director of KMLE/Phoenix. Both of those panelists are veteran music programmers in the format, and both also handle multiple other duties at their respective stations. They offered insight into how they manage their time to ensure that they are still able to dedicate the time necessary to make their stations sound as good as possible. Greg and Gwen also shared actual music logs to show how and why they schedule music the way they do.

Additonally, the panel included consultant Keith Hill who is regarded as one of the foremost experts on music scheduling. Keith detailed much of the nuts and bolts of the science behind scheduling music. Even the most seasoned music director can find something to take away from what Keith included in his handout... and that's the beauty of CRS - programmers of all experience levels came to this session and walked away with insight to take back home!

Click Here for the great session handout.

Sign up to receive Exec Memos like this by email at http://www.crb.org/.

Stephen Colbert Gives Us A Lesson In Powerful, Creative Teasing

Stephen Colbert has deployed to Iraq for a USO tour entitled "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando." He will perform his shows in front of the troops for the next week, according to Comedy Central.

While there, Colbert will host Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Barham Saleh and General Ray Odierno, commander of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq, among others. The show is taking place at an undisclosed military base in conjunction with the USO, and promises to boast "shout outs from notable figures in society."

Anticipation (get excited in advance about what you're going to do), Realization (create word of mouth by standing for something relatable and important) and Memory (don't let them forget what you did) are in full force at Comedy Central. Watch and learn how it's done.

Rascal Flatts And Jeffrey Steele To Become Lifetime Nashville Songwriters Association Members

NSAI recognizes multi-platinum Lyric Rascal Flatts (Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus & Joe Don Rooney) and prominent songwriter Jeffrey Steele on becoming the organization’s newest Lifetime Members.

“Our friends in Rascal Flatts and the amazing Jeffrey Steele are expressing their support for the advocacy work NSAI does on behalf of songwriters and the music industry,” said NSAI Executive Director Barton Herbison. “Rascal Flatts and Jeffrey have been longtime supporters of both NSAI and intellectual property rights. They illustrate the fact that ‘creators’ are the ones changing the laws through NSAI.”

If you ever have someone from your local area express interest in going to Music City in hopes of getting into the business, NSAI is a great place to test the waters and learn what it takes. You don't have to live in Nashville to belong or attend their events.

(More On) Time Spent (...Satisfied, Entertained, Updated, Involved, Expectations Met)

Each month, Arbitron's Latest Monthly PPM Client Update provides not just a progress report on placement, progress and problems along the way to getting metered panelists to play the game, it also offers great analyses and tips thanks to ARB's stats brain trust. Like this food for thought, a bit more on the TSL vs TSE difference between diaries' memory test and actual metered usage.


I'm sharing this today after reading some of the comments to my previous post, thinking that this may be new information to some who are not yet as steeped in PPM facts and folklore as those of us who live with it each day attempt to be.

I Know It's Bad Blog Ethics To Simply Tell You To Go Read Another Blog, But...

Cory Treffiletti's MediaPost column "Time Spent Is The Right Metric To Measure Engagement" isn't just about online advertising. PPM's "TSE" (time spent exposed) vs diary TSL (time spent listening) absolutely proves that just because I love Oprah's brand, it doesn't mean that her show yesterday was good enough to make me listen to the entire hour.

Ask any foreground radio personality who had great ratings in diaries and then suffered the all-too-common precipitous drop in their first month of PPM measurement. Just because listeners to your station like you enough to write your name in their book does not guarantee that they listen to you at all in reality.

When you break down the individual media vehicles, time spent is actually quite easy to report on -- so why shouldn't this become the de-facto metric for measuring engagement? If consumers spend more time than the average, they must be interested in your product or service -- and if they are interested, that is a measure of intent. The more efficient you are at implementing a campaign, which includes paid as well as non-paid placements, the more likely your campaign will be to drive that increase, which ultimately results in sales.

How engaging, entertaining and expeditious is your content? It's not how long you talk. It's how long they listen.

Brad's Blog: Previews Of "American Saturday Night"

Brad Paisley will be kicking off his AMERICAN SATURDAY NIGHT TOUR with Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne as special guests on the Tour – and it will launch this Friday, June 5 in Charlotte, NC.

