Smulyan: People Want Free Radio on Their Phones

8-1-14

More NextRadio research from Coleman Insights was released Thursday. It's a study paid for by The NAB, that included 801 online interviews with 18- to 49-year-old smartphone owners who viewed a 90-second video explaining NextRadio. 63% say they would listen to local FM radio more if they had NextRadio. 45% of the participants said they ?definitely would? use NextRadio if it was installed on their smartphones; another 43% said they ?probably would? use the app. And, another  80% said they ?probably would? or ?definitely would? download NextRadio if the app was not already installed on their smartphones. Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said, ?These findings line up nicely with the anecdotal evidence we?re seeing since NextRadio was launched. People want free, local FM radio on their smartphones and NextRadio gives them exactly what they want.?

Here are some additional findings from the Coleman Insights study. 88% had a positive reaction to NextRadio, including 56% who described their initial reaction as ?very positive? 73% of those with metered or pre-paid data plans acknowledge that such plans limited their consumption of audio entertainment on their smartphones. Low battery and data plan usage were evaluated as the most positive of NextRadio?s benefits. 92% ?strongly agree? or ?agree? with the statement, ?The NextRadio app is really cool?

A streaming video presentation and a written summary of the study?s findings are available at www.ColemanInsights.com/NextRadio. Furthermore, Coleman Insights and knowDigital will share additional findings from the study in private briefings with the consortium of radio broadcasters supporting NextRadio?s launch in the coming weeks and months.

(8/2/2014 8:22:25 AM)
i am definitely one of those people who would listen to FM radio more if i had it on my smart phone.
(8/1/2014 5:56:09 PM)
Give me a break. No mater what you try to do things are changing and the radio industry is in trouble. Outside of Radio Shack try to find any place that sells radios. You can't. Because there is no demand anymore. There is no FM Radio on smartphones because there is no demand for it. If people wanted it the manufacturers and relailers would give it to them. Radio has chosen to miss the boat by cutting back on its investment in content and going with long music sweeps followed by 10 minute stopesets or confrontational Baby Boomer talk radio. If you want to save the last shreds of what you have,stop programming for PPM and start programmijng for an audience. Oh here's a great idea. Lets implode the station and run a national sports radio network. If I owned a radio station I would sell to a consolidator for top dollar as soon as possible.
(8/1/2014 2:48:24 PM)
Ummmm... Josh? That's why you pay experts to find out what consumers think. Because there are too many people like you who make gross assumptions about "what everyone wants". Did you even read the research?

By the way, for a radio guy, you don't seem to want people to have more access to radio. Weird.

(8/1/2014 2:14:29 PM)
We've already been through this before, and it was determined long ago that that's a big, fat, stinky lie. Nobody wants radio on their phones and no matter how many times the industry tries to convince them that they do, they'll never go for it.
(8/1/2014 8:52:16 AM)
Rick,

All new HTC phones available on all major wireless carriers (including AT&T and Verizon) are FM enabled and ready for NextRadio download! To view a list of supported devices, visit www.nextradioapp.com.

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The Young Do Love Their Country

1-16-14

Radio hears it all the time: Young people are not listening to the radio anymore. When it comes to country, that's not the case, according to new data from Edison Research. "12-to-24-year-olds who say they listen frequently to country music are significantly more likely to have listened to FM radio in the last week than the 12-to-24 demo overall." Edison Research's "Understanding Country Radio's Next Generation of Listeners" will be unveiled at CRS next month. A follow-up session will be held February 20.

What does Edison Research President Larry Rosin (pictured) have to say about the survey? ?Even as their choices expand, country listeners of all ages have often been among the most loyal to broadcast radio, and 12-to-24-year-olds are no exception. This study shows, however, that with the strength of today?s country music, millennial listeners are eager to consume it on many platforms. We hope our CRS presentation will give programmers the tools they need to maintain their advantage with younger listeners.?

Edison surveyed 1,550 12-34-year-olds, including nearly 900 respondents under age 25. In addition, Edison conducted face-to-face interviews with millennials about their attitudes towards country music, Country radio, and music listening and media habits in general. Those interviews will be unveiled for the first time at the Country Radio Seminar presentation.

