Show Prep -- How And Why

Jay Trachman, as anyone who has read my blog for very long knows, was an immense inspiration and a lifelong personal friend to me. As I tour Turkey and Greece on vacation right now, I am going to open some old Trachman tidbits in hopes it keeps his memory alive for you as well.

There's no way you can do a successful morning show "on the cheap." And I'm not talking about money.

I work with PD-morning hosts with the vague hope that they can learn how to do a better show just by talking with me.

As though all they lacked was a little knowledge;

"Trachman will tell me what's wrong and how to fix it, and that'll make everything great!"

Well, it ain't so.

90% of the time, one of the things I'm going to tell you is, you need to do more work. You need to do research; to prep your show.

The unprepped show is easy to spot, even when done by a very talented jock.

The give-away is that he or she will talk mainly about the weather, the music, and one or two bits pre-packaged from a service. He may chat amiably with a colleague on the air, but the raps are always too long, and often seem to go nowhere. Typically, the show lacks "substance," meaning relating to anything besides what's going on at that moment in the jock's little world, or what's been spoon-fed to him or her.

Here are just a few of the elements that should go into a morning show: Life Content, Local Content, Music Content, listener phone-ins, banter with colleagues, calendars, games and contests, and informational raps.

They all require time and effort to set up.

"But," says my typical student, "I work a 12-hour day already, between these two jobs! When am I supposed to find the time to prep my show?"

That's not a question I can answer in specifics.

Look for chores you can delegate as PD; look for times you can combine one job with another.

The fact that you're already over-burdened does not relieve you of the responsibility of a) keeping your listener entertained and informed and b) setting the pace for the rest of your air staff.

Be Like Taylor

As the size of the generational cohorts comprising the age group which has already started hitting retirement now won't peak and start downward in proportion of the population until the 4.3 million babies born in 1957 during the baby boom have fast forwarded 65 years to 2022, it's inevitable that many country stations which once prided themselves on having a mean age right in the middle of 25-54, now find themselves with an audience whose average age is moving up into the mid-to-high 40's.

Last week's New Yorker offers a wonderfully-flattering in-depth profile of the woman who may have changed that course for us, Taylor Swift. Writer Lizzie Widdicombe makes it clear that Taylor wasn't trying to do anything so calculated as target the nation's next very, very large emerging generation of country fans - today's teen age girls and 18-28 females - in the article titled "You Belong With Me: How Taylor Swift made teen angst into a business empire." She's just being herself.

For those of us who hope to remain relevant from a perspective of several decades older, clearly we have some learning to do and even the descriptive phrases Widdicombe uses provide a list of traits not normal to an X'er or Boomer that we need to incorporate as we work to hold not only the Swift generation, as their values impact the entire culture.

• Radiates unjaded sincerity no matter how contrived the situation
• Writes her own material
• Like Dolly Parton, writes autobiographical story songs that relate to her target audience
• In the Internet era, (that) is also a clever marketing device
• Doesn’t drink or go to clubs. More "wholesome" than her parents' generation was at her age
  
• Emotional and personal in universal ways
  
• Her mother and father remain a big part of her life
• Spends most of her off time with band members, friends, and family
• Approaches her career with the seriousness of a C.E.O

Anyone who opens a microphone on a country radio station would do well to run through that checklist each time they prep and deliver.

N. O. E. S. L. W. S. T. M. S.

"Using 'commercial-free' verbiage is equal to saying 10-12 minutes of every hour of your station's product is worthless," says Jim Kirkland in Radio-Info.com.

Jim should look at our product from a listener and not just a media buyer perspective.

No doubt that our commercial time is worth a lot more than we normally manage to get paid for it, but there’s a reason why online streaming ads have to be :20 seconds or less and extremely engaging.

The future of media is moving to end user control and those buttons on their radio have always given them the power to avoid anything they don’t feel is worth the time.

Meanwhile, even the AAA confirms that the best bet is not to change stations while driving since even that, they infer, occasionally contributes to distracted driving.

OK, I'll stop now, after one final "No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense."

Making Sense Of The Senseless

I understand why record labels play both sides in major markets where all competitive stations are monitored reporters.

Makes sense. Support the station which supports your music and artists. If you don't add it, I'll try to get your competition to do so in hopes that forces you to add it.

What doesn’t make sense to me is in medium and small markets where there’s only one reporting station and as a result labels make sure they get everything and the non-reporter next to nothing.

Those stations may be on top for the required three books in a row and reporting status may change then. Or, the non-reporting programmers and music directors will be at reporting stations some day and they will remember.

Hopefully, the label executives who lobbied for the smaller number of reporters in hopes it would save money have now figured out that didn't work quite that way and some day they'll start to lobby for more stations in more markets to report too.

More reporters means fewer people with too much power and a more representative, credible chart.

Even less sensible: small markets where no one is a reporter and yet artist managers still try to enforce a standard rider in their contracts which says only reporting stations can welcome the show or appear on stage.

Often the only station in town which has partnered with the county fair or local casino for years finds that they are told the artist’s road manager wants it to be a “neutral show” with no welcoming station in spite of the fact that they are the only game in town.

A Continuing Series: Stuff I Don't Understand

• Radio takes 15.6% of a consumer’s media day but, even under the rosiest analysis, its share of advertising dollars is just 11%.
  
