Thoughts about Communicating with 18-24

Whether in college or not, people of this age are a real challenge for radio programmers.

They are at a point in their lives where they are still creating their own identity.

I was reading some marketing research about this age group. It wasn’t designed for radio specifically, but maybe we can use it. What they found could be useful to you if you target this age group.

Don't:

Talk or refer to them directly in terms of their age or school.

Do:

Refer to your listeners through desirable lifestyle labels. Think about how they would like to see themselves and what they like to see themselves doing: attending movies and concerts, snowboarding, traveling, partying, changing the world.

What you're doing is thinking about what they aspire to. Put another way, you're putting them into their dreams.

It is a good thing to keep in mind, I think. And everything you can do as a radio station to be a part of helping them achieve or even understand those aspirations is great.

Small example: How many people go to the beach for a real Spring Break blowout? It probably isn't a large part of your audience. But do they aspire to go (if only in their most secret moments)?

If so, what are you doing to make them feel like a part of that lifestyle, if only vicariously?

Give Your Station's Web Site a Call to Action

Does Your Web Site Have a Call to Action?

Have you taken a look at very many radio station Web sites? What do you think?

Personally, I often find myself confused. I can't always tell who the site is for. And all too often, I think I do know. In those cases, it seems to be designed for the advertisers rather than the listeners.

You won't be surprised to learn that there is a huge effort underway by marketing experts to understand and improve the quality of Web sites for business. Companies in other businesses rely on their Web presence. They need to create a compelling experience for their customers. They need to Web site to expand on and be supportive of the messages they are sending through their products, packaging and other advertising. They have studied this and written about it. And perhaps we, as radio programmers, can learn some things from these other businesses.

Taken from the title of Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg's book "Call To Action", here is one of the "rules" that has emerged as universal:

Have a call to action.

I think this rule applies to radio station Web sites as much as to any other. Here is how I think their ideas might apply to our goals.

Why do you have a Web site?

All Web sites want to influence site visitors. In some cases, they are selling an idea. In others, a product. For radio, we are trying to persuade people about our role in their lives. And more specifically, we may be trying to strengthen our communications with the listener by getting them to register. Typically, this could be an "at-work network" or "loyal listener" club.

If we believe that our listeners have a particular lifestyle connection with our programming we want to persuade them that we are an aid to that connection.

An example: A music station, particularly one for listeners age 18-24, almost certainly wants this.

An oldies station will want this too. But the way to achieve it will be different.

Goal: Take that concept and reduce it to action. Have the visitor do something that will persuade them that you are a valuable addition to their life.

Tactics:

Determine what action(s) your Web site visitor can take to reinforce the connection with the station.

Do you want them to tell you what their three favorite artists are, so you can tell them when they will be coming up on the station?

Do you want them to register for a newsletter that helps them better protect their children or find fun family activities?

Do you want them to sign up for an instant email when new concerts are announced?

Evaluate:

What are the three most important things that people can do on your Web site?

Are minor things getting in the way of the "big thing"?

Look at your copy. Is this great writing? Do the words you use motivate people? Did you assign the words to somebody outside the station who has no passionate connection to the link between you, the music, the station and the listener? If so, the odds are that you'll notice a distinct lack of passion. You won't see the kind of cohesive and motivating message that you want to see.

Cycle:

Go back. Think about the relationship you want with the listener and how you can persuade that it is real. Create a call to action that involves them and leads them to experience that truth. Evaluate again. It really never ends.


Conclusion:

It is hard to create a great Web site. But one step is a compelling message and a call to action that reinforces it. Let's be honest. Very often, the only "call to action" is for the visitor to click on an advertising link. We can do better. Thinking about this is one tool.

Kevin Weatherly Talks to Steve Rivers

Steve Rivers has placed on the Web site Music Biz (www.MusicBiz.com) a great interview with KROQ Los Angeles PD Kevin Weatherly.

I’d like to recommend it to you.

Kevin, as you may know, programs the most consistently successful Alternative station in the country. He is successful while the format itself is in serious trouble.

Kevin is also responsible to Jack in Los Angeles. At this too, he is successful while the format itself is in serious trouble.

What he tells Steve about the effort and attitude that goes into creating two great radio stations rings true to me. There is nothing I can add. Personally, I’m adding it to my files. Sometimes it is good to be reminded about the effort that true success requires.

See if you feel the same.

WASH, Washington DC - Listen and Learn

How does this sound as a nice trend in the ratings?

3,5 – 3.6 – 4.7 – 5.2

I noticed this trend for WASH FM, the big AC in Washington, DC. What is even better is that they have streaming audio. You do have to register for it, but it doesn’t cost anything and it only takes a few minutes.

It is worth listening to? Yes! They are an excellent major market radio station. According to program director Bill Hess, they are focusing on “music, women, and family.”

If your target includes adult women, this is an excellent station you can learn from.

WASH is a client, and I’m delighted that I haven’t done any damage! Seriously, I invite you to listen to the music flow. I think you’ll hear the difference that the right tools and paying extra attention to the music can make.

The Anti-Management Dave Rave

According to the trades today, David Lee Roth, Howard Stern’s replacement in New York, is complaining about management and doing an entertaining show. This is probably going to be effective. Howard did it. I worked with one personality who turned it into an art form.

I remember two things about that experience. First, it worked. People love to hear the “little guy” lash out at the big bad boss. Second, it poisoned the radio station.

That is the danger. If the air talent could stop with upper management, maybe this wouldn’t happen. But in many cases the wrath is eventually spread around to include the station format, the music, the other personalities and the staff. I’ve seen receptionists driven to tears by bullying personalities.

I never heard stories of that happening with Howard Stern, and maybe that is one more line that true professionals know where to draw.

Also, this is much better as “spice” than as the foundation of a show. In my opinion, the anti-management thing works best if it is one of four or five ongoing threads he was weaving in and out of the show. And it works best when the audience is totally convinced that management is somewhere on the other side of Darth Vader. From what I’ve read, David Lee won’t have any problem accomplishing that. Great drama!

Phoenix Ratings and Observations

Every month when the Arbitron trends come out, I find myself checking out the 12+ rankings. These can be found on the All Access site. I think Arbitron also lists them on their site. I haven’t checked in a while.

Yesterday Phoenix was released. Very interesting that KOOL FM, a very standard “oldies” station, is now in a tie for #1 in the market.

KOOL is owned by Infinity, the company that has been blowing up oldies stations left and right. Evidently, somebody talked them out of it in Phoenix. Give ‘em a raise!

Nothing else seems to be going well for Infinity in that market. KMLE is getting hammered by Clear Channel’s KNIX. Of course, with Jess Hanson, Clear Channel’s VP/Research, based at KNIX, KMLE is hopelessly outgunned in the “understand your listeners” department. And Jess has a strong reputation among both broadcasters and advertisers in the Phoenix market.

Infinity’s KZON has fallen from a 3.4 to a 2.2 in less than a year. They are alternative, and are now most tied with KEDJ, a station that is reception-challenged.

One other fascinating result in the Phoenix ratings: KPKX, which is one of the Bonneville “Jack-alikes”, has fallen far from the 4.8 of last winter to the current 3.4. This station used to be a highly successful AC. I wonder whether Clear Channel’s KESZ ran them out of the format, or if they just got greedy. There were a number of successful stations around the US that flipped to the variety hits format. Surely most of them now regret it.

Following up: I would love to know what makes KOOL FM work as an oldies station when so many have failed or been dismantled. I’ll poke around and see if anybody can tell me why Infinity hasn’t used them as a model for other oldies stations.

Has anybody seen a Jack station go up significantly in the ratings this time?