#thefutureofradioisatstake‬

Fred Jacobs' latest blog post, as usual, inspired me into action, especially after I read the response to it by legendary LA GM Roy Laughlin (click the link to read that too).  
I wrote:

There’s no question that Roy Laughlin is a genius and built a lasting dynasty that continues to dominate the Southland thanks to the amazing teams he managed over the years, but before we do a complete 180 lets really study how our streaming listeners use us across all our platforms.

Now that Voltair has “proven” (to me at least) that PPM technology misses a lot of usage, it is tempting to go backward to what we did before, but the industry embraced PPM because of the many flaws of the old diary, not the least of which is the move from landline phones to mobile devices.

Let’s accept that the landscape has completely changed and make use of all the tools in our kit to understand what aspects of our programming work best in each potential venue and customize our content to make the most of all the ways our target is using and will use the new and old technologies based on adoption and usage.

Just as NPR has employed Podcasting to move from their “non-commercial” crowd-source funding over the air analog model to become commercial competition for traditional radio, all of the audio business simply must be open to new business models the internet is opening up.

Since anyone who has seen minute-by-minute reports of streaming usage at local radio stations and compared them to Nielsen PPM data in the same time period know that the two track each other quite accurately, let’s hope that a new, more reliable audience measurement matrix evolves soon that can combine everything we now know about how listeners behave, both quantitatively and qualitatively.


PS:  Do you "like" A&O&B on Facebook? If not, you're missing a lot.

Now, The Bad News

At a CRS 2014 session Nielsen Audio revealed national country format trend data showing weekly cume among teens rose 8% and was up an impressive 15% among 18-24s helping country’s audience share grow 17% among teens (12-17 year-olds) and 16% with young adults (18-24), allowing the format to leapfrog past CHR in persons 18-24 and move from third to second among teens in diary markets.  At the same time, country’s share of 25-34 year-olds slipped 9% (still holding onto #1 in that demo).

The cume increases came largely as a result of new listenership, driven by population shifts.

We're fortunate that happened.  Here's why, thanks to another CRS prersentation, from Stone Door Media Lab's Jeff Green:

Larry Rosin, Roy H. Williams and Fred Jacobs have all fretted about a potential cause of this trend in recent blog posts and I can't disagree with any of their concerns:  the increasing de-localization of radio and extreme commercial loads.

This is important because normally it's far less expensive to improve time spent listening than it is to grow cume.

Country's core audience complains twice as much about music repetition as their reason for being dissatisfied/listening less than they do about "too many commercials," so country programmers have it in their power to turn our negative TSL trend around at almost no financial cost if we take listeners at their word and don't continue to virtually ignore their complaint.

To do so will mean letting go of some old habits and traditional wisdoms.

All next week, I'll offer my reasoning and proposed strategies. 

Watch this space.

You Will Thank Me For This

1.  Go to Twitter.
2.  Search for this:





3.  Thanks to all of the prolific Tweeters, you'll feel like you were at today's Conclave Jacobs Radio School.

Let's Go To Summer School

It's an honor to be a part of The Conclave's kickoff event this year.  Many thanks to the Jacobs Media team for inviting me to be a part of it.  Here is what's in store:

1:20 – 1:40 Mobile 2.0 – Paul Jacobs runs jacAPPS, radio’s #1 mobile app developer.  In this presentation, he’ll show some new findings from Techsurvey9 and talk about 2013 state of the art for mobile apps, revenue generation, and how stations can get involved.

1:40 – 2:10 One-to-one with Jaye Albright – The Rockwell winner has a great story to tell and in a no-holds barred conversation, we’ll hear her amazing story, how she and Country have been great partners, what today’s radio stations need to do to stay more competitive, and a host of other issues from one of radio’s brightest minds.

2:10 – 2:30 Simply Social – Lori Lewis demystifies social media at the station level.  She’ll review some top-line Techsurvey9 findings, and then dive in with a simple, straightforward look at the basics, as well as an overview of new social media platforms that should be on radio’s collective radar screen.

2:30 – 2:50 Building from the Outside In – Building a great morning show is like building a house. You start by picking a neighborhood (your market), a plot of land (your format) and the outer structure (your listeners).  In this presentation, Jacobs Media’s newest consultant, Mike Stern, will give you suggestions about how to focus your efforts.

2:50 – 3:20 Target Social Media – Target’s social media specialist, Joe Curry, takes us into the backroom of how this amazing retail chain connects with its customers and grows its relationships.  
 
3:20 – 3:50 Inside the Mind of Dave Hamilton – An interview with one of the finest programmers in radio.  Dave will discuss his programming philosophies, his success with KQRS in Minneapolis radio for decades, managing and growing great talent, and his view on the state of the industry.
 