  
• Only 3.17% of RBR readers say “in the new digital environment, the main competition for local Television is newspaper and just 5.13% think radio’s main competition is newspaper. If so, how come we still let them bill a third of all media ad dollars in many markets?

I'll repeat it: No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense

(More) No One Ever Said Life Was Supposed to Make Sense

It's SO great to see nice guy WWYZ PD Lance Tidwell, morning personality Corey Meyers and the Clear Channel/Hartford team leverage Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley concerts to the highest country station 6+ share in the history of PPM measurement anywhere, 12.3 6+.

Meanwhile, country's PPM-measured share of the radio listening in Atlanta is 6.8. In Houston, it's a 10.1. In Dallas (where A&O hears that 40% of 25-54 panelists are Spanish-language-only households) it's a 7.8.

Can it really be that country music is hotter right now in Hartford than it is in Houston?

Bigger in Connecticut than Georgia?

It's "Hankless Monday" #2

The first thing about the whole brouhaha which makes much sense to me in any other way than just a whole bunch of folks going for publicity is this morning's RBR-TVBR observation:

"We got a lot of comments on the original story as to why ESPN decided to take a stance on this, either way, considering it was not even said on their network. But who knows what sort of comments (and from whom) they had been receiving on their end. Most likely most of them were in favor of pulling the song. Perhaps if Williams had issued a true apology, it could have been different."

The dust up seems to me like a huge coup for Hank, since he hasn’t gotten this much media coverage (he's on The View and Hannity tomorrow) in many years and will probably help ESPN too when after awhile they kiss and make up, getting even more publicity when they do.

Meanwhile, it brought up once again the old canard that “Clear Channel banned the Dixie Chicks from radio.”

Not true and Ed Schultz and Holland Cooke of all people should remember that Cox and Cumulus wouldn’t use the word “banned” of course, but they were the only two companies I know of to decide at the corporate level not to play the Chicks anymore, citing persuasive listener research. Clear Channel left it up to individual stations, yet they keep getting blamed, proving that myths often resonate longer and louder than truths.

No one ever said life was always supposed to make sense.

Guest Blogger: WYRK's Clay Moden

The management of Townsquare Media Buffalo has motivated Clay to become a very creative and prolific blogger. Most days, his listeners benefit, but now and then he gets inspired to write something he considered "too inside radio" to share on his station blog. Lucky you and me, we benefit. Here's his latest one:

I was speaking with a radio friend of mine recently about being a "fill in" for a certain air shift and I couldn't help but think that his dilemma is something that most jocks who have been on the air can relate to.

If you have ever been a part timer or even someone that wants a certain time slot, you can understand his story.

When the PD calls on you to fill in for someone, your first thought is..."here is my chance to show them I should be in that slot!" The next thing you do is go out of your way to prep for the show and try to make it sound like a nationally syndicated radio success!

What usually happens?

You FAIL!

Happens every time. You get caught up in trying to be something/someone you think will grab the attention of the PD/GM and have a perfectly polished show.

It may actually have all of the key ingredients and come out "sounding" the way YOU want it to, but here is the problem, the audience is not made of PD and GM's.

It is everyday people, most of which are casual listeners that are waiting to hear their favorite song or get a piece of information they need or a contest they are trying to win.

If you have ever listened to the Rush Limbaugh show, you will note that he has people fill in from time to time. Although they keep the format of the show, they are not trying to "replace" Rush. They are all very different than Rush and all have their own traits and styles. They clearly don't go out of their way to try to be someone.

It may sound cliche but it is true, being yourself is the best option.

After all, it is you being yourself that most likely caught the PD's attention in the first place.

Here is what I suggest. When you go to fill in for another air shift or even if you are doing a bonafide on-air audition, you PLAN what you intend to do, you PERSONALIZE it according to how YOU normally are when you do a show and you PERFORM according to your own style and ability.

Don't overdo it or you will sound PHONY!

Oh, and one more thing, try not to PREDICT what the PD/GM is thinking.

It has been my experience that they often times are not listening as closely as you think. They are just glad they found someone to cover a shift.

You'll find more from Clay on this blog, I am proud to say.

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Great timing and a perfect tribute on the part of today's Sydney Morning Herald (click to read it).

Seth Godin has the consummate eulogy:

It's one thing to miss someone, to feel a void when they're gone. It's another to do something with their legacy, to honor them through your actions.

Steve devoted his professional life to giving us (you, me and a billion other people) the most powerful device ever available to an ordinary person. Everything in our world is different because of the device you're reading this on.

What are we going to do with it?

Three Things About Radio Commercials We Can Agree On

• Commercial free hours beat hours which contain irritating commercials hands down.
• Radio programmers make bad grocery store managers/media buyers, and the reverse is true too.
• Radio can always use more entertaining, creative commercials. (click to hear a bunch of them, presented their trophies and cash just last evening), including the big winner.
  

Take Aspirin Before Reading

There's a strong possibility that this is going to hurt your head.

Back in the Diary Days our fight was for bigger Average Quarter Hours. Now, on Planet PPM, technology has completely changed how BBM and ARB measure tuning.

