Robby Bridges
By: Robby Bridges
I’ve recently read two very fascinating pieces. One, on the bottom of the front page of USA Today, a pie chart of data compiled by Paragon Media Studies showing 65% of kids are listening to more or the same amount of radio as compared to iPods than they were 3 years ago (when market saturation was obviously less for Apple). Of course, terrestrial radio continues to reach well over 90% of the American population at least once a week. This positive data coincides with the tremendously bleak forecast of analyst Jim Boyle at CL King and Associates that the radio business is in its worst economic shape since 1954, and goes on to predict 2009 might very well be worse.
It is worth noting that 1954 was end of network radio programs such as “You Bet Your Life,” “Jack Benny Program” and “The Lone Ranger.” The old time radio dramas had almost all moved to the new medium on the block: television. The era of local stations offering live orchestras performing music and the styling of the Bob and Ray’s of the dial had vanished. Agency advertisers were taking their national buys and putting them on TV instead of radio. One TV executive at the time actually said publicly “Radio is dead.” We discussed in my last article for FMQBthis very event and noted that what radio did was re-invent itself. It embraced the tastes of a generation of teenagers by playing their music (Rock and Roll/Rhythm and Blues), and it created a platform for the outlandish radio personality who played them. Music and talk for other tastes followed suit and the format anchored by the personality has equaled ratings, revenue and ROI for the radio industry since…until, it seems, now.
My argument in my last article was that it is time for radio to again let go of its past and aggressively target those 12-24 who are actually sampling us right now. We need to do that, at least in part, by re-inventing what we present as on-air product and supplement it by making sure all of our content is interactive and available on demand by new media. I suggested standard formatic techniques, rotations, contesting even specific format genres themselves may need to be shelved or revamped and stations re-branded. TV, as a medium, does this. Look at MTV and VH1, here are two networks born and branded as music channels that found great success with the VJ/video format. They’ve evolved to showcase different formats of that concept to producing and/or licensing programs that fit the youthful, hip music brand but don’t mainly showcase music videos at all any more. MTV’s “The Hills” is a brilliantly produced show that is part youth soap opera, part eye candy, part great editing all mixed with a slick musical soundtrack that fits the established MTV brand. VH1 has accomplished this by doing reality shows featuring icons of pop music from the ’80s and ’90s; sister CMT by exploiting the country music listener’s lifestyle as much as spotlighting their music.
This kind of repositioning and redefinition of what we do and rethinking of how the consumer uses us is exactly what the radio industry needs to do right now. Further, we could take other tips from TV and Internet on constant bill-boarding and teasing specific timelines and appointments for specific programming benefits to suck as much TSL as we can out of the huge cume the PPMs in particular are showing us are out there. But, I covered this in my last article. So this one addresses what I always hear when I talk about these ideas: No budget.
When my production company, BBOR, was marketing syndicated programming from ’02-’04 I’d hear it again and again: “Don’t have room for trade inventory, don’t have budget.” Four more years’ worth of consolidation, cuts and now a horrific global economy face the radio programmer today and like our President-Elect I say “Yes we can!” While there are certainly similarities to be drawn between radio and the auto industry for example, we don’t need a bailout. This industry, as I stated above, has been through worse before, re-invented, re-bounded and prospered and we can do it again. Further, unlike other industries we do not face all that great a consumer erosion or technological barrier. Further, most companies are actually turning a profit, albeit modest. Another piece I recently read showed small market revenue is currently up nearly a 0.6 percentage compared to major city counterparts. So, what steps can we take as programmers, managers, owners, VPs in this economic climate to move forward in a time when the realities seem grim? I have a few suggestions.
First: If we can’t invest in our product, let us not hatchet it, but fix it. Eliminating air talent, skimping on production value, cutting promo budgets and “just keeping the stick on the air” is not only counterproductive I’d argue it’s long term suicide for our business. Every station and group owner ought to be dedicated to putting forth not only the best possible product but rolling out exciting new programming before it’s too late to capture the imagination of this generation. Now, if there are personalities not on board with team spirit of reinvention as an industry, or with sagging ratings, or poor work ethic or all of the above that’s a smart business decision. To cut the largest salaries period is counterproductive.
Hire the best people at the most competitive wage you can. Running music and liners only or running VTs in drive time is not the long term solution to our budget woes or long term viability as an industry. Second, consider whether the sales team understands how to sell the format(s) of the cluster. Do they really understand the benefits, the audience, and the market when presenting it to clients? This is equally important in attracting local business and crucial for your national buyer. Consider the value of great air talent, engrained in the community, going out on sales calls to local business. Or, the excitement of pitching a national ad buy for your new brand aware format that costs the same as running the same old same old off the bird. Third, cut the promotions’ budget before the marketing budget. There are always giveaways to work out for trade with advertising packages and from record labels and even new media outlets.
Further, cash contests are great shots-in-the-arm ratings-wise, but ultimately exciting programming will deliver TSL as well and the money spent on marketing to get consumers to know your brand and use it is more important. To this end, there are all sorts of avenues in creating new and inventing programming without spending more (or even by spending less). Empower a jock to act as the Captain of the Street Team and put them in charge of sending an army of interns around the market to events, shows, schools etc. Got a person in house who really might sound good on the air who has a unique ability? Find a way to utilize it. Just about everybody who works at a radio station has some desire to be on the air, if only sometimes. Imagine if you can use the receptionist to be the fashion reporter? Consider using new free or cheap software for various programming needs. Whatever it takes.
You get the idea. C’mon, yes we can! I, for one, am exasperated over this talk about “The DJ’s day is over.” “Radio is irrelevant it’s all about mp3s and satcasters,” etc. We can reinvent and excite without butchering our product while still successfully weathering this economic storm. Long term growth and super serving the varied needs of that teenage listener, whom all too soon will be a 25-54-year-old, is what this industry absolutely must have to survive. We know what we must do and now we have got to do it… and we can’t just keep cutting down our product benefits to do it.
Robby Bridges is host of the Ride Home Show on WEBE-FM Bridgeport, CT. He is also President of BBOR Productions, developing and marketing syndication, music and production pieces nationally. Previously Bridges has worked in various capacities at WCTK/Providence, Z100/New York, Q102/Philadelphia, WODS and Mix 98.5/Boston and elsewhere in New England. Robby can be reached at 203-333-9108 or bridges@bborproductions.com
