You Can and You Must

 

If you work in Country radio, you absolutely must review Jacobs Media’s Techsurvey9; especially if you are a Brand Manager, On-air Personality, Promotion Director or Digital Creative Director.   The findings will not shock you but they will certainly reaffirm what we veterans have known for a long time; Country is a mainstream format with passionate and engaged listeners, who are just as tech savvy as any other format. 

Fred Jacobs did an excellent job presenting the findings and highlighting the country strengths.   There are so many important aspects to this study but today I will focus on Social Networking.   These observations should help to cheer you up the next time you are grumbling about having to post on Facebook, blog on the website or tweet about something fun:

 

Ø  The percentage of Country fans that connect with Facebook first each day is higher than the national average.  (Important note for morning shows)

Ø  Country fans are higher than the national average as “frequent sharers”

Ø  Country fans interact with the station most often through e-mail, Facebook and contesting while the national norm is e-mail, website and computer streams. 

Ø  Pintrest is second only to Facebook for usage among country fans

Ø  Country is the second highest format in the Net Promoter Score, Christian is first.  (They say yes to promoting your station to others.)

Ø  CHR is the only format that beats country for engagement with the personalities

 
When you combine all of these findings, it validates the time and effort you are putting into social networking, your loyalty program and digital platforms.   Having personalities who are active on-line and in the community is a must. These fans want to interact with and support their favorite station.   Let’s make sure that we are there to make that happen on whatever platform they might engage.  Creating a social and mobile strategy and hiring the personnel to implement that strategy are critical to the future success of your radio station.  

Are You A Radio "Iron Chef"?

The best radio talent understands how to mix everyday ingredients to create an exceptional recipe.  If you’re not familiar with Iron Chef America, you should study it.  All 4 chefs are given the same five ingredients and an hour to create a masterpiece.  The competition is fierce, fast paced and brutal.  Welcome to radio.  

Think about the content of your show.   You have access to the same “show prep” (ingredients) as your competition.  The secret to success (recipe)  is what you choose to use, how you present it and how much of the secret ingredient you share.   That secret ingredient is YOU.  No one else can duplicate that one.   Here is one “recipe” that I think can help you create a better masterpiece each day. 

I am a strong believer in the magic of threes.  Let’s break the content into three main categories:

           

Big Dumb Fun Contesting Prank Calls War of The Roses Telemarketer Calls Parody Songs Trivia & Other Games “Are You Kidding Me” News On & Off-Air Stunts

Relationship Engagement Between Spouses With parents With Friends Between You & the Listener Co-Workers Community

Human Interest Celebrity interviews Hollywood & Music News Overcoming Obstacles TV Shows Movies Books

The most universally relatable category is RELATIONSHIPS!  Everyone has them, most people want them and all of them require nurturing.  At least 50% of your ingredients each day should come from that category.  Big Dumb Fun is entertaining and can provide much needed laughs.  However, the appeal of this category is very subjective and should only comprise 20%.    Human interest is necessary so that your listeners are confident that you relevant and up to date on current events.  They rely on you to help them feel “in the know”.  It is the least “unique” of the three categories and therefore only warrants 30% of the mix.   All of this must be mixed with YOU as the bonding element.  

I put relationships at the center of this recipe because it is the core of what we do.    That is where you get the most “bang for your buck” in terms of listener interaction and emotional connection.  If you work a music format, the music is all about relationships and provides an easy springboard for topics.  Your own relationships and human experiences provide show prep.   The possibilities are endless: dating, marriages, raising kids, taking care of aging parents, building a business, etc.    Finding hot topics and letting people voice their opinions is extremely powerful.

Once you have the right recipe, think about your presentation.  Every 20 minutes there are new people joining the show.  You need something new for them to sample that demonstrates your ability to combine all of those ingredients into a perfect and delicious meal that they just can’t get enough of. You want them to walk away satisfied but wanting more.   Think of yourself as the Iron Chef and accept the challenge of creating a new masterpiece every day.        