Thanks to the always inquisitive PD of JRfm-The Peak/Vancouver Gord Eno, A&O recently was conveyed an excellent explanation from BBM on the technology of the PPM device:

"We now measure everything in fifteen second segments. Yes, seconds. It takes keeping a listener fifteen seconds for us to be in the game. If we win three out of the four fifteen second segments we win that minute. If we get two out of four, the station that wins the first fifteen seconds wins the minute."

Yikes, talk about micromanaging our content!

If you've read much that I have blogged here, I bet you've already learned you have to grab them in the first seven seconds.

Now, add to that. You must also hold onto them for at least three 15 second periods inside every minute.

Technically, you need the last best "code" in the 15 seconds to be ascribed the first 15 seconds.

That last best code could come in the first second or the 15th second. If you're not familiar with code qualities and what this does to the assignment of the 15 seconds to the last best code, contact your BBM or ARB rep who can lessen your need for aspirin as you contemplate these technical realities.

First, of course, if we donʼt keep them for the first fifteen seconds weʼre not even in the game.

Really, you only need to have the last best code in each 15 seconds, they don’t have to have stayed for the full 30.

But, it takes three 15 minute assignments of the last best code to outright “win” the full 60 seconds – and those three 15 second assignments don’t have to be consecutive, for example: first 15, station CAAA has last best code, Second 15, station CBBB has last best code, Third 15, station CAAA has last best code, and Fourth 15, station CAAA has last best code – minute goes to station CAAA.

Plus, we need them to stay for thirty seconds just to be in a tie. But it takes forty five seconds to win that minute. Then the battle begins all over again for the next minute.

Most minutes wins.

Eno joked with the BBM representative who offered the insights that the battlefield has moved from quarter hours to quarter minutes.

The BBM rep's response was that things hadn’t really changed, and the focus as always should be on making better radio, because better radio gets better numbers.

Agreed, but knowing the mechanics of PPM helps us understand the ʻscienceʼ and how/when the radio consumerʼs impatience affects measurement.

Another revelation: the PPM code is not a constant stream.

Because the code likes to hide in the content the code stream is variable. When there is music, the code flows along nicely. When there are gaps, such as spoken word, the code will embed itself behind any audio whatsoever, music, talk, random ambient noise will even encode.

Now, hereʼs the biggie. If there is four seconds of dead air there is no code.

The solution? Donʼt allow dead air.

Dead air (provided your dead air lasts for more than 15 seconds) means no code.

No code. No measurement. No measurement means weʼre kicked off the fifteen second battlefield and weʼre not even in the fight.

To be totally factual, it only takes the last best code of the 15 second period.

It’s possible for there to be 4 different “last best codes” in each 15 seconds. Your code could come in as the ‘last best code’ on the 5th, 9th, 12th or even the 15th second with audio.

Take two panelists and call me in the morning.

Updating Your Personal Prep And Content "Algorithms"

If you did a great bit one time yesterday morning, would all of your listeners have heard it?

Of course not. Social networking on Facebook works the same way. Just because you post something, doesn't mean that your fans or friends will see it.

Apply these variables as you choose what to talk about on the radio, what to post online:

• How's your relationship with your listener? Does he/she trust, respect and like you enough to pay attention when you open your mouth?
• How important to your listener is what you have to say right now? Is it clear right from the start why it's relevant?
  
• Is it fresh or new? Or, warmed over re-purposed prep content that every other talent on the radio is also using today? (or even worse, last night or yesterday)
• Are you a true, authentic, genuine "friend?" Or, are you heard/read as just "an interesting stranger?" Is what you say engaging enough to enhance the former, move toward it, away from the latter?
  

On Facebook now, subscribers can actually do their own filtering.

Your listener has been doing that all along. It's called "seek" and "scan," the reason push buttons are the most popular feature on their radio.

Work on your personal affinity, content weight, decay and "Edge Rank" as you prep and deliver everything across all platforms available to you.

Turkey And Greece, Here I Come

Always a worker bee, even when on vacation, of course I will have my (206-498-6261) international cell phone and laptop with me and will welcome calls and emails even as I fly to Istanbul on October 13 and enjoy the lovely climate and historical sites for almost four weeks.

If you'd like to dream about doing the same thing, click here to see the folks in Turkey we are counting on to show us their part of the world.

The catch is, of course, that Istanbul is ten hours ahead of Seattle, so the best time to call me while I am there will be first thing in the morning your time (or you'll get voice mail while I am sawing logs).

Longtime clients know that I have been doing vacations like this for many years and not only is it not really all that different to call or email me there than it is most workdays, since I travel on business and client meetings most of the time, anyway.

However, it's also a good opportunity to test the mettle of the rest of the A&O team. If you do, I am confident that you'll find that a call or email to them will solve problems for you as well.

If you get my voice mail when you call 206-498-6261 and don't want to wait until tomorrow morning to hear back from me due to that ten hour time difference, contact:

• Mike O'Malley (working twice as hard as usual, but loves every minute of it): 732-937-5757
• Mark Patric (all things music): 604-866-8519
• Mike Oakes (analysis of all ARB and BBM stats as books come out): 314-910-2030
• Dan Vanlandingham (serving prep fresh daily): 513-265-4422
• Ray Massie (social media/programming specialist will guest edit A&O's daily Wake Up Call E-Zines): 406-850-4659

And, next time you - or they - are on an extended vacation, I promise to play backup in return!

