Month: October 2021

Content from BPRThis quote comes from Michael Porter, an American academic known for his theories on economics and business strategy. He is credited for creating Porter’s Five Forces analysis, which is instrumental in business strategy development today.

But the quote shouldn’t be taken out of context……it applies to one of his five “tests” of good strategy.Strategic planning in most businesses often focuses on what to do….what the goals are and how to achieve them. Makes perfect sense.In radio, we determine the strategic goals and articulate what the station will be…the means by which we will achieve those strategic goals….the format, the talent, the brand image, the “sound” etc.But Michael Porter makes a great point…….we should also articulate what the station is NOT.By establishing what you are NOT, you further define and refine the format by not only making it a much clearer value proposition for the listeners but also by crystallizing the programming vision for internal stakeholders.What a station is NOT depends on the format and the target audience. Here’s an example for a station taking a “family friendly” position targeting females with young children.We are NOT:
Boring
Loud
Fake
Smutty
Rude
Out of Touch
Try hard
Negative
Condescending/Patronising
Obnoxious
Soul less
Controversial
You now have additional filters through which every element on your station should pass before going to air, which will ensure that all content adheres to the brand promise.By David Kidd, BPR […]

Content from BPRFor years it was accepted that people listened to music stations primarily for music. Everything else was secondary. Now that may be changing. A recent study conducted by Jacobs Media suggests that music may not necessarily be the reason why listeners tune to their favourite station. The study shows that listeners are now more likely to choose a station because they like the presenters.The above graph tracks the appeal of music versus personalities over a 7 year period. At the start of the study, radio listeners chose music over presenters by a 13% margin. However, in the 2021 survey, listeners chose presenters over music by a 6% margin. This is a remarkable shift. (***)Let us examine the specific question/answer used in this survey. One answer option is “I like particular DJ’s/shows/hosts” and another is “I want to hear my favorite songs/artists”. The first answer option is clearly focused on presenters and their programs. The second is focused on a person’s favourite music.

What could have caused this shift in listener priorities? Look to the Internet.In the past few years, people’s music listening options have expanded dramatically. Spotify, one of the earliest music streaming pioneers, initially gave listeners the option to hear playlists based on a particular music style or artist. However, music streaming services now give the user the option of hearing specific songs on demand.  Listeners can hear their favourite songs as often as they like. Not only are they available on demand but they can be downloaded as well. This makes listening to one’s favourite songs and artists easier than ever before.Now we turn to presenters and their programs. If a listener wants to hear a specific presenter’s program, there is usually only one practical option: tune to the radio station where that program airs. Because the presenter’s program is proprietary to that station, it cannot be accessed any other way. Presenters and their programs give a station a unique selling proposition (USP) whereas music playlists do not offer this advantage.A word of caution. The presenters who are most attractive to listeners are the presenters with a personality and who have something to say. In other words, they are real communicators and not just slogan readers. Talented presenters require enough format flexibility to allow them to express themselves in a way that is interesting and convincing.It is ironic that in an era when station operators are increasingly reluctant to use live presenters, they are perhaps becoming an increasingly valuable and necessary asset to a station’s brand. Radio operators need to invest in the development of air personalities as if the station’s existence depended upon it.First published by Jacobs Media. Read original here By Andy Beaubien, BPR […]