RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Chris Byrnes Rising to the challenge was the theme of the 56th annual BCAB held recently in Kelowna. It was an outstanding event with benefits for all who attended. As I left the convention with fresh ideas, good food and a little wine I was reflecting on some of the real challenges broadcasters face in 2003, along with some of the possible solutions.
Economic Challenge: We cannot control the economy, SARS, Mad Cow, the exchange rate or the many other things that impact consumer spending and advertiser confidence. However, radio can educate its clients on the offsetting benefits of our wonderful medium. Only 38% of all consumer purchases are based on price and item, while 62% are prompted by top-of-mind or impulse purchasing. Radio is a frequency medium that builds top-of-mind awareness while newspaper is all about price and item. So why then does newspaper get the lion’s share of the budget? Today there is about $48 billion parked in bank accounts and short term GIC’s and that is one of the highest “sidelined” amounts ever recorded in Canadian history. The average consumer is looking for a safe investment and a better return than the bank. So how many radio stations have made effective proposals to realtors and precious metals firms to encourage them to advertise?
At the BCAB I met Sean Luce, who runs the Luce Performance Group out of Houston www.luceperformancegroup.com. His company educates and motivates radio sales staff and sales managers, and his customer market profile form is one of the best I’ve ever seen. He contends that too many sales executives call on clients aptly armed with a notepad and pen but depart without the critical pieces of information to enable them to solve the client’s problems. He maintains that 95% of sales reps do not take the necessary time to do any research on a client or his business prior to their initial call. They fail to build a relationship before asking for the order despite the fact that 80% of most advertising decisions are based on the decision-maker liking or connecting with the sales executive. Did you know that each week the average retailer sees 28.6 people who are trying to sell him some kind of product or service? The competition for his buying dollar is frantic and only the most impressive sales reps will succeed. At ByrnesMedia we can help your station to maximize its sales-call productivity with cost-effective training that will pay for itself with the first new order. Phone us now at (905) 332-1331 or e-mail info@byrnesmedia.com.
Ratings Challenge: All too often I encounter programmers who don’t know how to interpret ratings data properly in order to be able to determine why their station’s audience increased or decreased. I recently spent a day at the BBM offices brushing up on Airware and Micro BBM, and was surprised to hear Sally Matschke say that very few broadcasters take advantage of the free training seminars offered by BBM. The new browser software allows radio stations to drill deeper into the data and even read the diary comments, and it won’t be too long before BBM will offer some of the tools programmers enjoy in the USA with products like PD Advantage. In the US, the PPM technology is revealing some positive news for radio that the diary system failed to depict. For example, in Philadelphia, males 12+ listen to an average of 6.3 stations per week compared to 5.2 for women. However, females 12+ stay tuned to each station for 2 hours, 30 minutes compared to 2 hours, 15 minutes for males. (according to PPM). Some may argue that males feel they are not well serviced in Philly while the female-targeted radio stations are simply doing a better job. It could also be symptomatic of the problems all radio broadcasters have effectively targeting males.
Music Challenge: Playing the right songs for your target audience is the goal of any music-based radio station. Too often however, I see programmers and managers monitoring a random basket of radio stations via BDS or MMR. Unfortunately, that seems to have become the alternative when there is no budget to do a local music test. The danger here is that if every radio station took this approach we would see TSL drop and the medium would become less important in people’s lives because of improperly targeted music. In fact, Catherine Kelly of BBM presented some information in Kelowna that shows this resulting audience erosion is already taking place.
I have noticed some radio stations compensating for the lack of research by adding additional format-fringe selections and trying to drive tuning with the “more variety” benefit. Yet all the research I’ve ever seen clearly shows that the average listener does not see this as variety but merely a marketing ploy. We are living in an interactive generation… “What I want, when I want it”. Today’s listeners are the least likely of any generation to sit through two songs they don’t like to hear one song they do. The increase in ratings from playing music that has a high level of passion with your target audience is dramatic and will easily pay for itself. Programmers need to impress upon the bean counters the importance of this programming tool. At ByrnesMedia we have the resources to help you confirm your target and tailor your playlist. The stations we represent have all enjoyed major audience increases in the Spring BBM and we can do the same for you. Increased ratings and potentially higher advertising revenues are just a click away: info@byrnesmedia.com.
