22 Aug Wednesday, August 22, 2018
This Week in The Lund Letter:
> Terrestrial and Digital Media Today
> Building TSL and setting listening appointments
> Better music scheduling rules
> And the latest media trends
Lund Management Alert: Changing Consumer Media Habits
Radio and TV stations have many challenges in the digital universe since there are many media options available to the consumer.
There are five basic ways that people consume entertainment and news programming in media… which include audio and video.
1. Terrestrial radio and TV via the broadcast tower. This also includes ATSC 3.0 technology.
2. Physical media like vinyl records and compact discs. (Rapidly disappearing!)
3. Cable TV, like Comcast and Time-Warner.
4. Via satellite. For radio that’s Sirius-XM, and for TV there’s Dish Network and DirecTV.
5. And the 5th way people consume media is streaming from the Internet…to computers and tablets, Smart TVs, Smart Phones, and Smart Speakers like Amazon Alexa.
For audio, streaming includes many services, like Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora, plus radio station streams and podcasting.
For streaming video, there is OTT (Over the Top) and many network services, including Netflix, Hulu, Sling, and Amazon Prime Video.
There is also competition for both TV and Radio from YouTube.
The Power of YouTube
+ 400 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube each minute.
+ One billion hours of content are watched on YouTube every day.
+ YouTube has over 1 billion users – almost a third of all people on the internet every day.
+ More people listen to music on YouTube than radio.
Personalized Media
Hyper-personalization is how radio and TV stations compete. Growing consumer expectations prompt a focus on personalization. While radio formats have always been personalized, TV broadcasters are creating personalized viewer experiences to stay competitive. Addressable TV helps clients target their advertising.
Digital is Today…and the Future
For programming and sales, broadcasters are launching innovative and cost-effective ways to engage, retain and monetize digital consumers. Increasing digital revenue is broadcasters’ big focus…in TV and radio.
Broadcast Convention Planning
Thank you to the members and staff of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association annual convention last week in Lincoln where John Lund conducted two radio and radio/television sessions for the state broadcasters. The first session, “Radio’s Newest Trends” detailed programming basics, how to get more listeners and how to improve audience engagement. The second session, attended by both radio and TV broadcasters, shared “Changing Consumer Media Habits” which discussed streaming, Smart Speakers, millennials, podcasting, OTT, Addressable TV, and ATSC 3.0 in depth.
John can customize a topical audio-visual presentation for your state convention. Contact John Lund.
Lund Programming Clinic: Benchmarks and Features Build Audience
Talent benchmarks and station features help build time spent listening and appointment listening for more tune-ins. Station features include Deep Cuts on a Classic Rock/Classic Hits station, 12 in a row, and Country Showcase on a Country station. Talent benchmarks include Impossible Question (Trivia), Top 5 at 5, News of the Weird, and Battle of the Sexes.
While morning shows and programmers like benchmarks and features, the goal is to increase listening and not stop the momentum of the show or station. There are several considerations needed for choosing a benchmark or feature:
> Great content
> Aired at the best time(s)
> Enhances your station brand and format
> Doesn’t stop the momentum created by your brand
Approach the scheduling of a benchmark or feature from your listener’s lifestyle and how they use the station. When does the average listener…
1. Wake up?
2. First turn on the station?
3. Leave for work and arrive at work?
4. Go to lunch and return to work?
5. Leave work to commute home and when do they arrive at home?
While it’s important to schedule your benchmarks and features so they don’t interrupt the flow of your brand, there is another deciding factor. Schedule them when there is a change in listening environment – like going from the home to the car, going to lunch from work, going home from work, etc. That’s why many programmers kick off the workday with a continuous music hour, have an all request noon hour, and air a feature played at 5 in the afternoon.
Most programmers feel it’s best to have set times for contests, features, and benchmarks, so listeners can set appointments to listen. Some morning shows use “floating benchmarks” because they don’t want a set time that could possibly interrupt a compelling piece of content.
The feature should enhance and reinforce the station brand. Consider the “Deep Cuts” feature on some Classic Rock/Classic Hits stations. Your audience is expecting to hear the biggest hits, so when you play possibly unfamiliar music you are not fulfilling their expectations. Similarly, a Hot Country station programs a set of Country Classics every weekend. The audience may like Johnny Cash, Ronnie Milsap and Reba McEntire, but they are not tuning in to your pop Country station to hear old songs.
Be strategic when planning your benchmark and feature schedule. The wrong time could stop your momentum while the right time could help build time spent listening when there is a change in listening environments.
Contest and Promotions Guide
Need a ratings contest for the fall (the diary sweep begins 9/13)? Help the sales staff lock in dollars with over 200 audience-building contests and promotions.
Our Contest and Promotions Guide provides every programming and sales contest you’ll need this year and the rest of the decade! The Guide features ratings contests, promotions for the major holidays throughout the year, and seasonal special events. Get contest ideas for markets of every size…and budgets of any size. Order today, and get a ton of fresh contests and sales promotions.
Lund Music Scheduling: Fine Tune Your Music
Every week, The Lund Consultants review music software databases for stations. When we first look at a client’s music, we can often tell how many program directors or music directors have worked on the software over time. We often observe that there is a tendency to add new rules for music scheduling without taking the time to clean out the old rules. All music software works like a funnel. There’s a big opening at the top with all the songs you might play. Before songs drip from the bottom of the funnel to actual airplay, they are squeezed by the narrowing of the funnel. The more rules and restrictions you add, the fewer the songs that make the grade.