Frequency Is Your Friend

You know the statistics.  The average person is exposed to anywhere from 247 to 5,000 messages per day.   A person needs to hear new information at least three times before it registers in his/her mind for immediate recollection.  It takes even longer to become truly familiar with, and develop an affinity for, anything new.  All of these factors played into the development of optimum efficiency scheduling (OES) for radio in the 80’s.

OES is a simple mathematic calculation:   divide the station’s weekly cume audience by the average quarter-hour (AQH) audience. The result is the turnover ratio.  Multiply that by 3.29 and you have your station’s OES number.  It was originally developed for sales as a tool to help sell more commercials and create success for advertisers.   Smart programmers started using it as a tool in calculating music rotations.    Now more than ever it is critical that you use this formula for your station promos and imaging.

Here is an OES grid calculated from the averages of the Spring Books of 11 of our Albright & O’Malley & Brenner clients:

Clearly Frequency is your friend.   In this example, a promo that airs 8 times per day Monday-Friday between 6a-7p for one week will be heard by one half of your cume three times.  That frequency barely meets the minimum for retention level.  Effective promos and imaging need to be played to be heard and absorbed.  

These important messages sell the unique differences that set your station apart from your competition.   Use them to create additional appointment listening and remind people that they need to come back time and time again or they will miss something.  Treat your promos and imaging like songs.  Develop power, medium and light messages.   Make sure the power messages are scheduled frequently enough to be absorbed, understood and effective in developing an affinity with your listeners.    Make sure your voice is heard in the clutter of messages your listeners are exposed to every day!

Insane Courage

If you haven’t seen the movie “We Bought A Zoo” I would highly recommend it.  Yes it is predictable and sentimental, but it is also inspiring, motivating and it makes you feel good about humans.  It is a strong reminder that people can accomplish anything when they work together and have a positive mental attitude. 

One of the best lines in the movie is Benjamin Mee sharing these words of advice with his son, “You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you, something great will come of it.”  

As you go through the day today, call on that 20 seconds of courage to help you share a new idea, make a tough decision, face a person or situation you have been avoiding.  Present it in a positive way.   Seek out the people who can help you implement and or resolve whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.    Apply this principle to your work and personal life and something great will come of it. 

Nashville - Expect the Unexpected

 

CMA Awards week is winding down in Nashville and I am reminded once again how amazing it is to work in the country music business. The CMA is dedicated to bringing the poetry and emotion of Country Music to the world.  The awards show certainly accomplishes that goal.  You can always count on a few surprises during CMA Awards week. 

Just last night Tim MGraw entertained a crowd of 200 people in a cozy 3^rd floor bar on Broadway with a full band show for over 90 minutes!   It is clear that he has a renewed enthusiasm for his new music, performing and country radio.  

BMLG Head Scott Borchetta surprised Tim with a plaque for Nielsen BDS’s Most Played Artist of the Decade Award for all genres of music.  He was emotional and humbled.    Then Tim surprised the crowd by welcoming special guest Ne-Yo to the stage.  Ne-Yo shared his thoughts on the power of mixing genres of music and talking about the similarities between R&B, Country & Gospel.   Even the most jaded radio person had to be surprised and impressed by the duets.   Faith stood by the sound board in her Pony Tail and sweatshirt and enjoyed watching her man bring down the house.   It was truly a special evening.

If you are in country radio or a fan of country music, you must experience CMA Music Fest or CMA Awards week.  The common bond that links country music fans, radio and artists is strong.   The CMA declared 2012 “The year of Country Radio”.   Every station, GM and Program Director was given a free membership to the CMA.   If you have not taken advantage of that yet, do it NOW.    Contact Brandi Simms at the CMA for more information.  Renew your membership for 2013.   It is a small price to pay to support an organization that contributes so much to our industry.  

Brandi Simms

615.664.1607 direct
BSimms@CMAworld.com

Community Feeds The Soul

 

Radio has the unique opportunity to be a community for our listeners.  It is human nature to seek out like-minded people with similar core values to surround yourself with; to find a place where you belong.   It is a simple concept on paper but much harder to execute in practice.

