Throwing Stones?

Tom Taylor's blog today reported on some of the "cliches" pointed out at the recent annual Conclave by ex-XM and now Tribune-based Lee Abrams. It is another example of the excellent content Tom comes up with. And Lee is one of the all time legends and best programmers of our industry. Still, it is fun to pause and ponder.

I'm not sure that all of these are valid. What do you think?

1. “Every station is ‘the best’ – it’s BS"

Really? If my station has a specific target audience, with a particular lifestyle and taste in music, why can't I do the best job of providing them with the entertainment they want? I can, and indeed I must. This criticism fails. There is more than one definition of "best".

2. ” And “‘10th caller wins’ – there’s gotta be a different way to give away a prize.”

Depends, doesn't it? Creative is good. But a simple call-in is less disruptive. If every prize we gave away was truly compelling, and there weren't dozens of these throwaways - er, giveaways - every month, then we could embellish them all. Otherwise, just keep it clean. If you're sending listeners to Hawaii along with the morning team, yes, do something far more engaging. This criticism is half right.

3. “station vans…the van was supposed to be cool, but get a hearse, anything but a van.”

What, the prize patrol didn't stop for him? Personally, I want something that won't be a target (like a Hummer), which can be locked up, with the expensive contents hidden, and which has enough room for people, prizes, banners, tables, and remote equipment. Can you say "van"? This criticism fails.

4. “Star Wars sound effects…Darth Vader’s dead, can’t we move on?”

I think we can embrace and expand on that one. Gratuitous sound effects and music are legend in our industry. Noise substitutes for true energy. Music beds hope to distract us from bad copy. This criticism is valid.

5.  “rock stations still being pissed off – ‘we’re better, we have to prove we’re real men’…and the whole sex thing – ‘We rock harder’ was cool in 1981, but now?"

Hello? Has testosterone suddenly been outlawed? Have young men stopped dreaming of young women? This has very little to do with us. It has to do with the fantasies of the listeners. If there is research to show that the 15-30 male rock station demographic has morphed into a bunch of metrosexuals, then okay. But I have my doubts. My suggestion: Be more effective, not different. With an admission I might be missing something, this criticism fails.

Syndicated Personalities

It may become the norm. Big radio companies find a talented personality. Put him or her on 100 stations. Eliminate 99 salaries.

Problems:

1. Radio is a local medium in ways that go beyond what comes out of the speaker. Personalities are the people that will be recognized when you show up at the state fair, or the opening of the new Toyota dealership.

2. In my experience, there has always been more work to do, in terms of polishing production, getting all the details right for promotions, special programming and more, to keep everybody at the station busy. It used to be quite an insult to be labeled "show and go". It hurt the station when you didn't contribute more. But we're now moving further down a road that leads to nobody being around to add brainpower and simple effort to the effort to create compelling content.

3. People motivate other people. People learn from other people. How will a young talent react with, learn from and be inspired by an experienced on-air personality who is a thousand miles away? Answer: They can't.

4. Passion. The sales force can go out and sell cars next month if they have to. Or if there is more money in it. Creativity is a special kind of drive. Our industry seems convinced that there is no need to foster an army of evangelists who might drive the engine of growth, creativity and innovation for our business. This is the stuff of passion. People work longer, harder and smarter than they ever would for mere money. And these aren't 40+ year old executives who need to leave at 5PM to make their child's soccer game and avoid another fight with their wife. No, these people actually want to be at the radio station.

Is a national, talented personality better than a lazy local who has no talent, is happy to stay that way, and who is a pain to work with?

Of course.

But are those our only two choices?

Higher Ratings

Want more listeners?

Compelling, compatible songs create winning formats.

Test scores and your opinions don't tell you what's compatible.

Steve Casey Research will. Exclusively.

MusicVISTA, Pure Core, Fit Analysis, Foundation Clusters

These leading edge tools will make you more successful.

I Want to Remember This!

I hope somebody will show me that there is no need for concern about the following:

Page 19 from the Arbitron April 2008 Update has this information:

"In-tab rate benchmark: Percent who provide 8+ hours of motion each day (5+ hours for ages 6-17)
»Total Panel: 75%+
»18-34 demos: 80% of the overall in-tab goal (.8 X 75% = 60%) for first two currency years of a panel"

Here's my attempt to translate this to English. See if it matches yours:

Unlike the diary, where we wanted every minute of listening to be recorded, we are happy if the meter is used for just 8 hours a day (5 hours if the panelist is a teen).

And we're actually happy if only 75% of the sample does even that much.

And we're really very happy if only 60% of the 18-34 panelists manage to carry the thing around for at least 8 of the 16 or so hours they are awake.

Anybody have a different interpretation? If so, I'll be happy to share it in this blog.

I'm truly saddened by the simplistic thinking that is behind the cheerleading by some people in this industry. It is sort of "Ooh... digital GOOD. Paper BAAAD. Bad digital MUCH BETTER than paper."

Entire thought process. We've got to raise rather than lower our standards.