Information Challenge: Our global village is getting smaller every day as new and innovative technology becomes commonplace in our homes. The recent war in the Middle East saw for the first time imbedded journalists with videophones beaming live images and sound from tanks and aircraft carriers. It won’t be long before domestic cell phones will provide worldwide coverage with voice and video. This will be just one more medium that will steal ears and eyes away from the traditional media such as radio and print, but frankly it is more likely to have a greater impact on television. Radio did an outstanding job of keeping listeners informed about the war, especially during the workday when the average person did not have access to a TV. Most work places will tolerate a radio playing, but they draw the line at watching TV or reading a newspaper while you’re on the job. I believe the challenge for radio is to create better local news, with national and international stories that address the question “how does this impact the average person living in my market?” The days of a large newsroom staff are gone for most radio stations, so we need to create novel, low-cost ways of gathering news and turning it around quicker. Some radio stations are playing with e-mail alerts that seem to be driving some tuning. Many are also capitalizing on cell phone communication by mobile listeners with small rewards to useful contributors. Hopefully stations won’t burn out these tactics in the same way that news stations have killed the “breaking news” and “in-depth team coverage”.
Talent Challenge: Finding interesting people who can create compelling and entertaining content is a major challenge for radio today. The training grounds of the overnight shift have long fallen victim to voice-tracking and most PD’s have no idea how to train, motivate and nurture talent. Take a minute and ask each of your announcers when they last sat with their coach for an aircheck critique. Dig a little deeper and chances are high that very few of them will say they are being exposed to the tools and ideas that will help them grow their talent. Most learn by trial and error (I’m glad my doctor doesn’t use this method) or by emulating other professionals they respect. I was encouraged to hear Dave Farough say at CMW in February that Corus has developed a farm team system with one or two or their stations designated as learning centres where jocks that appear to have potential will be groomed and developed. I believe that radio stations need to train the trainers to ensure that the PD knows how to identify and grow talent.
Imaging Challenge: Tune around the radio dial and write down the phrases radio stations use to promote their products. Chances are the result will be a long, confusing list of attributes of a radio station such as “We’re #1” or “The Variety Station.” I even heard a station recently that said “You know you’re addicted to Z when you name your children Zeldon, Zerona and Zebbeda.” While the last one was kind of funny, like most station imaging it fails to sell a tuning benefit. I encourage radio stations to think like they are the biggest advertiser, and to treat their recorded promos and imaging as if they were purchasing it. I’ve seen radio stations spend hours considering billboard creative only to throw the station on-air imaging together when the production room has completed the client commercials for the day. The cume of most radio stations is greater than the reach of a billboard. So, take a step back and ask yourself:
After you answer these questions, and only then, is when the creative process starts. Make sure the imaging is updated and kept interesting. Nothing signals carelessness more than stale-dated or overplayed promos.
Marketing Challenge: Effectively reaching your target audience and influencing them to remember your call letters or station name continues to be a major challenge for most broadcasters. Budgets have been slashed and it’s becoming harder to dominate one medium these days. Media is becoming more fragmented and the number of messages the average person gets bombarded with each day means their “BS” meter has become finely tuned. Solutions Research conducted a very interesting focus group study with six 18-22 year olds at the BCAB in Kelowna. Their insights into media and radio in particular were revealing. While there was some good news for radio -- they like the unpredictable play-lists and the community involvement -- clearly television has big problems trying to reach young adults. Young people prefer to surf the Internet and to download free music and even full-length movies. Most say they discover new music via Kazaa and by word of mouth from friends. They believe the record companies and artists are all filthy-rich so they don’t believe that downloading music is stealing. The average teenager’s bedroom has a computer with broadband connection, as well as a radio, CD player and a phone. When asked if they had to choose one of these items to take to a desert island all chose the computer. It stands to reason therefore that each future generation will be harder to reach and influence. That is why a lot of companies are working on new and less conventional ways to spread their message
Conclusion: I believe good broadcasters will always be successful. We will all have to work harder, be more creative, and gather around us the best of the best. While the methodology of successful broadcasting will undergo substantial changes, the next 20 years will be a lot more exciting than the last 20. New products and services will allow the average person more mobility with more power crammed into smaller gadgets. Radio will also benefit from some of this technology and because of its portability and mobility it will continue to be among the most popular of the media. The question is, are you and your staff up for the developmental challenges? |