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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 […]

Content from BPRPeople and companies who commit themselves to the search for knowledge with the most determination tend to be the least complacent and most successful.From radio’s perspective, the search is a continuous one to fully understand listeners’ evolving tastes, to ensure that your station is doing the best job of catering to those tastes and to be cognisant of threats, not only in the form of competitor stations but also the rapidly changing audio segment.

“Questions” are one of the most valuable weapons in your programming armoury. Without asking the correct questions, you won’t get any answers…you won’t get crucial insights….in other words you’re programming a station blindfolded.UK advertising executive Robin Wight is famous for defining the principle of “product interrogation”……. “interrogate the product until it confesses to its strengths”.In the world of programming, you could amend the quote to include “and weaknesses”.Now interrogating a competitor’s radio station is easy. You get the results of a strategic market study, look at what the listeners want and see how competitors are perceived in delivering on the programming priorities. But when it comes to interrogating your own station, sometimes it’s a lot more difficult. Human beings can be defensive, they can be subjective rather than objective when they are personally involved in the creation of the product. They can be biased, they can create their own “subjective reality”.Let’s revisit my take on Robin Wight’s quote: “interrogate the product until it confesses to its strengths and weaknesses”.You won’t get the confession you’re after unless you are completely objective – ask the right questions during the interrogation process (I’ve seen some absolute shockers that have rendered the responses useless-but more on that in another article) and be prepared for whatever the listeners throw back at you.Their perception is your reality!By David Kidd, BPRRead more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/interrogate-product/ © RadioInfo Australia […]

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 […]