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Content from BPRWell, now I’ve got you reading this article I should clarify the title……It’s All About Gender.In 2020, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forecast that $800 million would be spent in the current year on podcast ads in the U.S. and by 2024 the total will reach $1.7 billion. In the 4th annual IAB U.S. Podcast Advertising Study, prepared by PwC, the biggest categories among podcast advertisers are DTC or direct-to-consumer brands (22%) and financial services (16%), with health and wellness and home and appliance the largest DTC subcategories, per the report. News is the leading podcast content genre for U.S. podcast advertisers, capturing 22% of revenue, followed by comedy (17%) and society and culture (13%).

But these figures don’t paint the entire picture.Recent Nielsen research in the US reveals podcast audiences can be heavily skewed female or male depending on the category.In Nielsen’s Podcasting Today report, Kids & Family was the most female skewed genre with 77% of the audience being female. Conversely, Sports and Technology were the most male skewed genres. Fiction is the most evenly balanced genre by gender.When looking at top podcast genre usage among women ages 25-54 based on percent of all podcast usage, Nielsen says Comedy and True Crime were tops (9%), followed by News and Society & Culture (8%). For men in the same age 25-54 demographic, News was the most preferred genre (13%), followed closely by Comedy (12%).As the authors of the Nielsen report say “After a decade of audience growth, podcasts have become an extremely appealing advertising platform. And with broadening appeal and strong listener engagement, brands should be looking to them as a more personalized way to connect with audiences who are maxed out on visual inputs. Importantly, podcast advertising—particularly when delivered by the podcast host—drives stronger brand recall punch than more traditional forms of advertisements”.What this research shows is that radio stations creating bespoke podcasts, not just repurposing on-air content, can target genres to cater to females, males and both. This in turn provides advertisers with a menu of finely targeted opportunities to reach their existing and prospective customers.By David Kidd, BPRRead more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/podcast-advertising-its-all-about-sex/ © RadioInfo Australia […]

Content from BPRWhat ingredients make a good presenter? Some people might answer that a presenter should have a pleasant sounding voice. Although a good voice is desirable, many successful presenters do not have great voices.However, most have something to say! Good presenters are knowledgeable and are not confined to a narrow range of subjects. It is not sufficient to be familiar with the latest pop stars nor is it sufficient to be able to only talk about sport. Presenters with a narrow range of interests are handicapped and their growth potential is limited.Talented presenters are most often people who read a lot. They are voracious consumers of information. Their interests are broad and although they may specialize in one or more areas, they are not afraid to reach beyond their areas of specialty.

So how does one expand one’s knowledge? Should a university education be a job requirement for radio presenters? Not necessarily. Today’s world abounds in information. Knowledge is no longer confined to books and periodicals. The Internet is an inexhaustible source of information from the most profound to the most trivial. Of course, this deep well of information needs to be used with a considerable discretion. However, when it comes to the acquisition of information, a good filter has always been a vital tool.Great presenters are curious. They do not want to be confined to what they already know. As children we are naturally curious but as we grow older, our curiosity may be dampened by the stresses of life. Many of the most talented presenters have that child-like curiosity. They are information sponges.The ability to be spontaneous is a basic requirement for anyone who wants to do live radio or, for that matter, any other type of live performance. Presenters who can “think on their feet” are far less likely to be caught off guard when faced with the unexpected. Presenters who are good at interviewing celebrities, political leaders or their own listeners have the ability to respond clearly and quickly. In some ways, live radio is like surfing. Staying on top of the surfboard requires the ability to constantly adjust to the flow of the waves below. Good presenters have the ability to guide a conversation. More often than not they have a good response and are rarely at a loss for words.Over the years, I interviewed hundreds of on-air candidates seeking to further their radio careers. The ones who turned out to be the most successful were the ones who were curious and knowledgeable about the world around them and eager to talk about it.By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]

Content from BPRSo many people sent this one through that the list is too long to publish here…. but thank you!

It’s starting to become clear that radio stations will turn anything into a contest, as long as they can make a pun out it. KDND 107.9’s  “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” is no exception.And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.This was back in 2007, when people were still pretty excited about the Nintendo Wii. As it happened, KDND 107.9 of Sacramento in California had one and was willing to part with it to the listener who could go the longest without urinating. Every fifteen minutes, contestants were given eight ounces of water. The last one to break and go to the bathroom would win.As it turns out, people don’t just urinate for fun, and holding it in can lead to some big consequences.åFor one of the competitors, a woman named Jennifer Strange, the consequence was death.Strange drank around seven and a half litres of water before relieving herself, and died hours later of a condition called acute water intoxication.This tragic turn of events resulted in 10 employees of the radio station being fired, as well as a lawsuit that resulted in a $16.5 million settlement for Strange’s family.David Kidd […]

Content from BPRResearchers at Durham University have discovered something that radio programmers have known for decades…. the age we make the strongest musical connection is when the records playing on the radio get entwined with major life events in our formative teenage years.

