Wednesday, October 10, 2018

10 Oct Wednesday, October 10, 2018

This Week in The Lund Letter:  
>   Top formats for listening at work
>   Executing Morning Show Benchmarks
>   Make Your Website a Marketing Weapon
>   America’s most trusted news source and the latest media trends

Lund Programming Clinic: Listening At Work 

The longest ratings daypart is neither the midday nor evening daypart, but the “Work Day” which is typically 8 AM to 5 PM.

Nielsen’s analysis of PPM data reveals two thirds of American adults listen to the radio away from home between 6 AM and 7 PM, Monday-Friday, and over 75% of listeners 18-64 are in the workplace.  Listeners employed full-time listen to radio 2.5 hours longer per week than listeners who do not work full time.

Nielsen PPM data says the formats which perform best for at-work listening are Adult Contemporary and Classic Hits.  Why?

+   Both are high cuming formats.

+   These mainstream formats appeal to the diverse workplace employee and their customers.

+   They play very familiar music providing “comfort” for the multi-tasking employee and their possible “shopper” (retail) customer.

+   They play a variety of music genres over multiple decades appealing to a broad demographic.

+   These individual formats are constructed toward long time spent listening with a slower rotation of songs.

Regardless of format, what are the on-air tactics to win At-Work listeners?  That’s next week in the Lund Letter.  Can’t wait?  Here is #1:

1.   Promote at-work listening aggressively and often – twice an hour 6 AM-4 PM, and once an hour all other times – including weekends.

Creative at-work imaging is required. Rotate numerous imaging pieces that sell the benefits of listening to your station at work.

To get a larger at-work audience, ask for the order!  Simply ask listeners to take your station to work, and listen all day at work.  We’ve written all the creative imaging liners you need that sell at-work listening…for all formats, which can be customized for your station.  Volume A contains 100+ at-work liners, and right now you can receive Volumes A + B (200+ liners) for a reduced price.

Lund Holiday Planning: Christmas Wish – Want More Listeners?

Consider launching your Holiday music in mid-November.  Plan your Christmas programming whether you go All Christmas Music or just sprinkle Holiday songs into your regular format.  Retailers love the Holiday format as much as listeners, and Christmas retail spending is forecast to jump this year.




Lund Management Alert: Is Your ID Legal?

There is a major market radio station that didn’t air a legal ID in five days last week.  When it changed the copy and imaging voice for the top of the hour, they forgot the FCC station identification rule:  The call letters must be immediately followed by the city of license at the top of the hour.  While there are two exceptions, saying the station slogan or… (Spoiler Alert)… “a radio.com station” between the call letters and city is not a legal ID.

Lund Morning Show Tips: Use Listeners’ Time Wisely

When doing a benchmark or break, move quickly from the set-up to the pay-off.
The more you get done in less time…

>   The more impact your payoff will have
>   The easier it is for the audience to follow
>   The more you can do in an entire show
>   The more successful you’ll be!

While movies are novels, radio is a short story, and attention spans are short.
Get into your content fast, and begin as near the end as possible…and go directly to it!

Amp Up Your Morning Show 

Improve the planning, presentation and sound of your morning show.  The Lund Morning Show Guide has all the tools your star talents need to grow and sound better… including our Morning Show Daytimer to plan every break, 50 Top Morning Show Benchmarks providing new ideas for bits, and 25 Morning Show Essentials to fine-tune the performance.  To improve the sound and execution of your morning show – and all talent shows – order the Lund Morning Show Guide.

Getting the Lund Letter every Wednesday is easy!

Add the Lund Letter to your address book or safe sender list so it doesn’t hide in your spam folder.  For Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, find instructionshere.  Those with a private company server may need to speak to their IT department.

Promotion of the Week: The Great Gobbler

This Thanksgiving turkey giveaway ties in a charity.  The station gives away one turkey to charity for every one awarded on the air.  A turkey gobble sounder is the signal to call in and win; winner gets a turkey or certificate; an identical prize is given to local charity.

Need a sales promotion? 

Boost your billing and help your sales staff lock in new dollars with the Lund Sales Promotion Guide.  200 terrific money-making Sales Promotions with new ways to carve out revenue from new clients.  The Guide details proven radio sales promotions geared to a variety of retailers – like auto dealers, furniture stores and malls.

This is the most comprehensive collection of radio sales promotions ever assembled in one guide.  Order here.

