THE WINDS OF CHANGE Chris Byrnes Who could have thought things could change so quickly? Today people prefer to drive or take the train instead of fly. In fact thousands of people have simply decided they will not travel at all. In my business, I spend a lot of time on flights in both Canada and the USA, so I see first hand the lack of people flying. I recently flew back from Dallas to Toronto and shared a 737 with 13 other passengers and a crew of six! The images on TV of empty airports this American Thanksgiving is a vivid reminder of just how much things have changed.
So what does all this mean for radio? Predictions are that time spent listening will be up for most formats, as news junkies go looking for information and people in general look for comfort and familiarity in the music, the personalities, and the companionship offered by their local radio station. This is one reason why I believe “stationality” is more important today then ever before.
Hopefully you’ve already reviewed all the elements on your radio station to ensure that you are meeting the needs of your audience. Some stations have beefed up their web sites as a means to offer more in-depth information. But the stations that will win are the ones who continue to look for opportunities to super serve their core audience, and in doing so build even better loyalty to their product.
On November 13th when the Taliban gave up control of Kabul, and music was heard in that city for the first time in six years, I was listening to a morning show as they asked their listeners to nominate the perfect “freedom” song as the station put a CD of music together and sent off to a Kabul radio station from the people of XXX market. Not a major deal, but clearly here was a morning show that understands the importance of creating a perishable morning show, filled with bits that could only be done on that day. As you would imagine the response from listeners was amazing, and they could only get a few of the calls to air. They promised to tabulate all the votes and announce the songs that made it onto the CD at the end of the show. At 8:50am the station announced the songs, posted the list on their web site and then aired a countdown of the songs from twenty to number one. Here was a morning show that understands their function, to build quarter hours and create positive “water cooler” talk.
The impact of September 11th and the tragic events that have followed have affected all levels of our society. For example the anthrax paranoia has resulted in people being scared to open mail, especially in the USA. The TV networks now say if you want to write to us, send a postcard! All this as the direct mail industry is about to gear up for its biggest month of the year. January and September are the boom months for this $17 billion dollar a year industry, but not I suspect this January.
I’m sure you’ve used direct mail over the years, because it’s a great way to communicate your message to listeners. It puts a station message right next to that BBM/Arbitron diary, right there in the diary keeper’s mailbox. At the risk of typecasting diary keepers as detail-oriented catalogue-shoppers who will take the time to fill out a diary, many are…and will. Sadly, anthrax incidents, which the U.S. government now characterizes as “terrorist”, have people afraid to open their mail. Could this impact on diary returns? In the USA, I believe it will.
Recently in the New York Post, Avrett, Free & Ginsberg Creative Director and Chairman Frank Ginsberg said: "I can't think of anything that could hurt direct mail more than this. I fear direct mail is in its demise." Hopefully, what he's saying will turn out to be over-stated.
So what could this mean for your planned radio direct mail piece? Frankly I doubt that people will not be afraid of the slick, contest- looking mail pieces that Radio traditionally sends out. These generally feature prominent station logos, and caricatures of familiar on-air personalities. These pieces look less threatening than the mysterious no-return-address letters we've seen on TV news coverage of anthrax mail incidents. You may also find that your direct mail piece will have more impact because chances are there will be fewer companies using direct mail, so you will have fewer pieces of direct mail to compete with. Another technique that works well is the letter from the General Manager on station letterhead, provided it is addressed to a person and not “The Occupant”.
But if ever there was a time to get serious about developing your E-mail assets, it’s right now, today. E-mail is still the #1 reason people use the Internet. People will read a carefully composed message with a compelling Subject line. And the best news of all, it's FREE! And lately, free is good, eh? When addresses expire, you know because the E-mail bounces back. So it's easier to keep an E-mail list up-to-date than a snail mail list. It's inherently more interactive, and can include links to station sites, to pages within station sites, and to station advertisers’ sites.
Every day more and more people are signing up and getting connected. "In the United States, there are an estimated 96.6 million people over the age of 18 using e-mail; by 2003 this number is expected to grow to 140 million," says Larry Purpuro, president and founder of Washington-based RightClick Strategies. All told, more than 1 billion e-mail messages are sent daily in the United States.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a fan of radio station databases and e-mail as a tool to communicate with both listeners and potential listeners to create appointment tuning. In fact we’ve developed a software program that was written just for radio, which not only enables radio stations to build a database and send personalized e-mails, it also manages all the prizing on your radio station and enables you to track those heavy users… you know, the people who win all the prizes from you!
As more and more industry sectors study this changing economy, the changing world and changing values, they are forced to devise better ways to build customer loyalty and repeat business. For example Toronto Nightclubs ask to see each patron's driving license and quickly capture vital name, age, address and sex data via electronic scanners. They are creating an instant mailing list and some clubs are using this data to market to their P2 and P3 patrons, the ones who visit only occasionally and offering incentives to come to their club.
In closing, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading our monthly missives. I’ve had lots of people ask why we give so much information away for free. My answer is simple, imagine all the information our paying clients have access to! 2001 has been a record year for ByrnesMedia, with a 300% growth in clients. Thanks for all your support and all the best for 2002. I hope you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season. |