ASIA

Content from BPROne of the most contentious and misunderstood areas of radio content management is commercials and the degree to which they impact radio listening behaviour on a commercial radio station.

Commercials are generally seen as a problem, particularly for TSL on music driven radio stations.  As a result, stations spend a lot of time employing tactics designed to mitigate the impact of commercials such as promising limited commercial break length, promoting “commercial free” hours or offering non-stop periods of music.  Yes, most listeners will tell you they dislike commercials on a radio station but how big a problem are commercials really?It is naïve to think that radio listeners truly hate or avoid radio commercials.  Radio listeners are not morons, they know they will hear radio commercials when they tune to a commercial radio station.  The issue is really about listener tolerance and the balance between whether the perceived entertainment value of what is being listened to is worth putting up with the interruptions in between.Radio commercials in themselves are not the villain, the true villain is the broader issue of what the listener perceives as unnecessary interruptions to their listening experience. That may be a commercial break, but it can also be a DJ talking over the end of a listener’s favourite song, a promo for the breakfast show that has already been heard several times or a traffic report that is presented so quickly the listener has no ability to absorb what was said.All these things can be triggers for listeners thinking to themselves “I’ve had enough of this” and moving from your radio station. It is not just commercials.A significant factor is the degree of contrast between the perceived interruption and the entertainment/information either side of it.  The more a listener loves something such as a particular personality, a show or mix of music the more they resent what they love being unnecessarily interrupted by stuff they are not interested in.  Equally, the more a listener likes something the more inclined they are to stick around through the interruption waiting for what they like to resume.The breaking point for listeners is when the perception forms that there have been too many unnecessary interruptions relative to the entertainment/information they are receiving.  I call this balancing act the “Shit to Fun” ratio.When it comes to commercial breaks there are a couple of points worth noting.  People who listen to commercial radio stations are remarkably tolerant of commercial content however a commercial break longer than a song is a danger zone as is a commercial break with too many commercials.  Listeners are generally more conscious of the number of commercials (elements) than time.  Frequency of the same commercial is also a big issue. This unfortunately goes against the premise of how radio likes to sell itself however commercial repetition is just as big a negative as song repetition however there are ways to mitigate this.Finally, it should never be forgotten that people appreciate commercials that inform them about something they are interested in. Radio advertising works and that is because a lot of people hear and absorb the advertising messages and respond. It is in everyone’s interests for a commercial radio station to have a commercial content strategy that minimises listener tune out and maximises listeners hearing the commercials. In this respect the longer-term strategy should be about making commercial breaks more listener friendly rather than villainising them. Listeners will tolerate your commercial breaks more if you give them half a chance.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Radiodays Europe (RDE) 2021, which had been postponed due to the pandemic, is on in Lisbon this weekend.For those in covid locked-down countries, attendance is possible via the virtual conference and last minute registrations are still open.Europeans who are free to travel, will be going to the country with the most vaccinated people in the world, where restrictions were lifted when 85% vaccinations of the over 12 population was reached recently. Medical experts in that country say they are now having difficulty finding anyone else to vaccinate.

Tomorrow night Asian time, the conference opens with registration and the now famous ‘Fast and Curious’ networking session.On Sunday (evening Asian time), all the Sunday sessions will take place, continuing on Monday. The full conference program is available here.If you live in Malaysia, for instance, the conference full days begin at 4pm. World Time Buddy is a handy calculator to work out what time it will be in your time zone.RDE 2021 will be held at Lisbon Congress Center and will also be available virtually, on-line.If you registered for the event in 2020 your ticket is still valid for this event in 2021.Registration details here, buy tickets here.Nicolau Santos, President of the Portuguese Public Media Service RTP, is the keynote speaker in the opening session. He is a former journalist with experience of over 40 years in media.Paul Mckenna, recently named by the London Times as one of the world’s leading and most important modern gurus alongside Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, will join Radioday and will be interviewed by Francis Currie in a special session. Mckenna initially started his career as a radio broadcaster in pirate radio stations Radio Sovereign, Radio Jackie and Radio Caroline. He also worked in local radio for Chiltern Radio, Capital Radio and finished his radio career at BBC Radio 1 in 1991.The best & brightest speakers from radio, podcast & other specialist fields will all be speakers at the conference. See them all here.More details here. […]

Content from BPR“The great thing about fact-based decisions is that they overrule the hierarchy.”