“There's something special about a Saturday. That is, you didn't have to work...you don't have to work the next day...you're getting over whatever happened at work or whatever happened in your week...and hopefully you're taking a little break from reality. And any time we fire up this show -- whether it's a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday -- it's going to be officially Saturday night when we start. And it's not 'not Saturday night' until you leave,” Paisley promises.

American Saturday Night tour dates (Previously unannounced dates are listed):

June 5 - Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 6 - Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Pavilion at Walnut Creek
June 12 - Boston, MA Comcast Center
June 13 - Hartford, CT Comcast Theatre
June 14 - Gilford, NH Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion
June 18 - St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 19 - Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
June 26 - Oshkosh, WI Country USA * **
June 27 - Cadott, WI Chippewa Valley Country Festival * **
July 10 - Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 11 - Fort Loramie, OH Country Concert at Hickory Hills Lake *
July 18 - Sarnia, ON Bayfest * **
July 24 - Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 25 - Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion
July 26 - Harrington, DE Delaware State Fair
August 7 - Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
August 8 - Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 14 - Darien Lakes, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
August 15 - Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
August 27 - Meadville, PA Crawford County Fairgrounds
August 28 - Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
August 29 - Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Pavilion
August 30 - Essex Junction, VT Champlain Valley Exposition
September 2 - Halifax, NS Metro Centre
September 3 - Saint John, QC Harbour Station
September 5 - Allentown, PA Allentown Fair Grandstand
September 11 - Houston, TX Woodlands Pavilion
September 12 - Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
September 17 - Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
September 18 - Denver, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 19 - Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
September 24 - Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Arena
September 25 - San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 26 - Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Pavilion
October 1 - Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
October 2 - San Diego, CA Cricket Amphitheatre
October 3 - Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
October 15 - Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Arena
October 16 - Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
October 17 - West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
October 21 - New York, NY Madison Square Garden
October 22 - Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
October 23 - State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
October 24 - Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun

*Jimmy Wayne will not be appearing on these shows
** Dierks Bentley will not be appearing on these shows

"New GM" Dollars Are Flowing To Radio, In Spite Of What You May Read

A GM spokeswoman told Advertising Age yesterday.

"We felt that some TV and print ads were necessary to communicate, in mass, to our customers, in a quick and timely manner," the spokeswoman said.

It's easy to critique, but heck since we all now own a big part of the company, why NOT? Click on that Ad Age article link and read down to the by and large very savvy comments, like:

"Strangely this spot looks to the past rather than the future...long on American imagery, quick cuts and big boxcar concepts. Short on smarts and economy...starting with the length of the spot."

PS to MAB President/CEO Karole White: I have a hot topic for Michigan Broadcasters to add to your list of concerns. How do we get them to add the word RADIO to press releases like this?

The automaker is also directly contacting all GM vehicle owners throughout the month of June.

The campaign is a sign that the troubled car maker is taking pains to educate customers about its reorganization. Radio's REACH and efficiency makes it the perfect medium to do just that!

Kelly O’Keefe, Is Radio Popular Or Not?

The public research report, just out, is all sunshine and light:

“Younger 18-24 demos were more positive about radio than the audience in general. We saw improvement more quickly than we predicted.”

Could that be because they were using radio all along?

But, if things are so good, who needs to "turn radio back on", which is the internal campaign slogan at O'Keefe Brands?

Are we supposed to believe that they were turning radio off until the NAB hired Kelly's company and now that we've run their promo's, everything's OK?

Meanwhile, the public voice for the campaign - the impressive, dynamic David Rehr - when it was launched 18 months ago, is now looking for a new job.

There's so much 'spin' going on here, I am getting dizzy.

The Fall of the Mall

What does a recession look like? (click to view it interactively) The New York Times created two maps of a theoretical mall, giving a view as seen through retail sales.

Only Burger King, Denny's and Family Dollar (oops, I have now corrected my previous post, mis-stating that it was Abercrombie & Fitch - thinking that folks still need duds - after "anonymous" pointed out my error, as commented below) are in the "green (or even better, yellow)."

