Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Lund Letter

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

This Week in The Lund Letter:  
>   Grab attention with great storytelling
>   Are you airing the right content?
>   Don’t bore listeners; make imaging sparkle
>   Spotify shows huge growth and the latest media trends

Lund Programming Clinic: Use Storytelling To Enhance Your Stopsets

sticky.jpgAt the Indiana Broadcasters convention last week (where I was conducting a Science of Programming workshop), I was asked a question by a midday talent who also voice-tracks PM drive on a sister station.  “I have three stopsets an hour; what should on-air content be?”  Delivering station promos, conducting a contest, and providing info like weather and traffic are not content.  The concert calendar, celebrity birthdays, This Day In History, community events and similar lists only add to on-air clutter.  Facts and figures and features that we used to think of as interesting to our listeners are, in fact, tune outs.  They simply don’t resonate with listeners.

The best content includes stories that create “sticky” memories by attaching emotions to things that happen.  Air talents who can create and share good stories have a powerful advantage over talents who can’t or who just deliver lists of facts.  Stories capture and sustain the attention of audiences.  Listeners retain stories longer than data.

Stories about the music work well; the majority of the audience listen to radio for the music and their favorite songs.  Beyond music, think of what experiences connect you with the audience.  What activities are your audience engaged in?  This helps build a connection.  What will connect with listeners at work?

Another area of content includes stories about relationships.  This includes spouses, partners, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  Topicality is another source for stories.  For example, when a natural disaster occurs, create stories of people dealing with the disaster…and what to do if it happens here.  Also, the mid-term election was last night – a great source for stories.

Sharing a great story is like giving your audience a gift, because it will stay with them.  This is what great talent breaks are made of.  Five talent ideas to enhance stopset content:

1.   Tell a unique story about the song or artist (use www.songfacts.com)
2.   Talk about a local business, like a new Ikea or Taco Bell
3.   What makes your town special – like a park or zoo
4.   Provide a positive, upbeat story about someone who did something good
5.   Relate a story about going to the mall (like all teens on their cell phones)

Continued next week – the basics of storytelling.

Amp Up Your Morning Show 

morningshowcover.pngWhere do you find benchmarks and bits that work great in the morning – and all dayparts?  The Lund Morning Show Guide lists the top 50 benchmarks and how to execute them.  This guide has all the tools your star talents need to grow and sound better.  It’s great for morning personality and all talents looking for content ideas for their breaks.  To improve the sound and execution of your shows, order the Lund Morning Show Guide.


Lund Management Memo: What’s Your Content?

contentiskingjumble.jpgEntertainment and show biz stories are passé, just like “on this day in history.”  People use their smart phones and the internet for these stories.  Develop and find content that is interesting and engaging.

The negative news and divisiveness that listeners endure daily are driving many to escape.  Your station is that escape hatch.  Good news features are popular, as are interactive games like “Impossible Trivia” that listeners can play along without calling in.

TV show mentions are passé.  The top rated TV show will be seen by less than 7% of your audience; blockbuster movies even less.  Localize the national stories from syndicated show prep services…  like Chick Fil-A selling mac and cheese (call your local Chick Fil-A).  The fact that a person did something stupid or crazy may be interesting, but saying he is in Florida adds nothing.

You Have A 2019 Growth Strategy In Place …Right?

growthzz.jpgIs your programming the best it can be?  Would you like more listeners and more revenue?  The Lund team has a timely fix.  The Lund Programming Evaluation consists of a review of your stations and competitors and examines everything that impacts audience and revenue – music, talents, presentation, competitors, market holes, assets and opportunities.  ContactJohn Lund for more info.

Lund’s Top 3:  Creating Stationality in Imaging 

Top3B.jpgGreat promos and exciting production get the audience involved and listening more carefully. They have a catalytic effect on the audience in that they super-charge the station and make it stand out in the listener’s mind.