That’s another quote from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.What he is saying is that decisions based on facts, on hard evidence, are better for a company’s future as opposed to those decisions made as a result of a hierarchical corporate structure where the opinions of people in greater positions of power can carry a great deal of weight and influence.Fact-based decision making has been defined as “a systematic process that emphasizes the collection of the right data and the quality of that data, the performance of objective not subjective analysis to extract insights to enable business decisions that are supported by the analytical results rather than guesswork, rule of thumb or a hunch.”The CEO, the General Manager, the Owner (that is, the person who commands the most authority in the room) may have opinions about how a radio station sounds, what changes should be made, what talent is entertaining & which are not, which songs should be played & which should not, etc etc. Yet these opinions are just that……..they are often not based on any unshakeable facts, on evidence, on audience research.Often the loudest voice in the room can sway the conversation in strategy meetings because of the hierarchy in the radio station. Those lower down the hierarchical structure….lower down the “corporate food chain”……are often too afraid to challenge these opinions….which could prove to be fatal if those opinions negatively impact the strategic planning process.The only opinions that matter when it comes to formulating a strategy for your radio station are those of the listeners. Do your strategic research, your music research, your talent research, your brand image research and then, and only then, will you find out what the listeners want, and don’t want, from your radio station.By David Kidd, BPR […]

Content from BPRIn the first part of this article about recall vs observed behaviour research we looked at the critical importance of recall-based research in the measurement of the emotional transaction a listener has with a radio station.

In this second part we will look at some of the other issues to consider as well as application ideas for observed behaviour data.The most fundamental principle of research is knowing who it is you are researching and basing your assumptions on.  In recall-based research you start using a stratified sample approach which ensures that you are getting a representative sample of your intended target market, while observed behaviour from a digital stream generally provides a view of your station users only.With digital stream data you are effectively looking “inside the box” and you can certainly assume that they represent part of your cume and if they listen for an extended or reoccurring basis are likely part of you P1’s however outside of that you have to be careful what you assume.In terms of accurately measuring listening behaviour the argument has two dimensions.  The argument against recall-based research is whether the respondents recalled behaviour is how they actually behaved. If you operate in a market where the official survey is a recall-based methodology, then the argument against using recall-based research is largely irrelevant. In markets where radio listening is predominately digital, and the official survey is a personal people meter then observed behaviour analytics from your audio stream may have better application.Observed behaviour data sourced from your audio stream also has interpretive issues unless you can apply some demographic context to the information.  If you are only dealing with observed behaviour data without demographic context then is user ID 013245 a 18-24 male or a 25-39 female?In countries where digital consumption remains a small part of overall radio listening, basing strategic decisions on digital analytics is likely a waste of time at best or even potentially dangerous.  A station’s digital listener can often be inconveniently different in demographic and behavioural profile from your analogue listeners depending on your format.  To draw any meaningful strategic conclusions from observed behaviour data it is critical to know who your digital listeners are.Leaving aside issues of sample integrity, observed behaviour data is terrific at profiling usage patterns of your radio station by your digital users. The only caution is treading carefully on what you assume is behind people leaving or joining your digital stream.  In BPR’s broader ‘all audio studies’ where we see the entire listening landscape people often leave a digital device/source and move to an analog device/source such as when they leave home and jump in the car.  Assuming that they “left” your radio station as measured by your digital data is wrong, all they did was simply continue listening to your station in the car on FM.  Equally just because someone comes into you radio station on your digital stream at 9am doesn’t mean they started listening to your radio station at that time.A good application for observed behaviour data is trending the performance of specific content such as a benchmark or show.  If you have a new show between, say 3pm and 4pm and you start to see your digital audience retention building during that time, then it is a safe bet that your new show is working.  Equally if the reverse happens then the new show is possibly a fail.Observed behaviour data is also a good way to link between your strategic sample-based studies and monitor if what you decided to do is working.  It is not a perfect solution, but it will be cheaper and at least provide you with broad behavioural feedback from your digital users.Another advantage of observed behaviour data is that the sample size is usually relatively large, the measurement is continuous, and you can review the data pretty much in real time whereas recall based research involves a much longer project timetable and needs to be planned ahead of time.In any event you will have some form of observed behaviour data at your fingertips, generally data on your music streams.  From this you should be able to gain some sense of your stations overall listening momentum.  This is great to have but beware it has limitations in terms of strategic insight.  Observe it over time and look for the bigger picture trends.  Observed behaviour analytics can assist in telling you what is happening, whereas recall (sample based) research tells you why it happened.The major problem with recall-based research are those people and organisations still using and defending old methodologies and questionnaire tactics.  21st century recall based research using digital platforms and visual intuitive response interfaces have changed the game.  Sample based research is now much more about actively engaged respondents reacting in real time rather than people being badgered on the telephone for 30 minutes while they try to cook dinner.Whether you belong to the Observed Behaviour Tribe, the Recall-Based Tribe or my tribe or the Whatever Works Best Tribe, it doesn’t really matter, just keep your mind focussed on what you are trying to achieve with your research and choose tools and services that best suit what it is you are trying to understand, discover or manage.For me observed behaviour data is best utilised in assessing the overall performance of specific content elements against your digital users, presuming you can view the data as a trend over time.  In terms of anything strategic such as identifying your station’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, designing new radio formats and determining the “why” of listening behaviour and brand attributes, recall based research wins hands down.A little while after this article is published, I am going to receive a lot of statistics from BPR’s Research and Social Media Coordinator about this article. These observed behaviour statistics will include such things as how many people opened it, how many page views it had, who shared it, length of time reading it, where they live, how it performed against other articles and what operating system you used but the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is who remembers what I wrote a few weeks or months from now.Want to continue the conversation?[email protected]By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson
With a new year looming, soon you will be preparing goals for 2022.
But, we aren’t the only ones thinking about next year. Our clients are preparing also. They are in the planning stages of creating goals, purchasing merchandise, getting their game plans ready to survive and thrive.How will our stations and our advertising campaigns fit into their strategies? We need to find out. We need to access their plans and goals and to develop campaigns to help them to achieve those goals.Now is the time to set down with your clients and discuss 2022. We call doing this “doing a mini-CNA”. We update ourselves on how our clients’ businesses might have changed during the last year or months (I guarantee you there have been BIG changes and adjustments). We need to find out what is most important to them in the new year. We need to know what they are thinking about their advertising and how effective they perceive their current campaigns to be.
Are they thinking of moving money to other advertising vehicles?
Are they planning on cutting back their advertising investments?
Are they planning on increasing their investments?
What are the biggest concerns they have about doing business in the new year?
Are they concerned about additional lockdowns?
Are they having supply problems? Do they expect those to continue? Are they fully staffed?
We need to understand where their business is today and where they want it to be by the end of 2022. I know that crystal balls can be cloudy in the current economic environment, but the more we know about our clients’ businesses, the better equipped we will be to assist them. It’s not about us: it’s about them! Helping our clients to achieve their goals will be the fastest way for us to achieve our goals.2022 may be a challenging year. Aren’t all years challenging in some way or the other? But we can become prepared to survive and thrive. Review your client list, set a time for a planning session with your decision-makers. Then prepare winning strategies for 2022.Happy planning and happy selling!
Pat has a New Book […]

