The Things That Keep Us Awake at Night

The lights are out. A deep cleansing breathe to relax. A chance to reflect on the day. I find myself staring at the ceiling and waiting for the Gremlins to come visit and keep me awake. There are so many things that enter my mind after a long day as I think of our business and the challenges that face us as an industry. Those thoughts are not rooted in panic or worry, but rather concern for inaction and opportunities that are mostly ignored.

Prior to the Pandemic, which has become a measurement of time for many of us, the greatest challenge among broadcasters was finance focused. Paying down debt. Eliminating the financial stress created by the first wave of consolidators. Operating cost effectively while building a big audience to enable raising rates and getting the majority of any buy that came down the track.That was the approach.

It's well documented that the pandemic changed many things in our lives including the use of media. The shutdown that occurred curtailed in-car radio listening. In-home listening had already been greatly diminished, but that erosion accelerated as binge watching television shows provided an escape. The mental stress, particularly trying to make ends meet financially and not knowing when or how the pandemic would end, caused lifestyle changes for many.

The pandemic introduced new entertainment and information outlets and heightened awareness of already established platforms. Podcasting saw spikes. Watching movies on-demand became another competitor for attention and time. Streaming grew as “never pay” people became subscribers for music and connection to an outside world. Old habits were diminished, and new habits were formed. These realities have lengthened the “list of worries” that demand our focus.

The latest addition being the announcement that General Motors is joining other manufacturers in eliminating Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Removing the ability to link your mobile device would be less dramatic and concerning if it meant that listeners were being forced to turn to OTA radio, but more automakers are signaling the complete removal of radio, despite the NAB fighting to keep AM in the car.

Too many commercials, and poor production of those messages, is a negative that is a part of the devaluation of AQH. I’ve likened what I hear on some radio stations as being akin to the free newspaper you pick up as you walk out of a restaurant. Loaded with ads and no content of interest. A situation that can and should be addressed, but it’s evident that few have the stomach to stand their ground on rate. Almost no one favors airing fewer commercials to improve the listening experience. All too often the advertisers experience isn’t taken into consideration.

Last week’s fall NAB included sessions and discussions around AI, the Creator Economy, Cloud Based technical advantages, and content driven by data. Included in the AI discussion was the acknowledgement of AI’s role in information, concerns and challenges impacting credibility, and the use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool versus with the intent to replace employees. The challenge with using AI in and around the news is the damage it does to the benefit of dependency. The same can be said for further erosion to the credibility of news content.

Ratings are always a good instigator of insomnia. It’s not just about the limited sample size used by the services, but more so about the inaccuracy created by the less than balanced respondents in the panels who participate. To show consistent rating success a station must have a large cume. The larger your audience the less likely you are to have wobbles downward.

The recent rule change to allow for listening credit for 3individual minutes in a quarter hour is still new to Nielsen subscribers. The initial results appear to be positive, but I am yet to hear from anyone who is generating more revenue from the change. Perhaps it’s too soon to tell. It raises the question of the value of ratings versus expense. Particularly in those markets that are less focused on National and Regional advertising.

Strategies to grow an audience should be readdressed in the post pandemic world, as well. The audience’s use of all media is different today than it was five years ago. The noise level of all media means that the ability of radio to break through the distractions is more difficult than ever. Launching new brands either falls into the “grass roots” growth model or the “heavy marketing” arena. The latter is expensive. Providing the content is right-on, the growth can be more rapid. In the words of one of my friends who is a media executive “fast costs money.”

Sunrise brings illumination and often that leads to clarity that points to suggested solutions for the challenges that haunt dreams.

• Breaking through the noise; Great content is critical. That’s probably the most obvious thing anyone can say about audience attraction. Unfortunately that thing that is most attractive are entertaining personalities, and we’re seeing them eliminated or downgraded because of a perspective that talent are too expensive. If financial resources are limited, invest in talent who can drive revenue through endorsements and appearances.

• Nationally syndicated talent have shown that they can satisfy local audiences. What the station affiliate cannot do is “set it and forget it.” Embrace talent on network/syndication platforms as if they’re your own. Expect localization from them.

• When it comes to talent, being unique has value. Legacy and familiarity brings strength in the noisy media environment of today. Never eschew the worth of personalities that are known in your market and have name recognition. Given the extreme level of distractions, it’s difficult to introduce anything new without a high level of marketing. Remember that you’re not only competing with other radio stations, but you’re also competing with everything else.

• Adjusting to the listeners habits and their use of radio is especially important. The audience has a shorter attention span. They’re used to receiving entertainment and information online as if it’s OnDemand. In some cases that means that our content should be shorter bytes providing the audience with a little bit about a lot of things.

• Keeping Radio in the car; It has to be desired by the consumer. Information elements are important. Living in the digital world that we do, traffic and weather can be found on our mobile devices. This is where providing visual and audio content on the center stack of the car becomes particularly important.

• Too many commercials and poor production of messaging; the generally agreed and most acknowledged weakness that exists in radio. There was a time when stations had a unit and minute limit. It tends to be only the latter these days. The economics of the advertising market make it a difficult problem to solve. My suggestion to client stations has been to look at you most listened to hours and maximize content in the Peak Hour inside of each daypart. Those hours are where you air fewer commercials.

• If we’re going to air heavy spot loads, it becomes all the more important that the level of commercial production be improved to a point where advertisers messages stand out. The fifth commercial in a 12 unit stop-set can easily be lost. Our job is to sell an advertisers services, products, wares, whatever is their reason for marketing.

• Enhance the advertisers messages by upselling for live reads, endorsements, and appearances. That means that the air talent should meet the client (virtually or in-person), learn as much as they can about the client’s desires and strategy, and believe in what it is they’re endorsing.

• AI can be a blessing and a curse. Artificial Intelligence can make us better writers, be better informed, and better as problem solvers. Depending on the service you’re using, AI can help to cut costs, and improve the programming product. The curse part of the equation is that it can eliminate jobs, sometimes less than judiciously. It can hallucinate and provide incorrect information. It can create a negative impression among listeners. Particularly when it comes to news content and talent.

• There is a credibility issue around news coverage. Radio has long been presented as being dependable. You can count on radio for accurate news & information fast. That was the position for years. Where the line blurs today is where political talk enters the arena and it becomes difficult for the average listener to identify where the news ends and opinion begins. News Radio stations, those without opinion programming and commentary, has to be sacrosanct in how they select and present content. Stations that have commentary, and the news is segregated to set times, should be identifying such reports as being an island, yet reports that the listener can depend on to be accurate. Depend On … strong words. 

• Ratings as they stand now are measurement of audience that is most valuable in the biggest markets. They are an enhancement that enables charging a higher rate, getting on buys you may not have otherwise been able to be a part of, and they serve as a report card of growth. What is unfortunate is that many media buyers today are looking for impressions versus listeners. That’s the attractiveness of digital. It appears to be more accurate and less anecdotal. One is considered more accurate than the other dependent on who the customer is and what their objective is regarding reach.

• Marketing; growing an audience is something we see fewer stations investing in than during the days before the pandemic. Even then, the commitment to external marketing was less than in the past. Digital targeted marketing is a valuable tool that is cost effective and reaches the type of listener who may have a proclivity to sample a station like yours. It’s not something you can do a little of, though. You need to make a commitment and an investment to doing it in a consistent fashion. There needs to be a cadence to the frequency of messaging.

The things that limit our sleep originate in our waking hours. We can find answers and solutions all around us. Unfortunately for many finding the resources and courage to apply them is sometimes akin to a scavenger hunt.