Çok teşekkür ederim and Ευχαριστώ πολύ.

The Three R's

There are three goals that any radio station/show should be aiming for when it comes to both on air broadcast and web content. It seems to be something that should be ‘common sense” for any broadcaster.

However, it seems these days we as an industry have gotten away from what our focus should be and strayed into the theory that “just getting our name out there as much as we can” is good enough.

Although it is vital to be known in your market and brand yourself/station as a major player and take ownership of your town/ratings, broadcasters today miss the point of the underlying factor.

The question is what we are going to do with the audience when we get them? I heard a long time ago that as a an “announcer” my job is to keep the listen as long as possible.

I think it can be broken down in three categories or objectives. I call them the THREE “R’s”

REACT
One way or another, we want our listeners to react. Laugh? Cry? Get them angry? It’s all good.

The saying goes “you can’t please everyone all the time.”

Well, take advantage of that.

If it your goal to PLEASE your audience at every turn. You WILL fail.

Besides, in real life, it’s those people that do act that way that are viewed as phony. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand phony people and I certainly don’t want to listen to them.

RESPOND
OK, so now that we have them laughing, crying or mad, what do we do?

Invite them to respond.

If listeners feel like they have an outlet to respond or give feedback, they will stay with you every time.

Is it FACEBOOK, TWITTER or on the phone?

YES. It’s all of those.

The only way people will keep be interested in anything you have to say or promote is if they can have some sort of reaction that is seen or heard.

We have listeners that don’t have time to listen to our broadcast in real time but they love our station so much they want to know what is going on and feel as though they are a part of the family.

RETURN
Like I said before, the job of an announcer is more than just being an entertainer.

We need to keep our audience coming back.

That won’t happen if we are not achieving the previous “R’s.”

If you simply try to promote your station without inviting people back, you have not gotten or gained anything.

In big markets with multiple stations of the same genre this is VITAL!

To be perfectly honest, if you are an announcer that is merely after getting “known”, your career will be a short one.

Some of the best jocks I have ever heard are no names. Yet, they have a way of getting me to come back every time.

Often times I don’t agree with them and many times they find a way to get a reaction from me and yes, I have even tried to “FRIEND” them so I can respond.

If you are REAL and have a way about you that gets listeners to react and respond they will keep coming back.

- Clay Moden, WYRK, Country 106.5/Buffalo

ARB: "Country Continues as America’s Favorite Format"

Radio Today, 2011 edition (click to download your copy) is hot off the press and it contains great news for booming country music radio.

The No. 1 format overall, in both Diary and non-Metro areas, Country reached more than 65 million listeners each week on more than 1,700 stations—the most outlets of any music format, not including 300 Classic Country stations. It also was the top format among most age groups (including a big lead with adults 25-54) and in most dayparts. Country enjoyed some of the longest time spent listening of all formats, and its listeners set a new high in college degree attainment in Fall 2010.

Other fascinating mega-trends in radio's overall usage:

Radio Is Increasingly Mobile…
Away-from-home listening has been growing in proportion to all listening in every weekday hour in recent years except between 5 AM and 9 AM; at-home’s share of radio in the 6AM-10 AM daypart was actually up in Fall 2010 compared to Fall 2008.

…Especially in Evenings
The major shift in recent years has been between 8 PM and 9PM, when in Fall 2010, the majority of tune-in occurred away from home; the reverse had been true in Fall 2008 and in earlier years. The 9 PM to 10 PM hour also has been steadily gravitating toward out-of-home. And combined with out-of-home gaining by proportion in earlier evening hours, for the first time the overall 7 PM to Midnight daypart in Fall 2010 saw the majority of radio listening occurring away from home.

…And on Weekends, Too…
Despite the smaller audiences compared to weekdays, radio’s average quarter-hour ratings away from home increased on weekends from 2 PM and 11 PM and again from 4 AM to 5 AM between Fall 2008 and Fall 2010. The majority of listening in the 10 AM hour shifted to away from home in Fall 2010 for the first time. As it is during weekdays, the 9PM hour is headed that way, as well.

…And Notably Among Teen Boys
Tune-in among teen boys is steadily shifting toward away-from-home listening, which could gain the lion’s share of tune-in by teen boys by the 2012 report.

Weekday Evening Listening Is Rising
Radio increased its listenership, particularly significantly during weekday evenings, when the medium scored higher Cume Ratings among men aged 18-64 and women 25-64. Radio also posted higher ratings in midday reach among men aged 25-64 and women 45-54, as well as on weekends with men 35-64 and women 45-54.

Old Habits Die Hard

PPM statistically-proved several years ago that a longtime staple of morning radio, song parodies, seem to entertain the personalities more than they do the listener.

Yet, as I travel, I still hear from morning jocks whose prep services continue to provide them, if there's ever a place where they fit and do not lose audience.

In general, I feel like they don't achieve anything affirmative for the real driver of usage and loyalty, authenticity, personal values and character-building.

However, two comedy masters used this one to deftly pay off on a six month stunt, that I have to say works for me.



However, television and even the internet isn't morning radio, and as priceless as this great story line is, I worry that it still would lose more listeners than it would keep if it had been a radio bit.