The songs bring vivid memories flooding back in what is known as a “reminiscence bump”.The study, published in the Music & Science journal, found “a reminiscence bump in adolescence (peaking around age 14) for both ratings of the autobiographical salience of songs featured in the charts during that period and the familiarity of these songs”.The researchers said: “This suggests that memories that are central to one’s sense of identity are often inextricably associated with music. This may be related to the common tradition of coupling music with significant life events and the increased consumption and value placed on music during key periods of identity formation in adolescence.”But we programmers already knew that didn’t we!!!However, the “reminiscence bump” must be viewed objectively. Just because a song made the top ten in the charts for one week in 1991 doesn’t necessarily mean it has stood the test of time.For AC and Classic Hits stations in particular, it’s all about what holds appeal today.And that is why music research is so important to the success of any radio station.Listeners’ tastes change over time…sometimes the favourites from their youth retain their strong emotional bond….. sometimes they don’t.Let’s face it …. ask a 55 year old who is a fan of Talk radio today if they thought they’d be listening to Talk radio when they were 14!Understand what the listeners preferences are now.David Kidd […]

Content from BPROver the last few years there has been some debate about the relative merits of recall-based research vs observed behaviour data.Sadly, the debate often degenerates into a chest thumping exercise about which is superior depending on where your vested interest lies.  The observed behaviour tribe like to portray recall -based research as old fashioned and expensive, while the sample-based tribe tend to highlight the obscure sample integrity of digital and the inability of observed behaviour analytics to see outside of the box or into someone’s mind.

The reality is that both forms of research have their place and the issue is not whether one is “old, new, better or bad” but rather which tool most accurately serves what you are trying to achieve.Before we go too far down the rabbit hole it is worth defining the difference between the two methodologies for the purposes of this article.Recall based research is where questions are asked of a stratified representative sample of the marketplace.  The responses to those questions will generally cover things such as what people remember of their listening behaviour across the day/week, what they think about your radio station and your competitors and what their listening preference are (likes and dislikes).Observed behaviour data in the case of radio generally means transactional data siphoned from digital listening streams, particularly your station stream.  It normally measures such things as when users log in and log out and how long they listen for. The amount of demographic profile information available varies depending on the sophistication of your streaming providers analytics and log-in mechanics.  Observed behaviour data for podcast downloads can also be part of this.Observed behaviour research based on transactional data has been around for a very long time.  In the case of the retail industry since the invention of the cash register.  I recall pouring over millions of transactional records in various retail and FMCG projects prior to joining BPR.  The analysis involved identifying sales trends, optimal price points, credit cards used, customer flow charts and the relationship between sales and display locations or staffing levels. Recall based research in the retail context was about what could not be drawn from the transactional data such as brand insights, advertising recall, the degree of satisfaction with the shopping experience, what needed to be done better and things the customer wanted in the future.When the ability to capture digital transactional data on media and entertainment consumption came along, I was an enthusiast, even serving on one of the early committees involved in developing passive people meters.  Observed behaviour data is very sexy to play with however there is one extremely significant issue with using observed behaviour data in a strategic context for media, particularly radio.  The issue is that radio listening is mostly an emotional transaction.  The essence of radio programming is understanding the emotional transaction between your content and your listeners whether that transaction be good or bad.  The best indicator of that emotional transaction is what your listeners remember of their listening experience, what a listener remembers about your radio station reflects the emotional imprint you made on the listener.  Critically, what a listener remembers about your radio station frames their opinion of your radio station and this is reflected in two fundamental behaviours:
What they subsequently tell other people about (I don’t have to tell you how critical talk of town is)
The likelihood they will tune into your station again at their next radio listening opportunity.
It follows that the best and most effective way to measure the emotional imprint you make with a listener is what that listener recalls about your station.  Recall is the ultimate litmus test of how effective your station has been in triggering an emotional transaction.You may have a radio turned on (or an app open in the background) but that does not mean you are actually listening to that radio station or actively engaged or remembering the experience.  This is what a lot of people miss when arguing the relative merits of recall-based vs observed behaviour data when it comes to media, particularly radio.In the next instalment we will discuss in more granular detail the relative merits of both forms of research and outline the most appropriate situations to use either or both.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

Nicolau Santos, President of the Portuguese Public Media Service RTP, is the keynote speaker in the opening session at Radiodays Europe (RDE) 2021, which will take place in Lisbon from October 9 to 11.Santos is a former journalist with an experience of over 40 years, specialising in Economics. He is also the co-founder of two newspapers , the weekly  ‘Semanário Económico’ and the daily ‘Diário Económico’. Nicolau worked for almost two decades at the major Portuguese Weekly Newsaper, ‘Expresso’, where he served as Deputy Director. He co-hosted the weekly TV Show ‘Expresso da Meia Noite’ at SIC Notícias.During his career, Santos was also Director of the daily ‘Público‘ newspaper, working with the ANOP News Agency and several other newspapers, magazines and radio stations such as TSF and RTP Antena 1.

In 2018 was named Chairman and CEO of Lusa – the Portuguese News Agency. Since June 1, 2021, he has been the President of RTP.RDE 2021 will be a live in-person event, but it will also be available virtually, on-line.If you registered for the event in 2020 your ticket is still valid for the event in 2021. It is your choice whether to travel and attend in person or to attend the event virtually.Register here. […]