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We Need To Get In Their Faces

11-20-13

During the Radio Ink Forecast 2014 luncheon, Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman candidly spoke about his thoughts on the radio industry?s need to be more ?in the face? of marketers and not rely so heavily on agencies and buyers alone. He admits that many marketers don?t always understand radio and it?s up to the leaders in radio to make them understand our business better.

Pittman is also concerned with the concept of changing the positioning of radio to ?audio,? explaining that it?s not something that consumers would use or embrace. You also won?t hear him refer to Pandora or similar pureplays as ?radio? because ?radio? is the exact opposite of what they can offer. Pittman continued his discussion by citing Clear Channel?s management style ? to create team leaders and teams which confront problems head on and strive to find areas of concern, as well as take chances on big ideas. If a company doesn?t do this, it will find itself floundering in mediocrity very quickly.

(11/20/2013 11:23:01 PM)
To my knowledge, has Mr. Pittman ever 'fessed up and admitted that radio was an abject failure at servicing audiences and advertisers with the utmost in programming and commercial production.

There's a broken-down, rusted-out Caterpillar dozer blocking the driveway. Until that thing is dragged away and replaced - nobody's going anywhere.

The rest is about forced posing, posturing and pathetic attempts at re-framing.

Although weird, it is possible that Mr Pittman was never told and doesn't even know! His considered comments are hardly those that would sustain any motivation.

(11/20/2013 8:51:37 PM)
Board room antics. Not reality speaking. More political posturing. Go get em guys !!! You can do it !!! Now I got to get back to my yacht.

Lets see Pittman go on a call and try and get around an agency to speak to a "marketer". Good fricking luck Bob.

(11/20/2013 5:59:58 PM)
We need to start realizing that radio does not fit the "Ad Agency" business model of high creative fees, high production fees, and high-cost media. The reason so much ad agency money goes to television is that medium perfectly fits the ad agency business model. When a client has their ad agency create a $5,000 to $1,000,000 tv commercial, the ad agency gets to keep all that money. Not the case for radio, which is by nature a much more efficient medium. Lets start talking about this issue!
(11/20/2013 4:54:00 PM)
The best place for radio industry leaders to start is with the large automakers. Automotive continues to make up the largest category share for radio and we are under attack. Local dealers are being instructed to spend less in radio and more in TV by corporate representatives.
(11/20/2013 4:25:37 PM)
Mr. Pitman made a good general point, based on what was covered in this article. But the one thing he did not mention was that in talking to marketers, you need to speak in their language and position the radio audience not in quarter hours like you would with ad buyer, but in how they discuss their audiences, in lifestyle groups. A format like Top40 or HotAC has very distinct lifestyle groups, usually two to three across an 18-34 or 25-54 audience.

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Hoax May Have Cost Hosts Their Jobs

9-1-13

Remember the hoax a caller played on Townsquare (WTMM-FM) Albany hosts Mike Lindsley (pictured) and Brian Cady in mid-August? Letting the hoax caller through may have cost Lindsley and Cady their jobs. Management isn't saying that's the reason this past Friday was their last day, however Market Manager Dan Austin did confirm they were both let go. Cady posted on his Facebook page, "Left job at Townsquare Media." And, Ops Manager Stephan Giuttari told the Albany-Time Union, "They're effectively no longer with the company. They're both out of the building. I can't comment other than that." New hosts will be announced later this month.

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(SALES) Read Their Mail!

4-12-2013

I?ve written several articles over the past several months referring to different things I recommend you do to keep clients. The following story is another real-life example of where these recommendations come from??.

Several years ago I was calling on a car dealer that was a sizeable client of one of my radio stations. I knew him well and we had a solid relationship. I was visiting with his secretary while sitting outside of his office waiting for him to get free. As she and I were chatting, I noticed a stack of magazines on the table beside me. They were all the same. They were dealer magazines exclusive to his line.

As I thumbed through them, I was amazed at some of the articles. One of them had an article about how to do better remotes with radio stations. The more I thumbed through the stack, the more I realized all I could learn by reading them. I just needed to borrow them for a while. His secretary?s name was Ruth and with whom I had a developed a friendship. I asked her before I went in his office, ?Ruth, would it be possible for me to borrow these? I?ll return them in a week or so.? She said, ?Take them all. He never reads those.?