3:50-4:10 Radio & The Connected Car – The lion’s share of radio listening now takes place on four wheels.  A look at the landscape and a deep dive into what the automakers are thinking, doing, and planning.  You’ll see great video with the movers & shakers of Ford, Cadillac, Fiat, Chevy, Toyota, and others.  This is a hot topic that will get Summer School attendees thinking.

4:10-4:35 Let’s Go To The Mall – Erin Vande Steeg is the Mall of America’s PR head and social media pro.  This place is like its own city, and Erin will talk about the challenges of managing the social life and culture of the biggest shopping mall in America. 

4:35-4:55 10 Things I Know For Sure – Journal Broadcasting’s VP of Programming, Beverlee Brannigan, brings her wealth of experience to Conclave, focusing on stretching, trying new things, growing your brands, and your careers.   And the reality is that broadcast executives are only sure about maybe 20% of what they do.  Beverlee will present 10 things she’s totally sure about – great advice for broadcasters in all markets.

4:55-5:10 16 Habits of Highly Effective Programmers – In his three decades of experience in radio programming and brand building, Fred Jacobs takes a look at how today’s PD’s can sharpen their skills to meet the challenges of modern-day radio.

Asking Listeners The Ultimate Question

A&O's annual "Roadmap" online perceptual has tracked the key question brands have been asking their users for many years - how satisfied are you? - for years and country fans normally rate their favorite station extremely high in "very" satisfied. 

Now, perhaps there's an even more relevant benchmark to track in this social media age.

This year, Jacobs Media in their annual Tech Survey took a chapter from Owen and Brooks' book, "how likely are you to recommend the station to a colleague or a friend?"

Fortunately, the news is quite good.  Country format listeners rank #2 (55% said yes) behind contemporary Christian (71%!) to do so nationally.

Now the question remains - will your audience recommend you to their friends?

Will you be above or below average?

1 + 1 = 2

1.  For the last two summers, Alan Burns shared topline results of his detailed study of CHR and AC female listeners.  There's a TON of actionable info in the studies (click on Alan's name to download them), but one factoid screamed at me from his results on morning usage and priorities.

There's a direct co-relation between folks to start their day very early in the morning with radio and heavy usage of radio throughout the day.

2.  Now, Fred Jacobs and his team are sharing data from their 8th Annual "Tech Survey," (click to read MediaPost's recap of some highlights) and 57% of core radio listeners start their day with another medium or gadget rather than turn on a radio at home or in the car!

Television is a close second to turning on a radio at home. The 18-34s are more likely to engage with email or Facebook for this “First Occasion” of the day and country radio's core is actually more likely to start their media day with television than with their favorite radio station.

Fred says, in the MediaPost article “... the data from the study suggest that focusing on connecting emotionally and meaningfully with listeners is radio’s best avenue toward remaining relevant and vibrant in the face of new digital competition...”

The emotion I am feeling as I add those two reports together in the Spring 0f 2012:  fear.  I hope you are too!

Your morning team spends their morning talking on the radio so most likely they will be the last to notice this trend.

Managers and programmers:  watch your own family and friends as they start their day.  Add 1 + 1 for your morning show before it's too late.

EARLY morning radio isn't being interactive, topical, informative or social as other media options are for our heaviest-users.

Local TV stations showcase their morning shows in their marketing, looking a lot like the marketing for radio "used" to be.  When have you marketed the benefits of your morning package as the best way to start early morning?  I'm betting that it has been a long while.

Albright's axiom:  "We used to do that" is the epitaph on the tombstone of dead radio stations.

A big thank you to Jacobs and Burns for pointing to the handwriting on our wall.

Props To Fred Jacobs

"Our story starts with the CMAs. If you saw the show or read the news reports about last week's mega Country show, the big headline was 19-year old Taylor Swift, who took four major awards, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year honor.

But perhaps the more significant news below the fold was the award for "Best New Artist of the Year" - Darius Rucker. Yup, the same guy who fronted Hootie & the Blowfish back in the '90s, whose fortunes sank quickly and deeply - just like Men At Work, INXS, and so many others.

The difference is that after a decade of obscurity, Rucker turned his career around, addresessed his negatives and his opportunities, and created a Second Life in country music. In thanking the CMA, he commented, "To the fans, thank y'all for accepting me. And I think most importantly, to country radio, you took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, South Carolina. Thank you so much for that!"

"Y'all???!!!"

Rucker has learned how to adjust his act for a new market, making him one of the few African-American artists to make it big in Country. And all of this, after everyone was convinced he was a total washout back in the late '90s."

-- Fred Jacobs gets it right and if you don't normally check out JacoBLOG, this is a post I commend to your attention