The New Normal?

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Tagged with Arbitron, change, consultant, New Normal, Normal, Radio, radio consultant.

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By admin – May 17, 2010

Marketing

So … business is picking up and you’re looking at adding back some of things you had to cut the last couple of years. (If you’re thinking of adding a consultant, I’m available, and reasonable!:)

If marketing is on the agenda let’s look at some things to consider that may be basic to you, and some things that may not.

What’s the campaign’s goal? If you don’t know what you are looking to accomplish, don’t spend the money!
Is the goal reachable? It’s OK if it’s a bit of a stretch, but it should be reasonable.
Is the goal based in an area that will cause your cash register to ring or continue to ring? If not, revisit the goal.
Do you have enough money in the budget to accomplish the goal? If you don’t, conserve your cash until you do. The worst thing you can do is underfund in marketing. It sours the milk for future use. (Forgive the old Country saying but, after all, Country is my specialty.)
Do you have a clearly defined target in mind to achieve your goal? Remember this is not just a demographic and gender decision. Carefully analyze Arbitron’s diary or meter placement habits in your market. How does your campaign match up to these areas?
Should it be a reach or frequency campaign? Actually this is a trick question in my opinion. Reach without frequency is a waste of time and money. Remember the law of threes.
What message should you deliver? This will obviously differ depending on the situation. Regardless, make sure it is focused in an area meaningful to the target. For instance, a campaign focused on playing more music to an audience that has no issue with the amount of music you or your competitor is playing is a waste of money.
What vehicle should you use? Again, this will vary depending on the message and how targeted it needs to be. Obviously direct marketing allows the most finite targeting. Should it be telemarketing? Direct mail? E-mail blasts? Television? Boards? All good choices for different reasons. Not all are going to be necessarily the answer for your campaign.
How do you assess value? That can be a tough one if you’re not in a metered market that gives you instant analysis. The best you can do is break it down to cost per impression. However, don’t be fooled by impressions. An impression can be nothing more than a glance. What you’re looking for is the kind of focused attention that will cause action on your behalf. That usually takes lots of frequency in our marketing message-crowded world, or something that is so targeted to the recipient that you will get their immediate attention. Yeah, it’s hard to do.

Hope this helps.

Bob Glasco

480-488-0903

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Tagged with advertising, Arbitron, business, consultant, marketing, Radio, radio consultant.

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By admin – May 10, 2010

Revenue Ideas

It seems none of us in the Broadcasting business can take a breath these days without reading about or hearing about the need to maximize our Internet presence and revenue opportunities.

With few exceptions every “expert” seems to think we’re all doing it wrong, or not doing enough.

We all know there’s usually a better way, depending on who you ask, to do most anything. I’m not writing this to try to tell you I know a better way. Rather, I would like to offer five ideas on “different” ways you might consider trying to increase your Internet revenue. Some you may already be doing. Some you may be thinking about but just haven’t gotten around to doing anything about it yet. And maybe there might be something you haven’t considered.

Whichever, here goes.

Hire a sales staff separate from your Broadcast sellers whose sole revenue source is from the Internet. They don’t have to be Internet experts. They should concentrate on being problem solvers for their clients.
The Internet gives you more ways to help a client than Radio alone can. Your Internet sellers should be concentrating on Yellow Pages and newspaper advertisers in particular. Think video presentations and couponing for starters.
Consider opening your own Internet store. You have the perfect advertising vehicle right under your own roof. Let Radio drive traffic to the site or sites. You can be the retailer for almost anything. Google “wholesale Internet marketers” for lots of products your “store” can retail.
If you’re in the HD business, how much money did it made for you this past year? At what expense? Consider replacing it with another Internet stream with programming not found in your market. Do a client community survey to find out what’s missing in their minds. If you build it, they will come.
Use your morning show and music director to develop podcasts featuring comedy bits and music oriented features for mobile.

It’s just possible your Internet sales staff will out perform your Radio sellers if given the time and financial support any new business needs to succeed.

Bob Glasco

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Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, Internet Revenue, Radio, radio consultant, revenue generating ideas.

By admin – May 3, 2010

Priorities

“Win the heart and the mind will follow. The mind (logical left brain) can always find logic to justify what the heart (intuitive right brain) has already decided.”

— Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads.

As humans, we are all a bundle of emotions in one stage of control or another. As marketers, and that’s what anyone in our business truly is, our job is to reach as many of those emotions as possible whether it be in your management style, your sales presentation or in the way you program your Radio station(s).

As Roy H. Williams points out in most of his writings and is so well capsulated in the quote, win your consumers’/clients’/employees’ hearts, and you’ve won the battle.

How much time do you spend each day in this endeavor? Are you sure what you’re spending your time on is truly focused on reaching your listeners emotions? Your clients? Your employees?

Is spending a couple of hours trying to produce the “perfect” music log the best way for a programmer? Or would you be better off spending that time producing compelling imaging? Or working with the air talent on their content?

Is spending hours working on policies and procedures the best way, or is a walk-about in the building touching your employees with encouragement, or a group brainstorming session involving creative minds at your station to solve a problem better?

