Today’s post is a collaborative effort from Paul and me. We’ve spent a lot of time together already this year, highlighted by those three crazy days in Las Vegas at CES. As we continue to assess the many changes that are already taking place in just the first month of the new year, today’s post pretty much wrote it itself. Hopefully, it will resonate for you. If not, blame him. – FJ
Imagine for a moment that the radio industry hired a big-time strategic marketing and branding consultant to examine its business model from every conceivable angle with a goal of identifying new areas of growth. Perhaps the first thing they’d notice is an industry that lost in the neighborhood of 30% of its revenue five or so years ago, and is still clawing its way back. Revenue each year is flattish, and new competitors for available media dollars are emerging all the time.
The image of the industry is that it is “old media” that has seen better days. Many feel that radio has fallen out of favor with the youth market and simply isn’t cool any more. Others point to the fact that some of radio’s biggest stars like Howard Stern and Adam Carolla have fled to digital havens, while other live and local talent has been replaced by out-of-market solutions.
Facing all of this, what would the consultant recommend?
They’d probably point to the need for stepping it up, getting aggressive, talking loud and proud about the industry, regaining that swagger, and seizing every opportunity to magnify the medium’s accomplishments and successes. They might also recommend hiring a PR firm, thinking bigger, creating excitement at every turn, and go all out to change the image and momentum issues that have dogged radio for more than a decade.
They could possibly recommend staging radio’s biggest conventions and conferences in cities like New York, L.A., or Chicago – media capitals where the industry’s best talent could be showcased, and advertisers and decision-makers would be key participants.
Maybe they’d suggest encouraging broadcast companies to commit to making its biggest and best-known talent available a certain amount of hours each year to make local and even national sales calls in order to generate true excitement about the industry among those who spend and allocate money. One of the high points of DASH was the panel of great Detroit personality shows talking about their experience with “connected cars” – several auto execs told us that session really opened their eyes about the charisma of the radio business.
They’d likely recommend bringing advertisers into radio stations when celebrities and artists stop by for interviews. We are in show business, after all.
Another concept might be having radio execs strategically hang out with other industry leaders – from city and state governments to the heads of local companies and corporations to account managers and agency bosses. The radio industry would need all hands on deck to tell its story.
And there would likely be a directive to magnify and monetize each and every opportunity. The idea being that revenue generation should be maximized at these key moments when radio shines. That translates to seizing the moment to demonstrate radio’s power and effectiveness – proof positive that the industry still has its fastball, that it can move the needle, and make things happen.
Here’s an example:
Around Thanksgiving, the radio world divides in two: the Christmas music “haves” and the Christmas music “have-nots.”
Christmas music appears to still be massively popular, racking up another year of big, boxcar numbers. According to industry observers – and Nielsen just weighed in on the topic – this season’s Christmas music shares are pretty darn impressive once again. From New York to Las Veagas to Philadelphia to Salt Lake City, stations entrenched in this annual tradition scooped up eye-opening audience ratings.
It’s a cultural thing and it’s become a tradition in households across the country. In late November and through the holidays, radio becomes the key source where millions of Americans gather to welcome in and enjoy the holiday season with friends and family. In that context, radio is a big winner every Christmas.
Or is it?
If we equate radio’s Christmas music ratings bonanza with say, the upcoming Super Bowl, we may have more of an apples-to-apples comparison. Like the “Big Game,” this is a major league opportunity to showcase the radio industry and its massive impact on America.
The Super Bowl network doesn’t wait for the game to be played and the ratings to be calculated. Prices for Super Bowl spots are set months in advance, and advertisers have to pay that price in order to reach an anticipated mega-audience. Like Christmas music on the radio in December, the Super Bowl numbers never disappoint. It must be a pretty good bet because advertisers and brands come back year after year to pay obscenely high rates for a 30-second spot in the “Big Game.”
Perhaps the true measure of Christmas music’s success isn’t in the 6+ shares that are all over the trades this week, but in the average unit rates these stations are able to command in December – in the real-time environment in which stations are playing Brenda Lee, Bing Crosby, and “Little St. Nick.”
We consulted Greater Media market manager Rob Williams on this topic because his WMJX/Boston achieved record ratings this Christmas season. But what about the sales front? Rob notes that the station had an exceptional December, focusing the station’s advertisers on being “in the moment” as the station exceeded World Series listening numbers. In Boston, that’s a feat.
But what about around the country? Aren’t those Miller Kaplan numbers for December the real metrics that matter, defining success for Christmas music stations on the one hand, and radio’s ability to pull off a big win on the other?
And beyond the ratings and sales metrics – numbers that are near and dear to everyone in radio – Christmas music presents the opportunity for an even bigger win because of its incredible impact around the country. Just as the Super Bowl greatly enhances the massive footprint of the NFL, the radio industry’s image should be bolstered by Christmas music. It’s an annual example of how broadcasters can captivate millions of listeners, and generate a larger halo effect for all of radio. It’s not about looking at Christmas music as an annual format stunt; it is about making it a cultural phenomenon that is as big, warm, and comforting as that first Santa sighting at the local mall.
Those Holiday book Nielsen numbers may generate lots of ooh’s and ah’s. But the real power lies in both the sales impact they generate, and the bigger brand equity points that radio should be earning as media power dividends.
It’s time for the radio industry to stop doing random acts of cool things, and parlay its biggest successes into iconic moments. It’s essential for broadcast radio to get aggressive, speak with one voice (thanks, James Cridland), stop apologizing and complaining, and start seizing these moments.
Otherwise, Christmas music on the radio is about as satisfying as drinking egg nog in January. And in the process, the industry loses yet another opportunity to tell an amazing story.
Carpe diem.
P.S. No charge for the consulting.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Well said gentlemen.
Appreciate it, Andrew!
You are so correct, yet the industry continues to find ways to factor out Christmas as radio’s finest hour, or month. 13 survey periods. Competitive chatter about how the month doesn’t count. Even among Christmas music stations, how changing formats for a month is potentially damaging.
Radio (any medium) needs to mean something significant. Through the holiday season, it means Holly Jolly Christmas. Whatever else it could potentially mean is scaring the hell out of some programmer or operator right now. Put that fear aside, just as the pioneers of Christmas music did. Time to entertain!
Dead on the money, Smokey. As a rock consultant, it’s a tough time of year to gut through. But for stations that have a track record, it is something to embrace and embellish. Seeing the bigger picture – and the bigger win – is precisely the point. Thanks for the perspective.