1.   Get your listeners in your imaging – use local people recorded at remotes.

2.   Creative imaging reflects the station’s special feeling and emotion, and sets it apart from the competition.

3.   Use imaging to sell an attitude – the Stationality.

Creating Stationality in Promos continues next week.  Visit www.lundradio.com for more Top 3’s!


Lund Stationality: Refresh Your Imaging

refreshface.jpgIf your imaging hasn’t been updated in a week or even a month, you are boring your audience.  Your station should not sound like it’s automated.  If your imaging consists of station name and positioning slogan – over and over – you need to get creative and add some spice to your sound.  Cleverly weave in current events, local happenings, humor and an “attitude” to make your imaging sound sharp, entertaining, and memorable.  Typically, the imaging talent talks more than the DJ on duty.  Make that imaging sparkle!

Brighten Your On-Air Sound

writingpic.jpgYour imaging liners should be creative and fun, and they need to reinforce the station image.  Refresh your imaging liners today – Order 100 creative imaging liner scripts today.  For music stations order here, and News-Talk order here.

Promotion of the Week: Picture Perfect Christmas

pictureperfect.jpgThis promotion is based on the popularity of video – in a camera, YouTube, iPhone, etc. – and is sponsored by a retailer.  If the retailer sells related equipment, so much the better.  Listeners email video of their Christmas tree or house decorations.  Post them on your website and put the top contenders on social media. The best entry wins a new HD camera, smartphone with a selfie stick, or related device.   Link website posts to your sponsors.

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


Lund Trend Watch:


Spotify Soars

spotifylogo.pngAccording to the numbers revealed in its third-quarter earnings report, Spotify is now the market-leader in streaming music content.  They have more than 87 million paid subscribers and 191 million total users.  Subscriptions are up 40%, thanks partially to family and student plans.

For comparison, in Q2 Pandora had 6 million paying subscribers and total active users was 71.4 million (down 6% from the previous year).  They have not yet released their Q3 report.

What’s the difference between the two music streaming companies?  Spotify is available nearly worldwide while Pandora is US-only.

Black Friday a Strong Tradition

glowyblackfriday.pngFor a while it looked like Black Friday was in serious trouble.  E-Commerce (and its own mega sale event Cyber Monday) has been chipping away at retail’s biggest event for several years.  The “retail apocalypse” hasn’t helped matters.  And ridiculously long lines that sometimes turn violent made some people avoid the sale day altogether.  But according to GlobalData Retail, Black Friday is still the kick off to the holiday shopping season for most shoppers.  The timing breakdown:

+   18% of shoppers had already started in October (when the data for the study was gathered).
+   35.2% will start shopping in November.
+   20% will wait until December.

The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that 63% of holiday shoppers will plan their shopping around Black Friday.  87% of Millennials will.  The biggest deals will be expected from Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon.

Speaking of Amazon

amazonlogo.jpgDespite massive store closures and the ever-growing power of Amazon, most shopping is an increasingly intertwined mix of online and offline experiences.

+   78% of respondents to a Big Commerce survey have made a purchase on Amazon in the past 6 months.  Of those, 65% also made in-store purchases during the same time period.

+   30% of shoppers see a product on Amazon before buying it from the product’s own brand website.  32% look up a product on Amazon before buying in-store.

+   Price is no longer the top reason to buy on Amazon.  The top factor, important to 28% of shoppers, is convenience.

+   47% of online shoppers are willing to pay for Amazon Prime in exchange for free shipping; 46% are willing to do so for product discounts.  Free returns are also important since half of shoppers anticipate returning one out of every four purchases made online.

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Programmer’s Planner:

Nov 12: Veterans Day observed (actual 11/11)

calendarpro.jpg Nov 14: 52nd Annual CMA Awards air (ABC)
 Nov 22: Thanksgiving Day
Nov 23: Black Friday
Dec 3: first day of Chanukah/Hanukkah
Dec 5: last day of the Nielsen fall diary sweep (and the Dec PPM)
Dec 7: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Dec 21: First day of Winter



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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, alljclforLL.pngtalk, 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. 

C
all 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