Is looking for ways to package for value added the way, or would you be better off using your creativity to solve the client’s problem? After all, that’s what they really care about.

I won’t try to convince you one way or the other. However, I will encourage you to examine your list of priorities. Where are they located? In the head? Or the heart?

Bob Glasco

480-488-0903

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Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, creative, priorities, Radio, radio consultant.

By admin – April 25, 2010

Re-Invention

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” We’ve all heard that line, but do you realize it is fast becoming Radio’s mantra?

Consider this from a recent news article: A new study out from Edison Research and Arbitron finds that almost everybody still uses the radio – in fact, 92% of us find our way to the AM or FM bands on a regular basis. But only 22% say it has a big impact on their lives, and the number using it to find new music is also shrinking.

According to a report in Radio Survivor, cell phones and the internet get significantly better scores in the impact front, and satellite radio even managed to beat radio’s score by five points.

Asked where they go to discover new music, radio was still #1, defeating the internet by a 39%-31% margin. That’s good, but not when you consider that radio’s score on this question in a 2002 survey was 63%. And among today’s 12-24 age group, the internet scores a clear win, 52% to 32%.

44% of the survey group owns some form of iPod/MP3 device, and between 23% and 27% of those aged 12-34 say that use of it takes time away that they might be spending with radio.

Only 3% of those surveyed had an HD radio, and only 31% were even aware of it.

51% of 12-24s said they would be disappointed to lose their favorite radio station, and 78% of all respondents said they would continue to use radio despite the continued march of technology.

What we have always been famous for is slip sliding away to quote Paul Simon.

It’s time for Radio to reinvent itself. I have said before that we must become known as the provider of entertaining audio content to remain relevant.

To do that we have to recruit, and be willing to pay to keep the talented people in this world who have the ability to make people laugh, or cry; to illicit emotional responses across the spectrum.

We have the means, but do we have the courage?

Bob Glasco

Glasco Media

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Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with Arbitron, consultant, motivation, Radio, radio consultant, Reality, talent.

By admin – April 19, 2010

Benefits

What are your customers (advertisers/listeners) buying? Is it the morning show? The music you play? Is it habit? Is it price?

It’s none of these.

People don’t buy features, they buy benefits. The two are very different. Features are the characteristics of the product. Benefits are the oftentimes intangible aspects for the listener, and increased business for the advertiser. What benefits does your station have to sell?

Music quantity statements don’t add up to a benefit by themselves. They are too easy to match, or beat. The only time they make sense is if you know that a substantial part of the audience thinks the competition doesn’t play enough music and you know for sure that they cannot match or beat your promise.

Same goes for rate wars. Denigrating your product by giving it away does not build value or position it as a potential benefit. The worst thing that could happen to you and your market is if the competing stations follow you into this black hole.

Identify and promote the things about your product that provide a benefit to your listeners. It could be the morning show. It could be the blend of music you play. It could be your information package. Whatever it is, when you make the list make sure it includes at least one thing unique to your market.

As for your sales efforts, you’ve heard it before I’m sure: Sell results! That’s what an advertiser is looking for after all. That’s the benefit they care about most.

If you’re talking about results your station has generated for its clients you’re highlighting the value your airtime can bring to the prospect. If they perceive value, price becomes less important.

Unfortunately the last couple of years have made even an obvious benefit a tough sell. However, benefits that bring revenue are still in demand. It’s the intangibles that have become next to impossible to sell. That’s why it’s imperative you concentrate on results and build value with your stories.

Bob Glasco

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, Customer Focus, customer service, Radio, radio consultant.

By admin – April 11, 2010

Do It Yourself

Remember all those times we’ve talked about how important content was to Radio’s survival? Well, it just got even more important.

As reported by Audio4cast, Michael Robertson, the man who created the now defunct mp3.com, has a new product set to launch. It’s called byo.fm.

It lets you create your own Radio station by uploading your own music for playback, and it also delivers news, traffic, weather and sports captured from your favorite websites and delivered in a voice you choose utilizing text to voice technology.

If this doesn’t get your attention then, hopefully, for you, Wal Mart is hiring.

Think about this. A person can get everything you deliver except your personalities – if you still have any that are compelling to hear – without having to listen to talk they don’t care about and songs they don’t like.

If you are lucky enough to have some compelling personalities, shutting them down and limiting them to 15-second bursts of “content” that contains little more than liners and teases won’t satisfy the listener’s desire to be entertained, or set you apart from byo.fm or whatever comes next

This is a short piece this week because I don’t want to get in the way of the message. If you’re not nurturing creative talent and producing compelling programming on your station(s) now is the time … before it’s too late.

Bob Glasco

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Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with Competition, consultant, Content, radio consultant.

By admin – April 4, 2010

Voting

No, this isn’t a civics lesson. Instead, I’d like to offer some thoughts on the current state of Radio’s health as it is driven by Arbitron.

In diary markets, stations are still campaigning for votes. Change or create the person’s perception and you’re likely to get their vote in a diary.

However, that’s not the case in metered markets. You have to affect actual usage of your station in order to get a vote.