Sometimes Localism Can Give You Goosebumps

Since my post on how very often localism takes dedicated, passionate people to achieve, I have been receiving many examples of how far local radio station air staffs will go to assist local causes every day, but this one from WSRG (97.7 The Big Dawg)/Sturgeon Bay GM/PD/Morning co-host Jeff Stone (click to watch video of "The Big Dawg Plunge - Stone is the one in the wheel chair) makes the point more coldly than any of the others thus far:

"This was our chilly plunge we did in Lake Michigan last week for Relay For Life. We raised over $2000.00 in just a few hours to get their drive jump started. I was supposed to jump, but of course I talked a volunteer hot girl in a bikini to do it for me....Ha Ha....But other morning team members Hervy and Colin did it! Great stuff."

Self-Critiquing Tips

I attended a meeting yesterday at a client station where Charlie Sislen broke out the latest ratings, and on the way to it I read Larry King's new book, "My Remarkable Journey", turning today into one of those days where life keeps teaching the same lesson over and over until you finally get it:

"One of the things I always try to do is ask questions that begin with the word why. Don't ask questions that go over, tops, two sentences." - King

"Study radio ratings and you realize that it comes down to three words: Concise, Crisp, Compelling. If it's not going to be concise and crisp, it better be extremely compelling." - Sislen

The Sound Of Localism

David Oxenford's "Broadcast Law" post on Localism Without Government Regulation makes radio's case against FCC-mandated local programming pretty well.

This comment from Tom Taggart it prompted makes it even more potently:

"Each winter we do a "coats for kids" drive. It's sold, but it's a lot of work. We put barrels at sponsor's stores, and have two dry cleaners who clean the donated coats. The coats then go to churches and community agencies. One bank sponsor has locations 50 miles apart we need to service. Under FCC's rules, we would get little credit for all this work. Now, if we ran four or five hour long discussion programs each Sunday on the need for coats for poor kids and that the government needs a program to solve this problem, why we could fill up the public file issues folder quite full."

Meanwhile, CJJR/Vancouver morning cohost Clay St. Thomas distributed this message to his listeners today:

"The weekend of August 14th to 16th, I'm going to be walking in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. It's 60K of walking, spread over 2 days. Not bragging, just saying ;) Well, maybe bragging just a little...with that level of commitment, all the walkers on all teams are obviously serious about wanting to do something to end Breast Cancer. I'm a cancer survivor myself, and my mom lost her fight with cancer. Sadly, my circumstances are not unusual. 1 in 3 people will eventually be diagnosed with cancer. This disease runs in everyone's family, and the rate of increase in Breast Cancer specifically is nothing short of epidemic. So here's the pitch: Please consider heading over to http://tinyurl.com/qq8sj9 and making a donation. I know times are tight, which is honestly part of the reason why I'm doing this whole 'hat in hand' routine. Thanks for reading this, and especially for any support you can give. I really appreciate it. Yours in blister pads and damp socks, - Clay"

PS: his cohost Karen Daniels is doing it too!

There are some things you simply can't do with smoke and mirrors. That's the sound of genuine localism, actions thousands and thousands of radio personalities and their stations take upon themselves every single day, which move millions of listeners to get involved too, amplifying already-impressive individual efforts like Clay's and Tom's.

A sound of genuine "localism" in radio: running shoes on pavement. Just try to stick that in your Public File!

Three Days, Interacting About Interactive Media

* “...a newspaper rep calls me, they don’t understand how I think. Basically, I ran a couple of ads with you, and got no response. Now I have moved on.” -- Jerome Fowlkes, managing member, Broadlands, LLC

* "Some of the broadcast advertising has come with a Web site complement. The Web element is well worth the money. It has the best tracking mechanism. -- Valerie Passwaiter, assistant marketing manager for Northwest Federal Credit Union

* "Interactive revenue will be 22% of local ad revenue by 2013, and most of that comes out of newspaper.” -- John Kelsey

When the agenda promises "leading new media experts share their insights and strategies for broadcasters, newspapers companies and cable operators to assure near and long term success in a transformed media marketplace...," you just assume that recaps of the best sessions will be blogged and steamed online and indeed BIA and The Kelsey Group have done just that for last week's meeting, well worth a click and a thorough read!

