7-30-2012
I must have touched a nerve. I got a flurry of emails responding to my piece, "Looking At Radio From The Digital Side," which was published here a couple of weeks ago. New media changes people's perceptions and expectations, often before we're aware of it happening.
My concern is that online audio entertainment services like Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, DAR.fm, and others have changed our expectations about the moment of tune-in. How long will we have to wait for the content to start when we first log on? For most online services, it's pretty close to instantaneous. Maybe you sit through a 15-second ad, but that's it. With radio, if you tune in at the start of a stopset, you might have to wait for five minutes or more.
I believe that could be holding us back, and I'd like to offer three ideas to help radio retain more listeners.
1. GUARANTEED SWEEP AT THE START OF THE STREAM
This one takes advantage of streaming technology, so it's a reason to listen on your computer or your mobile device. I'm sure there's a way that many streaming providers can set it up so that at least the first, say, 20 minutes of listening is commercial-free. That way, when you listen to a radio station stream, there might be a :15 video spot to start the stream, but you launch into a guaranteed amount of content no matter when you first start listening.
Let's say that you run stopsets at :12 and :42, as many PPM-measured stations do. If someone logs on at 10:13 a.m., they see the gateway ad on your stream and launch right into several minutes of spots. That's not exactly living up to expectations. On the stream, you could set it to cover that first stopset, and promise at least 25 minutes of continuous music whenever you log on. I don't know if any streaming services offer this service. It should be doable, however, using technology that's currently available.
2. TARGETED ADS
This idea takes a different tack, although it, too, is focused on the ever-growing number of stream listeners. Online advertising has so many targeting opportunities. I search online for travel information, and all of a sudden, Google, Facebook, and Yahoo are showing me travel ads I never saw before. Can we do this with stream ads, too? What if you worked to make all your stream ads potentially interactive, and kept track of what I clicked on? You could make sure I heard more spots for stuff I was interested in. After all, commercials are irritating interruptions until they solve a problem that I have. Then, I'm very thankful to have the information.
3. DO IT BETTER
This idea is the big market PD in me talking. If radio is saddled with the 15 percent chance that any listener will hear commercials when they tune in, let's make our on-air products 20 percent or 30 percednt better than they are now. Make sure there's always a great song on when someone tunes in. Work with the talent to ensure they're saying brand-appropriate, compelling stuff instead of the usual clich?s. Picture what your target audience is really doing, and invent promotions and imaging that cuts through in a good way. Create meaningful listening appointments that build habitual listening. Quit modeling what you do today against the station from yesterday that's playing in your head. Every time someone says, "We always do it that way," take it as a cue to invent a new, better way to do whatever that thing is.
Chris Miller has been a major-market PD in Atlanta, Portland and Cleveland. He now operates Chris Miller Digital, which he launched. Visit his website at www.chrismillerdigital.com.
Contact Chris via e-mail, chris@chrismillerdigital.com or 216-236-3955.
For more articles from Chris Miller go HERE.
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