Wednesday, May 15, 2019

20 May Wednesday, May 15, 2019

This Week in The Lund Letter:  
>   Radio, the original social media
>   Reinventing radio through digital
>   Music scheduling errors
>   Getting more listeners
>   Instagram stronger than print…plus other Trends

The State Of Radio: More Alive Than Ever…

Media knuckleheads, hysterics, and hustlers love to produce junk pieces about the “death” of this and the “end” of that.  Like the death of radio.

The first time radio died was 1952 when Billboard magazine declared, “Radio is dead…with The Lone Ranger and Jack Benny gone to TV, bye-bye radio.”

The second time radio died was in 2005 when Wired magazine proclaimed “The End Of Radio” in an article about digital advances.  Since 2005, radio added over 26 million listeners.  How many readers has Wired added since then?  Answer: It lost circulation.

More people listen to radio than read Billboard and Wired combined, and more listen to radio than watch TV or have a smartphone.  Sound dead to you?  Radio is the poster child of change.  Today that change is digital.  Internet radio has radically changed our listening habits.  Why does radio survive?

+   Radio keeps reinventing itself.
+   It is easy to use.
+   Radios are everywhere – especially in cars.
+   People get their favorite station on their phone.
+   Radio provides background comfort.
+   It’s free.
+   It has local info people need – weather, time, events, news.
+   Busy people like to have the radio on while they are doing something else.
+   The morning show helps them get up; it is fun, funny, and informational.
+   It’s personal and always plays the music people like.
+   Podcasts allow hearing radio “on my time.”

The Importance of Prep

Radio personalities who systemize their approach to prepping and presenting their shows realize improved performances and higher ratings.  Want to know the benchmarks that listeners like most?  Utilize the Lund Radio Personality Guide to improve show planning and execution.  The Lund Consultants coach and develop talents for improved performance and higher ratings, and this stylebook has all the tools and insight to execute a great show.  Order your copy here.

Getting Down Deeper: Reinventing Radio

Radio is the second-most-common activity on smartphones, behind social media usage, according to comScore.  It is, of course, more aptly described as “listening.”  Activation of FM chips in all smartphones would benefit radio. Imagine everyone carrying around transistor radios plus the reduction in streaming-data usage.

Audiences are shifting to new digital platforms.  Podcasting is “radio on demand” and growing rapidly.  Most radio listening occurs in the car, but listening there is diminishing due to car dashboards becoming more sophisticated, obscuring radio dials.

Local radio trumps satellite because it has a lot to offer. Stations deliver dynamic programming that’s far more connected with local communities than the sanitized music-genre programming heard on Sirius XM, Pandora and Spotify.  Radio is very local, and that’s very cool.

What’s ahead in Reinventing Radio?

Radio is lucky since it’s escaped the devastation that swept through the print industry, brought on by the rise of digital.  Radio’s digital offerings are essential to maintaining the high listening percentage it continues to enjoy.  Streaming on computers and smart phones and the increase usage of smart speakers help radio adapt to the digital evolution and changing landscape.

Selling digital is the new wave for radio, including designing websites and email blasts for clients.  Make these offerings unique.  Newspapers lost market share with their “would you like an order of digital with that” mentality.

Radio stations have two key advantages. They are the original social media and thus have developed strong audience affinities. People identify with their format, whether it’s Country, News-Talk or AC.

The radio industry also knows how to pull off promotions and events better than its media competitors.  Local advertisers see “events” as a bigger driver of new customers than any form of advertising, including online.  Events drive more customers than newspaper ads, TV spots, directory advertising, radio spots, billboards, etc.

Does Your Station Need Reinvention?

Discover the truth with a top-to-bottom review and programming analysis.  The Lund Strategic Programming Evaluation finds the strengths and weaknesses in your stations – music, promotions, talents, and strategy.  Make sure you’re playing the best songs for your target demos.  Get the edge back from your competition.  ContactJohn Lund to discuss a Program Evaluation of your stations. 

