It used to be that “senioritis” was that strange feeling that overcame high school and college seniors during their final year of school. It turned them into slackers, just trying to get through that tedious last year.
Well in radio, “senioritis” may be something altogether different. It’s a malady that is impacting an industry that often refuses to come to grips with the notion that the audience is aging. While usually thought of as a bad thing, there’s may be an entire other side to this condition.
Inside Radio reports on a new Rite Aid campaign that targets women well north of the 54 year-old “cliff line.” They’re utilizing actress Julianna Margulies and running radio ads on News/Talk, Soft AC, Classical and Gospel stations across the U.S.
This suggests additional opportunities for radio – public as well as commercial stations – that takes advantage of the aging Boomer bulge. It begs the question of whether clusters with appropriate stations might even appoint a “Senior Specialist” to put together programs and partnerships with advertisers looking to connect directly with audiences that grew up with radio and still values it today.
And this trend doesn’t just impact radio. USA Today reports that many American cities are undergoing the same phenomenon. Ultra-hip Austin – home of the SXSW conference – is experiencing an aging boom as more and more 65+ folks move there for retirement. The 55-64 demographic is up 110% in the first decade of the 2000s in Austin. The article goes on to list five key areas that cities and municipalities will be facing in efforts to better serve and deal with seniors.
Some challenges… but also opportunities. And for radio, it’s a medium that is well-positioned for cities, target advertisers, and other associations and groups to get out their messaging. Focusing on 25-54 demographics may be the “sweet spot” for most stations, but there’s money on the table for these aging consumers, especially as more companies suffer from ongoing sales problems.
Assuming radio is smart enough to grab it.
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Fred:
I agree with your analysis. But, try telling anyone in radio managements that there’s money to be made from Baby Boomers. Their eyes glaze over and they look at you like you were a cast member of the old TV show, “The Outer Limits”. Then, they ask you why the station’s DJ’s aren’t spending more time talking about Kim Kardashian…
Kevin, at a time when revenues are tight and CEOs are scrambling for every dollar, a look at the “fringe” – aka the biggest generation of Boomers – just makes great sense. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Once again, SPOT ON! Boomers are established radio fans. Failure to develop 50+ content leaves huge amounts of money on the table. Talk about going where the puck is headed…..it’s all right here. Boomer Power. Connect the Mad Men with the Web Men. A sale is a sale and I’m for “older money” on new ideas, any day. Thanks, again, Fred. Clark
Appreciate it, Clark. In order to hit – and surpass – revenue goals, creative marketing of the full spectrum of demographic appeal just makes great sense. Brands will be marketing to aging Boomers for some time to come, and radio has this audience. Thanks for reading our blog.
I remember this was the same argument 15 and 20 years ago! Advertisers have always ignored the generation with the biggest disposable income! They were boomers then, and they are boomers still – but the generation of radio execs are getting younger and younger. You GO Clark, You GO Fred – Meantime – you just gave me a great marketing idea – so, thank you two times!
The irony is that older demos have always been a source of revenue. Radio ran away from them to court the younger demo. How’s that working out? The excuse has always been that advertisers do not want anyone over 54. Radio just never made a case for the power of the over 50 crowd. Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ3Ha1JRFt0
Steve, good thoughts and great video. The factoids about the car are especially significant. The automakers are struggling with Millennials while Boomers are buying new vehicles with those digital dashboards. Thanks for reading our blog.
It’s not just the listeners who are aging but in some cases the entire market. AARP Magazine has the highest circulation in the area. In many midwest markets like this one, younger people are leaving in droves. As a medium based on advertising, we have to develop ways to market to our available audience and show advertisers that these people spend money.
Thanks, Mark. Just like how job seekers may have multiple resumes, depending on the job and its requirements, so should radio clusters that provide a great deal of demographic diversity. For many mainstream advertisers, 25-54 (or 18-49) rankers may be the way to go, but there are Boomer dollars available, and radio delivers this audience very efficiently. Appreciate you reading our blog.
I didn’t have much to say on this until I read some of the comments.
Are Boomers (the greatest/biggest/richest/BESTest generation EVER!) really suffering from a prosecution complex?
I see NO shortage of Boomer targeting in media – turn on a TV, watch cable news, broadcast news, sports, and ENTIRE BAND of broadcast radio, as well as significant FM, newspapers, internet sites, magazines.
Do you really think Boomer tastes and culture is being ignored by media and advertisers?
