ASIA

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 […]

Content from BPROne of the major findings in the study of psychology over the last 50 years has been what people had suspected all along: human thinking and judgment often isn’t rational.

And it’s all due to cognitive bias.Here’s an example. If there were two yoghurt brands on the supermarket shelf and one says “80% fat-free” and the other one says “20% fat added”, which one do you think most people will pick? Yes, the study found the majority chose “80% fat-free” even though both had the same fat content.Cognitive bias is the tendency to base conclusions and decisions on our predispositions rather than objective evidence.Cognitive bias is a strong preconceived perception of someone or something, based on information we have, think we have, or lack. These preconceptions are mental shortcuts the human brain produces to expedite the processing of information…..to quickly help it make sense of what it is seeing or hearing.Unfortunately, biases make it difficult for people to exchange accurate information. A cognitive bias distorts our critical thinking, leading to possibly perpetuating misconceptions or misinformation.Cognitive bias can be disastrous in strategic planning.Biases lead us to avoid information that may be unwelcome or doesn’t sit with our preconceptions,  rather than investigating the information that could lead us to a more accurate outcome.There are many types of cognitive biases and all serve as errors in a person’s subjective way of thinking. The biases originate from that individual’s own perceptions, observations or points of view.I’ll address just four types here.Confirmation bias. This type of bias is the tendency to seek out information that supports something you already believe and is a particularly harmful type of cognitive bias……you remember the hits and forget the misses. Confirmation bias can also lead to the “ostrich effect,” where a person buries their head in the sand to avoid information that may disprove their original point. “All my friends love my new morning show……the research must be wrong.”The Dunning-Kruger Effect. This particular bias refers to how people perceive a concept to be simplistic just because they don’t have a lot of knowledge on the topic…..the less you know about something, the less complicated it may appear. This form of bias limits curiosity…..the desire to know more, to explore the “why”. Unfortunately, this bias can also lead people to think they are smarter than they actually are, because they have reduced a complex idea to a simplistic understanding. “Our share of listening is up…….we are improving”. Perhaps not….it could just be that overall listening is down and your station’s average audience remained steady….it could be demos out of your target audience pumped up the figures…..it could be any one of a number of  anomalies.Availability bias. This bias refers to the tendency to use the information we can quickly recall when evaluating a topic or idea…..even if this information is not the most accurate. Using this mental shortcut, we deem the information we can most easily recall as valid and ignore alternative solutions or opinions. The bias operates under the principle that if you can think of it, it must be important. “The problem isn’t the music. There was a story on the news today about information overload……I think we’re running too many commercials……too many messages. We need an urgent review of inventory.”Status Quo bias. The status quo bias refers to the preference to keep things in their current state, while regarding any type of change as a loss. Change can be very scary for many people but this bias results in the difficulty to process or accept change that may be needed for a radio station to improve. Status Quo bias is connected to Loss Aversion bias…. the potential for loss stands out in people’s minds much more prominently than the potential for gains. “We’re not winning 25-39 females with the current format but if we change format we may lose even more”.As a programmer, how can you deal with cognitive bias?
Importantly, admit that as humans we are all impacted by it.
Seek out information from a range of sources and consider situations from multiple perspectives. Challenge your own ideas.
Ensure you have accurate research upon which to base your decisions.
Make no assumptions without research.
Avoid having to make decisions under time pressure where the decisions will be difficult to undo. Make the time to think the issues through.
Don’t make decisions when you’re in a bad mood (yes, that’s a psychological fact!).
If you’re not analytical with statistics by nature, don’t try to analyse data and make decisions based upon it. Find someone who is analytical to do it for you.
Don’t make decisions in the evening if you are a “morning person” (and vice versa).
Appreciate that uncertainty is a necessary ingredient on the road to rationality. Embrace uncertainty as an opportunity to sharpen your thinking skills and to learn from experience.
By David Kidd, BPR […]

According to a report by ANTARA news agency, Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) has highlighted the importance of radio’s vital role in providing information on the COVID-19 pandemic to people in addition to being an accurate information distribution medium to tackle hoaxes.“The ministry observes that radio plays an important role by providing information through a variety of talk shows, information dissemination activities, as well as public service announcements regarding COVID-19 pandemic,” Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate told ANTARA.Plate also highlighted that the COVID Alert Radio movement, by the Indonesia’s Radio Community Network (JRKI), plays an important role in stemming the spread of hoaxes and disinformation related to COVID-19.

Radio not only plays a part in spreading information but it also offers public services, such as the online learning program for students during COVID-19 pandemic, he remarked.Head of Jakarta’s Public Broadcaster RRI (LPP RRI) Enderiman Butar-Butar echoed his group’s unwavering commitment to serving the people amid the pandemic by holding a broadcasting program and news segments on mitigating the spread of COVID-19.“LPP RRI’s journey for the last two years ever since the pandemic struck has been one of total commitment, meaning that our programs have been focusing on how to mitigate and how to stop the spread of COVID-19 from all sides,” he said. […]