Last week, our post about the sons of the Beatles possibly reuniting generated a lot of comments about how the Classic Rock radio format is being forced to go after younger demos to satisfy media buyer demands for 25-54 adults.
Now along comes a nice piece from Forbes called “Five Misconceptions About Marketing To Boomers.” It’s pretty much what you’d expect – key reasons why media buyers and planners just don’t get the power of a generation slated to spend $20 trillion over the next 20 years on consumer goods.
So rather than simply republishing their list, I thought it might be more productive to author one of those introductory emails that hooks up two people with common interests who ought to get to know each other – in this case, the media buyer and the account executive.
Here goes:
Let’s hope for a happy, productive, profitable relationship.
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Is this a war worth waging? Persuading ad agencies to target older demos has always been the Viet Nam or Afghanistan of radio. many have tried…all have failed.
Most other formats have programmed to a demo, rather than follow their audience off the 55+ demographic cliff. The evolution of soft AC is a good example. It was adopted widely in the mid 80s and targeted people in their 30s and 40s when the easy listening audience grew too old to bring major ad dollars. It was still easy listening, but for 25-54s If was soft, 100% gold based and back announced. Rather than follow its original audience out of demographic viability, soft AC got more contemporary, added some currents and upped the personality and energy quotients that the next generations of 30-40 somethings preferred. Country made a similar transition from a library based folksy presentation to a CHR style format in presentation and music.
Why can’t classic rock do the same thing? There’s a lot of great rock music from the 80s and 90s that is older now than Led Zepplin was when the classic rock format was launched. Might it be easier and wiser for Classic Rock stations to drop Boston, Foghat The Doobie Brothers and The Who in favor of Nirvana, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses and Staind? Most of that music is over 20 years old and the value its fan based won’t have to be sold to ad agencies.
Maybe its time for classic rock to initiate its own version of the EZ to soft AC transition?
Bob, thanks as always for stirring the pot. Generationally, there is probably room for two different generations of Classic Rock – in fact, some might argue that today’s Mainstream Rock is essentially ’80s and ’90s Classic Rock. In any case, there is still a vibrant audience for a traditional Classic Rock format – the ratings continue to support that. In a market like Boston or Detroit, these station(s) occupy 25-54 shares that are enviable. Format transition? Sure. But following the money has always been a smart bet…but maybe not in Kabul. Appreciate your comments & would love to hear from others in and out of the format.
I didn’t mean to stir the pot with my reply. Allow me to respond again, hopefully with less stir.
I’m a veteran of both sides (too young – too old) of the agency 25-54 sales wars. I was there trying to justify rock to 25-54 focused buyers when it was “too young” and had my share of “too old” (EZ listening/News/Talk/Full Service) formats to deal with as well. And I did it as a local rep, a national rep and GSM/GM.
When I had success in overcoming either a dictate (“no rock” was a big one – even after many rock stations had progressed to top 3 25-54), it was almost always because of a good personal relationship with a particular buyer who bought my station as a favor to me, not any change at an agency in target demo or format stereotypes. Believe me I tried…dutifully preparing proposals with cost per qualified customer rankings – combining qualitative data with rankers and full methodology disclosure. And they almost never worked (when they did, just saying “I really need this one” to a buyer I was tight with would have sufficed) – even when other technically inclined reps and I conspired to present the same points, so that an agency would have multiple justifications for stepping out of their guidelines.
Unless agency consolidation with fewer people doing more work has given buyers more latitude, IMO, its unlikely that Classic Rock will fare any better in changing agency attitudes as it ages out of 25-54 than it did before it aged in.
I’m glad that there are still Classic Rock stations that do well 25-54 and I’ll be the ones that do sound great. But without some modifications, even they can look at their median age and calculate when…without losing a listener, they will fall out of 25-54 consideration.
Historically, the EZ to Soft AC demo focused approach has been more successful than the pitching media departments on the value of 12-24 and 55+.
Just sayin…
And you’re not wrong. As you know too well, the agencies will find your vulnerability whether you’re WABC or Z100 – they will always want what you don’t have. Isn’t that how rates are negotiated? But the hard truth is that formats that start falling off the 25-54 cliff are either going have to change their approach, accept the demographic/agency realities, or a little of both. It’s a tough slog. Thanks, Bob.