Lund Programming Science:  Music Scheduling Errors

What are the three biggest music scheduling errors?  This is what we find when reviewing a station’s music scheduling software:

1.   The size of the power song category is too large.  Your power songs represent the songs most loved by your listeners.  Rotating them in the same category with the same frequency as those that are “less loved” restricts TSL.  Most top rated contemporary stations have no more than 5 in the Power Current category; some have just 3 Powers.

2.   Having a long search depth in your currents should be corrected.  You want every song in a current category to rotate with the same frequency. Thus, minimize “digging” when scheduling currents.  This will avoid having certain songs rotating more frequently in the same category.

3.   Your “Minimum Rest” rule is set for too long an interval.  You risk preventing a Power song from being played making your listeners possibly tune to your competitor to hear it.

Is Your Station’s Music Software Tuned for Success?

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 playlist along with every aspect of your music software – rules, clocks, and rotations – and 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.


Lund’s Top 3:  Getting More Listeners
  
Regardless of your format, our goal is to help stations get more listeners and keep them listening longer. Lund’s Laws of Programming are essential basics required to increase the listening audience.

1.   Program to the core listener.  Conduct research and play the best songs during the ratings sweep; adjust rotations and clocks. Every time they tune in they should hear a favorite song.

2.   Create promotions that attract listeners. Promote them on-air and via emails to core listeners.

3.   Promote at-work listening.  8-5 is the longest daypart!

Next week, more tips on increasing your audience.  For more Top 3 lists, check out www.lundradio.com.

Concerned About Your Marketing Budget?

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.  Order our No Cost Marketing Guide here.


Promotion of the Week: Scoops of Fun

Invite listeners to an ice cream party this summer.  Sponsors supply ice cream.  Consider taking donations as admission with the proceeds going to charity.  Can also be done with frozen yogurt (and be sure to have non-dairy options available for those who need them).

Do You Need A Great Promotion?

Our Summer and Fall Promotions Guides outline every programming and sales promotion you’ll need for the months ahead.  Over 100 audience-building promotions, contests, sales promotions and show prep ideas will make your stations sizzle right now and through summer … and help the sales staff lock in new dollars.

Order our Fall Promotions Guide now and receive the Summer Promotions Guide free.   Order here to get both guides.

Lund Trend Watch:

Instagram Users Will Outnumber Print Readers

In 2018, Hearst shifted venerable women’s service magazine Redbook and teen bible Seventeen to digital-only; Condé Nast did the same with Glamour. Could Instagram be to blame?

For the first time ever, the number of Instagram users will surpass that of print readers in 2019. Instagram will have 113.3 million US users, while print will have 112.7 million readers according to eMarketer.

Millennials Love Events

Events strengthen the bond between Millennials and brands (including radio stations).  Event marketing hub Splash surveyed 800 millennial consumers and found that about a third of brand loyalists will sign up for an event upon receiving an email about it and another third will sign up after the second reminder email.  92% say that after the event they’re interested in personalized emails offering coupons or rewards from that brand.

Nielsen defines millennials as those between 23 and 39.  What are Millennials looking for at events?  47% say free stuff saying they attend branded events because of swag.  The key to swag is it must be useful – something the attendee will use again and again. If the event doesn’t excite your millennial guests, neither will your company or station.


Programmer’s Planner:

May 18: Armed Forces Day
 May 24: Start of Memorial Day Weekend
May 27: Memorial Day
June 14: Flag Day
June 16: Father’s Day
July 4: Independence Day (a 4-day weekend for many)

Next week in the Lund Letter: Important trends affecting the future of radio.

Thanks for reading
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About Lund Media

For over 20 years, the Lund Media Group has provided programming, music consulting, operational guidance, and research to broadcast stations throughout North America and overseas. With specialists in every format, the Lund Goal is to help stations get more listeners and keep them listening longer.

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.