Content from BPRListeners of music stations usually place Music Variety amongst their most desired programming priorities.The problem is that inexperienced program directors, and sometimes experienced program directors who should know better, often misinterpret what the audience is saying by simply adding more songs into the mix, broadening out the universe both in titles and music genres.

The end result is a weaker music position that lacks focus.Top Five Variety Myths
More songs equals better variety. Wrong
Adding songs from genres outside my strategic centre will improve music variety. Wrong
Increasing the number of songs will improve variety and reduce repetition. Wrong
More songs will increase TSL. Wrong
Adding songs from eras outside my strategic centre will improve music variety. Wrong
Adding more songs, songs from eras or genres that are not part of your overall strategy will have the opposite effect…..they will dilute not only music variety but, worst of all, negatively impact your best music position…and ultimately, TSL and possibly cume.Why?Because when listeners speak of wanting “music variety” they’re actually saying they want a “variety of the songs they love”. Usually when program directors increase the size of the universe they do so with songs that have weaker test scores, are more unfamiliar or do not “fit” the format. That is, songs the audience doesn’t “love”.BPR’s research conducted in markets around the world shows that the stations with the tightest universes often have the best variety scores.Why?Because they only play the killer songs and their strict adherence to the station’s music policy ensures a powerful execution of the strategy.If your variety scores are not what they should be, examine your logs…..look for clumping of genres, too many songs with similar tempo scheduled together etc.Are your listeners complaining that they’re hearing the same songs over and over? Maybe they’re right. Check your horizontal and daypart rotations – are the same songs being played at the same times? Don’t forget listeners are very habitual with their listening patterns.Depending on your format, make sure you have multiple clocks to achieve better music variety. Altering the category position from day to day and hour to hour decreases the chances of these habitual listeners hearing the same songs.ConclusionPerception is reality. Best Music and Music Variety are crucial perceptual “hills” to own for a music station.Formulate a strategy for your music position, execute that strategy flawlessly and sell it to your listeners. Best Music and Music Variety must be key elements of both the strategy and execution.As with everything about your radio station’s programming, owning the Music Variety position is a strategic exercise.I’ll leave you with my favourite quote from Sun Tzu……“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”By David Kidd, BPR […]