PPM duration of the totality of all listening occasions for the vast majority of listeners (a mode of two and a half minutes) means that more folks would have missed the setup or have had to leave before the ending than would have been there for the whole thing.

For anything that goes much longer than 2:30, it's likely that the only people you can be absolutely certain have heard the beginning, the middle and the ending are in the control room.

Country "Tastes" Very Good

Hats off to Townsquare Media radio stations and their national interactive team which hit the ground running just nine months ago on a terrific achievement, 700,000 "likes" on their Taste Of Country Facebook page.

A proud post Saturday by the Taste of Country Staff:

Country music is stronger than ever right now, and we’re blessed that our readers let us bring them country music’s breaking news, the most insightful interviews and the best new music on a daily basis. We’re also very grateful for your timely feedback. It keeps us to stay on task to what is truly important in country music right now. 2011 has so far been a whirlwind year of country stars penetrating the mainstream in ways fans can embrace.

If anyone doubts that small and mid-sized market radio can get large-sized response, Townsquare's 176 radio stations and companion websites in 38 markets across 16 states prove again that great content and strong focus make a powerful combination, generating engagement and excellent radio results.

Unbelievable!

News: One of Cleveland’s best-known radio voices has been silenced. Chuck Collier, afternoon host and music director at 99.5 WGAR, as well as midday host on Majic 105.7, died Thursday from a massive heart attack. Chuck was 64 years old. Chuck had been a fixture on WGAR for 40 years, starting when the station was still on the AM dial, and playing adult contemporary music.

Comment: Ask any of us to knew and worked with Chuck over the last four decades and you'll hear endless stories of hard work, a positive approach to life, a wonderful family and a dedicated professional who loved Ohio and Cleveland. That smile on his face was always there and it's incomprehensible that we won't see it again except in photos. Please remember his family when the memorial service is announced.

News: Cumulus' Thursday Conference Call For 500 Programming Executives in their newly enlarged conglomerated empire. Among many other rumored imperial dictates: no outside programming consultants, flip-flops, piercings, exposed tattoos or bluejeans.

Comment: It's a source of pride to find myself, by implication on THAT list. A&O worked with Citadel and had some great relationships there - which we'll sincerely miss - but if tattoos, bluejeans, piercings and flip flops aren't welcomed in the new configuration, I wouldn't want us to be there either. Bon Voyage, Cumulus. It's going to be fun to compete with you. I'm tempted to have that tattooed in an exposed place on my body today.

Let's ALL Embrace Country Music Month

The Country Music Association is celebrating Country Music Month with 45 days of promotions, events, and activities designed to drive awareness of the format leading up to the annual CMA Awards, “Country Music’s Biggest Night(tm),” on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean issued a proclamation from the city citing the important role and tangible impact of the Country Music industry on Nashville’s economy and reputation as a center for entertainment business and global tourism.

“It is important to recognize and celebrate the numerous contributions that CMA, the Country Music industry and artists have made to our community and to the lives of millions of people around the world,” Dean said in the Proclamation, which was presented at a reception Tuesday for the CMA Board of Directors at CMA.

First observed in October of 1964, Country Music Month was created by the Country Music Association to celebrate the format and bring additional awareness to landmark events and institutions in the history of Country Music, including the formation of CMA and the anniversary of the WSM Grand Ole Opry. What followed was a groundswell of support from dozens of states, which issued proclamations in support of the idea, and eventually the White House with several Presidential Proclamations beginning in 1970.

Can you get your Mayor? Governor? Wouldn't be be terrific if every state, province and city in North America formally proclaimed and acknowledge the event?

Click to see Gerald Ford's and George Bush's. President Obama eloquently celebrated country music in the White House two summers ago (click to watch the video), G.W.'s iPod reveals a country fan and Bill Clinton is a supporter too so your local politicans, no matter what their party loyalty, would be in great bipartisan company if they made it formal and official in your community too.

News And Comment (An Ongoing Series)

News: "In 2009, the majority of radio newsrooms (56%) relied on social media for story leads from "citizen journalists," and 34 percent of radio newsrooms said social media not only provided leads but can also provided possible sources of information for news stories. Today, only 31 percent use citizen journalists, down 25 percent from 2009. So while use of social media among stations has exploded over the past two years, the use within the newsroom in terms of leads has actually declined."

Comment: Hopefully, this study serves as a wake up call to radio newsrooms and reverses this troublesome trend. Get with it, news people.

News: John Klesewetter: “Heritage rocker 102/7 WEBN Cincinnati is looking for its next morning show for the next decade and beyond. We’re looking for a team or ensemble that can connect with men 25-54 in the confines of a music intensive morning show in a PPM market. Prior ratings success in a major or medium size market a must. Please no voice-trackers, wacky morning zoo types, syndicated morning shows, or shows that need a prep service for material. We want real, honest and fun. We haven’t had a morning opening in over 25 years."

Comment: Hellllloooo, wannabe radio personalities! This job description is for you in the year 2011. You'd think that by now everyone who aspires to do well in ratings in either PPM or diary market surveys would have gotten this memo by now.

News: Bobby Rich continues to prove that doing good in your neighborhood works as well as ever at Tucson's 94.9 MIX FM.

