WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM KERRY VS. BUSH Chris Byrnes In my writing, I try and heed the advice given to me by a very wise friend many years ago. Never talk about religion, politics and sports. While I’m not about to ignore a sage’s advice, I found myself rapt with interest as the events unfolded over the past few months in the U.S. during the Presidential election.
I traveled frequently within the U.S. during the campaign period, so I had the advantage of seeing first hand the stumping, the publicity, the politicking, and I spoke with a number of Americans and heard various opinions. I think there are some interesting lessons we can learn from the election outcome that can be applied to radio in general, and perhaps your radio station in particular. So here, in no particular order, are some of my observations:
Get the Right Advice: I am told that George Bush surrounds himself with wise people who offer educated, political advice. On the other hand, Kerry may not have been getting quality input. He put a lot of emphasis on his Vietnam War actions, contrasting himself with George W. Clearly, he misjudged the average American who doesn’t have fond memories of that conflict. It’s a part of history that most Americans would rather forget. It’s also a topic that has polarized people and opinions are too deeply entrenched for some politico to change with campaign rhetoric.
Getting bad advice of course is not limited to politics. There are many examples of it throughout the world of big business. Dot.com mania in the 90’s showed us that everyone from the small investor to the big brokerages could make unwise judgments.
The Swiss used to be the world’s best watchmakers, but passed on the digital watch because they thought it would never catch on. Some may argue that AM Stereo was based on poor judgment or bad advice. Today, broadcasters and investors are scratching their heads over Satellite Radio, and wondering if it will take off as predicted. SIRIUS is banking on Howard Stern to get it beyond its current subscriber base of 700,000. They’re paying him $100 million over five years in the hope that a large percentage of his current 17 million listeners will pay 43 cents a day to subscribe to their service. Look for the new CEO of SIRIUS, Mel Karmazin to buy out Stern’s contract and get him on the satellite within the next 12 months. Clients tell us that one of our strengths is the quality advice we give, which I guess is the ultimate compliment you can give a consultant. Frankly, most often that advice comes from asking relevant questions, logically considering the data and reaching a conclusion that can be substantiated.
Be Able To Act Quickly and Take the Lead: “I think Kerry's biggest hurdle is that he wasn't able to set the agenda for this campaign," said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a presidential expert at the Brookings Institution. Kerry began the campaign viewed as the most "elect-able" of the Democrats, a description that perhaps said more about the quality of his opponents than Kerry himself. He rode a strong current of dissatisfaction with Bush but was never able to capitalize. Radio stations also need to be agile and be able to react to the competitive environment. Sometimes, the bigger the company or the more complex the management structure, the slower the decision making process is, and that can result in missed opportunities.
Develop A Winning Game Plan: By any objective measure, George W. Bush was easily the most beatable incumbent president in a quarter century. “A real-life opposition party would have been insulted to be matched with such an unworthy and frail rival,” wrote left-wing columnist Marc Cooper. Most polls showed that Bush was behind and John Kerry would win, but the only poll that counted in this case was the one that was taken on November 2. It would appear that John Kerry and his people did not have a clear game plan and were easily distracted by the competition. They spent too much time on the defensive and not enough time explaining and defending their position. This also happens in radio more than you might think. Sometimes the competition gets a little dirty and head games are played. The PD or GM who blinks first often loses. The unfortunate truth is that some radio stations fail to develop a solid plan and they operate day-to-day, ending up being reactors rather than leaders. We encourage our clients to develop plans and we make it our job to assist them in that process. Then we help them communicate that vision to every member of the team and explain what each person’s role is and what the minimum expectations are. If everyone understands the game plan, the chances of winning are greatly increased.
Stand For Something: Kerry tried to run a campaign based on the idea that he wasn’t Bush but he never offered a coherent alternative. Faced with that, people voted for what they knew rather than what they didn’t, especially since Kerry went to great lengths to saddle up to Bush’s positions. Too often, radio stations attempt to attract listeners with confusing marketing or meaningless positioning statements. I have always believed that most listeners are not that naive. They see right through this tactic and are often unimpressed and turned off by the messages that fail to communicate a benefit to them. This was clearly the case with John Kerry. He lost because he presented no alternative to Bush and millions of people saw right through that.
Be Aware of Your History: Kerry spent just four-months in Vietnam over 35 years ago but spent more time talking about that than the 20 years he spent in the Senate. He returned to the U.S. as an outspoken opponent of the war, earning national attention for his testimony before the Senate in 1971. In this day of mass data storage and on-demand technology, every word we speak or write can be dragged back to the forefront with the click of a button. The same applies for a radio station. Before you decide to move in a different direction, take a moment to study history to ensure that the concept will work. Radio stations that change format after every bad book can never expect to shed their schizophrenic image. I am sure that I must drive some General Managers crazy when I first arrive in their market because I ask a lot of questions. I do this so I can understand the market and the history. I know of a market where there are some big library titles that are badly burnt because of 90 minute rotations used by the CHR and Hot AC stations several years ago as they battled to control the market. To this day these songs can’t be played but I still hear them on the competition’s station. I suspect they have not bothered to study the history or conduct a music test.
Avoid Knocking the Other Guy: Kerry seemed to believe that everyone viewed Bush as an imbecile. He spent a lot of energy and money talking about what a smart guy he was and how Bush just wasn’t bright enough to be the commander-in-chief. He forgot that approximately 50% of Americans had voted Bush into this position four years earlier so every time he went down this road, he was reminding these voters that they got it wrong the last time. There is some evidence to suggest that some of the vicious and personal attack tactics employed during this campaign may have backfired on Kerry. This is one of the top reasons why comparative advertising does not work. The “draw the line” TV spot worked in some markets for a short time but overall is was a disaster. I encourage radio stations to take the high road and never acknowledge your competitor on the air, or in your marketing.
Charisma Counts: Agree or disagree with Bush but you must concede that he energized the electorate. Given the intense reactions he draws, both his supporters and opponents went to the polling booths in record numbers. It was one of the highest voter turnouts in recent years. Just as the people re-elect their political leaders, radio stations are measured and voted for by the listeners in the Arbitron or BBM surveys. I believe that the radio stations that win are the ones that “campaign” all year round. Radio stations can benefit from taking a leaf out of the politician’s play book and look for ways to generate top of mind awareness. They also need to win the #1 position in the average listeners mind. All too often we confuse the listener with complicated or meaningless marketing. Often, as a radio station reaches the mature stage in its formatic life cycle we see TSL drop and cume start to erode. This does not mean it’s not a good radio station but it does need to be re-energized and refocused. This is something we are able to help radio stations do because we bring an objective and experienced “ear” to the scene. We also bring new tools and new ideas to the planning table.
Conclusion: In four more years when perhaps Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hillary Clinton will battle for the White House, the one thing we can count on is that the radio industry will have continued to evolve and change. There will be more radio stations in most markets, competing for a shrinking advertising pie. This means we all need to strive harder to improve what comes out of the speakers. |