09 May Wednesday, May 9, 2018
This Week in The Lund Letter:
> Turning listeners into brand ambassadors
> What do listeners really want?
> And the latest media trends
Lund Management Memo: And The Winner Is…
Familiar scenario: Your morning team comes to you asking for more prizes to execute their on-air contests and games. They say it’s the only way to generate callers to participate on air. This type of reasoning is common among today’s morning shows.
What’s another option – if you don’t have cash or prizes?
On social media many of your friends may share the results they get when they answer a quiz of their knowledge on a variety of topics. They even challenge their friends to beat their score. We now hear that listeners like to hear their name and the names of their friends, co-workers and family on the air, according to a recent NuVooDoo study. For years, Who’s Who has released a directory of names where the people listed would buy the directory.
One advantage of radio is that the station offers its listeners stardom – the ability to give them notoriety. Make the listeners stars, and they will love you forever. It’s true that you don’t have to award a prize to get participation. Your station offers a platform where listeners can garner recognition – “bragging rights” among their friends. You have a powerful vehicle in securing “brand ambassadors” who can market your radio station to their network of friends and co-workers simply by saying their name on the air.
Here are six ideas for securing more brand ambassadors using this name recognition power:
1. Salute contest winners. Congratulate them on-the-air not only after they won, but also in other dayparts. Post their name on the station website.
2. Recruit listeners to provide feedback on traffic, news, weather, good deeds in the community, reviews of concerts, reviews of movies, etc. Credit them on the air.
3. Listeners who have personality or are great storytellers may be used as morning show contributors. Your morning show could make them a recurring character on the show if they possess the talent.
4. Recruit listeners to be on your “Listener Advisory Panel.” List member names on your station website. Credit individual members if they offer an idea you use. Utilize the station’s social media in recognizing listeners as well.
5. Establish a database of listener birthdays, find out when they listen and when their birthday occurs. Have your air talent give them a “shout out” during the time they listen.
6. Establish a “Good Deed” program where listeners nominate friends for a monthly, quarterly, or annual award by the station. Programs honoring community leaders, educators and charity organization leaders have been very successful.
So when the morning team asks for prizes, tell them the real “prize” is being on the air with them on their show.
Lund Programming Clinic: What Listeners Want
These programming lessons are learned from PPM but also affect stations in diary markets.
> Practice the 5-second rule in morning shows. Talents have 5-seconds when a song ends to engage the audience, or they will leave. The morning personalities need to get right into the topic with an enticing engagement premise. Provide fascinating content or a strong hook right out of music.
> Great morning shows have two or three benchmarked elements that make the show fun and interesting, aided by listener voices. Use imaging for branding, and do the same benchmarks daily at set times.
> Celebrity interviews and Hollywood gossip don’t work. They are overdone on Facebook, TV and Twitter. The exception is top artists in Country and CHR – but not the Kardashians.
> News is of minimal interest on FM music stations; leave it to the News-Talk station – or repackage it as “5 things you should know” in the morning. Do away with network news on FM music stations, including in the morning. Abbreviate weather to make it relatable to the listener, and focus on today only. More people get their news from Facebook than anywhere else (sadly).
The radio world is changing, especially when programming an FM music station. Still, it’s no secret how to program a successful station: Find out what listeners want and give it to them. What you take off the air is often as important as what you program.
Lund No Cost Marketing Guide
Marketing builds audience, but it doesn’t have to be costly. The Lund No-Cost Marketing Guide provides 200 ways to build audience for no cost. Want to grab a bigger share of remote dollars? Want to generate revenue while marketing for more listeners? Put these tactics to use at your station…and provide a big bang for no bucks. Get our No Cost Marketing Guide.
Promotion of the Week: Worst Pothole Photo Contest
The station asks their listeners to report the worst pothole on their commute, but with a fun twist. A picture is taken and submitted to the station’s website. Many will be photo-shopped to be more comical (like a pothole swallowing a whole car). The winner may be chosen by the station, by drawing or by a listener vote on the station’s social media accounts. The prize is an auto-care package from a sponsor. The winning photo for WTTS in Bloomington, IN was of a person drowning in the water-filled pothole and a Baywatch lifeguard running to save them.
For 100 more great contests and sales promotions, see the Lund Contest and Promotion Guide.
Lund’s Top 3: Spring Ratings Insurance Checklist
Here are three more programming strategies to expand listening this spring. This is our 10th installment from the complete Lund “Spring Ratings Insurance” checklist. Promote each of these benefits at least once an hour:
1. Promote at-work listening (for longer listening spans and TSL).
2. Promote the station website (and the benefits found there like weather, last songs played, contest entry, videos, etc.).