As I was leaving after my appointment, I grabbed the entire 10-inch stack. Over the next two weeks, the sales department and I divided them up, read them thoroughly and presented our findings in multiple sales meetings. It was like going to car dealer school. We learned new things about front-end sales, back-end revenue, F&I, service techniques, advertising, customer incentives, co-op, on and on.

One day, I sent my dealer friend a copy of an article encouraging him to share the content in a sales meeting. Then a week later, another one. After a month or two, he commented that he appreciated the ammo I had been sending him. I told him it was data I had collected from his office. He laughed and was grateful that I had also become his executive reading service.

So, let me ask you, how many radio sellers today are asking their clients if they may have copies of their industry magazines so that they can read them and be in the loop and even further their education to take better care of them? The answer is zero. Reading your clients publications, it?s just another way to keep their business and further separate you from the competition. Today, start reading their mail!

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

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You Need to Look In Their Eyes

11-30-2012

One thing that has changed very little in selling radio is that virtually all sellers try to make their first impression on the telephone. ?It?s a game of numbers? we?ve been hearing all of our lives. Make 50 calls today and hopefully you?ll get a few appointments. Some of radio?s greatest sellers today don?t practice their craft this way and haven?t for some time.

They?ve come to understand a telephone call to a business in the heart of the work day is categorically an interruption; an unwanted call. It?s like getting that annoying call at home in the evening when you?re in the middle of dinner from someone wanting to clean your carpets because they?re going to be in the area anyway (which they aren?t).

The following reality will make sales managers everywhere cringe? I wouldn?t give you 25 cents for a call report. I don?t want to read about 100 phone calls, most of which didn?t really happen anyway. I can buy fiction at Barnes & Noble. I want to know how many cast-in-stone appointments you have booked for next week with someone who either owns or controls the advertising of a business. I want to see the real plan!

If you can prove to me at 5 p.m. on Friday, that you have just eight to 10 of these cast-in-stone appointments booked and on the calendar for next week,  neither one of us will ever miss budget! So, what do I do instead of calling 50 businesses on the telephone, you ask? Just walk in the door of three or four businesses each day, offer a business card, get a business card and start asking questions.

There are a few key messages you must communicate: (1) Neither I, nor my radio station hit a home run every time we step up to the plate, but we help many businesses every day and they?ll tell you we do. (2) I don?t make promises I can?t keep. I may be able to help you. I may not. (3) I?m willing to learn about your current challenges, invest time in your business and see if I can help if you?re willing to answer my questions and spend some time with me. (4) No obligation, no promises, except one? I work harder for my clients than any other media sales representative you?ve ever met. If we determine I can help, I?ll do the same for you.

Looking in the eyes of an advertising decision-maker and conducting your first call this way will make you unplug your telephone and put it in the drawer. Saying, ?I?m not interested? and hanging up the phone is easy for a business-owner. Hearing your sincere desire to help while looking in your eyes and shaking your hand is much harder to reject.

Don?t call 50 businesses today. Go shake the hand of a few of a few of these folks and LOOK IN THEIR EYES!

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

(12/27/2012 10:21:50 AM)
"Brazil: Tests Tech Before Implementation"

"After extensive testing of both HD Radio and DRM, the Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Electronic Communications, Genildo Lins, said the tests of the two technologies have had poor results,"

http://www.engineeringradio.us/blog/2012/12/brazil-the-place-where-they-test-tech-before-it-is-implemented/

(12/5/2012 7:58:23 PM)
I could not agree more! I am a frontline marketing guy...previously worked at radio stations. Belly to belly is what it is all about, as my friend and TERRIFIC radio leader Bob
Ridzak has always said! ...Today, radio is poisoned by corporate dweebs, who put in more meetings, more reports, more procedures...all SALES KILLERS!

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(SALES) Look In Their Eyes

11-30-2012

One thing that has changed very little in selling radio is that virtually all sellers try to make their first impression on the telephone. ?It?s a game of numbers? we?ve been hearing all of our lives. Make 50 calls today and hopefully you?ll get a few appointments. Some of radio?s greatest sellers today don?t practice their craft this way and haven?t for some time.

