JUST HOW SHOULD WE PLAY THE RATINGS GAME? Chris Byrnes I have always believed that as broadcasters, we are not really in the radio business; we are in the diary influencing business. Therefore, it is vital that everyone on the radio station understands how to play the BBM game. There are three fundamental but very different phases to this process, before the book, during the book, and after the book has finished.
BEFORE THE NEXT BOOK
Understand the Methodology: All the key people on the radio station need to understand how BBM chooses the sample, how they get people to take part in a survey, and when the diaries get filled out and returned. This may help as you decide your external marketing or how you will execute a survey promotion. BBM selects random numbers from phone books, so to take part in a survey you have to be in the book. They run through a basic screener to make sure that no one in the house works for a radio station and then they "flood" the house with diaries one for each person over the age of 12 who lives in that house. BBM phones back to remind people to mail back the book. By the way only 52% of all people who agree to fill out a book ever do. On average BBM places about 200 diaries in the market each surveyed week, depending on the market size, but diaries can in reality be filled out, and mailed anytime up until two weeks after the survey period has ended. So your major survey promotion should go longer than just the 8 weeks of the survey period. Arbitron did a very interesting study to find out when people are most likely to fill out a dairy, and that's why U.S. radio stations ramp up their giveaways on a Thursday. It's worth noting that Arbitron starts on a Thursday, not on a Monday as in Canada. Therefore, in Canada, Mondays are probably the best day on which to focus your promotions.
Know What You Get Credit For: A radio station will get credit for their frequency, their official name, and their known name. But all things are not equal, so find out from BBM how this applies to your radio station, and then make sure these are the primary identifiers on air.
Know the BBM Rules: BBM has some basic rules you must live by, such as not mentioning on air that people should fill out their diary! There are many urban myths about things radio stations have done in the past to give themselves an advantage, but those loop holes have all been closed. In short, get a list of the rules, and know what you can and can't do during the book.
Make Sure Your Station Information Is Up-To-Date: Before each survey period, you will receive a form from BBM asking you to update the station information. Here's your chance to make sure BBM have you listed correctly, your standard dayparts and the special shows, so you get the credit for that exciting Blue Jays game you air in your market!
Ask For A Sample Diary: How many of your air-staff have ever seen a BBM diary? BBM will send you a copy, so you can show it to your air staff. They can then get a much better idea of exactly what 1200 people in your market (sample varies by market size) will be getting in the mail, during the "Hot Weeks" of the survey period. Once your air staff has a chance to see just how much effort is required to complete a dairy, they will understand why, above all else, it's critical to promote your station name with enough conviction and frequency that the diary keeper will remember it when they finally get around to filling out their diary.
DURING THE BOOK
Stay Consistent: We are always fine-tuning our product, but there is a right time and a wrong time to make changes. At all costs avoid making any changes to your station's programming during the book. Even changes that will help the station in the long run, such as replacing a weak morning show with a better one, will create audience churn that could hurt you in the short run. Such changes cause listeners to tune out, and it takes time for the market to new listeners to discover the improvements. Any changes, especially major changes should be made well in advance of the book.
Get the Credit For the Listening: Above all, make sure your station name and/or call letters are showcased frequently and effectively. I heard a Toronto Drive Jock do his stations call letters seven times in one break the other day. He sold them in such as way as it did not sound cluttered, and it all sounded like it belonged. That station understands the importance of attaching their calls letters to all their features.
KISS Applies: Keep it simple stupid applies to everything we do in radio. Make sure the promotions are easy to understand, easy to play, and easy to play along with. Don't get too clever in the way you position your product or market your benefits. If you're a "More music less talk" kind of station, be careful not to spend all your time selling that benefit in long wordy sweepers.
AFTER THE BOOK
Prepare Comparative Information and Templates: To avoid panic and mayhem the day the results are released, you need to develop a game plan. You can build templates in Excel and list all the previous years’ results, so when you download the new BBM data, you simply plug in the numbers and the software will work out the differences and display the new results and changes in a clear and meaningful manner. The trick is to work out the most important information, and understand the data the PD needs may be different from the data the General Sales Manager needs.
Read All the Diaries: You can book the BBM boardroom for a day and read all the diaries. While you cannot see the actual address the diary was sent to, you can see the Postal Code, and lots of other interesting information that you'll never see in the released data. The comments page at the back is often a great place to learn more about your radio station, and you'll also get a better feel for when people are tuning in, out and where they go. BBM have plans to deliver this information on CD-ROM as a PDF file, and ultimately link the comments to the actual diary. Jeff Vidler, Partner in Solution Research Group Consultants Inc. says "Just as you would in a focus group, pay attention to the words listeners use to describe your station and your competitors in the diary comments. That alone can give you valuable feedback on which marketing messages are cutting through in the marketplace, which ones aren't, and which listener benefits provide opportunities for promotion."
Your BBM Rep Is A Resource: Get to know your client rep at BBM, go visit them a couple of times a year, and invite them to the radio station. They are happy to provide training for your staff, so others can learn how to read BBM results and run the software programs such as MicroBBM and Airware.
Check Information With BBM Before You Do Release: Too often in our haste to put our spin on the results, and get a few lines of positive ink in the local paper, we often rush out a press release, only to find that the information or some small part of the qualifier is incorrect. This can lead to embarrassment as the radio station has to retract the information and the other stations may take advantage of this situation. Arrange with your BBM rep to review your press release and confirm the information is right before your press release goes out. They will turn the information around very quickly and your station's reputation will be enhanced by the process, and not damaged.
Talk To BBM About What Other Information Is Available To You: BBM can do special data runs to provide additional information that you will never see via the standard reports or the supplied computer software program. BBM own a research company called Comquest, which conducts further research flowing from BBM. They can design research studies and go back to the very diary holders to ask additional questions, so you get a better understanding of what the market is feeling about your product.
Conclusion: While I don't believe the current system of measuring radio listening is very accurate, it is the best the industry has come up with for the money we pay. The 4P People meters were successfully tested in England last year, and currently Arbitron is testing the same technology in Philadelphia. BBM has the exclusive rights to the 4P system, which if implemented I believe will increase the levels of reported listening. At the very least it should benefit the lower ranked radio stations, which miss out of reported listening because they are not top of mind. But all this comes at a cost, and what will be the incentive for the top ranking stations in the major markets to want to pay higher fees, perhaps to see their reported tuning go down? Diaries will be here for the next few years, so look for every advantage for your radio station before, during, and after ratings. |