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Our opening segment on Younger Demos Leaving Radio explored the facts showing the 20% drop in listening levels over the last 8 years in the under 34 demos and the dramatic growth in the ethnic population within the younger demos. As an industry we all surely agree that leaving behind a whole younger generation is not healthy.
What are we going to do about it? That’s the question we all have to answer and quickly. The suggestion that we ‘start a task force’ might be a good one, but we can’t just sit around and push for more CHR, Urban, Hip Hop, Active Rock, Alternative and younger Hispanic stations to be launched of flipped and end up with another ‘ho hum’ reaction from the younger demos. We need to start from scratch and complete re-design the whole radio programming model and guide book if we are to impress this worldly group. Here are some of the issues we will need to address:
Music/Formats: The under 25 population will be a very tough group to build a music collation around. What kind of format will appeal to any collation of this generation that will produce anything close to what we consider a successful share. Rolling from the new Nickelback to Alejandro Sanz into the Killers then Lidacris/Pharell segueing into Daddy Yankee and rapping up the 6 in a row with Tool is probably going to be a tough product to piece together and build an audience with. We’ll have to continue to work with the 5-6 niches here and work very hard to make them appealing to an audience that has tons to entertain themselves with.
Ratings: Will we be able to have anything close to an accurate reading from our ratings services on this demo? Remember they will all have cell phones by 2010 and Arbitron has no real developments on reaching them without landlines for the sample. While the PPM is also a needed improvement we have to reach out for new sampling methods and now. Arbitron has to act quickly and we are seeing little if any effort to do much beyond tweaking the old system. We all need to pressure Arbitron and the advisory council now.
Research: We also have to do more research with the younger audience and we will face the same sample issues that Arbitron faces trying to collect the data. Moving to on-line perceptual studies, more on-line music testing and experimenting with new styles of research becomes a necessity.
Get Creative: Imaging, promotions, features, format clocks/structure and air personalities all need an overhaul. Some points to consider as we re-invent here:
• Why do we almost always place the personality breaks as a lead in to all the commercials? Doesn’t that just set up the jocks as the first clue that a bunch of commercials are on the way?
• What is the purpose of all the sweepers and imaging we have? Much of it just makes boastful claims, or lifts audio from other sources that’s often not recognizable or entertaining, or ends up being inside jabs at the competition. Perhaps we should think the strategy through is what we are ‘selling’ here – is it purposeful and entertaining to the audience?
• Why should contestants or callers be forced to claim – you are number 1 – to win?
• Come up with cooler and hipper names. Rock 101 doesn’t move the needle anymore.
• Look at the features – The Drive Home – All Request Lunch – Mandatory Metallica – 2 for Tuesday - Get the Led Out. Are these still relevant? I bet not. How about a feature that takes you around the world musically. Maybe more ‘star news/gossip’ features. Perhaps a ‘studio feature’ showcasing artists and bands who are working on new material.
• Jock formatics – We still have a lot of jocks handling mostly positioning, liners and billboards. While these are needed they’ve become 80% of what the air staff does on the mic – that’s why it’s so easy to voice track the shifts. How about working on different roles and moving the focus back to entertainment, community, talking with the audience, and having FUN.
• Contests – Make them not all about big prizes, but entertainment. Look at the reality and contest shows on TV. Winning a Million in Survivor or Deal or No Deal isn’t about the money – it’s about the drama and entertainment. That’s what makes a contest fun and get the audience excited.
Lower Share Expectations: Will we be able to find enough of a share within this group who is rapidly losing interest in radio in their new media world? You are not going to hit #1 12 plus with this kind of segmentation or with an attempt at such a wide and diverse collation. We’ve become very obsessed with being number 1 and reaching the whole market. This will not be a reality in the younger demos – they have so many entertainment options. Radio will still out reach most internet sites, still have more cume than many TV or cable outlets, and of course it way more effective than Billboards or Newspapers in your market. The world is fragmenting in every media and we have to get used to it in radio.
Extending Brands: The answer here is not trying to build everything around a broad music platform and appealing to the breath of this very diverse audience. Building around smaller expectations is really the only way and does that mean smaller revenue? Of course it probably does. The real answer here is probably to build a HUGE BRAND that is hip, plugged into the young adult culture, diverse in its distribution using broadcasting and all the new media options. The real key is to find a big enough draw, hook, or personality to grab everyone’s attention.
Catch a Wave: Just look at MySpace if you want an example. On the internet they have build a lot of the tools we are talking about (and look a the quick reward from Mr. Murdoch). MySpace was not the first interactive blog like club – but it has become the most successful, at least for 2006. This is the scale we all have to think on and be ready and bold enough to go there without hesitation. But we will be building more than a Blog Club – it will have to have star power, cutting edge entertainment, a new staff structure, new product showcasing opportunities, audience interaction options that are hip and seamless.
Use the Web and HD-Radio: Make your web site really sing. It used to take a lot of time and knowledge of the secret HTML codes to make a site work. Now with RSS feeds and myspace/blog style designing software anyone can build a site up. The new problem is keeping up with all the potential RSS feeds, links, innovative tools, and taking the time to come up with creative – interactive – eye catching content. You web site is your chance to interact with the audience and build them into real fans. It’s a marketing tool that’s stronger than TV spots, billboards or any direct marketing. It’s also less expensive to use, but you have to use it and put in the time/effort to make it a destination. Once it’s up you have to promote it every ¼ hour in some way. There are new ways to make money from your site – not millions, but enough to support your efforts and bring in some revenue. But on the internet you have to innovate to gain attention. To reach a whole generation that doesn’t know a world without the web is going to take a lot more attention than most stations give this opportunity
HD radio is also a tool that could allow you to extend your brand and build sub streams that will keep the ‘mother brand’ in good standing with this audience. It takes effort to build the products, but it will be worth it. The current system of a bunch of ‘stations/sub formats’ in a box with no identity or personality will not draw anyone to this media. We need to be just as innovative and creative here as we are in the big channels. Even though much of our efforts where may go un-heard for a while the effort needs to ramp up quickly to impress this new generation.
Think Long Term: It truly will take an all out effort and gamble – if anyone’s ready it will be an exciting ride. It’s not going to be a ‘format in a box’ like Jack but it’s going to have to be a local market, individualized effort that takes advantage of the unique tools, staff, and resources that you and your community have. It’s more than helping with the web site, tweaking the imaging or finding a new contest for the book. This is a whole new plan from the ground up that’s going to take more than a brainstorming committee. 2 years ago Mike McVay launched a campaign to Re-Invent Radio, while we need work in all demos to make our media competitive and exciting, the younger demos may represent our biggest challenge. It’s time to take action now before the storm of population and culture shifts overwhelm our levy system.
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