They?ve come to understand a telephone call to a business in the heart of the work day is categorically an interruption; an unwanted call. It?s like getting that annoying call at home in the evening when you?re in the middle of dinner from someone wanting to clean your carpets because they?re going to be in the area anyway (which they aren?t).

The following reality will make sales managers everywhere cringe? I wouldn?t give you 25 cents for a call report. I don?t want to read about 100 phone calls, most of which didn?t really happen anyway. I can buy fiction at Barnes & Noble. I want to know how many cast-in-stone appointments you have booked for next week with someone who either owns or controls the advertising of a business. I want to see the real plan!

If you can prove to me at 5 p.m. on Friday, that you have just eight to 10 of these cast-in-stone appointments booked and on the calendar for next week,  neither one of us will ever miss budget! So, what do I do instead of calling 50 businesses on the telephone, you ask? Just walk in the door of three or four businesses each day, offer a business card, get a business card and start asking questions.

There are a few key messages you must communicate: (1) Neither I, nor my radio station hit a home run every time we step up to the plate, but we help many businesses every day and they?ll tell you we do. (2) I don?t make promises I can?t keep. I may be able to help you. I may not. (3) I?m willing to learn about your current challenges, invest time in your business and see if I can help if you?re willing to answer my questions and spend some time with me. (4) No obligation, no promises, except one? I work harder for my clients than any other media sales representative you?ve ever met. If we determine I can help, I?ll do the same for you.

Looking in the eyes of an advertising decision-maker and conducting your first call this way will make you unplug your telephone and put it in the drawer. Saying, ?I?m not interested? and hanging up the phone is easy for a business-owner. Hearing your sincere desire to help while looking in your eyes and shaking your hand is much harder to reject.

Don?t call 50 businesses today. Go shake the hand of a few of a few of these folks and LOOK IN THEIR EYES!

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

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Artists Love Hearing Their Music On Radio

9-25-2012

The artists your radio station play every day are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to being compensated for songs. They certainly want airplay on radio and understand the value the opportunities radio brings to the table. They also understand that they cannot come out and say, "We shouldn't be paid for our work." John Rich (pictured), from the Country duo Big & Rich, seemed to want to avoid picking a side on that topic when he sat on a Radio Show panel with CBS's Dan Mason, Clear Channel's Tom Poleman, and Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta. Rich was emphatic about one thing. Artists love hearing their songs on the radio. He also had some specific ideas about how the relationship between artist and radio station can improve and shared some frustrations.

Rich spoke about how emotional he was the first time he ever heard himself on radio. It was when he was still with the band Lonestar. "Artists feel like they have a special relationship with the radio station when their songs are played. Radio people are the coolest people in their towns." Big label CEO Scott Borchetta added, "I have never met an artist who didn't want a hit record on the radio. Artists never get tired of hearing themselves on the radio. They love it." He added, "Radio is still the number one place for music discovery, it's just not the only one."

Where artists get a little frustrated, according to Rich, is when radio stations don't intro or backsell songs. A practice which seems to have become law in the radio industry, despite Mason's attempt to change that, at CBS anyway. Rich says, "When the artist and song title are announced, that has a direct impact on record and ticket sales. It's such an easy thing to do." He told a story about hearing a song on a radio station that he liked but had to research who it was because the station didn't say. Mason made big news last year when he was told pretty much the same thing by a label head and decided CBS was going to do more to address the issue. He said there was a time "music was sold passionately by DJs but in the 90s something happened to homogenize radio. Let's rekindle that spark. Radio really can sell product."

Rich says radio can take a lesson from television on how to use social media to improve their relationships with artists. He used The Voice as an example of how the show is always flashing Blake Shelton's Twitter handle and said radio can incorporate similar ideas. He came up with an idea of his own once, utilizing the radio station in the town Big & Rich were about to perform in. Rich called the station and played off the band's latest hit "That's Why We Pray." Listeners were told to tweet what they pray about and tag Rich as well as the radio station. Someone was chosen from all the tweets and given four tickets and backstage passes to the show. "It was the radio personality in town talking to the artist directly and it cost no money. How many people would then be following that station and the artist? We were all connecting. Every radio station is important to an artist."