Comment: Let's all help out and bid that house WAY up for him!

Well, That Didn't Work

A year ago when Country Aircheck asked subscribers to vote for in their "Power 31" balloting, I requested folks not vote for me and ended up in the "power rotation" part of the list, so this year I kept quiet about it and hoped that my plea to vote "the country radio audience" to the list might naturally perk up after my recommendation last year.

I must admit that it's an honor to make the list and it's gratifying to know that A&O, since our music recommendations to clients are 100% listener-driven, is seen by so many as influential by programmers.

It's an honor to rank #5 on the list, just behind Clear Channel's Doug Montgomery.

Congrats, #1 Scott Borchetta, #2 Mike Dungan and #3 Luke Lewis for topping an impressive list.

Those three guys fight each week for a #1, so I'm very happy to see them top the list.

I'm betting I join Doug in saying that we'll take our positions on the list with humility and always try to lobby on behalf of the listener on country radio playlists.

That's radio's job #1.

Is Radio Faster Than Twitter (When It Comes To Selling Our Strengths)?

So if twitter is faster than an earthquake. What's radio (both commercial and ham)?

Why couldn't we make a similar claim? Or at least be as creative?

When your station responds to an emergency, do you post-promote your coverage, linking the image to dependability and trust?

My Favorite "Research Email" Each Month

As radio's content imperative moves from time-worn things like the long-serving horrible-scopes, today's birthdays and anniversaries, song parodies and other Boomer benchmarks to more fresh Gen X and Gen Y info, authentic and interactive perspectives on the hottest topics right now, victory often goes to the personality who understands what the right buzz topic is today and how to make something personal, engaging and unique that he/she can brand from it.

For example: "What’s Hot…is the NFL or College Football the top pick?"

• For many this month “autumn” and “football” are synonymous…specifically, 64.4% are glued to NFL games, while 54.0% enjoy college football.
• Also hot this month? The Help was blockbuster among the majority (51.6%) and 3D TV (46.0%) might just be the gift that saves Christmas 2011. Those under 35 are digging the Nintendo 3DS (and presumably its recent price drop), while females will be integrating ankle boots and the color red in their fall wardrobes. What’s not? The stock market…’nuff said there, right?

OK, now that you know that, what do you plan to DO about it?

To start getting Phil Rist's interpretations of Big Research trend reports, follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

Radio Companies Are Marketing Again

Once upon a time two or three very high profile TV production companies dominated both the NAB Radio Show hospitality suites and the exhibit hall floor.

Today, as a number of high profile radio programmers churn out music video-based TV spots for radio on their home computer, stations invite listeners to create spots for them via You Tube, every small town cable TV operation has the high-tech video/audio production bells and whistles that used to cost millions, TV production companies appear to be no-shows at the 2011 NAB.

However, at the risk of leaving out someone I may have missed yesterday I won't mention names, but I have run into at least eight different direct/interactive marketing for radio suppliers demonstrating impressive state of the art multi-media resources which are laden with innovative smart mobile, email internet and address-based geo- and values-targeted direct mail database-driven tricks which promote usage, regularity and relevancy not even the largest radio companies have in-house.

Lesson 1: if you're not marketing in some way, there are at least eight other stations in town which these folks are trying to sell new tactics which are designed to hurt your ratings shares.

Lesson 2: (from someone who has made this mistake): never market a poor product. Nothing will kill it faster than great marketing.

Lesson 3: if you have anything but a terrific product, you're especially vulnerable to lesson 1. It's called being a sitting duck.

Nashville's Country Genome Project

Pandora founder and evangelist Tim Westergren: “There is little doubt now that the future of radio is Internet radio, and personalized radio.”

I appreciated Tom Taylor's perspective, as he quoted the former musician, composer and Pandora visionary's claim of 3.6% of all U.S. radio listening, followed by "a radio executive in the hallway who isn’t discounting Pandora, but knows that broadcast radio, done right, offers a sense of community. So it may come down to broadcast versus customized radio – which must grow its share of ad dollars to break out of its business model where the royalties consume more than 50% of total revenue."

Music discovery is no doubt important to any transitional format, but as any experienced radio vet will testify, trying to use "new music first" as a tactic to create a musical difference almost always loses to the direct competition who lets the newbie familiarize the audience with the unfamiliar material and then plays the biggest hits.

It seems to me that, as with so many other upstarts that have emerged since the dawn of format radio, we don't have to fail for Pandora to succeed.

Newness and similar sounding genres are a dual-edged sword.

Today in the NAB convention hallways I ran into Edison Research's Larry Rosin a longtime student of country radio and music who currently has a concern about country even as new music and artists are clearly booming. His wife listens to country in her car almost constantly thanks to SiriusXM, but he can't listen as much over the last several years since New York has no country FM station anymore: "I hear all this new music, and she obviously loves the songs, but I can't tell one singer from another."

Radio doesn't need a genome project. We have one already. The music biz does it every time. The instant something starts to work, every label seems to have a soundalike.

For the majority of the population, it takes a curator to separate wheat from chaff.

Radio wins by doing what satellite and personalized streams can't do, making sure our local community of listeners gets plenty of the era and genre variety they prefer along with surprises presented by a trusted friend who relates compelling stories about artists we expose, to be sure that the fresh becomes familiar and favorite, reflecting local, topical values and concerns.

