There is so much DATA out there. Analytics and metrics have become part of virtually every radio discussion.
If you were one of those people back in school who couldn’t quite understand the relevance of math in your life, the future should now be clear to you. Numbers have always mattered, whether you’re talking quarter hours, unsold inventory, or digital downloads.
Of course, those basic numbers are understood by most people working in radio. You learn how to read a ratings book, decipher a sales spreadsheet, and track your station’s new media progress.
It’s the rest of the data picture that’s flummoxing just about everyone in the media and entertainment business. There is so much data that we’re losing sight of the “metrics that matter.” No matter who you talk to, everyone has a different idea of what the numbers mean.
Yes, we know where our station stands in a 25-54 year-old average rating ranker or in a Miller Kaplan report. But when we start moving into murky areas – like attribution – the conversation breaks down – not just inside the station, but also among advertisers – at both the agency and local levels. They all want a digital component to their marketing plans; problem is, they just don’t know precisely what that means or how to measure its effectiveness.
So, what can the average radio station in Chicago, Chattanooga, or Corpus Christi do to close the data gap? Because many employees at your stations don’t understand the data. Or they fear it.
The problem is, we often don’t ask the right questions. A new story in the Harvard Business Review by Charles Wheelan suggests there’s truth in the data if we just frame it properly.
It’s like the book “Moneyball’ by Michael Lewis. Skip the Brad Pitt Hollywood-ized production, and read it. It’s all about using the data – demystifying it – to ask the right question about the true stats that help explain what makes a great – and a mediocre – baseball player.
Too many radio programmers shroud their staffers from contact with the numbers. And as a result, many personalities and even sales people don’t really understand the metrics that true move the needle – in their livelihoods.
When the reps understand the ratings and the numbers are clarified, it better informs them about why the PD does what she does. It demystifies the audience, while creating a better sense of empathy for what the programming department is trying to do.
Similarly, PDs who keep music research or perceptual studies in a locked fortress lose the chance to help the airstaff better understand why the station is – or isn’t – playing that song, breaking at that time, or ending the morning the show at 9am.
A number of years ago, I consulted a Classic Rock station that was floundering. The airstaff didn’t respect the station management, and felt the playlist was unnecessarily tight.
To diffuse the situation and bring the jocks into the conversation, I convinced the PD to let each member of the airstaff select five songs that would be included on the hook list in the upcoming test.
So yes, there was a cost – in fact, 20 songs that were never tested before replaced the same number of titles that were tested year in and year out.
The result of this experiment was that we shared the results of the entire test with the staff. They got to see how their picks actually performed, learning (in most cases) why those titles would never see the light of day.
My recollection, however, is that we discovered a few new songs we could play, because a couple of personalities believed there were songs that had a market history us out-of-towners couldn’t possibly have known about. And they were right.
The net net was that the air staff felt included. Their opinions were considered. They finally had an understanding of the benchmarks we used to evaluate the music. And they came away with a higher level of respect for the process.
The other data application is with the audience. More and more stations conduct web-based research (like our Techsurveys), and a typical question asked by respondents is whether they’ll see the results.
While it was once unthinkable to share data with radio listeners, it is actually a smart strategy. If you think about research as marketing, it’s a brilliant way to deal the audience into the process, while getting their buy-in to programming changes.
By providing a brief series of slides for listeners (those who took the survey, as well as posting these results on the station website), the station is in better a position to introduce changes suggested by audience members themselves.
“You told us you wanted more twofers, so starting this weekend, it’s Classic Rock Blocks…”
Data doesn’t have to oft-putting or intimidating. Used wisely, it can provide a sense of inclusion and insight for staffers, clients, and listeners.r
You may think you don’t have a good head for numbers, but the fact is that data is going to become an increasingly important part of succeeding in the media business – and other professions. For example, at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, there was a different vibe in the Encore, Wynn, and sessions at the Convention Center.
Data took center stage, becoming the most-discussed topic at the entire convention. The word cloud (left) is just an approximation of the conversations that took place at broadcasting’s biggest annual gathering.
In panels, suites, bars, and meeting rooms, data emerged as an important and timely 4-letter word.
And to that point, data analysts could become as essential to media companies as content creators. Using data to better understand the audience and advertisers is as fundamental as it gets. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence – or AI – the data is becoming better organized, useful, and predictive.
This is where the auto industry is headed. And just about every major manufacturer is now tasking its management teams with developing viable 
data strategies.
For too many years, car makers simply sold their vehicles and watched them roll out of the dealership. Except for oil changes and maintenance, they have failed to cash in on their cars and trucks once they’re sold.
Radio broadcasters, of course, have been the main beneficiaries of the car radios installed in millions of dashboards. Without paying a fee, car makers have dutifully included a radio in every car they manufacture, despite the fact they cannot monetize it themselves
And that’s why their view of data, scale, and profits after the sale are rapidly morphing.
They have metrics coming out their tail pipes – from the radio stations people punch in and out of to the windshield wiper speeds drivers use. They know where we are, when we commute to and from work, where and when we stop for coffee, and our favorite bar on Friday night. Their ability to use the metrics from their cars – where people are located, where they work and play, when they change radio stations, and virtually everything else consumers do in their cars – is trackable and measurable. But they’re not yet sure how to use that data.
That’s why they’re working hard and spending millions to crack their own data codes. Once models are developed, the car makers will package and monetize all that data. And that’s when things will get interesting.
Learning about data, and how it impacts your role inside a radio station or a media company is rapidly becoming an important pursuit.
It start with demystifying the data, and working as teams to best deploy and use it.
It’s a numbers game.
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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The radio broadcast industry could transmit much more data with minimal effort. If you have built 1200 Apps you might want to consider the concept of ODA and RDS2. Unfortunately in America only a minimum is used from RDS and also HD-Radio data are processed only unimaginatively.
Somehow everyone has capitulated in front of the internet and can’t manage to use what they already have.
There have been several hybrid attempts like visual radio and the like, but they never really managed to break through. What requires the Internet in any case is not a real broadcasting.
The connection to the Internet is not wrong. Radio could be a kind of one-way Google that provides links to the topics even from those in local space who would never reach the top 10 of google search.
FM Radio in particular has the task of addressing and promoting local issues. The Internet is less suitable and not real-time capable for this. And it’s also overcrowded with crap.
Broadcasting is democratic because all listener have the same to same time. One way communication is hacker proof. Serious editorial staffs are better than unsafe websites.
“The Internet is less suitable and not real-time capable for this. And it’s also overcrowded with crap.” I disagree, smart TV with its connection to your choice of apps now, PC’s, Laptops, note books, tablet computers, smartphones, being connected to the internet is easier more than ever before. There’s something for all of us just like radio broadcasting. We all have access to our favorite interests whether music, news, sports, talk, podcasting or whatever else is out there. The answer is to build the smartphone right into the dash. Lots of possibilities that way, oh by the way the connection to the internet should be free to the car owners, and provided by the content creator’s.
Mark, the smartphone is built into the dash via Apple CarPlaay & Android Auto – so it’s already happening. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for this comment.