By the way you can follow John Rich on Twitter @jonrich

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27 Lose Their Job in Chicago at Merlin

7-17-2012

The news of no more news wasn't delivered to the Chicago crew by Randy Michaels. It was Andy Friedman (who also lost his job) introducing one of Randy's money men, Jerry Kersting, who handed out envelopes. In the envelopes were 27 pink slips and some moving money. About 16 people were retained to work at the new i101 in Chicago, now a Classic Hits station.

Chairman of The Merlin Advisory Board John Gehron tells Radio Ink, it was an extrodinary effort on everybody's part but the audience just did not respond so it was time to try something different. "If you look around the country, it has been difficult for CBS in Washington. It has been difficult for Radio One in Houston. It has been difficult in all these markets for new stations to break out. It takes a long time. And in some markets, you are up against, frankly, good competition. CBS does a good job and CBS is finding out the WTOP does a good job. It is not something that happens overnight.

On the flip to music in New York and Chicago. "87.7 in Chicago has broken out of the box extremely well with Alternative. They are doing a different Alternative than the old Q101 did. This seems to be resonating a lot better. The hope is the same thing will perform better in New York too. You could argue in Chicago that there is a home for what they are doing. It is kind of a Hot A/C or Gold A/C based format. Nobody is really focusing on that music, especially since the Fresh went away. There is an opportunity to do something, certainly with better numbers than they were getting with news."

(7/17/2012 3:51:05 PM)
AM and FM is on its way out... It is sad that Tom Leykis was right, that people are getting the ax and moving to the internet..
(7/17/2012 3:44:33 PM)
I swear, if you tried to explain this business at a cocktail party..people would laugh and say. "No seriously".

1900 meters in a market of 7.8 million, 12 plus...just sayin.....

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Do Consumers REALLY Want an FM Chip in Their Smart Phones?

5-8-2012
by Ed Ryan

I'm always skeptical of polls and surveys. It was just yesterday that one poll said President Obama has a 7-point lead over Mitt Romney. Another poll had Romney up by 4. How can that happen? Who should you believe? Plus, how do you ever really know if someone being polled is telling you the truth? Because you send them a dollar in the mail, they are going to give you all straight answers?

Results from a Harris Interactive survey, regarding the FM cell phone chip, commissioned by the NAB, were released Tuesday. Broadcasters are saying consumers want FM chips in their cell phones. You've probably read that headline in many of the other trades today. The wireless industry says there's no demand for such a thing. Who should you believe?

I live in Florida. Our house is stocked with candles, a lot of peanut butter, flashlights, buckets of batteries and more than ten radios just waiting for that next Hurricane to sweep us into the Gulf. If we lose power for 3-5 days, where would I charge my iPhone, if it even had an FM chip, so I could listen to local radio? I can listen to TuneIn now until the battery dies. I'm guessing most people will listen to their battery operated radio and save the cell phone battery for calls to family or to see if the liquor store is open yet.

The NAB has been lobbying members of Congress to get them to buy into the argument that FM chips in cell phones save lives. How could it hurt, but is that really the reason? A handful of NAB board members even attended a recent congressional roundtable discussion about the issue. It's hard to speculate where the chip issue will end up with Congress, and the NAB has backed off on any plans to ask Washington to mandate the chips in all cell phones. The wireless industry is very skeptical. It sees no need to move the idea forward, mainly because it doesn't see the demand coming from consumers. And, carriers such as AT&T and Verizon didn't even attend the congressional roundtable.

The Harris survey is part of an NAB effort to educate the public, and perhaps, politicians about the chip, which is already in some cell phones, although it's doubtful consumers that own phones with the chip even know it. The survey was conducted online in April and early May of this year and included about 4,400 participants. A 2010 survey, which the recent study is compared to, included about 2,600 adults. 70% of the 2012 respondents say it's important they have a cell phone chip in their phone during an emergency. Although it's a high percentage, that number is down from 73% in 2010.

Another question is probably the real reason broadcasters want to be on the phone. After verifying, in the survey, that 85% of the respondents either always or usually have the cell phone with them, another 78% say they would pay a one-time .30 fee so they could listen to radio on their phones without using their data plans. At the end of the day, it sounds like broadcasters just want to have a piece of that real estate just like Pandora and Slacker and TuneIn etc want a piece of the automotive dashboard real estate.