A Lost Art?

Bill Dodd has such deep programming and management roots in the Kelso-Longview-Castle Rock area of Washington State, that it's easy to forget that he was a major market talent in San Francisco (see the 1975 KSFO scope here for proof), Portland and Seattle:

"We’re undergoing the agony of a new traffic system. Marketron merged with DeltaFlex and we are forced to change. Today I found out the new system does NOT provide for prioritizing the filling of spot breaks. For 20 years we have filled the last one first, etc--- a lot more music, a lot less talk. It’s worked great. Now we’re going to have to move spots by hand. Sheesh. We can’t be the only people doing this! These companies providing service seem to have forgotten that they are working for us. I suspect that today's traffic software was developed mostly for TV, and most stations just don’t care about what spot placement can make them sound like."

He's right, of course. With PPM's proof in minute-to-minute usage that great commercials can be eight times as engaging as normal ones, it has become even more of a competitive edge to set your breaks up so that the spots run in an order designed to hold maximum audience yet doing so with the new traffic software is next to impossible unless you do it manually.

Hopefully, someone at one of those firms reads this blog and a lightbulb goes off over their heads.

Meanwhile, do you have a system for setting up your breaks to maximize flow? Or, do you worry about it at all?

Changes

The difference between last week and this one is huge.

Last week was Summer.

This week is Fall.

This change has nothing to do with the Autumnal Equinox. It is all about lifestyle (and also survey dates!).

Your listeners have been going through more adjustments over the last week than any other time of the year. Vacations are done. School starts. Some folks are carrying PPM meters through it all and others are getting ARB and BBM diaries to measure their use of radio through it all.

And a lot of ʻfirstsʼ for many of your listeners. Those crucial surveys to us are the least of their concerns right now.

For some it is the beginning of all day kindergarten for their kids. First day of grade one, first day of high school, first day of university. It is a stressful time. It also brings a sense of relief. It also creates lifelong memories.

Relating to your listeners experiences will help make you memorable.

Relatable, memorable radio makes your listeners happy. PPM likes it, too.

What you are doing now is being measured for the Fall Book.

(adapted from JRfm/The Peak PD Gord Eno's weekly 'jock memo.')

Ten Things To Do Now To Tune Up For Ratings

1. Get out and get involved in the community. Loyal listening audiences are built on a personal bond.
2. Come up with TEN things you could do to own your time slot.
3. Over-prepare so be sure that each break relates powerfully in unique and creative ways.
4. Rehearse everything you do for maximum impact.
5. Compress content. Rewrite in advance for brevity and word power.
6. Entertain. Provide an emotional experience between every song.
7. Listen to listeners and use their names and voices on the air, tightly-edited as often as possible.
8. Get one to one. Share your personal point of view and avoid crutches andclichés by being specific and evoking theatre of mind.
9. Provide instant gratification and be sure you present the music in line with our station image.
10. Constantly attack yourself. What would you do if you were your own competition.

If You Like Change, You'll Love Today's News

• Radio Info's discussion board is buzzing about Nielsen's new TV market rankings which assert that the number of America's TV households has gone down. All the top ten markets lost TV homes. Radio, get ready, because on October 1, it's our turn in the same box as Arbitron re-weights all its fall samples with new government-issue census data. Keep that in mind as you get your first fall 2011 monthly.
  
  
• Unilever and AXE have partnered with Shelly Palmer to create AXE App Day 2011, the first-ever developer day staged by a brand. Attendees will include world-class developers, representatives from Unilever and the AXE brand, and teams from platforms like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple and Sony. Keep an eye on this. Which radio station will be the first to sponsor an app-developer day for local techies to design apps to interact and engage with our brands? If no one else brings this up at NAB and CCMA this week, I will. If you will be there, let's talk about it.
  

Peak Broadcasting Takes Boise For A Balloon Ride

Check out PEAK BROADCASTING Top 40 103.3 Kiss FM night slammer NATHAN FAST and morning diva MICHELLE HEART as they take to the sky on opening day of the 2011 Spirit of BOISE Balloon Classic.



Peak's Senior VP Kevin Godwin has a right to brag:

For five mornings and the Friday Nite Glow Concert…we were front and center in the community and across the many media outlets that featured Peak & the event. Estimates from previous Riverfest operators/producers were 20,000-25,000 people attended over the 5 days this year and as you can imagine most of everyone in the valley knew what was going on with balloons overhead for five straight days. We confidently had over 10,000 people just at the Nite Glow concert Friday evening. We were able to fly all five days, with 4 days providing us a “box” wind to get a few balloons back into Ann Morrison Park to land. I believe we did a great job of communicating and super-serving our sponsors and their needs throughout the event and I have heard from many of them on how much they enjoyed being involved.