3. Promote ways listeners connect with the station, as with Facebook.
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:
“Never Be The Same” by Camila Cabello moves into the top spot in CHR this week. Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left To Cry” had another tremendous week of airplay gains. Post Malone’s “Psycho” is beginning to gather momentum. In Country, Jason Aldean’s “You Make It Easy” occupies the number one spot. Kane Brown’s “Heaven” is getting closer. Watch Luke Combs’ “One Number Away” and Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It,” as both made huge gains last week.
Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey’s “The Middle” continues its reign atop Hot AC this week. Maroon 5’s “Wait” enters the Top Five and Camila Cabello and Ariana Grande both had big gains last week. Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” will not go away from the top spot on Bright AC. Both MAX’s “Lights Down Low” and Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant To Be” are starting to make moves toward the Top Five. In Alternative, Lovelytheband’s “Broken” holds on as the leader. Florence and the Machine’s “Hunger” had a strong debut week. Lund clients receive weekly music research information on current music plus regular updates on the best-testing recurrent and gold titles.
Would you like a best-researched music library list for your format? Email John Lund.
Spring Tune-Up
Your market cluster includes more than one or two stations. Is the music and talent presentation as perfect on station 4 or 5 as on the top billing station? Lund Media can provide an honest assessment of your stations and how they sound versus your direct competitors. This report provides ways to grow your audience, your ratings, and your revenue. We analyze the performance of your talents/DJs, your formatics and marketing, and the music with the goal of extending listening.
The report is extensive and comprehensive. To inquire about our Strategic Programming Evaluation, email John Lund today.
Lund Trend Watch:
Macy’s Goes Backstage
In a recent press release, Macy’s announced the opening of 20 new locations for their off-price outlet, Backstage. All of the new locations will be in pre-existing Macy’s stores. The additions mean more growth for Macy’s with a new distribution center (400 added jobs) scheduled to open in Ohio in fall 2019. Macy’s is a little late to the off-price scene. T.J. Maxx (and its sister stores Marshall’s and HomeGoods), Ross and Burlington have made their names with off-price merchandise. And Nordstrom has had its Rack outlets since 1973.
Pricing is Top of Mind
And not just for consumers! Retail Systems Research conducted a study of retailers in April 2018 that determined retailers’ most pressing business worry is pricing (due to consumers’ concerns with getting the best value). When asked about their top three business challenges:
+ 58% of respondents said keeping up with the competition’s prices is their number one challenge.
+ 60% were concerned with “increased consumer price sensitivity.”
+ 65% of retailers said “aggressive competitors of like items make price our primary demand driver.”
Attention State Broadcast Conventions
What is the status of Radio in 2018 from a digital, listener, social and commercial perspective – and what’s the future? This is the hot topic that radio managers and programmers want to know. John Lund’s new audio and visual presentation details the state of radio today with ways to make stations better equipped to handle our digital age, plus a format clinic for music and News-Talk stations, talent development, and proven ways to increase audience. Contact John Lund for availability and info.
Programmer’s Planner:
Today, 5/9
Check competitors for contests and music changes that occur during the spring sweep, and make note in your State of The Station report.
Review news content: is it appropriate for the target demo?
You should be promoting your Mother’s Day (May 13) Weekend promotion.
Thurs., 5/10
Begin spring diary ratings week #7. Begin week #3 of May PPM.
Is your station the most visible medium in the market this month? What fresh opportunities will get press?
Streaming Premiere – Netflix has new drama series Safe (Michael C. Hall).
Fri., 5/11
Meet with sales manager; discuss/develop promotions to attract a new businesscategory or sponsor.
Attend sales meetings and make client visits with reps. Discuss the benefits of your station.
Movie Premieres – Life Of The Party (Melissa McCarthy) and Breaking In (Gabrielle Union).
Sat.-Sun., 5/12-13
This weekend, monitor station’s weekend talents and syndicated shows.
TV Premiere – Saturday, Showtime debuts mini-series Patrick Melrose (Benedict Cumberbatch). Sunday, PBS has a new mini-series adaptation of Little Women.
Sunday is Mother’s Day! Take dedications to Mom.
Mon., 5/14
Update current and recurrent music rosters and back up music scheduling software after changes.
Coach weekend talents.
Post-promote Mother’s Day… were your efforts bigger and better than the competition?
Tues., 5/15
Today’s programming meeting… Memorial Day weekend is about 10 days away (5/25-28), the traditional start of summer. What special programming is planned? How can you be the most visible station that weekend?
Update station website (at least once a week) and social media (a few times a day).
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 broadcast stations 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.