ONLY STRONGEST FEATURES HAVE INSTANT IMPACT ON LISTENING LEVELS Alexandra Cahill – Radio and Records “What Happens When Features Come On,” a study conducted by Coleman Insights, reveals that programming features on music radio stations have more of an impact on long-term brand development than an instant effect on Portable People Meter-based listening levels. Radio audiences tune in to specific programming features in an inconsistent manner, and only the strongest performers have a real impact on their behavior.
The study is the first in an ongoing Coleman Insights series, “Mapping the DNA of PPM,” which takes a closer look at how Arbitron’s PPM service reports the responses of radio listeners to a variety of programming elements.
During the study, Coleman analyzed the performances of 15 programming features that aired on Philadelphia music stations based on audience data from PPM. In addition, Coleman conducted a 600-person telephone survey to compare the PPM-based results with listener evaluations of the same features.
Coleman Insights president Jon Coleman says, “Stations should view features as tools for building their brands and developing their personalities,” but not as something that will give them an instantaneous boost in listening levels.
“When a feature truly succeeds,” Coleman continues, "the audience growth happens over weeks and months and cannot usually be seen in a single airing. We reach this conclusion because audience tune-in specifically for features is inconsistent and not dramatic when it does occur.”
According to a list of 11 additional key findings released by Coleman Insights, features cause minimal extraordinary tune-in compared to normal programming. Tune-in levels in the opening minutes of features are only 7% higher than the typical tune-in that occurs during programming content. Tune-out levels in the same opening minutes are 9% higher than is typical.
Also, music features tend to perform better than talk features; well-known features perform better than those with lower familiarity; stations retain P1 listeners when they air features at a higher rate then they retain P1 listeners; audience levels at the beginning of features are lower than in the immediately preceding programming; excessive talk set-up to features exacerbates the audience loss that usually occurs when music ends; and features that immediately follow commercial breaks perform worse that those that don’t follow breaks.
Read more about the Coleman Insights PPM study and its implications for the industry in the Jan. 25 issue of R&R magazine. A download of the full report will be available beginning Jan. 30 at www.ColemanInsights.com. |