And finally, one of the more interesting statistics from this survey was the answer to the following question: How often, or at all, do you listen to your one of your local radio stations? 24% said all the time, 33% said frequently and 21% said sometimes for a total of 78% (the same as in 2010). That's a far cry from the number Arbitron consistently touts which is in the high 90's. In March Arbitron reported a RADAR survey of 395,000 resulted in a 241 million people - or 93% - who listen to radio.  It just goes to show if you survey enough people and ask them slightly different questions, mix up the age groups a little bit, you are guaranteed to get different results.

Take a look at the NAB/Harris Study HERE
E-mail me your comments directly or leave them down below.

(5/9/2012 6:15:02 AM)
Consumers don't want to be force fed FM chips in cell phones, iPods or anywhere else. Many smart phones have FM capability now that nobody is using. My HTC Incredible has an FM radio that I NEVER use...if I want to listen to a station, I use their dedicated app or one of the aggregators like iHeart or TuneIn.
(5/9/2012 6:05:46 AM)
"And, carriers such as AT&T and Verizon didn't even attend the congressional roundtable." LOL!

The point of this charade is to eventually get HD chipsets into cell phones, since the NAB Board members are investors in iNiquity.

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Talent Must Focus Their Attention Online

by Phil Hendrie It's important on-air talent focus on developing a lasting and loyal online audience. I'm not sure why but radio somewhere along the line gave itself over to the most inept generation of executives any industry has seen in a long while. The result is, like Detroit, a business that can't make any money producing something everyone uses. You got me. But then my job and yours has always been about the 'creating.' So the good news is:  For talent a new day has dawned.

This crazy thing called the Internet is used, absorbed, cherished and loved by billions of people. Almost all are consumers, the willing recipients of what the web has to offer. The podcast has blown up. Internet radio at-home use is going up. Internet TV is now a part of your entertainment systems. It's all direct competition with radio. And all of that stuff needs product, something to constantly deliver. You and I have what it needs. We are the content creators. And my friend, just as they say in space no one can hear you scream, on the Internet no one can hear program directors scream.

The future is the web by way of wireless. That is the mobility the Internet needed and now has. Begin today, letting everyone know who you are by way of the Internet. Let them know what you do, where to find you and when. Get comfortable there and eventually buy some real estate. Your web site should be your headquarters. And your show should be first and foremost Internet friendly. Not radio friendly. Internet friendly.

Your shows should be downloads available to your fans. They can be sponsored or subscription based. Invest in video. Create content apart from your radio show. Do a Sunday morning videocast. I once did a show called "Professor Emory Clayton's Gospel Hour." I wore shades and a cape. Be original. Get so you don't solely rely on radio income any longer because you've created your own 'revenue streams.'

Start today. There isn't one move being made in radio that indicates anything has changed. Even on the web. 'I Heart Radio' held a massive music event last summer. I couldn't figure out what the big deal was because it was one day. There are 364 more. And how much did they pay those acts? What do they think you're worth? Do they actually know what they're doing with this juke box sensibility?

We no longer have to sweat the weird math of radio. As talent we have never had a better opportunity to completely control our own product and market it ourselves to billions of people. You can do it exactly as you like, target exactly who you wish and create a 24 hour stream of your work with interactive features like chat, merchandise and downloads. The best part is you get to take all the money to your own bank. I don't know if radio will follow newspapers into the basement of recorded history but you're not tied to radio anymore.

Phil Hendrie is a syndicated host on hundreds of radio stations across the country. His program, more like theater, is distributed by TRN. Leave your comments for Phil below. Check out his website at www.philhendrieshow.com

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A New Way For GM's To Focus On Their Product

by Danny C Fletcher

As the world turns today managers are faced with major cutbacks, of course the first to go is the promotions budget (which is contrary to what we have our sales people recommending to the clients?)  Then the consultant budget, the person who has an outside perspective, has the been there done that advice, the experts who zero in and drill down on what you the manager and owner can?t see. Two important areas, if you?re asking sales folks to go sell it. I?m just saying. Of course we smaller market broadcasters have never had the luxury of either, so here?s how we all focus on our product. 