Ad-ology: Advertise Or Die

According to a new Ad-ology Research study, more than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling.

Conversely, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise as being competitive or committed to doing business.

Ranking low in the key findings, the word "radio," (".. TV, newspaper, direct mail, and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action.."

Is it that these respondents simply don't realize at the conscious level that radio's ads impact them? Or, do they want our ads and offers to be more easily searchable online and on mobile devices? I'd bet it's both of the above.

Meanwhile...

* 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago
* Most consumers are as willing or more willing to pay more for ‘healthy' or ‘organic' products than they were a year ago
* A ‘deeply discounted price' was the number-one factor that would make consumers more likely to purchase a big-ticket item (+$1,000)
* Store Web sites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online

I didn't like that they seem to have short-changed radio's ability to influence, but do love this conclusion of the study, as C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research, says "It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand... advertising... assures consumers of a business' reliability... "

It's Time For My Annual "Don't Forget To Remember" Post

The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).

The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday.

The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect "On This Day" (click to download the song as sung by Sara Evans and others) as Americans.

Listen To Some GREAT Radio (That Just Happens To Be Commercials)

You no doubt saw the PR today:

The finalists for the 2009 Radio Mercury Awards, which recognize and reward bold and effective commercials and campaigns exemplifying good Radio creative were announced today. The winners in the competition awarding a total of $125,000 in prizes will be announced at the annual gala on June 17th in New York City. The winner of this year's Grand Prize will receive a $100,000 award. In addition, two new awards were introduced this year; a $10,000 Integrated Radio Campaign Prize honoring the best use of Radio in an integrated multimedia plan, and the Marketer of the Year Award. The Marketer of the Year finalists, selected by a committee of industry-insiders, are: The Coca-Cola Company, GEICO, The Hershey's Company, McDonald's(R), Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Barack Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, chosen for their commitment to Radio as a creative medium.

Now, in a very cool touch, you can listen to some of radio's best spots of 2009 and even email them to a friend by clicking here.

Thank you RAB for doing something great for our medium, which we all - too often - take for granted. Like the press release on the finalists says: "The long-term goal of the Mercury Awards is to reposition Radio advertising as a showcase medium for the creative community," said Rick Boyko. "The winning spots will be smart and entertaining but, most importantly, they will forge an emotional connection with consumers."

Sirius XM Is One Of Time's Top Ten Tech Failures

You, hopefully, will indulge me a self-satisfied smile as I pass this along (now let's work hard to adopt multi-platforms to be sure that we're not on this list ourselves in five years!):

Sirius XM (SIRI) satellite radio was supposed to be one of the most successful consumer electronics devices of all time. A subscriber would be able to listen to more than 100 stations coast-to-coast in either a moving vehicle, or using a portable version of the device. Initially, the service planned to run no commercials. One of the two companies that would eventually be the merged Sirius XM was XM Satellite Radio which launched its service in September 2001. At the end of the year, the company had almost 28,000 subscribers, a figure that jumped to about 350,000 by the end of the 2002 and 5.9 million by the end of 2005. Over this period, the company accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars of debt in order to cover capital expenses, operating deficits, and sales and marketing costs. Analysts expected the company to be extremely profitable once it reached subscriber levels of more than 10 million. The business was growing so quickly that this goal seemed a foregone conclusion. Rival Sirius launched its service in July 2002. Over the next five years, it would have fewer subscribers than XM but would grow nearly as fast. Sirius also took on tremendous amounts of debt to support its operations. As both companies ran low on money, they announced a merger on February 17, 2007. The FCC reviewed the request for thirteen months while the companies were bleeding cash. Subscriber growth had slowed, most likely because of new and more popular consumer electronics devices like the Apple iPod and multimedia cellular handsets. Shares in Sirius, which had traded at $63 in 2000, dropped to $.05 earlier this year. In the first quarter of 2009, the number of subscribers for the combined service declined by 400,000 from the previous quarter to 18.6 million. Neither Sirius nor XM ever made a dime. —Douglas A. McIntyre, Time Magazine