Notice I continued to call it a “vote.” Anytime someone raises their hand in support of you or anything you stand for or are selling, they are casting their “vote” for you. They are offering their support for your cause. They have gained enough confidence in you or have grown to like you well enough that they feel comfortable standing up for you.

When you think about it, that is a powerful act. It leaves them open to the criticism of others who don’t agree. None of us likes criticism. None of us wants to be in the “un-cool” crowd.

That’s why stations in metered markets are finding it hard to move the meter (no pun intended). The memory game is gone. Now it’s not so much about remembering you from your marketing when they’re filling out a diary, they actually have to take action and that means validating their choice. It means telling everyone about that choice. It means opening themselves up to the disdain of others.

Too dramatic you say? Think about the times in your life you’ve changed a habit or adopted something new. Was it easy?

Keep this in mind the next time you’re ready to map out your marketing campaign and you’re thinking about your message and how you’re going to deliver it.

Regardless of whether you’re in a diary or meter market, the reality is the same. To be successful, you have to affect a change, not just a perception. And don’t forget, it takes longer to affect change than perception.

Bob Glasco

480-488-0903

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Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, Radio, radio consultant, strategy.

By admin – March 28, 2010

Cutomer Focus

Customer Focus. It’s a phrase we use everyday. But I wonder if it’s just used and not lived by otherwise well-intentioned people who are too busy to stop and think about what it really means.

Good programmers run everything they do through the target filter. If the content doesn’t fit the target audience, you don’t do it; simple as that.

But what about your sales force?

Just as every song we play, every promotion we undertake and every piece of content we deliver must go through the target filter, so should the offers we make to our target by way of the advertisements we air.

Of course advertisers will target their ads as best they can by way of the stations they choose to run the campaign. But what about the message? Does it speak to your station’s target audience in a way that will make them respond?

Does your sales staff write their own copy? In all but the largest markets, this is often the case. Regardless of who writes the copy, they must have a thorough understanding of who the target is and what the hot buttons are that will pique their interest and cause them to take action. The programmer is the “keeper of the strategic flame.” One of his or her responsibilities is to insure that sales copy also goes through the target filter.

If your programmers’ visits to sales meetings are filled with “Here’s what the morning show did last week…” or “We want to run a contest and need a client to pay for it,” they are missing an opportunity to teach your sales department about the product they are selling and the target audience you are reaching.

We all know the best kind of business is repeat business. A Radio station that is working for the client results in a client that will talk about your station to other people about their success. The more the sales person and copywriter know about the product and its target, the more able they will be to generate a copy strategy that produces positive results worth talking about.

Here’s a quick test you can give to anyone responsible for writing sales copy. Have them write a promo for the morning show or whatever contest that you’re currently running. Maybe even a music promo. You’ll quickly learn how much they know about the station, and how well they can communicate to the target. It will give you a good starting point to begin their education.

Bob Glasco

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Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, creative, Customer Focus, Radio, radio consultant.

By admin – March 22, 2010

Reality

Arbitron’s Portable People Meter has been an uncomfortable jolt to some. It has brought us a giant step closer to reality. It’s forced us to re-think the “norms” and truths that have been set in stone since modern-format Radio began.

Quite simply it’s forced us to look at the difference between getting votes and getting usage.

I’m not sure which is easier. I don’t think either one is any “walk in the park.”

The Diary was like an election. We all campaigned for “top of mind awareness” so when the diary keeper filled out his or her listening for the week we would have a chance to gain an entry on the page, maybe even some we didn’t really deserve.

In some markets where the meter is now currency it’s become painfully obvious who the top “vote getters” have been. NPR, Classical, Triple A and some heritage stations have seen share decrease with the meter versus the diary.

It was cool, or easy to vote for these stations.

Now, we’re seeing an immediate increase in the shares of formats like Country when the meter comes to town. As it turns out there are some people out there that were Country when Country wasn’t cool, to quote Barbara Mandrell.

Country in Miami was a full share healthier according to the meter than had been reported in the diary, for example.

But, it still gets down to how good your programming is no matter what the measurement device. The only difference is you now know a little sooner whether you’re on the right track or not.

It was great to see the largest Radio company, Clear Channel, post a 20% cash flow gain in 4^th quarter. That is, it was great until I read how they managed to accomplish what no one else has so far reported that I’m aware of. They did it with 10% less revenue and large cuts in spending.

I remember in the late 90s and early ‘00s when companies were reporting huge quarterly profits primarily due to purchased cash flow. Of course that could only go on so long before they either ran out of financial resources or ran out of stations to buy.

I wonder how long it will take for companies to run out of things to cut while still being able to successfully run their Radio stations. Some say they already have gone too far. Although it’s a crowded place, it would easy to jump on that bandwagon. However I think that may be a more a case-by-case conversation than a global one.

Please allow me to, one more time, remind you how important content is to Radio’s future. If you’re making your cuts because of lender or investor pressure you must think long and hard before you do anything that inhibits your ability to produce a compelling product.

Think about large companies and small ones that have failed in your business lifetime. How many of them would have failed if they just had a better product to sell or enough people selling it?

Bob Glasco

480-488-0903

Posted in Uncategorized.

Tagged with Arbitron, business, consultant, Radio, radio consultant, Reality.