11 Jul Wednesday, July 11, 2018
This Week in The Lund Letter:
> The most enticing benchmark
> Engaging listeners for longer TSL
> AM/FM tops in Audio still
> And the latest media trends
Lund Management Memo: Developing Serial Content
Your personalities, especially those in the morning, should develop “serial content” to increase TSL and tune-in occasions. TV does this well with daytime soap operas like General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, and Young and the Restless (which have been on for over 45 years!). At night, Dallas and Dynasty have been replaced by Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and Game of Thrones. The key success element is a compelling storyline, often with no real end to the story. American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, The Apprentice and The Voice all have elements of serial content, like TV game shows. It’s the power of story resolution that drives the success of these serial oriented shows.
Radio benchmarks with serial content involve listeners and promote tune-in. Popular benchmarks include Impossible Trivia and Battle of the Sexes. A successful morning show serial benchmark is the “Dating Game” or “Love Connection” feature. It provides several stories which provide both vertical and horizontal time spent listening. Like the Bachelorette on TV, you have a contestant deciding to date one of two or three suitors. The audience is looking for the resolution on who the contestant selects. Next, the couple goes on a date which can be a station event. On the morning after the event the morning show calls the contestant to describe the date and whether they want to date that person again. This provides a second resolution.
Encourage your morning shows to develop serial content. And share your best benchmarks with us; email John Lund.
What Are You Famous For?
What’s the one thing your listeners say best describes your show? Hint: there better be one! Listeners should remember one thing about you and your show – it’s typically a benchmark or one great bit that you do daily. Do you need some proven bits to be famous for? Use the Lund Morning Show guide to “amp up” your show – regardless of what daypart you’re on. The Guide provides the secrets to producing a terrific show every day, and will help improve the planning, presentation and sound of each performance. The Morning Show Guide has all the tools that talents need to grow and sound better.
Lund Programming Clinic: Building Momentum
The power of momentum is practiced in sports. A baseball manager chooses a great lead-off hitter to set the table for the rest of the line-up. A football coach must decide if they win the coin toss whether to receive or defend. Whether their offense can establish a great field position or their defense will stop the opponent’s offense. A tennis player wants to break point to gain the serving advantage. A relay team needs its lead runner to establish distance over the other relay teams.
Television shows have evolved from where Friends and Frasier would have a short skit running when the credits were rolling to today, where the credits are shrunk and the next show begins. We live in a world of on-demand entertainment and short attention spans. More than ever before radio must engage the listener in every element in the programming day. Establish momentum for the next element, whether it be talk, commercials, news, content or music.
How do stations establish and build momentum?
1. After the music ends, immediately engage the listener with content or a tease of great content. Eliminate momentum stoppers like idle chitchat, a list of facts, or station business.
2. Start your commercial stopset with the most entertaining element, like a station promo, a core artist concert, a humorous commercial, or a spot with a jingle.
3. Play your strongest hit after a commercial stopset, not a secondary song or unfamiliar current.
4. Start your news with the most interesting, top of mind story with an enticing lead line.
5. When you have a change of on air hosts, promote the next host in a compelling way. Saying, “I’m outta here,” signals tune out. Pass the baton effectively.
A restaurant who has a food server ending a shift will introduce you to the new waiter inviting the patrons to stay longer (and hopefully keep ordering food). Building momentum expands Time Spent Listening.
Promotion of the Week: Two In A Row Trip To Mexico
This is a “listen and win” contest. Contestants must listen between 6 AM and 6 PM Monday through Friday for the station to play two songs by the same artist in a row, and be the tenth caller after the second song starts to qualify for the big trip (the station can award a smaller trip or another prize daily while the contest is running). Songs featuring a guest performer or duet do not count for the contest.
For 100 more great contests and sales promotions, see the Lund Contest and Promotion Guide.
Lund’s Top 3: Focus on expanding Time Spent Listening
Here are some more traits that all the best personalities share.
1. Attain more P1s and work to get these long-listening fans to listen more each day.
2. Focus on your fans. About 80% of your AQH share may come from P1s, who represent just 20% of a station’s cume.
3. TSL gains come from winning the “usage war.” To win TSL a station needs more listening occasions per week than the competitor.
Continued next week in the Lund Letter. Visit www.lundradio.com for more Top 3’s!
Are you marketing to General Managers or Program Directors and want to reach the 9,400+ readers of the Lund Letter? Email John Lund.
This Week’s Music:
Bazzi rules the roost at CHR with “Mine.” The top spot at Country is now held by Dan + Shay with their song “Tequila.” Hot AC has a new leader with “Delicate” by Taylor Swift. And Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” still reigns at Bright AC. Panic! At The Disco’s “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” spends another week at #1 for Alternative. Lund clients receive weekly music research information on current music plus regular updates on the best-testing recurrent and gold titles.