Give your music software a tune-up. The Lund Consultants offer these tips for better music scheduling:
> Clean out unneeded rules. You probably no longer need those “boy band” or “Mariah Carey” rules you had when you played a ton of songs by those artists.
> Watch for rules that duplicate or conflict with each other. Examine your artist, special artist, and group separation rules in particular.
> Use the right tempo controls. Most software programs offer numerous ways to control the pace of your music. Avoid jarring shifts in tempo and swaths of slow songs.
> Consider starting each sweep or hour at a higher pace, and use rules to stay within a speed range.
Coming next week: More software tune-up suggestions.
How’s Your Music? How’s Your Software?
Playing the right songs and managing your music software controls are vital to a station’s success. Lund Media can assist you with a comprehensive music review and software tune-up. We’ll conduct a complete analysis of your active playlist along with every aspect of your music software – rules, clocks, and rotations. We also provide a quick turn-around.
Capitalize on the very thing listeners want most – the best researched music played in the best rotation for your target demo. Email John Lund for details and timetable.
Promotion of the Week: License to Win
Listeners wait for the cue to call. The tenth caller is given the 5 digit “License to Win” number, and if their driver license (state ID for those without one) has the same five numbers sequentially, they win the prize. The grand prize can be insured, and smaller prizes can be given to those who have the right numbers in the wrong order. Change the name to “Licensed to Drive” if you have an auto dealer sponsor who will supply a vehicle for the grand prize (in this case, the contestants must have a driver’s license).
The best radio contests of all time include Secret Sound and Hi-Lo, and they are detailed in the Lund Contest and Promotions Guide, along with 200 more contests and sales promotions. This is the most comprehensive radio contest collection ever published. Click here to order your copy.
Lund’s Top 3: Fall Ratings Insurance
Th
e fall Nielsen diary sweep begins September 13 (three weeks from tomorrow). Here are three more programming strategies to expand listening this fall. Promote each of these benefits at least once an hour:
1. At-work listening (for longer listening spans and TSL).
2. Station website (and the benefits there like weather, last songs played, contest entry, videos, etc.).
3. Facebook and other social media sites.
Next week: a new Top 3. 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:
Morgan Evans’ “Kiss Somebody” has taken over the lead for Country this week. Other formats’ top hits hold strong for the third week in a row: Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” (CHR and Hot AC), Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” (Bright AC) and Weezer’s cover of “Africa” (Alternative). Lund clients receive weekly music research information on current music plus regular updates on the best-testing recurrent and gold titles.
Lund Trend Watch:
Radio Still the Reach King
Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors analyzed recent Nielsen data which says that 44% of the highly-sought 18-49 demo are light or non-TV viewers and represent 9% of commercial impressions. Heavy TV viewers are only 17% of this demo yet they account for 50% of total TV commercial impressions. AM/FM radio reaches 88% of the light and non-TV viewers.
Live TV Streaming
Services that provide “live TV” via streaming are now used in 5% of homes, up 58% from a year ago. Services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Playstation Vue, fuboTV, and Philo were included in this measurement. Not included were YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV because these services also include access to original programming and On Demand content (like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video).
Self-Driving Grocery Delivery
Kroger is testing driverless cars for online grocery order delivery. Kroger’s Phoenix market chain, Fry’s, is testing with a person in the car to monitor its driving and to open the car for the customer to retrieve their groceries. Customers will be able to order same-day or next-day delivery but must be at home (and available to come outside and unload their purchases) at the time of delivery. Google’s Waymo, in partnership with Walmart, had a similar test phase last month. Waymo was more like a cab ride with the automated car picking up the customer, taking them to Walmart to pick up their order from customer service, and then taking them back home.
Programmer’s Planner:
Here is a list of actions this week for the proactive program director:
Today, 8/22
Labor Day, the traditional end of summer, is just under two weeks away. Consider a remote from the maternity ward of the local hospital (client).
Meet with Chief Engineer and discuss signal quality, apparent loudness, and processing.
Thurs., 8/23
Summer Nielsen diary ratings week #10 begins. Second week of the September PPM starts.
The fall diary ratings sweep starts in three weeks (as does the October PPM). Create and send press releases for contests, PS involvement, and promotions.
Fri., 8/24
Create an attention-getting stunt for the beginning of the fall diary ratings sweep.
Streaming Premieres – Netflix has The After Party, supernatural teen drama series The Innocents, and kids’ series Ask the StoryBots and Trolls: The Beat Goes On! Hulu debuts new series Safe Harbour.
Movie Premieres – A.X.L., Searching and The Happytime Murders (a puppet movie that is definitely not for kids).
Sat.-Sun., 8/25-26
This weekend, examine and enhance your website. Compare your website with competitors and those of stations around the country. Your “listen now” streaming button is most important.
Mon., 8/27
Schedule and post notice of a staff meeting for September 12; voice-track to cover the airtime.
Finalize Labor Day promotion (a week from today).
Tues., 8/28
Today’s programming meeting… What are listeners talking about? What “Big Event” is on everyone’s mind? What’s the hot prize to award?
Important Upcoming Events: Back to School, Hurricane Season, and the fall ratings sweep
Marketing Builds Audience, But Doesn’t Have To Be Costly
The Lund No-Cost Marketing Guide provides over 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.
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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.