Music formats have the benefit of song to bring their fans together.  Talk stations have the power of storytelling and healthy debate.  All stations have the ability to do “good” in your neighborhood.    You can’t accomplish creating a community by being a jukebox without a soul.    It is not enough to play the hits, run a few contests and deliver Hollywood news.   You have to help the community connect on multiple levels to establish a bond that cannot be broken.    

Engaging personalities are the key.   Yes the word engaging is over-used, but it is oh so appropriate.  In the thesaurus under engaging you’ll find:  appealing, charming, likeable, enchanting, disarming, involving, engrossing, participating, absorbing, taking part, securing, retaining, and connecting.   Someone who exudes all of these characteristics is exactly who you need on the air. 

The key is finding talent who are interested in people.  You need personalities who have an innate ability to bring people together and get them talking.   People want to share.  They want to hear stories, give their opinions and have a chance to be heard.   The stations that work hard to include listeners in every break are doing it right.  It creates the perception that everyone listens to and interacts with your station.   It validates their choice, creates a human energy and gives them a sense of belonging to something powerful.

 

But that is not where it ends.  You need to connect everywhere your community is connecting.   Your text club, e-mail database, Facebook page, website and blogs are all important interactive tools that bring the community together.   These tools are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity. 

A true community has a kinship, a cooperative spirit, a neighborhood feel.   It feeds the soul with companionship, music, conversation and fun.   It makes life more interesting, bearable and worth living.  What have you done today to make your radio station a true community for your listeners? 

“The Crowd is So YOUNG!”

Watershed 2012 What A Beatiful Crowd!

Wathershed 2012: What A Beautiful View!

The first annual Watershed Country Festival at the Gorge in George, Washington is history and proves once again that country is a lifegroup and not a demographic.   The most heard comment from the non-country fans at the show was, “The crowd is so young!”  It is shocking how many of them expect the country fans to be old, toothless and living in trailer parks.  The stereotypes may never leave the country format but events like this continue to silence the critiques and bring new fans to the format.

Granted, music festival fans are a somewhat unique breed.  They are hard core country fanatics who appreciate the value of seeing dozens of artists over three days in one of the most beautiful concert venues in the world (The Gorge is a mini version of the Grand Canyon with great acoustics and a breathtaking view).  However, from the parking lot to the post show departure the lifegroup diversity is obvious.

Yes the parking lot was filled with a lot of pickup trucks but also plenty of upscale SUV’s, convertibles and Mini-vans.  The ages of the crowd streaming into the show ranged from the cradle to the grave.   The bulk of the fans were females 20 to 50.   With temperatures reaching 103 each day, the most popular outfit was the bikini with cowboy boots and a stylish cowboy hat, but there were plenty of average people with their shorts, tank tops and baseball caps too.  

These people came to party, enjoy music and soak up the sun.   Several security people commented that while it was one of the biggest festivals they have ever seen at The Gorge (bigger than Dave Mathews, The Hip Hop Summer Jam & Sasquatch), it was for the most part orderly, respectful and without incident.    Artist after artist celebrated the passion of this audience, the youth who knew the words to even the oldest, most traditional songs and the beauty of the venue. 

Five regional Country radio stations were on-site greeting and interacting with the fans and every station fans at their booth.  Young people sported station call letters on hats, shirts, tattoos and stickers.  Just further affirmation that radio reaches 93% of all Americans each week.   If you are in country radio and you have never spent three days in the trenches with the fans, shame on you!  Seek one out; watch and learn.  

Watershed now joins the ranks of dozens of amazing country music festivals:  CMA Music Fest, Country Jam, Country USA, The Hodag Country Music Festival, Stage Coach, Bayou Country Superfest and more.  All serving a country lifegroup that is diverse in age, careers, income levels and lifestyles but all of whom share a similar set of core values; God, Family & Country (the music and the USA) and proud of it!