Get More Promotional Sizzle!
Contests and promotions attract more listeners, create excitement and buzz, force longer listening spans, and increase revenue. The Lund “Contest and Promotions Guide” provides over 200 tested and proven promotions, and many can be sold to clients. Some promotions are big contests designed for ratings sweeps; others are targeted promotions ideal for a daypart, holiday or a special event.
This Go-To source for radio promotions is for all size markets; it’s the most complete compilation anywhere. Our July 4th 25% off sale continues for another week. Order the Contest and Promotions Guide and receive this free bonus: The “Best Promotion & Contest Strategies” Stylebook with detailed execution guidelines for all your promotions and contests. Order here!
Lund Trend Watch:
AM/FM Still Tops in Audio
AM/FM radio accounts for 47% of all audio time spent listening among persons 18+. Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors pulled the relevant data from a recent Edison/Triton Digital research study. Owned music gets 12% of listening, YouTube has 9%, SiriusXM and TV music channels earn 5%. SiriusXM channels with ads only get 2%. Ad-supported Spotify and Pandora have tiny shares as well, with only 4% and 2% respectively.
Podcasting Grows
According to the same study, podcasting has seen significant growth in daily reach among key demographics. From 2016 to 2018, daily reach among Millennials (18-34) increased 39%. Persons 25-54 grew even more with a rise of 52%. Podcasting, or “radio on demand,” is truly gaining steam. Do you give your listeners something exciting to listen to on your website beyond your live stream?
The Prime Day Juggernaut
Amazon enthusiasts know July 16 is “Prime Day.” Amazon customers (75% of those who buy online) have been getting previews of pre-Prime Day sales for over a week now. In 2017, Prime Day extended to 30 hours of special deals. This year, it expands to 36 hours. The sale is expected to gross $3.4 billion globally, a 40% increase over last year. Amazon’s private labels and smart speakers will be emphasized, which means many more consumers will become Amazon Echo owners. Is your station ready for them to find your stream with Alexa’s help?
Pathway to Sounding Better
Maximize your programming with a top-to-bottom review. The Lund Strategic Programming Evaluation finds the strengths and weaknesses of your stations – promotions, talents, and programming strategy, and details specific ways to improve the programming. If you play music, the evaluation also includes a detailed analysis of your music. ContactJohn Lund for info on how this study will benefit your stations.
Programmer’s Planner:
Here is a list of actions this week for the proactive program director:
Today, 7/11
Website Wednesday. Can visitors to your website find and listen to your stream within seconds? Can they listen for an extended period of time without losing the connection?
TV Premieres – PBS has new nature documentaries Earth’s Natural Wonders and Kingdoms of the Sky. Comedian/actor Kevin Hart hosts new obstacle course competition show TKO: Total Knockout on CBS. It’s a twist on 1990s series American Gladiators.
Streaming Premiere – Hulu begins the second season of Harlots with two episodes today and one weekly thereafter.
Thurs., 7/12
Summer diary ratings week #4 begins. Last week of the July PPM starts.
Next Wednesday, the 2018 ESPYS air on ABC, hosted by professional racing driver Danica Patrick. She will be the first female to host the sports awards show.
Fri., 7/13
Facebook Friday. Post to FB and your station’s website short videos and listener testimonials filmed at remotes.
Friday the 13th. The second and final one for this year. For a list of superstitions to talk about on your shows, email John Lund.
Movie Premieres – Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Skyscraper.
Sat.-Sun., 7/14-15
Conduct monitor of competitive stations this weekend. Listen for what’s new. What are they doing that you could be doing bigger and better?
Be visible every weekend this summer. Have a presence at every major local event; don’t forget the county fair.
Mon., 7/16
Continue setting the course for the fall ratings sweep. Utilize the Lund Strategic Planner.
Amazon Prime Day.
TV Special – HBO debuts a documentary about the late actor/comedian with Robin Williams: Come Inside My Head.
Tues., 7/17
Today’s programming meeting… Gain awareness about listeners: What are they talking about? Ask talents what “Big Event” is on everyone’s mind. Which TV show is the most anticipated return (or new series) for this fall?
Twitter Tuesday. Do you use “tiny URLs” to link back to something interesting on the station website?
Thanks for reading
The Lund Letter
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About the Lund Media Group:
For over 20 years, the Lund Media Group has provided programming, music consulting, operational guidance, and research to commercial and public broadcaststations throughout North America and overseas. Whether you program all sports, all t
alk, or all music, the Lund Goal is to help stations get more listeners and keep them listening longer. The Lund Consultants are a multi-format custom programming and management consultancy.
Call John Lund for more information about how the Lund Media Group can help your stations achieve more listeners, higher ratings, and more revenue.
Phone: 650-692-7777.
Email john@lundradio.com.