Lund’s Top 3:  Your Website is a Marketing Weapon 

A radio station website today is like being listed in the phone book years ago. Whenthey need to know something, more people are likely to go to a website before going to the phone book, a dictionary, or some other printed source. 90% of station website viewers are radio station P1s. Make your station website terrific; it’s your marketing portrait. Consider these observations and necessary website improvements:

1.   Content is King and instant gratification is important. The Internet is a “give it to me now” medium; people use it for speed and convenience.

2.   Promote the URL Frequently on-air and provide reasons for listeners to go to it, like weather and traffic updates, song information, breaking news, or a contest entry.

3.   Social Media. Have pages on the sites your listeners use most: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Your website as a marketing weapon continues next week.  Visitwww.lundradio.com for more Top 3’s!

Are you marketing to General Managers or Program Directors and want to reach the 10,000 readers of the Lund Letter? Email John Lund.

Programming Crisis: We Sound Sick

This is what one manager told us last week:

1.   The music isn’t right – too hard, too new, too soft, too repetitive, or too weird.

2.   The morning show doesn’t work – not local, not fun, not funny, not entertaining.

If the music is wrong and the morning show doesn’t relate, fix it now before the last listener leaves.  Call us – Doctor Lund is “IN”…and we make house calls.  We analyze your music software, remove any stiffs, and focus the playlist to fit your format niche.  Morning show coaching is a Lund specialty – we listen, we act decisively.  If you’re not sounding local with lots of relatable content, you’re no better than XM or Pandora.  Stations need more than an occasional critique or a music list to stay on track.  Email John Lund.


Lund Trend Watch:

Wall Street Journal Most Trusted

Simmons Research asked if Americans trusted specific news sources (not generics like the internet, TV, etc.).  Here’s the top ten most trusted:

1.   Wall Street Journal 57.7%
2.   ABC News 55.9%
3.   CBS News 55.4%
4.   BBC News 55.2%
5.   Forbes 54.2%
6.   NBC News 54.1%
7.   New York Times 53.8%
8.   Washington Post 53.6%
9.   USA Today 51.1%
10.   Washington Times 50.0%

Notice the absence of Fox News (it just made the top twenty, tied for #17).

Holiday Shopping Online and Off

Online and in-store together is the shopping strategy of 75% of Americans for this holiday season, according to a PwC annual survey.  These combination shoppers are expected to spend more during the holiday season than those who will shop only online or only in-store.  Using smartphones for holiday shopping will also increase; from 12% last year to 16% this year.  Much of the increase in online shopping is attributed to more retailers having a stronger and more trusted presence online.  Shopping excursions in person and online are desired by consumers to be a “stress free experience.”

More Holiday Sales Predictions

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) foresees consumer spending growing 4.5% this holiday season over last year.  Spending is predicted to reach $807 billion ($685 billion for gifts and other holiday items and $122 billion on food and beverages).92% of those surveyed by the ICSC plan to buy gifts and other holiday items for a per person average of $706.40 ($522 of that for gifts).  84% of all shoppers plan to visit malls and shopping centers, according to the ICSC.  CEO Tom McGee credits the increases to “a strong economy, consumer sentiment and a good job market.”  Consumer confidence is the highest it has been since 2000.

All broadcasters are invited to Indiana on November 1 for a special radio programming workshop focusing on the basics and formatics of great radio, and radio trends. Whether you’re on the air or work with air talents (or both), John provides ways to execute a great show, how to make voice tracking sound live, plus coaching techniques to improve every on-air performer.

To attend the Indiana Broadcasters convention and the John Lund seminar, contact Indiana Broadcasters Association Executive Director Dave Arland.

If you are not a broadcaster in Indiana (but one of 10,000+ readers of the Lund Letter), you can contact John to speak at your state or regional convention or corporate meeting.  John will customize a topical audio-visual presentation for your members’ needs.  Contact John Lund.

Programmer’s Planner:

October: Fall TV Premieres continue through the month
Oct 16: Boss’s Day; 2018 Hip Hop Awards air (BET)
Oct 31: Halloween
Nov 4: Daylight Saving Time ends
Nov 6: Election Day
Nov 11: 44th People’s Choice Awards air (E!)
Nov 12: Veterans Day observed (actual 11/11)
Nov 14: 52nd Annual CMA Awards air (ABC)
Nov 22: Thanksgiving Day
Nov 23: Black Friday

 
Next week in the Lund Letter – Tactics to increase At-Work listening.

Thanks for reading
The Lund Letter
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Have suggestions for future articles?  Email John Lund!

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, alltalk, 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.