Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Lund Letter

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

This Week in The Lund Letter:  
>   Easiest path to more audience
>   Tactics for winning at work
>   Morning show magic
>   Short commercials and the latest media trends

Lund Management Memo: You Have 10 Minutes! 

time17LL.jpgThat is how long the average radio listener listens to a station.  After ten minutes, they may tune to another station, or turn off the radio.  The easiest way to get more listeners and higher ratings is to ask your present audience to…

1.   Listen longer (to extend time spent listening by another five minutes or longer);
2.   Tune back in later (for another listening occasion)

Your live or voice-tracked talent and your imaging liners can accomplish these two essential audience-boosters.  Constantly promote ahead – and promote ways to “use” the station, like listening at work.


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Lund Programming Clinic: Increase At Work Listening

increasegraph.jpgListening at work is essential to building audience all day.  Aggressively “ask for the order” to increase audience.  But how do you increase at-work listening?  Here are key tactics to win At-Work listeners:

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

2.   Create a benchmark to begin the workday (i.e. – Commercial free hour at 9 AM).

3.   Set up your clocks to break only twice an hour creating “long music sets.”

4.   Frequently have at work contesting.  Some of the more successful contests are the Workday Payday, Secret Sound, High/Low, Artist of the Day, etc.

5.   Strategically create benchmarks when listeners change venues (starting the work day, lunch, returning from lunch, leaving work, etc.).

6.   Develop interactivity on your website as it could be the portal for streaming at work.  Aggressively promote your website on the air.

7.   Foster an on-air community of listeners at work.  Rock stations have created the “Rock ‘N Roll Workforce.” other stations have created “VIP Clubs,” “Loyal Listener On the Job,” etc.

8.   Promote to the at work listener.  The morning show can take them to lunch or visit the workplace with coffee and bagels.  Have after work mixers, invite an office to a movie premiere, give away an Office Party, or have a VIP meet and greet.

9.   Have imaging pieces saluting various offices and key employees.  Imaging pieces should be inserted each hour for listening at work.

10.   Air staff should strive to air callers who identify their office.

11.   Create a social media policy for each air staff member to post and share trending content and teases for on-air activities. Social media engagement with the at-work listener will enhance ratings.

With the duration of the workday coupled with the commute time in a work week, at work listening can prove to be a “gold mine” for quarter hour shares and increased revenue.  This listener is a desired consumer for the advertising community.

Order Listen-At-Work imaging liners from Lund Media

writingpic.jpgTo 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 the creative imaging liners you want and need that sell at-work listening…for all formats… which can be customized for your station.  Volume Acontains 100+ at-work liners, and right now you can receive Volumes A + B (200+ liners) for a reduced price.

Lund Morning Mission: Making the Morning Show Great

inspire18.jpgYou’ve established a new morning show, cast the roles of each team member, developed your morning map, delegated responsibilities, understand your target audience and created the imaging for the show.   What’s left?  Develop a mission statement and outline the morning show’s brand.

A morning show’s mission statement should draw on the input of all the team members, the PD and GM, the promotion director and the production director and perhaps the news director.  The key pillars of a successful morning show encompass these three areas:

Entertainment

It’s not enough to tell jokes or present fun benchmarks and features.  A compelling morning show engages the audience by entertaining them.  Telling stories, whether they come from show prep or personal experiences, drives the entertainment value in a morning show.

Inspiration

It’s critical to motivate the morning audience.  Listeners need inspiration to start their day.  Enthusiasm and positivity are what the audience desires when tuning in a morning show.  Being the audience’s “cheerleader” is a key attribute in successful morning shows.

Information

Providing the audience with the info they need to live their lives is vital in successful morning shows.  The weather gives them a clue on how to dress.  Frequent time checks tell them they are on time for work, school, or appointments.  Trending news is needed, especially stories about personal finance, personal health and safety, technology, careers, parenting, etc. that will enrich their lives.

To gain more listeners and a passionate following, focus the morning show content on these three pillars.

Amp Up Your Morning Show 

morningshowcover.pngImprove 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!

emailwhitelist.pngThe Lund Letter is Radio’s only programming newsletter!  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 instructions here.  Those with a private company server may need to speak to their IT department.


Promotion of the Week: Pumpkin Toss

pumpkintoos.jpgA week or so after Halloween, listeners bring their now-decaying Jack O’ Lanterns to the station for a live remote from the roof or a utility bucket truck or scissor lift – the higher the better!  Toss them over the side to a parking lot below.  Use cannon parts from the ‘1812 Overture’ as support music.  The best-looking splatter wins.

Need a sales promotion? 

salespromo.pngBoost 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 

Top3B.jpgMake your station website terrific; it’s your marketing portrait. Consider these observations and necessary website improvements:

1.   At-Work Audience drives TSL. Create a “Join the At-Work Internet Club” promotion.

2.   Frequent Listener Club. Create, promote, and constantly update the database.

3.   Email the Database. Continually cultivate this important listener group. A typical database should be 8-10% of the average cume; 15% is excellent.

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.


Found! Creative Imaging Liners

writingpic.jpgMake an emotional connection to your listeners by adding humor to your station’s imaging.  Humor tugs at our emotions, elicits a positive emotion, and creates a lasting impression of your brand.  By utilizing humor in your imaging, you enhance your relationship with listeners and, as a result, increase your time spent listening.

Your listeners want variety – not unlike the music that’s played.  Refresh your imaging liners today.  Get 100 creatively written imaging liners.  For music stations order here, and for News-Talk order here.

Lund Trend Watch:

Shorter is More Engaging

ispotlogo.jpgShorter TV commercials get slightly higher levels of attention.  That’s according to an analysis conducted by iSpot.tv of 37,854 TV commercials across 4.7 million airings from the end of 2017 to early 2018.

+   10-second commercials earn an attention score of 91.0 to 91.5
+   30-second spots earn a 90.0 score
+   60-second commercials get a score of 88.0 to 88.5

The research also showed that 10- to 15-second spots are best received in the second (or second to last) position in a set of commercials.  When it comes to creative, viewers like automotive, travel and movie trailers the most.  This is due, in large part, to production quality being superior.

Macy’s Open on Thanksgiving

macysbloomies.pngBestBlackFriday.com has an update.  We previously shared their list of stores that will be closed on Thanksgiving Day this year.  Now we have Macy’s as the first confirmed national retailer with set Thanksgiving hours.  The stores will have the same hours as Thanksgiving and Black Friday 2017, opening at 5 PM Thanksgiving Day.  Employees who work the holiday will earn overtime.  80,000 seasonal employees are expected to be hired between Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and their distribution and online fulfillment centers.

Radio Ads High with New Buyers

goldone.pngAccording to a study by Borrell Associates, radio’s recent tactic of luring advertisers by going after those who have never used it before has been working.  Among traditional media, radio is #1 on the list of media local advertisers are investing in that they haven’t before.  Even among 21 types of media, including digital, radio is #5 overall.  Broadcast TV came in last place.



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Programming great stations is challenging.  What are the “basics” common on all successful stations, and what are the trends affecting the future?  All broadcasters are invited to Indiana Nov. 1 for John Lund’s radio programming workshop.  This two hour presentation over a hundred ways to make your stations sound better…and achieve higher ratings.

To indiana.pngattend 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 monthcalendarpro.jpg
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
Dec 3: first day of Chanukah/Hanukkah
Dec 5: last day of the Nielsen fall diary sweep (and the Dec PPM)



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, 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