Is it worth the hard work? Godwin sends along these links to some of the coverage the event received:

• http://idahostatesman.com/2011/09/03/1784566/spotted-spirit-of-boise-balloon.html#storylink=misearch
• http://idahostatesman.com/2011/09/02/1782230/balloons-floating-above-boise.html#storylink=misearch
• http://idahostatesman.com/2011/09/01/1781075/get-a-taste-of-the-high-life.html#storylink=misearch
• http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/08/31/1780464/spirit-of-boise-balloon-classic.html#storylink=misearch
• http://idahostatesman.com/2011/08/31/1780464/spirit-of-boise-balloon-classic.html#storylink=misearch
• http://www.ktvb.com/boise-balloon-classic (multiple stories, reports, pages, photo galleries, video, etc., plus live coverage Wed-Sat morning from 4-8 person production/talent crew)
• http://www.12ktrv.com/story/15377933/spirit-of-boise-balloon-classic-2011
• http://www.12ktrv.com/story/15340735/spirit-of-boise-balloon-classic
• http://www.12ktrv.com/story/15348403/spirit-of-boise-balloon-classic-is-this-week
• http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/03/a-lot-of-hot-air-in-the-capital-city/
• http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/02/balloon-rally-fills-boise-skies-color/
• http://www.spokesman.com/search/?q=balloon%20classic&type=blogpost&sort=pubdate
• http://www.idahopress.com/news/veteran-pilot-makes-balloon-classic-a-tradition/article_0235f7ce-d522-11e0-a7b5-001cc4c002e0.html
• http://www.idahopress.com/news/spirit-of-boise-takes-to-the-air/article_5c9bafe2-d455-11e0-b4b2-001cc4c03286.html
• http://www.idahopress.com/community/hot-air-balloons-to-take-flight/article_c6e179aa-d06c-11e0-a91a-001cc4c002e0.html

A&O is so proud to work with Peak Broadcasting's country stations. They think big, and over-deliver on experiences for their listeners, which is why they are winners.

WOLF/Syracuse Shows How It's Done

Want some extra visibility at a concert?

• Involve fans and give them center stage to express themselves.
• Help the artist over-achieve their aspirations for the show.

"I have to let you know what happened at the Sugarland concert tonight in Essex Junction, VT. I was in the front row of the pit and held up a sign that said, "Thank you for making last night INCREDIBLE! The Little Miss Project." In between songs Jennifer read my sign, did a double take and then said, "no, thank you for making last night incredible!"

Click to watch the magic.

She then told the entire crowd what we did last night in Syracuse and how we surprised them with the biggest "Little Miss Project" to date. She said that it was heartwarming and incredible. Kristian turned to me and covered his heart and said 'thank you.' Jennifer said thank you for doing that for us. Then Valerie, Sugarland's Videographer came over and asked if we were the fans that did the project with WOLF. I said yes and she went on raving about it. She said that she was very moved by it. 

Just thought I would share 
Thanks for helping us pull this off. It was absolutely incredible!!!"
 -- Amy Stephenson

"Of all the years in Radio this has to be one of the BEST radio promotions I have ever been part of." -- Skip Clark, Program Director/On Air, New Country WOLF 105.1 & 96.7

Things I Don't Understand (A Continuing Series)

I scratch my head when a song charts #1.


.. and almost immediately the label puts out a "live" version.


.. once upon a time a programmer told a music promoter that he was dropping a #1 song due to "burn," (probably because he didn't want to admit that he was so stupid that he thought playing a song that ranked lower than #1 made more sense than playing #1 another week or two).

So, the label came up with a "live" version in hopes that would overcome the objection to keeping the #1 song in "heavy" rotation just as they were starting to get the biggest retail action of the release's "life at radio" on the tune.

I wonder...

1. Why drop a song just because it hits #1 on national spin charts? Isn't this the peak of its popularity, audience reach and acceptance?
2. Why test a hook for weeks and weeks, past the unfamiliarity and the polarity to the point that positives are at their highest, and then change the version of the song you play?
3. How could a song that is finally on 100% of the monitored and reporting panels and still growing spins to the point that it's capable of hitting the highest chart number be sufficiently "burnt" that you'd want to play it less?
4. If your recurrents - which is where songs like that move - test better than your heaviest rotation currents with higher positives and low negatives, wouldn't it help your targeting, cume and time spent listening potential to play them more, not less?
5. Has there EVER been a "live" version that listeners liked better on the radio than the "original hit?"

High Tech Firms Use Radio Advertising

"Radio is a congenial home for many advertisers in the hardware business, whether the hardware is lawn mowers or e-mail archivers. All that remains to be added are regular holiday sales for the I.T. products. Maybe the Labor Day weekend will bring a Sale-A-Bration — for load balancers."

- Randall Stross, Silicon Valley-based author and professor of business at San Jose State University in the New York Times

Thanks to Randall Bloomquist for reinforcing the key reasons why:

Affordability – “’We discovered radio was unnaturally inexpensive,’ says Michael Perone, Barracuda’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Targeting – Radio is an efficient way to reach the handful of decision-makers and “influencers” who are responsible for buying IT gear for their organizations.

“[Barracuda] also sells to medium-sized businesses, defined as those with 300 to 2,000 employees. It can be too expensive to send sales representatives to make the multiple visits necessary to close a relatively modest sale to these customers. But it turns out that radio offers an economical alternative way of reaching the three or four people who might work in the I.T. department of a 300-employee company.”

Endorsements – Citrix has found that endorsement spots provide effective “third-party validation” and “can create a brief sense of personal connection with each listener, in a way newer media can’t really match.”