In order to get a real time opinion and feel from your targeted core listener you must go where they frequent and casually survey potential listeners anonymously. What you?re hoping to get is a feel for what your station?s EPIM is (Equity Position in Market Place) relative to your competition. When listeners have a ?want? for your format, do they think of you first? Do it causally, anonymously and no family or friends comments count. Seek and scout out venues where your core profile listener frequents and interact with them by asking questions. If you want to control a conversation. Ask open ended questions and listen!

In your casual interviews ask: When you do decide to turn on the radio what station do you go to first? Ask that way because the majority of the answers will be I don?t listen to radio that often; although we know better. Ask, what has them listening to that particular station? When do you listen most? Where do you listen (home, car, internet?) As far as News, Talk and Sports Stations same thing only different questions. Ask: Where do the get their news, traffic reports and weather during a crisis or weather event? Where do they turn for timely accurate information?

LAW?. Do not knee jerk at every negative comment. You have to be thick skinned!!

Ok so you do something like this already. Is it with laser like FOCUS?  See what happens when you ask my way, with questions causally. You aggressively go for input and get quality and quantity surveys. It?s about communication so seek out the specific demographic and social graphic listeners for your format then there is a good chance they listen to you or a competitor. Remember we are only information gathers, we study the responses and we question ourselves and our staff for any other verification of ?real issues? that need to be addressed.  

You can also send a survey out via any number of free or inexpensive platforms such as Survey Monkey to your data base. Ask your listeners and clients how your doing and how you can improve. If the same ugly negative comment keeps coming around from your super core demo, you should take a look at the issue ASAP. Some of the best broadcasters I know have forgotten that radio is all about the product you're delivering to your local market and that's all that matter.

Danny Fletcher is President of  Fletcher Media Performance Group Inc. and JDTV He can be reached email: Danny@dcfletcher.com or 985 991 6161

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Arbitron Adds Counties to 10 Markets Changing Their Ranks

June 28, 2011

The markets affected by the change are: Albany, GA (Now 239/Was 262), Amarillo, TX. (Now168/Was 193), Bryan-College Station, TX. (Now 206/Was 233), Corpus Christi, TX. (Now 108/Was 137), Des Moines, IA. (Now 72/Was 91), Fayettville, AR. (Was 128/Now 127), Ft. Smith AR. (Now 159/Was 175), Jonesboro, AR. (Now 234/Was 284), New Orleans, LA. (Now 45/Was 52) and Portland, ME (Now89/Was 168)

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Sean Kingston 'Stabilized' After Jet Ski Crash, Stars Send Their Prayers

Sean Kingston has been "stabilized" following a jet ski accident on Sunday (May 29) that landed him the trauma ward of a Miami hospital. 

The singer's publicist, Joseph Carozza, sent the following statement on Kingston's upgraded condition to Billboard.com Monday morning: "Sean Kingston is now stabilized and has moved from the trauma unit to ICU. Sean's family thanks everyone for their prayers and support during this time."

Sean Kingston Hospitalized After Jet Ski Crash

Kingston (real name: Kisean Anderson) was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital yesterday after he and a female passenger aboard his personal watercraft crashed into the Palm Island Bridge around 6:00 p.m. EST. A boater rescued the pair from the water, and Miami Fire Rescue crews brought the singer and passenger to the hospital. 

A representative for Jackson Memorial Hospital confirmed to Billboard.com on Sunday that the 21-year-old pop star was in the Ryder Trauma Center. No details regarding his injuries have been released.

Since breaking out with debut single "Beautiful Girls," which topped the Hot 100 for four weeks in 2007, Kingston has scored hits like "Take You There," "Fire Burning" and "Eenie Meenie" with Justin Bieber, who he joined on tour last year.

Kingston's hospitalization resulted in a outpouring of support by both his fans and peers on Twitter. The hashtag #prayforseankingston has been a top trending topic since news of the accident spread, while artists including Bieber, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown have tweeted messages for the singer. 

"Got my friend @seankingston in my prayers tonight," wrote Bieber. "A true friend and big bro. Please keep him in your prayers tonight as well." Soulja Boy tweeted, "Praying for my brother @seankingston I hope he makes a full recovery." 

"Praying for my bro Sean Kingston," wrote Brown, while Rihanna added, "Sean we praying for you baby." 

"My love and prayers are with Sean Kingston and his family," wrote Minaj. 

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