Should I post youtube links to the countless current TV spots targeting upper demo interests (health, financial services, autos,cruises/vacations etc…)
I’ve been in radio for 20 years ( i know – a pup) and in every one of those 20 years I’ve carried water for Boomers. Not a single day was spent ignoring the Boomer market.
Boomers – please. Get over yourselves already. You’ve had the world at your feet for so long you’ve lost all perspective.
You can’t “dominate” the world forever.
There’s a brilliant future just ahead.
Instead of retreating and chasing Boomers into the grave for their last nickels as a short term revenue “fix” – Radio should focus on the NEXT wave.
The Millennial generation is even bigger than Boomers – and will shift the world in even more profound ways – and we can see it coming!
Let’s prepare for that. It’s happening with us – or without us.
Jeff, your rant completely misses the point of the original blog post. I agree with everything you say except the tone of generational warfare. But a lot of radio stations and owners are mature businesses, carrying a lot of debt, in need of a lot of month to month revenue to keep the ship afloat so that we can “prepare for the future”. (That shift will happen, some people are working on it – iHeart Radio, LDR, song skipping on broadcast streams.. etc. But that takes capital.) And many of those stations still worry about 25-54 ratings instead of developing a sales profile to take advantage of who’s listening and buying. Calm down..
Mark, thanks for the clarification. But I truly do love a good rant. 🙂
Mark,
the first sentence of my “rant” clearly states I had nothing to say about the point of the article – only the comments.
second – i’ll write off your disproportionate accusation of “warfare” as a mere pejorative used to undermine a point without actually addressing the point.
finally. all the debt troubles etc… are the result of short term thinking. and the “solution” of chasing 55+ upper demo dollars to “make the month/quarter/year” = more short term thinking.
In other word – The world’s dumbest idea – worth a read by all radio CEOs
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/07/29/how-the-worlds-dumbest-idea-killed-the-us-economic-recovery/
Thanks for the clarification and for linking the article.
Jeff, I didn’t mean to imply that Boomers are getting screwed by advertisers. It’s that radio stations are screwing themselves by not taking advantage of their demographic strengths (at some stations, at least). No, the Boomers have been calling the shots in this country for more than four decades. Radio naturally appeals to them and should be reaping more 55+ benefits.
I have been a Detroit area radio listener for over 50 years. To me the current music formats offered by today’s Detroit radio stations is terrible, the worst I have seen in those many years. Today the stations are running either a mixture of rap (‘crap’), hip-hop, pop, heavy rock and talk. What ever happen to easy listening or smooth jazz, especially during the evening hours? After a day of work it is hard to just find relaxing music, the current music mix offered makes me edgy. I find myself button pushing up and down the dial until finally frustrated turning the radio off. I should not have to pay for this type music via Sirius or XM.
I may not be part of the demographics radio management is targeting, but I feel they are totally missing the boomer buying power.
Robert, you sum up the dilemma – and the opportunity well. Radio’s inability to convince stubborn, myopic agencies about the power of aging Boomers is at the heart of your variety complaints. These formats (including traditional Oldies) are MIA because there simply aren’t enough 25-54 year-old listeners to support them. Radio used to provide essentially something for everybody, but if you’re over the age of 55, that’s simply not true. Interestingly, many news/talk stations skew older, but these are easier formats to market to agencies because of tradition and the impact of personality. Sorry if we’ve lost you to streaming or satellite radio. The fact is that radio hasn’t figured out a profitable way to maximize your value. Appreciate you taking the time to write and I wish I had a better explanation.
Thank you for the quick response. What occurs in today’s radio once a format appears to work many other stations quickly change to that same format, thinking they can do it better. Unfortunately, the broadcast dial becomes saturated with multiple stations with common formats. The variety of radio becomes lost. Yes I am ‘older’, but I only listen to talk radio on a very limited basis. When I do listen AM stations could provide me with that format. I counted on FM stations to provide me with a variety of music. I am now finding FM blurring the lines and now adopting the talk format. I personally feel the management of FM 97.1 ‘Smooth Jazz’ made a major mistake when they changed formats. I enjoyed the station, playing it throughout the day. When I entered many businesses, whether it was a restaurant, retail store, business or health care provider (dentist, doctor, etc.) they too were playing that station. I am not looking for the creation of an “elevator music station”, but just give me something to relax by.
Appreciate the heartfelt response, Robert. Just as TV typically jumps on the bandwagon, creating multiple versions of hits shows, so does radio with formats. As again, demographics demanded by advertisers are always key factors in these trends. Thanks again for adding to the conversation.